"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Listen to what you're saying. If I go up and get beaten by a measly special-evolved Charmeleon, then I'm the one who sucks."
Gurney spoke casually as he stepped into the spot previously occupied by Samuel, looking completely relaxed.
Nathan silently observed the man who suddenly appeared. How to put it... maybe all top seeded contestant shares the same personality?
The same arrogance, all thinking they could easily win.
Unfortunately, Samuel had thought that too—and he lost.
Now Gurney was up next, and Nathan was just as confident he could win again.
An undefeated Charmeleon of the same level wasn't just empty bragging.
"Contestant, are you also here to challenge Nathan?"
The host seized the moment to make his presence known.
"That's right. Though a hundred million Pokécoins isn't a huge amount, it's still enough to buy some training resources for my Pokémon."
Gurney nodded as he spoke.
Then, Gurney sent out his Pokémon—a Rhyhorn, a dual Ground/Rock-type.
You had to admit, Gurney was pretty cunning.
He had been watching the entire time before Samuel stepped into the arena.
And after Samuel lost, he brought out a Pokémon with a type advantage to join the sparring match.
"Watch out for Fire Blast~"
Samuel, now off to the side, suddenly shouted in a mocking tone.
Gurney didn't care.
Come on, his Pokémon was Ground/Rock type—completely countering this weird Charmeleon.
Even if it had some kind of Bond Evolution, so what?
It was still a Fire-type, wasn't it?
As long as it was Fire-type, it would be countered by Ground and Rock types.
There's no way this Charmeleon could overcome a type disadvantage—no way at all.
"Nathan, I'm making my move now~"
Gurney smiled at Nathan.
Netizens were already flaming Gurney online for stepping up to challenge Nathan.
But those doing the flaming were all censored or banned.
Using a Pokémon with a clear type advantage and still trying to act righteous?
If there weren't a level cap for this match, would you have thrown out an Elite-level Pokémon instead?
"Go ahead."
Nathan nodded calmly.
Type advantage? Maybe. It might counter Fire types, but can it counter Fairy types?
My Hotfoot also carries the Fairy type.
The moment Nathan finished speaking, Gurney issued his command.
"Rhyhorn, use Stone Edge!"
Rhyhorn stomped the ground, and a sharp, jagged rock suddenly burst from below—right at Hotfoot's position.
The sudden attack caught Hotfoot off guard and hit it square in the belly.
A large red swelling appeared on its abdomen, along with some bruising.
Still, since the attack was called out beforehand, it couldn't be called a sneak attack—just a bit tricky.
"Hotfoot, use Fire Blast! Then create distance!"
You wanna play dirty? Let's see who can play dirtier.
Ground/Rock type, huh?
Then let me show you just how annoying Fairy-infused flames can be.
"Rhyhorn, use Mega Punch! Knock away that Fire Blast!"
Gurney quickly responded.
Even though he had pretended to ignore Samuel's warning, he had carefully watched the earlier battle between him and Nathan.
…
After Nathan's Charmeleon unleashed several Fire Blasts, Samuel had directly surrendered.
That meant there really was something unusual about that weird Charmeleon's Fire Blast.
Mega Punch collided with Fire Blast, and type advantage wasn't just theoretical—
The Fire Blast was completely shattered without even detonating.
Gurney was just about to gloat when he suddenly noticed something strange—
There were white flames clinging to Rhyhorn's arm.
But didn't Fire Blast get destroyed earlier?
How was there still a burn effect?
Still, Gurney didn't pay it much mind.
After all, Rhyhorn was a Ground/Rock type—burns wouldn't affect it too much, right?
"Rhyhorn, use Thunder Punch!"
"Hotfoot, fall back!"
The moment Gurney issued the command, Nathan immediately ordered Charmeleon to retreat.
Although Hotfoot hadn't learned Agility, after Nathan's training, its speed was far superior to before.
And since Rhyhorn wasn't exactly known for speed, its Thunder Punch completely missed.
Once at a safe distance, Nathan had Hotfoot use Fire Blast again.
The same scene repeated—Fire Blast was neutralized by Rhyhorn, but the burn effect still took hold.
"Rhyhorn, use—"
"Pull back!"
Gurney was about to command another attack, but Nathan interrupted him with a retreat command.
This kind of strategy was known as kiting in professional terms.
In Pokémon battles, true kiting was rare—
The battlefield just wasn't big enough to kite effectively.
But when you had a fast, horselike Pokémon like Hotfoot, even a small field was enough to kite a slow Pokémon like Rhyhorn.
Attack after attack missed the agile Hotfoot, frustrating Rhyhorn—
And infuriating Gurney even more.
"Nathan, is dodging all your Pokémon can do?! How about a real one-on-one fight!"
Gurney shouted angrily.
Nathan chuckled lightly. "Sure."
By now, Rhyhorn had been burned for a while.
Its stamina bar was probably nearly empty.
Even in a head-on fight now, Hotfoot could easily take it down.
"Hotfoot, use Double-Edge!"
Nathan immediately had Hotfoot charge forward.
Gurney was thrilled.
If you're going to fight head-on, Rhyhorn won't be scared!
"Rhyhorn, use Horn Drill!"
But instead of launching a proper move, Rhyhorn sluggishly walked forward like a fool.
Hotfoot's Double-Edge collided with Rhyhorn—not very effective.
But Rhyhorn's counterattack was even weaker, barely doing anything.
"Heh, my turn now~
Hotfoot, use Flamethrower!
Hotfoot, use Dragon Breath!
Hotfoot, use…"
Over the next few minutes, Gurney could only watch helplessly as his Pokémon got pummeled.
Rhyhorn didn't even get a single move off.
Even though Charmeleon didn't do massive damage with each attack, the frequency made up for it.
"Hotfoot, finish it with Dragon Claw!"
In the end, Charmeleon's Dragon Claw ended the match.
Other than the opening move that injured Charmeleon's belly, Rhyhorn never landed another hit.
As the stylish Charmeleon ended the match, viewers watching the livestream erupted with excitement.
Even though most didn't know the full details about Nathan's Charmeleon,
This textbook kiting strategy was genuinely satisfying to watch.
"Classic Nathan. Turning in-game kiting tactics into real Pokémon battle strategy."
"That's a total beatdown—face dragged through the dirt."
"Bet this guy wants to crawl into a hole now."
The comment section flooded with mockery directed at Gurney.
Meanwhile, laughter echoed at the scene itself.
No one laughed harder than Samuel.
This guy mocked me earlier, but he didn't fare any better against Nathan, did he?
Nathan took out healing and recovery meds for Hotfoot.
After taking them, Hotfoot was back to full health in no time.
"Anyone else want to challenge me? If not, I'm taking this 100 million Pokécoins."
Nathan smiled as he addressed the crowd.
Challenges continued, but Nathan, relying on his Hotfoot's flame attributes, remained undefeated.
Every challenger left in defeat.
Not all were as arrogant as Gurney or Samuel.
Some were respectful, and when they were, Nathan made sure not to go too hard.
After all, respect goes both ways.
At long last, this delightful sparring event came to an end.
And the 100 million Pokécoins, of course, ended up in Nathan's hands.
(End of Chapter)
(TN: Same in this chapter, the raw still calls it Charmander, I went back to read the raws in chapter 280 it stated it evolved from Charmander.)