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"Blastoise!!"
With a thunderous roar, a massive Blastoise came crashing down from the air onto the battlefield. Thick, powerful limbs, heavy, solid armor, and cannon-like water jets gleaming with a metallic sheen—its landing sent a shockwave through the ground, crushing a patch of grass beneath it.
"Green side! Do you wish to switch Pokémon?"
The referee looked slightly surprised at the sight of Blastoise, then turned to ask Liam.
"No need, thank you. My Nidoking can still fight."
Liam smiled and shook his head, once again declining the offer.
The referee frowned slightly but didn't press further. He raised both flags and signaled for the battle to resume.
"Even if you won't switch your Pokémon, I won't hold back! Blastoise, Rain Dance! Then use Aqua Jet!"
Seeing Liam refuse to replace his current Pokémon, the girl felt she was being looked down on. Biting her lip with a hint of anger, she shouted her commands to Blastoise.
"Blas-toise!"
Blastoise sensed its trainer's fury and let out a loud roar toward the sky. Black rain clouds quickly condensed overhead, and in the blink of an eye, fat raindrops began to fall.
At the same time, torrents of water surged over Blastoise's body, encasing it in a powerful aquatic jet. Propelled by the water, its bulky frame shot into the sky and spun nimbly through the air in a figure-eight pattern, then dove down toward Nidoking with immense momentum.
"Hm? Aqua Jet? Am egg move? And it's fast! How can a Blastoise be this fast? Heh, what a rare surprise! Nidoking! Don't be afraid! Meet it head-on with Shadow Claw!"
Liam could feel how strong this Blastoise was, but that didn't make him or Nidoking back down. If anything, a real battle like this was exactly what ignited their fighting spirit.
"Nido!"
The rain soaking his body made the Ground-type Nidoking quite uncomfortable. Even though he had learned Surf, a Ground-type's innate dislike of water didn't change.
Nidoking roared back at the charging Blastoise in the sky, then shook violently to fling off the rain. Long, dark claws of shadow formed on each of his thick arms. Instead of retreating, he charged forward, brandishing his Shadow Claws toward the descending Blastoise.
"Blas-toise!!"
But Nidoking clearly underestimated the agility of a Blastoise using Aqua Jet.
Just as the two were about to clash, Blastoise twisted in mid-air with no warning, spinning in an arc like a drifting car, neatly avoiding a direct collision. Then, seizing the moment while Nidoking was off guard, it rammed into his side with full force.
A massive impact exploded forth as Nidoking grunted and was sent flying, tumbling across the ground several times.
"Nidoking!! Can you still fight?!"
Liam was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. He hadn't expected such a large Blastoise to be so agile. His face showed clear concern as he looked at his Nidoking in pain, already holding a PokeBall in hand, ready to withdraw him at any moment.
"Nido!!"
Upon hearing Liam's voice, Nidoking turned to look at him. Seeing the worry on his trainer's face, Nidoking suddenly raised his tail and slammed it hard into the ground, sending mud and grass flying everywhere. He pushed himself up with both arms, not caring that he was covered head to toe in sludge and leaves, and stood up—slowly but firmly.
Then, he let out a thunderous roar toward the sky.
"Nidoking... Good job! If you still want to fight, then let's win this match! Charge in and use Poison Sting!"
Seeing Nidoking rise again, Liam's heart ached. He knew Blastoise's Water-type moves, enhanced by Rain Dance, had already dealt significant damage to Nidoking. But the fighting spirit in Nidoking's eyes hadn't faded.
If that's how it was, then he had to let Nidoking see it through to the end.
"Nido!"
Hearing the command, Nidoking charged forward with determined strides. Just before reaching Blastoise, he opened his mouth wide and fired a volley of Poison Sting.
"Blastoise! Charge in too! Use Bubble Beam!"
Watching the wounded Nidoking press on, the girl cast a slightly resentful glance at Liam before issuing her command to Blastoise.
"Blas-toise!"
Facing the incoming poison needles, Blastoise quickly stepped forward. It opened its mouth wide and unleashed a stream of gleaming, translucent bubbles.
The attacks collided mid-air—equal in both power and number—and exploded on contact, filling the field with a thick white mist.
But the smoke didn't stop either Pokémon from moving. Both charged in without hesitation. From outside the smoke, all that could be heard was the sound of close-quarters combat.
"Blas-toise!"
"Nido!"
Even though the battle was hidden in the mist, it was clear to the onlookers that an intense melee was happening. Neither Liam nor the girl dared to give new commands blindly—they could only wait in silence for the mist to clear, letting them duke it out on their own.
"Blastoise!!"
As they waited, a sudden roar from Blastoise rang out from within the fog, followed by a pained grunt from Nidoking. Then, a strong gust of wind swept through the field, dispersing the mist and revealing the scene inside.
"Blastoise!"
When the smoke cleared, Blastoise was still spinning rapidly in the air in a defensive Rapid Spin, the source of the whirlwind just now.
Meanwhile, Nidoking was lying in the mud, his eyes spinning—he had lost the ability to fight.
"Nidoking is unable to battle! Green side, please send out your second Pokémon!"
"That was Rapid Spin! Well done, Blastoise! I love you so much!"
"Blas~toise!"
Overjoyed that her Blastoise had won, the girl leapt up excitedly, shouting in celebration.
Meanwhile, Liam walked over to his Nidoking, who had just come to his senses, and gently patted him with a smile.
"You muscle head. Don't you know you're the weakest on the team when it comes to raw power? You really tried to overpower Blastoise head-on? If you'd just found an opening for a Thunderbolt, it would've ended everything!"
Though Liam said that, there wasn't a trace of blame in his tone. Nidoking clearly sensed that too. With a soft smile and a firm look in his eyes, he let out a quiet "Nido~" in response.
"Hmph. No more lectures. Get some rest."
Liam gently tapped Nidoking on the head, then returned him to his PokeBall. He turned back to his spot and pulled out another PokeBall, quickly tossing it onto the field.
"Go, Weavile! Let's take this win!"
Liam sent out Weavile next. Thanks to its vastly superior speed compared to Blastoise, Weavile easily overwhelmed its already tired opponent.
Even before Weavile had evolved, it had battled and beaten the Cerulean Gym Leader's Blastoise. Fighting this girl's Blastoise now was nothing new.
After just a few exchanges, the worn-down Blastoise let out a final cry and collapsed into the muddy ground.
"The challenger on the red side has had all three Pokémon lose their ability to battle. The winner of this Grass Field preliminary match is the trainer on the green side, Liam!"
The referee announced the result the moment Blastoise went down, officially ending Liam's final preliminary round.
"Come back, Blastoise. You did an amazing job. I'm proud of you."
"Blas-toise..."
The girl returned Blastoise to its PokeBall, then looked up with a carefree smile and walked over to Liam.
"As expected, you really are stronger. Your name's Liam, right? You'd better do well in the rest of the tournament—otherwise I'll feel like I lost for nothing."
Liam looked slightly surprised. The angry girl from earlier was now calm and smiling. A bit embarrassed, he scratched his cheek and replied.
"Uh... Miss, I'll do my best. I'll count your expectations as part of my motivation too…"
Upon hearing this, the girl immediately puffed up her cheeks in annoyance.
"Hmph! I was your opponent, and you don't even know my name? That's so rude... Remember it! My name's Cissy! I will challenge you again! And next time, I won't lose!"
Hearing her name, Liam suddenly frowned slightly, thinking to himself in confusion:
"Huh? Cissy? That name sounds... familiar…"