Eichi was very familiar with Matsumoto's strength; the boy possessed significant natural talent. After traveling for a period of time, his power had increased noticeably, and he had returned to Silver Academy at his peak—until he met Eichi and was taught a stern lesson.
Subsequently, he challenged Sato and Konan but lost to both. This dealt a heavy blow to his ego. However, after the wilderness trial and the Team Rocket incident, he had improved tremendously once again. Consequently, Eichi had great confidence in Matsumoto.
As expected, Matsumoto did not disappoint. He defeated his opponent in the first round using Ursaring. In the second round, the opponent sent out a Pokémon that countered Ursaring, but Ursaring didn't back down at all, directly taking down its foe once more. By the third round, Ursaring finally reached its limit and was defeated.
Next, Matsumoto released his ace, Magmortar. Matsumoto's Magmar had evolved, and its strength was now even greater. In less than three minutes, it swept through its opponent, bringing the second victory to Silver Academy.
After winning, Matsumoto stepped off the field with great pride. As he passed Sato, he remarked, "I've already won. If you lose, I'll definitely look down on you."
Sato maintained his cold expression and replied, "I will win."
The current score stood at 2-4. To win the overall event, they could not afford to lose any of the remaining three matches; even a draw was unacceptable. Director Yanagi, seated on the rostrum, looked toward Eichi and the other two. Everything now depended on them.
Eichi turned to look at Konan and Sato. They naturally noticed his gaze. Although Eichi didn't speak, they both understood the meaning he wanted to convey.
Over at Indigo Academy, seated behind Asen was a girl with white hair and a delicate face. She was Shino, Konan's opponent for this round. As she rose, the people around her cheered her on.
"Good luck, Shino!"
"Shino, we're counting on you!"
Shino nodded firmly and said, "I'll do my best."
Once on the field, Shino stood ready. She also observed her opponent, Konan.
"Both sides, please release your Pokémon!"
"Go, Blaziken!"
"Go, Rapidash!"
Eichi opened his Eye of the Bug Emperor. Blaziken was at the Experienced Late stage, and Rapidash was also at the Experienced Late stage. In terms of level, both were roughly equal.
"Battle begin!"
Both sides began their assault.
"Blaziken, use Flamethrower!"
"Rapidash, we'll use Flamethrower too!"
Two thick pillars of fire collided, their energy fluctuations constantly transmitting and merging. In the end, neither could overwhelm the other. However, Blaziken was a Fire and Fighting-type Pokémon. Besides fire moves, it excelled in fighting techniques.
Blaziken rushed toward Rapidash, leaped, and vanished, reappearing in front of Rapidash a second later. Rapidash kicked out its hooves to attack, but Blaziken tilted its head and swung its fist.
Sky Uppercut!
The fist struck Rapidash's head from below. Rapidash let out a cry of pain as its body flipped and crashed to the ground. Eichi nodded from below; Konan was as formidable as ever, and there was no need to worry. Although her opponent was quite strong, Rapidash was simply a step behind Blaziken.
Four minutes later, after a continuous battering from Blaziken, Rapidash finally couldn't hold on and collapsed, unable to get up. Shino wasn't discouraged. With a calm expression, she recalled Rapidash and released her second Pokémon, Dragonair.
It was a long, serpentine Pokémon with sapphire-blue scales and a bright white underbelly. It had two white wing-like protrusions on its head and blue pearls on its neck and tail. It was beautiful. As soon as Dragonair appeared, a stir went through the crowd. This was the first pseudo-legendary Pokémon to appear in the competition so far.
Watching from below, Akemi let out a slight smile, unconsciously looking down at a Pokéball on her waist. When Asen saw the Dragonair, a look of longing flickered in his eyes. Konan's expression turned solemn the moment she saw it.
Dragonair was somewhat special among pseudo-legendaries; after all, it was a Pokémon that could exert pseudo-legendary power even in its first evolutionary stage. Eichi opened his Eye of the Bug Emperor. This Dragonair had an Outstanding talent grade and was at the Experienced Peak rank, just a step away from reaching Elite. Eichi was quite curious about the combat capabilities of a pseudo-legendary.
As soon as the battle started, Konan had Blaziken launch an attack. Dragonair wasn't about to let itself be hit and initiated its own move.
Thunder!
It used a powerful move right from the start. Dark clouds appeared out of nowhere, and the sound of thunder rumbled.
Boom!
A thick bolt of lightning crashed down from the dark clouds, striking Blaziken. Blaziken was very close to Dragonair at that moment. It knew the lightning was coming and hesitated for a split second, but that moment of hesitation was fatal. The lightning struck Blaziken directly, causing it to let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Blaziken fell to one knee. The power was too immense, nearly taking half its life in one go. Konan looked at Dragonair with a grim expression; it was incredibly strong. Blaziken could barely handle a single move.
Konan took a deep breath. Her expression returned to normal after she touched a Pokéball on her belt. The battle continued. Konan knew Blaziken was outmatched, but she didn't give up. She continuously used various fighting moves to pummel Dragonair. However, the effect was poor, failing to cause any significant damage.
Afterward, Blaziken suffered greatly. Dragonair possessed the ability to control the weather, and in this environment, the power of its moves was significantly boosted. Blaziken was then hit by a super-powered Water Pulse, and that was it. It completely lost its ability to battle and collapsed.
Seeing Blaziken defeated, Shino flashed a smile of victory. Eichi, watching from below, had to admit this Dragonair was indeed powerful.
Over at Indigo Academy, a boy next to Asen remarked, "Shino was hiding her strength so deep. We didn't even see her use this during the Freshmen Tournament."
Konan silently recalled Blaziken and released her second Pokémon, a completely purple Pokémon.
Cloyster!
Known as the "Dragon Slayer," Cloyster emerged, revealing its black face and looking at Dragonair with a grin. Eichi wanted to laugh; he suddenly thought of Lance, who had always wanted to become the Champion of Kanto but was always held back by Lorelei. He could never get past her, and in the end, he had no choice but to go to the Johto region to become an Elite Four member.
This was all because the Ice type counters the Dragon type, and most importantly, because of that overpowered Cloyster. The Cloyster on the field now was Konan's strongest Pokémon, and it was already at the Elite rank. With this Cloyster, Konan would not lose.