"Meowth! The battle isn't over yet! Let's go!"
Tyson shouted loudly. Meowth answered immediately and moved toward Venusaur again.
However, Venusaur had moved a short distance away earlier. Even though it was not very far, it was hard for Meowth to get close again.
Meowth took a few steps, and then two Vine Whips came toward it quickly. This time, Meowth did not just dodge. It used Double Team. Many copies of Meowth ran toward Venusaur from different sides.
To be honest, Tyson felt very nervous while Meowth used Double Team.
Natsui had seen through Sceptile's Double Team earlier in the match. Tyson wondered if Natsui would see through it again.
Tyson had a reason to worry. The things Natsui did earlier made him feel afraid. If Natsui did something shocking again, like finding the real Meowth, Tyson would not be surprised.
Tyson watched nervously. A Vine Whip hit several copies and made them disappear, but it did not hit the real Meowth!
"Great!"
Tyson was very happy because Venusaur hit the wrong target. He pumped his fist!
Actually, Natsui could not see through Double Team every time. It depended on the distance, the size of the Pokémon, and the environment. He had to look for small differences in the shadows. Meowth was small and moved very fast. It was impossible for Natsui to find the real one with one look.
However, Tyson's joy did not last long. The Vine Whip missed the real body at first. But after hitting the copies, it swung back toward the other shadows. It hit the real Meowth hard in the back!
With a loud sound, Meowth was hit. It flew back and hit the ground hard.
Many people in the crowd felt sorry for Tyson.
"The speed of those Vine Whips is just too fast..." the announcer said with regret. "Meowth was hurt by the Seed Bomb earlier. This made it slower. If it was not hurt, it could have dodged that Vine Whip!"
Meowth stayed on the ground for a moment, but then it stood up. It started to walk toward Venusaur again!
The crowd cheered because Meowth did not give up. Only Tyson saw the mark on Meowth's back. He knew Meowth was in a lot of pain but was forcing itself to stand!
Keep going, Meowth...
You have to defeat Venusaur!
Natsui watched quietly as Meowth ran toward Venusaur.
Strangely, Meowth seemed to have a lot of energy after being hurt. It looked like it was in a frenzy. It used all its strength for the end of the fight. Its speed became as fast as it was at the start. Its reactions were also much faster.
Because of this, it blocked the Vine Whips easily. It used its claws to tear the Razor Leaf into tiny pieces.
Natsui realized that Meowth's Ability was Technician!
This Ability makes weak moves do more damage. For Pokémon that use basic attacks, it is a very good Ability.
This was why Meowth could block Vine Whip and tear Razor Leaf with its claws.
This was also why Meowth became much stronger after Tyson caught it.
Natsui thought that this Ability was perfect for Meowth.
Meowth was showing great power, but Natsui was not afraid.
He gave a command, and Venusaur attacked.
This was the final part of the round. The two Pokémon attacked each other many times. Meowth used a special move called Iron Tail!
Even though it was a tail, it was as hard as metal.
The Iron Tail knocked away the Vine Whips. This allowed Meowth to use its claws to attack in different ways.
Meowth tried many tricks, but Venusaur stayed very calm.
Meowth did a great job. But when Venusaur used its full strength, Meowth could not keep up.
Venusaur used Take Down and knocked Meowth over. This broke Meowth's rhythm. Then, Venusaur used a Power Whip with the Vine Whips. Meowth could not handle it. Meowth became dizzy and could not move. While Meowth was dizzy, Venusaur used a Solar Beam. The beam of energy hit Meowth and knocked it to the ground!
"So... so strong..." Morrison was shocked. He whispered, "They were just fighting. How did Meowth lose so fast?"
"That's because Natsui is being serious now," Misty said. "Natsui was being respectful to Tyson. He let Meowth fight longer so people could see that Tyson is strong. If he did not care about the opponent, he would have finished the fight a long time ago!"
Misty spent every day with Natsui, so she understood him best.
Natsui really did feel that way.
He was not very close with Tyson, but they spent a few days together. He did not want to use all his power to crush him at the start.
It would be the same as humiliating someone.
Life is not just about battles; it is also about how you treat people. Tyson was going to lose, so Natsui let him play longer. This allowed everyone to see Tyson's true strength.
The referee raised the flags.
"Meowth is unable to battle! The winner of this round is Venusaur!"
Tyson heard the referee and finally moved. He had been in a daze. He looked at the unconscious Meowth for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and laughed at himself.
He did not expect that even Meowth could not win...
Natsui was truly too strong.
Tyson accepted his defeat completely.
He found it easy to accept now. He knew there was a big gap between him and Natsui. He was ready to lose, so he respected Natsui's skill.
However, this also made Tyson lose his fighting spirit.
Tyson sent out his last Pokémon, Hariyama. Natsui thought about using Gengar or Gardevoir. In the end, he sent out Tyranitar.
Fighting types are strong against Rock and Dark types. This meant Hariyama had a big advantage against Tyranitar. Everyone could see that Natsui was going easy on Tyson.
But Tyson had no spirit, so he did not use the chance. He lost the final battle completely. Tyranitar defeated Hariyama quickly.
The battle between Natsui and Tyson ended. Natsui won 6-0.
"Let's congratulate Natsui for moving on to the Top 16! At the same time, let's give a round of applause to Tyson as he leaves the field. We thank him for showing us such an amazing battle!"
The announcer spoke loudly. Natsui and Tyson put their Pokémon back in their Poké Balls. They walked to the middle of the field and shook hands.
Tyson spoke sincerely. "I lost. You are really too strong. You've made me realize that there is always someone better out there."
"You are very skilled too," Natsui said with a smile. "Actually, if I wasn't here, you would have definitely been able to win the Ever Grande Conference with your strength."
Tyson thought Natsui was just being nice. He smiled sadly and shook his head.
They talked for a short time and then left. Natsui waved to the crowd. Then he walked through the tunnel.
Misty, Ash, and the others were waiting for him.
They clapped and celebrated when they saw Natsui.
"Natsui, congratulations!"
"Natsui, you're so amazing! I didn't think you'd beat Tyson so easily!"
"That's strange, why hasn't Tyson come out yet?"
"He's already left." Natsui shook his head and said, "He is going to start traveling right now. He didn't have time to say goodbye to you all, so he asked me to apologize for him."
"Huh? He's already gone?"
Everyone was surprised. They did not expect the battle to affect Tyson so much.
He left without saying goodbye!
But it made sense. Most people would find it hard to lose 6-0. It was normal to want to be alone to feel better before continuing a journey.
They respected Tyson's choice and did not say more.
Natsui looked at Ash.
"I've already made it to the Top 16. Now it's up to you. Don't go and lose on me!"
"Don't worry!" Ash showed his fist and smiled. "I'm not the same person I used to be! Just wait for me, I'll be in the Top 16 very soon!"
Ash had a match in the afternoon. His opponent was a Trainer named Katie from Lilycove City.
Katie was also very good. she won her previous matches easily. Ash was confident, but his friends knew the battle would be hard.
At noon, the group had a big lunch at a restaurant. They celebrated Natsui's win and helped Ash feel ready.
The holy flame was burning.
At 2:00 PM, they went to the main stadium.
The announcer introduced the competitors. Natsui, Misty, May, and the others walked to their seats.
They spent time cheering for Ash in the tunnel, so they arrived after Ash was already on the field.
This was good because they did not have to wait. The battle was starting.
They sat down with their popcorn. Natsui saw Katie's face on the large screen.
She was a beautiful woman in her twenties. She had long green hair and looked very calm.
Brock started flipping through a small notebook. He looked at a page and started talking. "I have information on all the beautiful older sisters recorded here. According to the data, Miss Katie is known by the residents of Lilycove City as the 'Cool Beauty.' She loves music, her hobby is playing the clarinet, and she especially loves spicy food, particularly pasta with Tamato Berries..."
"Stop!" Misty interrupted him. She looked helpless. "I really don't know where you get this information. And why is it all this useless stuff? What about battle information? What types of Pokémon is she good at using? Which one is her ace? Why isn't that in your records?"
"Of course it isn't," Brock said. He smiled and said, "This is my hobby book, so of course it only collects things I'm interested in! And by the way, she is ranked in my top three beauties of this tournament!"
Natsui thought Brock was amazing.
The information was not about battles, but it was hard to find. Natsui did not know how Brock did it.
Brock worked very hard for beautiful women.
Natsui looked at Katie. She was indeed very beautiful. He wondered what the other two top beauties looked like.
He was only curious. He did not have other intentions.
Then, the field for the battle was chosen.
The wheel on the big screen stopped on the Rock icon. A Rock Field with many boulders appeared.
The referee gave a signal. Ash and Katie used their Poké Balls.
Ash's first Pokémon was Torkoal. Katie's first Pokémon was Venomoth.
Torkoal is a Fire-type, so it has an advantage over Venomoth, which is a Poison and Bug-type.
However, Natsui and the others did not look happy.
They had noticed a pattern. If the types were bad for Ash, he could still win. But when Ash had a type advantage, he often lost the match!
It might be luck, but the pattern gave everyone a bad feeling about the match.
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