"My second Pokémon is this one!"
Giselle gave her Poké Ball a vigorous toss.
Thud.
The ball rebounded slightly before opening—and a Rapidash, its entire body wreathed in blazing flames, erupted onto the battlefield.
The moment Rapidash appeared, the temperature in the arena surged.
Even though he stood at some distance, Nozomi felt a wave of scorching heat wash over him.
"Rapidash… this is going to be tricky," Nozomi murmured.
He appraised Rapidash carefully. It was well trained, decent in strength, though not top-tier. Against other Pokémon he had a variety of strategies—but to defeat Rapidash with a just-evolved Ivysaur would be difficult.
"Miss Giselle, go for it!"
"I believe in you—win this round!"
"Rapidash, defeat that Ivysaur!"
The contrast in typings gave the onlookers hope: Fire beats Grass, and many of the Pokémon Tech students cheered accordingly.
Still, given Nozomi's reputation, they did not blithely claim "this match is locked" or "Total victory"—they were more cautious.
In some ways, Nozomi coming to challenge the Academy had benefitted the students: at least it taught them humility and curbed their overconfidence.
Nozomi took a breath. "No matter what, I'll fight this out."
He resolved to continue with Ivysaur. After all, being disadvantaged by typing didn't mean defeat—he had seen many battles where weaker matchups pulled surprises. And if a Trainer always switched at disadvantage, what kind of Trainer would he be?
Sensing Nozomi's fighting spirit, Ivysaur bristled with resolve.
Across from them, Giselle watched Nozomi closely. She tensed at that display of confidence—did he truly believe he could overcome the type disadvantage?
But there was no time to overthink; the referee's flag dropped.
"Battle, begin!"
"Ivysaur, take the initiative—use Razor Leaf!"
Ivysaur shifted its stance, then sent forth a flurry of razor-sharp leaves at Rapidash.
Normally, as a seedling, Ivysaur's precursor might only fire off five or six leaves—but now, it unleashed a dozen, maybe twenty, in a sudden barrage.
The leaves flew—Rapidash remained unmoved, with no sign of panic.
"Rapidash, use Fire Spin!"
Flames spewed from Rapidash's mouth, and the fire on its body flared further. A blazing wall formed, consuming all those flying leaves instantly.
Then the fire transformed into a horizontal vortex, and Rapidash rushed forward through the fiery corridor toward Ivysaur.
"Ivysaur, dodge! Then use Vine Whip to hurl the rocks on the ground at Rapidash!"
A head-on clash would be suicidal—Nozomi knew that if Rapidash got close, Ivysaur would only get burned.
Fortunately, fragments of rock littered the battlefield, residues from prior battles with Metagross.
Ivysaur lashed out with its vines, yanking up stones and hurling them at Rapidash—some as big as a head, others half that size. In effect, it recreated a rockslide-like assault, and because it used full force, the impact rivaled a Rock Slide.
Rapidash was forced to dodge and weave under the bombardment.
"Rapidash, Flamethrower!"
Giselle switched tactics, opting for ranged offense. Rapidash exhaled a powerful jet of flame. The beam stretched more than ten meters, spanning across the battlefield.
"Ivysaur, dodge! Then use Poison Powder!"
Ivysaur darted aside, and the bud on its back erupted in a cloud of toxic spores. The wind blew from Ivysaur's side toward Rapidash, carrying the powder directly at the opponent.
"Burn up those spores!"
Grass-type moves like Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, and Stun Spore are notorious troublemakers—and many trainers had fallen victim to them. Giselle knew this too, and she watched warily.
Rapidash narrowed the intensity of its Flamethrower and adjusted direction—then incinerated the airborne spores in a blazing sweep.
But in that very moment...
Nozomi seized the opportunity. As Rapidash was busy clearing the spores, Ivysaur silently charged up Solar Beam behind the flames.
Nozomi had never really expected Poison Powder to harm Rapidash—its weakness was obvious: fire would reduce it to ash. Even if the powder landed on Rapidash, much of it would burn off, making true poisoning unlikely. At best, it would inflict marginal harm.
But Giselle's decision to burn the spores herself opened the window.
Ivysaur had two pathways to victory: either overwhelm Rapidash with repeated attacks or deliver a one-hit knockout. Clearly, it lacked the power for constant barrage—so Nozomi aimed for the decisive blow: Solar Beam.
"Rapidash, unleash Flamethrower—don't let Ivysaur fire off Solar Beam!"
Too late—Rapidash obeyed and shot forth another flamethrower blast.
At that same instant, Ivysaur's Solar Beam flared.
The two columns of blazing energy clashed midair.
They were evenly matched, both burning fiercely. The duel held in stasis for several minutes, both Pokémon pouring all their strength into the clash.
"Ivysaur—give it everything you've got!"
Nozomi's voice echoed behind. Ivysaur's mind turned to memories of happier times with Nozomi, and it clenched its resolve. The Solar Beam grew ever stronger, forcing Rapidash's fire back step by step.
Rapidash responded in kind, intensifying its Flamethrower back.
Their powers surged, the dividing line trembling around a critical threshold.
Boom!
The midpoint erupted in a scorching explosion, sending a shockwave across the arena. Fragments flew in all directions. Nozomi instinctively raised an arm to shield himself from the flying debris.
When the blast finally subsided, he let his arm drop and gazed at the scene before him.
Who had won?