After getting out of the car, Natsui, Misty, and May entered the Battle Arena with Scott.
As soon as they passed through the main gate, they saw many men and women in blue training uniforms. They were lined up in two neat rows, practicing punches on the open-air field.
On a raised platform, a blonde woman in a blue bodysuit and a black martial arts uniform was leading them.
This blonde woman was most likely the Frontier Brain here, Greta.
Not wanting to disturb them, Natsui and the others walked around to the side after entering the Battle Arena. Then they stopped behind Greta and waited quietly.
As they got closer, Natsui took a careful look at Greta.
She did not look very old, probably only seventeen or eighteen. She was pretty, and her figure was slim and toned. It was obvious she had trained for many years.
At the same time, her blonde hair had straight bangs, and the ends curled upward like fists, making her hairstyle look very distinctive. But the more he looked at it, the more he felt that it actually suited her.
At that moment, Scott leaned closer and whispered in Natsui's ear, "Do you see her? That's Greta. Even though she's young, she's a rare genius in the world of karate! I worked very hard to invite her here!"
It was easy to hear the pride in Scott's voice when he talked about Greta.
After all, finding a person like her and persuading her to become a Frontier Brain had definitely not been easy. On top of that, he had built such a large Battle Arena for her. For Scott, as the owner, that had taken a lot of money and effort.
Natsui was not sure yet how strong Greta's karate was, or how strong her Pokémon were.
But he could already see at least thirty students training there. Since so many people wanted to study under her, she had to be genuinely powerful.
While Natsui and the others waited for the training session to end, another person came through the main gate.
At first, Natsui did not notice. Then Misty suddenly let out a surprised sound.
"It's Bea!"
Bea?
The moment he heard that name, Natsui immediately thought of that night when he touched the wrong person. Startled, he quickly turned to look.
There, he saw Bea walking onto the field with a backpack over one shoulder, her expression as serious as ever.
It really was her.
But why had she come to Kanto too?
And why did she arrive at exactly this moment?
Natsui could only think that Bea really did go wherever strong Fighting-type trainers were.
Perhaps because she was powerful herself, or perhaps because the two of them were similar, Greta noticed Bea immediately. At first, she had not even realized Natsui and the others were standing off to the side.
Greta stopped moving and looked at Bea with a serious expression.
The students noticed Greta's change in mood. One after another, they also stopped. Then they followed her gaze and looked at Bea.
Their eyes showed confusion, surprise, and curiosity. But more than anything, they did not understand why Greta suddenly looked as though she were facing a formidable enemy.
Only Greta and Bea understood that they had both sensed a master in the other.
Even with so many eyes on her, Bea's expression did not change at all. She ignored everyone around her and walked straight toward Greta.
After giving Greta a brief bow, she spoke directly.
"Are you the Frontier Brain here? I came to challenge you."
She really was direct.
Greta looked at Bea's clothes and saw the formal bow she had just given. She immediately understood that this woman was a serious martial artist too. So Greta returned the bow.
"That's right. I'm the person in charge here, Greta!" Greta replied in her lively voice. "I accept your challenge!"
"Wait a moment!"
At that point, Natsui had to speak up.
His voice made everyone turn toward him. That included Bea, Greta, and all the students. Only then did they notice the other group standing off to the side.
Greta looked surprised.
"Who are you people?"
Then she noticed Scott nearby and became even more surprised.
"Mr. Scott? When did you get here?"
Bea was also shocked the moment she saw Natsui.
She had never expected to run into him here.
Almost at the same time, the memory of that night flashed through her mind, making her heart suddenly beat faster.
Scott laughed and led Natsui and the others over to Greta. Then he introduced them.
"I came because I had business, of course. Come, let me introduce you. The person beside me is no ordinary trainer. He's the champion of the Indigo Plateau, the Silver Conference, and the Ever Grande Conference, Natsui! And this time, he came specifically to challenge your Battle Arena!"
Scott traveled all over the world every year. He knew a lot about the big events in other regions, so it was not strange that he knew Natsui was a three-time conference champion.
The moment she heard Natsui's title, Greta was stunned.
Natsui?
She did not know that much about Johto or Hoenn, but she knew that Natsui had once won the Indigo Plateau in Kanto.
She had just never expected that someone who had already won three conferences would come to challenge her Battle Arena.
Was he here just for fun?
Then she quickly realized he was probably here to train his Pokémon.
Natsui gave Greta a small nod. Then he turned to look at Bea.
"Bea, it's been a long time."
It had been nearly a month since they were together last. He had assumed he would not see Bea again for quite a while, so he had not expected to meet her here.
Misty also greeted her.
"Bea, we meet again!"
Bea gave Misty a small nod. Then she looked back at Natsui, her eyes filled with mixed emotions.
After so much training, she had thought she had already pushed that matter out of her mind. She had thought she would be able to stay calm if they met again.
But now that they were really facing each other once more, she found that she could not stay composed at all. Her heart felt unsettled.
Seeing the two of them greet each other, Scott and Greta became even more surprised.
"Eh? You know each other?"
Neither of them had expected the two challengers to already know one another. What a coincidence.
Still, since they knew each other, deciding who would go first became much simpler.
Greta waved a hand and called out to her students.
"Raise the wheel!"
A floor tile slid open, and a huge wheel rose up from underground. The wheel was divided into three colors, and each section was marked with one, two, or three dots.
When she saw Natsui and Bea looking at it, Greta smiled and explained.
"My rules here are very simple. If the wheel lands on one, it's a one-on-one battle. If it lands on two, it's a two-on-two. If it lands on three, then it's a three-on-three elimination match. So, which one of you wants to go first?"
Natsui and Bea looked at each other.
Bea was about to let Natsui go first, but Natsui made a small gesture toward her.
"Ladies first."
Those words stopped Bea before she could speak. Still, she was not the kind of person to make a big issue out of it. She simply nodded at Natsui and stepped in front of the wheel.
A lever was attached to the side of it. Bea grabbed it and pulled hard, and the wheel began spinning rapidly.
Before long, it slowed down and came to a stop.
The arrow pointed at a yellow section.
The yellow section had three black dots on it. That meant Bea would be fighting Greta in a three-on-three battle.
"Very good." Greta nodded. "It looks like ours will be a three-on-three elimination match. Then the first side to defeat all of the opponent's Pokémon wins!"
Now that the number of rounds had been decided, it was time to prepare for the battle.
Since it was not his turn yet, Natsui, Misty, and May followed the students into the main hall of the Battle Arena.
The whole group sat down on their knees, and Natsui and the others did the same on the guest side.
Everything about this place felt very much like a Gym. In fact, aside from the wheel, the Battle Arena was almost identical to one.
For now, Natsui still did not feel what was supposed to make the Battle Frontier especially different.
Maybe he would understand later.
Once Greta and Bea took their places on opposite sides, one of the older students stepped forward to act as the referee.
As the challenged side, Greta released her Pokémon first.
She lifted her hand, and three Poké Balls flew out. In a burst of light, three Pokémon appeared on the field.
They were Hariyama, Medicham, and Hitmonchan.
All three were Fighting-type Pokémon. The lineup suited Greta perfectly.
That made this feel even more like a Gym battle.
Then Bea released her own Pokémon.
Three more flashes of light appeared, and Grapploct, Hawlucha, and Pangoro emerged, staring across the field at Greta's Pokémon.
All three of Bea's Pokémon were Fighting-type as well.
So this really was going to be a major showdown between Fighting-type Pokémon.
To be honest, Bea's Pokémon surprised the people from Kanto.
Those species were much less common here, which made them especially eye-catching. All three of them looked fierce and dangerous.
Just from looking at them, people could tell they would be difficult to handle. Some of the students even felt worried for Greta.
For Greta herself, Bea's three Pokémon were also unfamiliar.
Even though she was a Frontier Brain and had studied Pokémon from other regions, reading about them and actually battling them were completely different things. Pokémon like these rarely appeared in Kanto, so facing them in person made her feel a little tense.
Of course, that was simply because they came from other regions. If Kanto Pokémon were taken elsewhere, they would likely also be seen as unusual.
Even though all the Pokémon had been sent out already, this was still not a full team battle. They would fight one at a time.
The release phase had only been for revealing each side's lineup.
Although Natsui still did not fully understand why the Battle Arena did things this way, it was clearly different from a normal Gym.
There was not much more to say after that. Both sides quickly chose their first Pokémon.
Greta sent out Hariyama, while Bea chose Pangoro.
Both Pokémon were powerful Fighting-types that relied on overwhelming force. This opening battle was bound to be intense.
Natsui already knew Pangoro was strong because he had seen it before. And Scott had told him that Hariyama was Greta's strongest Pokémon.
That made this first battle especially important.
The referee gave the signal, and the battle began.
The two Pokémon immediately charged at each other and collided head-on.
This was a true contest of raw power. They traded heavy blows again and again, and neither side was willing to yield. Even after taking solid hits, neither one stepped back.
There were no tricks or fancy tactics in this battle, but it showed perfectly what made Fighting-type Pokémon so special.
It was thrilling to watch.
The students were all incredibly excited. Many of them clenched their fists and cheered loudly. To them, every blow in this battle mattered.
Still, every battle had to end eventually.
Greta was genuinely strong. That was exactly why Scott had invited her to become a Frontier Brain.
But today, she had run into a very difficult opponent.
Bea was an official League Gym Leader. She had traveled and trained all over the world, and her strength was extremely impressive. She was not on the level of the Elite Four, but she was more than enough to make life difficult for a Frontier Brain.
In the end, Pangoro's stronger fighting spirit and greater physical power allowed it to defeat Hariyama and take the first battle.