At Natsui's command, Eevee changed direction. It stopped swimming toward the bank and instead swam toward a floating piece of wood that was closer.
The sound of splashing water rose rapidly behind it. Eevee did not need to look back. It knew Seviper was closing in fast. It could almost feel the cold breath of the snake behind it.
Luckily, the piece of wood was close enough. Eevee climbed onto it just before Seviper could catch up.
Eevee did not stop to shake the water from its fur. It took a running start and leaped high into the air. Seviper swung its tail at it, but Eevee cleared the wide pool and landed on the opposite bank.
Lucy saw this and felt a little regret.
"In the end, it still got away..."
She also understood that escaping twice was not just luck. Eevee had been able to dodge Seviper's attacks and stay safe, which was proof of real skill.
Also, Seviper's natural stats were better than Eevee's. Even with that gap, the battle had remained even. That alone showed how strong Eevee really was.
She had thought this more than once already. She had to admit that this man kept giving her one surprise after another.
"It's a pity he doesn't have narrow eyes..."
The battle continued, and Lucy focused on the field again.
After Eevee reached the shore, the situation changed. Unless it went back the same way, Seviper would be attacked if it tried to climb onto the bank directly.
But taking the long way around was not Lucy's style.
Fortunately, she still had other options.
Under Lucy's command, Seviper did not try to climb ashore right away. Instead, it floated in the pond and opened its mouth. A stream of fire burst out and shot toward Eevee.
Natsui did not expect Lucy's Seviper to know Flamethrower. He had seen it in the anime before, but he had forgotten that detail.
Still, it did not matter. The ground was open, and they were far apart. It would be hard for the attack to hit Eevee.
However, just as he was about to tell Eevee to dodge, a thought flashed through his mind.
As the Pike Queen, Lucy knew very well that a simple Flamethrower would not be enough to hit Eevee so easily. So why was she using it?
In an instant, he made his decision.
The flames of Flamethrower roared across the pond and rushed toward Eevee on the shore.
Natsui had guessed correctly. Lucy had not expected Flamethrower to hit Eevee directly. The move was mostly a distraction. The moment the fire was released, Seviper quickly swam toward the bank, planning to use the flames as cover so it could get out of the water.
The fire blocked Lucy's view.
She saw Seviper getting closer and starting to climb up. Just as she thought it would succeed, Eevee suddenly appeared right at the edge of the bank.
"What!?"
She was completely caught off guard.
Why was Eevee there? She had thought it would retreat from the Flamethrower.
The sudden change shocked her. Before she could react, Eevee used Take Down and slammed Seviper back into the water.
"Oh no, he saw through it..."
She had already been careful and treated him like a difficult opponent, but she had still underestimated the man standing across from her.
Lucy's plan had been a good one. Flamethrower could pressure Eevee while also creating an opening for Seviper to get back onto land. It looked like a very solid move. But Natsui had seen through it immediately and moved Eevee into position in advance, completely ruining her plan.
Since the flames had blocked the view, Seviper had already lost track of Eevee's position. It had no chance to react in time.
Splash.
Seviper fell back into the water. Before it could recover, Eevee followed up with Swift and dealt even more damage.
After that, Lucy no longer wanted to have Seviper approach Eevee head-on.
Her first two attacks had worked well enough, and she had started to relax a little. But that man had immediately countered her. That made her tense up again. She understood now that she could not let her guard down for even a moment until the match was over.
"A Champion really is as strong as the title suggests..."
This was not even his main Pokémon, yet it was still fighting her Seviper evenly. That alone said enough about how strong he was.
Under Lucy's command, Seviper dove back into the water, surfaced farther away, and climbed onto the shore from another angle.
Because the distance was great enough, Eevee did not attack this time. Instead, it took the chance to shake the remaining water from its fur.
In truth, the Flamethrower from earlier had already dried most of it. The water was no longer slowing Eevee down much.
The two Pokémon faced each other again, and neither side attacked first.
The battle was nearing its end. Everyone could feel that victory or defeat might be decided at any moment, so every eye stayed locked on the field.
From the current situation, it seemed that both Eevee and Seviper still had a chance to win. Neither side appeared to have a clear advantage. That was how it looked to Lucy, May, and the girls watching.
But for Natsui, the result was already decided.
Up to this point, Lucy's Seviper had already shown all of its methods. It had used every trick it had. None of them posed a real threat to Natsui anymore.
This battle should end now, and it would end on his terms.
At his command, Eevee began its real counterattack.
This time, Natsui got serious. Under his direction, Eevee's speed suddenly rose. It used Quick Attack again and again to pressure Seviper. The moves that Seviper had been using until now no longer worked. Natsui saw through all of them, and Eevee moved fast enough to dodge while constantly finding chances to strike back.
Lucy felt the pressure increase sharply. The girls and even May were stunned.
"What is going on?" one of them said. "Why does it feel like he turned into a completely different person? Big sister's Seviper is getting beaten back and can't even fight back!"
"Exactly! Weren't they going back and forth just a moment ago?"
The girls exchanged bewildered looks. May was thinking the exact same thing.
Yes, why did it suddenly turn out like this?
She had seen Natsui battle during the Ever Grande Conference. Back then, his matches had always felt relaxed, as though he could win without ever needing to get serious. She had never seen this side of him before. His style now was sharp and overwhelming.
It felt unfamiliar.
The ones who truly felt that pressure, however, were Lucy and Seviper.
Lucy had no idea why things had suddenly turned out like this.
Just a moment ago, it had felt like she still had a real chance. So why could her Seviper no longer fight back now?
Every attack missed.
It could not dodge.
Its stamina was being drained quickly.
It could not launch any real counterattack. It could only keep taking hits.
It was as if something had suddenly flipped.
She wanted to change the situation, but nothing she tried worked.
In the end, Eevee used Quick Attack one more time, slammed Seviper to the ground, and defeated it. Even then, Lucy still found it hard to believe.
"Did I really lose?"
"Didn't I have the upper hand for a while?"
When the referee girl announced the result of the match, Lucy finally snapped out of it and looked at Natsui with a complicated expression.
"So that was his real strength..."
Natsui let out a long breath of relief after winning.
"It really wasn't easy..."
How long had it been since he had fought this seriously?
This match had been exhausting. Lucy's Seviper was very strong. Another reason was Eevee itself.
With Eevee's current body, it was difficult for it to deal with stronger opponents. That did not mean it lacked battle experience. It was simply limited by its small body.
Not every Pokémon was like Ash's Pikachu, able to fight Legendary Pokémon one day and then lose to a new Trainer the next.
For most Pokémon, their stage of evolution determined both their strength and their limits.
Eevee had done very well, but it was time for it to evolve.
Lucy recalled the unconscious Seviper and walked over with a complicated look on her face.
Natsui had seen that expression many times before.
"You really are amazing. I accept this loss completely."
He had heard that kind of praise plenty of times already.
Even so, hearing it from the Pike Queen still made Natsui feel very pleased.
"You're too kind. Your Seviper performed very well too. At one point, my Eevee was very close to losing."
Lucy did not take those polite words too seriously.
It did not matter whether it had almost lost or not. In the end, victory was what mattered.
The girls and May also came over.
The girls gathered around Natsui and looked at him with amazement. Since he had defeated their leader through sheer skill, they no longer teased him. They only stared at him with open admiration.
Lucy did not say much more. After losing the match, she took a medal from her coat and placed it in Natsui's hand.
"Please accept this. It is a symbol of my luck, and proof that you defeated me."
Natsui thanked her and placed the Gold Luck Symbol into his case.
He already had Symbols from the Battle Factory, Battle Arena, Battle Dome, Battle Palace, and Battle Pike. That made five Frontier Symbols. He only needed to defeat the Battle Tower before moving on to the Battle Pyramid.
Time had passed quickly.
His journey through the Kanto Battle Frontier was almost over.
He nodded to everyone, said goodbye, and left with May.
When they came out of the Battle Pike, the sky was already nearing dusk.
The two of them did not continue traveling right away. Instead, they returned to Fuchsia City and stayed one night at the Pokémon Center. After restoring their Pokémon's condition, they set out again the next day.
Their next destination was the Battle Tower. It stood on the southeastern side of the Kanto mainland.
There, Natsui would meet Anabel.
The Anabel from the International Police had already warned him, so Natsui knew about the Anabel at the Battle Tower.
Should he pretend not to know her?
Of course, because that Anabel had never met him before.
He would have to treat her like a stranger and stay perfectly calm.
His acting skills were about to be tested.
The trip from Fuchsia City to the Battle Tower was long. They had to cross nearly half of Kanto, so they could not possibly arrive in a single day.
They had three options for the trip.
The first was the fastest: flying. They could either take a plane or ride Dragonite.
But Natsui did not want to choose that option.
That left either taking a boat or traveling on foot.
Natsui suggested walking, and May agreed.
The journey was long, but they would get there eventually. More importantly, they wanted to enjoy the scenery and whatever happened along the way.
They left Fuchsia City and followed the main road. First, they left the strip of land where the city stood. After walking for more than half a day and stopping for lunch, they finally returned to the Kanto mainland.
At that very moment, the Egg in May's arms began to hatch.
Nurse Joy's estimate had been exactly right. An Eevee broke out of the shell and entered the world.