The second battle between the two began.
In this match, Heracross attacked first. It landed several moves consecutively on Magmar, then used its immense strength to knock Magmar into the air, gaining a slight advantage early on.
However, Magmar used an eye-opening move. While high in the air, it first unleashed a Fire Blast, then enveloped its own body in the flames, turning into a blazing fireball and crashing down onto Heracross!
Heracross was struck by Magmar and pushed back until it hit a large rock. But it wasn't over. At Gary's command, Magmar fired a point-blank Flamethrower at Heracross.
Heracross was instantly engulfed in flames, its shadow barely visible within the inferno!
Just as everyone thought Heracross would lose like this, it suddenly flapped its wings, creating a powerful gust of wind that instantly extinguished the flames on its body!
This gave Natsui some ideas. Watching other competitors' matches always brought new insights.
After putting out the fire, Heracross seemed to sound the horn for a counterattack. It used Megahorn, one of the most powerful Bug-type moves, charged through Magmar's Flamethrower, slammed into Magmar, and knocked it out.
"As expected of a trainer who defies type matchups..." Watching the bruised and panting Heracross on the screen, Natsui couldn't help but remark, "Enduring through sheer fighting spirit, ignoring type disadvantages... to turn the tables like that is truly admirable!"
Noticing a hint of envy in Natsui's tone, Erika smiled. "Some things can't be learned. That's entirely his talent."
On the screen, with the score tied at 1-1, Ash and Gary's battle entered the third round.
Perhaps aiming to settle the score quickly, Gary sent out his Blastoise this time. This was his original and strongest Pokémon. Bringing it out now was definitely intended to establish and widen his lead.
Facing Gary's Blastoise, Ash chose not to switch Pokémon and continued with Heracross. However, this time, facing Blastoise's Hydro Pump, even its fighting spirit couldn't change the outcome. It was easily defeated.
2-1. Blastoise's appearance had an immediate effect, giving Gary the lead as expected.
Ash's third Pokémon was his Muk.
When the battle began, the two Pokémon traded blows back and forth. Muk even found an opportunity to completely envelop Blastoise with its soft, sludge-like body. But as Blastoise continuously fired Hydro Pump from within, Muk could no longer contain the increasing volume of water and was forced to release it.
Ash made a quick decision and recalled Muk without letting it fight further.
"What an exciting match!" the announcer yelled. "Both sides are going back and forth, showing off their skills! It's truly a high-level battle! Competitor Gary's Blastoise is exceptionally well-rounded, with no obvious weaknesses. What Pokémon will competitor Ash use to deal with it next?"
On the field, Ash thought for a moment and sent out his Bayleef.
Honestly, this surprised Natsui. He had expected Ash to send out Pikachu for an ace versus ace battle, but clearly, Ash had other plans.
But thinking about it, if Ash thought like him, he wouldn't be known for frequently fighting against type disadvantages and creating so many memorable moments.
Pikachu wasn't even with Ash; it was sitting with Misty and Brock, acting as part of the cheer squad with Togepi. It seemed Ash had no intention of using it in this match at all!
And looking at the types, the Grass-type Bayleef had an absolute advantage over the Water-type Blastoise. But that only applied to other trainers. When Ash used a Pokémon with a type advantage, there was often a high chance he would lose.
Yes, it was that unreliable!
Sure enough, as the battle started, although the two Pokémon seemed evenly matched initially, Blastoise found an opening, bit down on Bayleef's body, swung it around, and finally threw it out of the field, slamming it against the wall below the stands and knocking it unconscious.
"Incredible!" Seeing this result, the announcer shouted, "Competitor Gary's Blastoise has consecutively defeated three of competitor Ash's Pokémon! Who can stop its winning streak now!?"
At this point, Gary still had five Pokémon remaining, while Ash only had three left.
In the Athlete's Village lobby, seeing this score, Erika turned to Natsui. "Gary's Blastoise is indeed very strong. I remember battling it before. Ash's situation looks really bad now. It feels like Gary is going to win."
"Have faith in him," Natsui said, not overly concerned. Although the situation seemed tilted in Gary's favor, he stuck to his earlier prediction. "It's not over yet, the outcome is still uncertain. But I still believe Ash has the strength and luck to turn it around!"
After a five-minute halftime break, the battle continued.
At the start of the second half, Ash sent out his Snorlax. Gary didn't use Blastoise again, instead sending out his Arcanine.
Like Blastoise, this Arcanine was one of Gary's signature Pokémon, exceptionally well-raised and not to be underestimated.
However, Ash's Snorlax was also extremely powerful. As the two Pokémon clashed, although Arcanine initially trapped Snorlax with Fire Spin, Snorlax countered with a Hyper Beam that directly knocked out Arcanine in one hit!
This outcome completely shocked Gary, the announcer, and the audience.
The crowd roared. No one expected that after losing three Pokémon consecutively, Ash would start the second half with such overwhelming power, successfully turning the tide for his trainer!
Gary's expression remained unchanged. After recalling Arcanine, he didn't send Blastoise back out. Instead, he sent out Nidoqueen, which had performed well in defeating Tauros in the first round.
Seeing this lineup, Natsui understood that Gary was buying time for Blastoise to recover stamina.
It seemed Gary also realized Ash wasn't an easy opponent and wanted to save Blastoise for the final showdown.
However, he clearly underestimated the power of this Snorlax. Although Nidoqueen performed well under Gary's command, not long into the fight, Snorlax seized an opportunity. With surprising agility, it dodged Nidoqueen's Hyper Beam and then finished it off with a single Ice Punch!
"So... so strong!"
The announcer gasped, utterly shocked that the seemingly clumsy Snorlax possessed such strength.
A round of applause erupted from the stands. Even Erika, after watching this battle, couldn't help but praise, "Ash's Snorlax is raised exceptionally well. To be so agile while maintaining such power... I wonder how he trained it."
Hearing this, Natsui laughed. "Rather than Ash training it, it's more likely Professor Oak raised Snorlax to be this strong!"
"What?" Erika was stunned.
"Didn't you know?" Natsui smiled at her. "The Pokémon Ash catches are actually kept at the Oak Research Lab. Professor Oak has always taken care of them and trained them on his behalf. Compared to other trainers who also leave their Pokémon at the lab, Professor Oak clearly pays more attention to Ash's Pokémon and favors him. Even his own grandson, Gary, doesn't get such treatment!"
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