Hariyama's Arm Thrust missed again. Even Force Palm failed to hit Blaziken.
Through all the rounds of this fight, Hariyama only landed one real hit with Vital Throw. It slammed Blaziken hard into the ground.
But Blaziken got back up almost immediately and broke free right away.
At this moment, Greta felt all kinds of emotions in her heart.
It was difficult. It was far too difficult.
Finding an opening against a Blaziken this fast was just too hard!
Of course, that did not mean Blaziken was stronger in raw power. It was simply too fast.
That speed made Hariyama's strength hard to use. If it were facing a power-based Pokémon like Bea's Pangoro from before, Hariyama would at least have a real chance to trade blows.
But there was one piece of good news.
Blaziken was moving so quickly that its stamina should drop faster. Greta believed Hariyama might get a chance to strike back once Blaziken slowed down.
But if Greta could think of that, Natsui had already thought of it too.
And Natsui had no intention of waiting for that moment.
Blaziken was a Fighting-type Pokémon, but Natsui did not want it to win with only close combat.
Fire was still Blaziken's greatest weapon!
Blaziken dodged another attack and moved behind Hariyama. Its claws tightened, and flames burst out around them.
Then it struck hard!
Blaziken used Fire Punch.
An orange-yellow blur flashed forward. In the next second, two fists landed on Hariyama one after the other.
Boom!
The flames exploded at the moment of impact, and Hariyama's entire back was set ablaze.
That blow hurt badly and forced Hariyama to stagger again.
When the flames faded, Hariyama had been burned.
That was terrible news for Greta. It shattered her hope of dragging the battle out.
Blaziken could afford to wait, but Hariyama's burn could not.
Every time Hariyama moved or threw a punch, the pain from the burn bit deeper into its body.
Natsui knew it was time to finish the battle.
Blaziken became wrapped in blazing fire and charged forward.
Blaziken used Flare Blitz.
Its whole body looked like a ball of fire as it crashed straight into Hariyama.
After fighting like a hit-and-run attacker for so long, Blaziken was finally charging head-on. But now Greta was the one who wanted distance.
She wanted Hariyama to dodge. But Hariyama was far slower than Blaziken, and the burn kept hurting it.
It only managed to take two steps before the pain stopped it.
By then, Blaziken had already reached full speed with Flare Blitz and smashed into Hariyama's chest.
The force was tremendous. Blaziken took recoil damage too, but Hariyama was blasted off its feet.
Hariyama's huge body fell backward and hit the ground with a heavy crash.
Hariyama had felt powerless in this battle. Because of the difference in style, it had spent almost the whole fight taking hits while barely landing any of its own.
But there was no helping it.
Natsui wanted to fight properly from the front too, but he did not have a pure Fighting-type Pokémon here. Using this kind of hit-and-run style was simply the best choice.
A win was still a win.
"I can't believe it..." one of the students muttered while rubbing their eyes. "Master Greta's Hariyama was defeated just like that?"
The Battle Arena's students knew how strong Greta's Pokémon were. Her Hariyama had beaten plenty of challengers before. Even against Bea's Pangoro, it had lasted for a long time and left Pangoro badly hurt before going down.
But this battle made them feel helpless.
Natsui did not give Greta any chance at all.
Is this what a Champion-level Trainer is like?
It was a very different style from Bea's.
At the same time, it also proved just how powerful this Blaziken really was. Another Pokémon would probably have been overwhelmed much earlier.
Greta shook her head, but she did not say anything. She simply recalled Hariyama.
Natsui also called back Blaziken.
This was a two-on-two match. Both of his Pokémon were supposed to appear. He had no intention of letting Blaziken fight both rounds.
He wanted Scizor to have its turn too.
With a small wave of his hand, Natsui sent Scizor forward. Its wings buzzed as it leaped into the middle of the field before Greta had even sent out her next Pokémon.
Natsui was taking the initiative at every step. Strangely enough, that was exactly what Greta wanted.
She did not get the chance to face a trainer like him every day.
At this point, she no longer felt like the person being challenged. Instead, she wanted to use this battle against Natsui to improve herself.
The fight with Blaziken had already shown her Hariyama's weaknesses. Now she wanted to see what this Scizor would show her.
Greta signaled to Medicham, and it walked onto the field.
Medicham was Psychic- and Fighting-type, while Scizor was Bug- and Steel-type. On paper, Medicham was at a disadvantage.
Still, Scizor did not hold an overwhelming advantage either.
But that was only on the surface. This Scizor had already shown its strength in the Johto tournament. No one doubted its power.
The students quieted down again and focused on the field.
The referee gave the signal.
The second battle began.
Medicham attacked first. Its Fighting-type and Psychic-type moves would not do much to Scizor, but Greta still chose to go on the offensive first.
In Pokémon battles, type matchups are not everything. There are many different ways to win. Mindset and experience matter just as much.
Greta ordered Medicham to use Focus Punch, and it rushed straight at Scizor.
She wanted to see which Pokémon was better in close combat.
Fighting-type trainers naturally loved Fighting-type Pokémon. Most of the time, they preferred solving battles with Fighting-type moves.
White light gathered around Medicham's fist. It leaped in front of Scizor and punched.
"Scizor, block it!"
The two Pokémon were moving at nearly the same speed. Natsui did not order Scizor to dodge.
He wanted to take the attack head-on.
This was not a brute-force Pokémon like Hariyama, and Scizor had excellent defense. With its type advantage, there was no need for it to retreat.
Scizor raised its claws and struck upward with Metal Claw.
But Greta was a Frontier Brain. Of course she had prepared a trick.
Just as Medicham and Scizor were about to collide, Medicham suddenly vanished from Scizor's sight.
Then it reappeared behind Scizor and attacked from the rear.
Boom!
Focus Punch landed squarely on Scizor's back, producing a heavy metallic sound. Scizor staggered forward.
The force was shocking.
Scizor was 1.8 meters tall and weighed over two hundred kilograms. It had a steel body, yet that punch still made it stumble. The power behind it was far above normal.
Greta had not shown anything like this in her battle against Bea.
Still, type disadvantage was type disadvantage. The surprise attack worked, but the result was only average.
Natsui could not help thinking that Frontier Brains and Gym Leaders really were difficult opponents. They always managed to pull out something special in battle. None of them were easy to beat.
Still, even if this was a good surprise, it was not enough to trouble him.
The same trick was not going to work twice.
Greta clearly wanted to try again, and she ordered Medicham to use Focus Punch once more.
Medicham jumped in front of Scizor, disappeared, and reappeared again.
But this time, Scizor's body began to shine with a metallic glow.
Scizor used Iron Defense.
Thud!
Focus Punch hit Scizor again. The sound was heavier than before, like a fist slamming into a thick steel wall.
Scizor did not even shake.
It had taken the blow head-on.
Instead, Medicham's hand looked like it had taken the worse of it.
Scizor's body had become too hard.
Greta's expression tightened, as if she could feel the pain in Medicham's fist herself.
Scizor already had excellent defense. With Iron Defense on top of that, and the type advantage too, it was now incredibly difficult to break through.
Scizor's counterattack came immediately.
Its two huge pincers struck like bullets. One hit after another rained down on Medicham in an instant.
Medicham tried to dodge and block. It managed to avoid a few blows, but not all of them. Many Bullet Punches slammed into its body one after another. More than ten strikes landed in a blink, leaving Medicham dazed.
Once Natsui found an opening, the battle usually ended right there.
He was simply too good at seizing opportunities.
If the opponent did not have some special move to flip the battle around, then once he got an opening, they were almost certain to lose.
When the Bullet Punch barrage ended, Scizor followed with Metal Claw.
Then it used Iron Head and smashed Medicham down onto the ground.
Medicham tried to fight back one last time, but Scizor used Double Team to avoid the attack. Medicham lost its final chance.
Scizor rushed in with Metal Claw again and struck Medicham hard.
Medicham fainted.
The battle was over.
"Medicham is unable to battle! Scizor is the winner!"
The referee announced the result. Misty and the others clapped. Even the students started clapping loudly.
What?
Shouldn't they be upset because Greta had lost?
No.
They were too impressed by Natsui.
Normally, people support their own side. But they also admired the Champion.
The Battle Arena was in Kanto, and Natsui had won the Indigo Plateau Conference. In their eyes, he was still one of Kanto's great trainers.
So whether they supported Greta or Natsui, it did not feel wrong. Both sides belonged to Kanto in a way.
Greta recalled Medicham and walked toward Natsui while clapping.
When she fought Bea, she still thought she had a chance.
But when facing Natsui, she felt no hope at all.
He was simply too strong.
The way the Trainer and Pokémon worked together was flawless. There were no openings. Even her smallest mistake was immediately turned into a major problem.
Is this the power of a three-region Champion?
How in the world did he reach this level?
Greta felt that even members of the Elite Four might lose badly against him.
"It really opens my eyes..." Greta said. "These two Pokémon shouldn't even be your strongest lineup, right? Yet you used non-ace Pokémon to defeat my trump cards so easily. I really don't know how to describe you."
"Describe me normally, of course," Natsui said with a smile. "The strong ones are just my Pokémon. That's the result of all their hard work. I'm just an ordinary person. What makes me any different from you?"
That was exactly the kind of thing a Champion would say.
It sounded humble, but at the same time it only made his power feel even greater.
Greta smiled bitterly and took a badge from her pocket. Then she handed it to Natsui.
"As you can see, this is the Guts Symbol. It is proof that you defeated me here. Please take it. And no matter what, I really should thank you this time. You helped me realize that there will always be someone stronger. From now on, I'll definitely work even harder to sharpen myself!"