"That's right, as you can see, we're twins."
The second boy walked up next to Forrester and nodded to Natsui and Misty. "Hello, I'm Forrest, his older brother."
Looking at the identical twins, Natsui and Misty glanced back and forth, unable to tell them apart. Fortunately, they were wearing different colored t-shirts, and their accompanying Pokémon were different, which kept them from mixing up their names.
Hearing that Forrester wanted to battle, the older brother, Forrest, also became interested.
"Let me join in too!" he said. "Just like my brother, I also just started my journey. Since there are two of us on each side, let's have a Double Battle!"
Unlike Johto and Kanto, although he had only been here a few days, Natsui noticed that Double Battles were very popular here. Especially in Rustboro City, he had seen several pairs of trainers engaged in Double Battles in the open-air arenas.
Natsui and Misty looked at each other. Misty's eyes crinkled as she secretly covered her mouth.
One is a league champion, the other is practically a Gym Leader. These twins really picked the wrong opponents.
The two felt playful and didn't reveal their identities. They both nodded, agreeing to the battle.
They found a relatively flat and open clearing in the forest, and the four took their positions.
Natsui said first, "My partner and I are traveling from another region. We aren't very familiar with your Double Battle rules. Are there any special rules?"
Although Forrest had also just started his journey, he knew the rules clearly. He shook his head. "There are no special rules. Just like anywhere else, as long as you knock out all of the other side's Pokémon, you win the battle."
Natsui nodded in understanding and looked at the two again.
Since they were rookie trainers, he didn't need to use his real strength. He'd just play along.
Looking at Misty, it was clear she was thinking the same thing. A simple exchange of glances was all they needed to understand each other.
They each took a Poké Ball from their pouches. Looking at Forrest and Forrester, the two didn't send out new Pokémon, simply commanding the ones already beside them onto the field.
Forrester, naturally, used the rather large Heracross.
Forrest's Pokémon was an Ariados.
When Natsui and Misty threw their Poké Balls, and after the blue light faded, their Pokémon were revealed: Torchic and Psyduck!
Natsui sent Torchic out to train it, but Misty sending out Psyduck showed she was treating this as a complete joke.
All four Pokémon were ready, looking eager—even Psyduck had a strange excitement in its eyes.
It was understandable. After being with Misty for so long, this was one of the few times she had proactively sent it out to fight. How could it not be excited?
It had even resolved to perform well and not disappoint Misty!
Forrest found a small stone and tossed it high. The moment it hit the ground, the battle officially began.
Torchic shot out immediately, chirping loudly, full of spirit, and went straight for the largest opponent—Heracross.
In terms of typing, Torchic's Fire-type moves countered both Bug-type Pokémon, Heracross and Ariados, so its chances of winning were high.
Moreover, as a chicken, it had a natural bloodline suppression against bugs. So, despite the opponent's large size, it wasn't afraid at all.
As it got close, it opened its beak, and an Ember sprayed out.
Heracross, as expected, didn't dare to take it head-on. It flapped its thin wings and glided to another spot.
With the first attack missing, Torchic continued its pursuit, looking as if it wouldn't stop until it burned Heracross.
In stark contrast, Psyduck lived up to Misty's (lack of) expectations, its performance as stable as ever.
Although Psyduck wanted to show off for its trainer, as it waddled towards Ariados, the Ariados spat a String Shot, tangling its legs and easily tripping it.
Seeing this, Misty put her hand to her forehead and sighed.
Sure enough, I was the biggest fool for trusting it.
But even so, she couldn't just ignore it. She quickly yelled, "Psyduck, use Water Gun!"
Psyduck frantically sprayed a Water Gun, but Ariados skillfully dodged it. In that moment, Ariados closed the distance, its fangs glowing with poison, and lunged at Psyduck's neck.
Just then, a shadow flashed by. Ariados looked up just in time to be slammed by Heracross.
It turned out that Heracross, being chased by Torchic, had accidentally blundered into this spot and crashed right into Ariados.
And that collision, by chance, saved Psyduck.
"Thanks," Misty said to Natsui with a grin. She quickly ordered Psyduck to get the webs off, and it finally regained its mobility.
The battle continued.
The small clearing limited the Pokémon's movements, leaving them little room to maneuver.
This was especially true after Torchic's flames left smoldering embers on the ground, further reducing the area where Heracross and Ariados could move.
But before Natsui could be happy about it, Psyduck started spraying its Water Gun everywhere, extinguishing the hot embers.
Natsui: ...
Is this Psyduck working for the other side? Why is it helping the enemy?
He looked at Misty speechlessly. Misty stuck her tongue out sheepishly, then quickly stopped Psyduck, reining it in so it wouldn't keep spraying water randomly.
The battle raged on.
Compared to Natsui and Misty's total lack of coordination, Forrest and Forrester were clearly much more in sync and knew how to work together.
Since Heracross couldn't handle Torchic, both brothers turned their attention to Psyduck.
They had noticed this Psyduck wasn't very smart and was just getting in the way. They decided to take it out first, then team up on Torchic.
This focus fire instantly put Psyduck in grave danger.
Heracross rushed in and knocked Psyduck down. Before it could get up, Ariados closed in and bit its rear end.
Psyduck yelled in pain, jumping high and running around the field clutching its backside.
Any thoughts of impressing Misty were long gone.
On the sidelines, Misty, seeing Psyduck attacked, had been hopeful that its headache would trigger its powerful psychic abilities. But Heracross and Ariados hadn't attacked its head, so while Psyduck was in pain, its passive ability never activated.
Does she have to tell Psyduck to stick its head in front of them?
Psyduck's panicked running also disrupted Torchic's rhythm.
Seeing Heracross and Ariados grouped together, Torchic was about to spit Ember and take them both out. But just as it opened its beak, Psyduck, clutching its tail, ran blindly towards it.
Torchic chirped and leaped aside, dodging the collision from its own teammate.
But in doing so, it missed the perfect chance to attack Heracross and Ariados.
"How could this happen..."
Misty's face fell, and Natsui could only shake his head.
Psyduck's lack of control undoubtedly made this battle much more difficult.
Thanks to Psyduck, Natsui realized this battle was somehow even harder than yesterday's fight against Team Magma and Team Aqua.
Fortunately, Forrest and Forrester didn't know this was normal for Psyduck. They were still focused on defeating it before dealing with Torchic.
This gave Torchic a slight breather, keeping it out of a two-on-one situation for now.
But Natsui knew he didn't have much time; he had to defeat one of them quickly.
With that in mind, he focused intently on the battlefield, searching for an opening.
Having traveled for so long and experienced countless battles, Natsui's grasp of battlefield dynamics was sharp. As he watched, he indeed found a way.
The battle continued.
Heracross and Ariados were still chasing Psyduck. Thanks to Psyduck's chaotic running, with even it not knowing where it would go next, the brothers couldn't predict its movements, which is the only reason it hadn't been defeated yet.
Just as Psyduck ran towards Torchic again, Natsui didn't have Torchic dodge this time. Instead, he yelled, "Use Ember on it!"
This command not only surprised Misty, but also Forrest and Forrester on the other side.
But they quickly understood why.
As Psyduck reached Torchic, it suddenly changed direction and ran off. Torchic's Ember shot out, aimed at Psyduck's previous position, and completely enveloped the pursuing Heracross in flames!
This was a rare opportunity!
Natsui's eyes lit up, and he shouted for Torchic to move in, ramming the pained Heracross and knocking it to the ground.
"Alright!"
Seeing one opponent down, Misty cheered and raised her hands, breathing a sigh of relief.
If they had lost this battle because of her Psyduck, she would have felt terribly guilty. Now that one opponent was down, she wasn't so nervous.
With that, she couldn't help but admire Natsui's timing. She turned to him and said, "Natsui, that was amazing! How did you know Psyduck would change direction right there?"
Hearing this, Natsui laughed.
"You really think I'm all-knowing? That's Psyduck we're talking about. I can't figure out its thoughts normally, let alone when it's panicking."
"Huh?" Misty was stunned. "Then just now, your timing..."
"What timing," Natsui said, waving his hand. "I wasn't thinking that hard. I just included Psyduck as part of the attack target!"
"What!?"
Misty's eyes widened when she heard the reason.
Seeing her expression, Natsui shrugged. "Don't worry," he said. "Even if the fire hit Psyduck, it wouldn't have been serious since it's a Water-type. Besides, knowing Psyduck, a little shock might have been exactly what it needed to snap out of its panic!"
Although the logic was sound, and it seemed to be the only way, Misty could only give a wry smile.
So that's how it was... And here I thought Natsui had seized the perfect moment.
But regardless, the result was good. At least they'd beaten one of them.
With Heracross gone, the brothers were left with only Ariados. Now at a severe type disadvantage, the tables had completely turned.
Although Psyduck was no help, under Natsui's command, Torchic quickly finished off Ariados with its flames.
With the victory secured, Natsui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. This Double Battle had been truly exhausting.
He felt bad for Torchic.
Not only did it have a disruptive teammate, but it also had to defeat two opponents. It was completely worn out.
Sigh, if there's a next time, I'm definitely not battling alongside Psyduck again. It's just too much of a liability.
On the other side, Forrest and Forrester took out their Poké Balls, recalling their Pokémon. Natsui was about to walk over and say something, but he saw Torchic suddenly enveloped in a white light.
Very familiar with this light, Natsui knew instantly: Torchic was evolving!
This was an unexpected surprise, and a smile spread across his face.
The white light didn't last long. As the group watched, the light faded, and a much larger Pokémon appeared before them.
It was Torchic's first evolution—Combusken!
Compared to the chick-like Torchic, Combusken's main color hadn't changed, but its claws were sharper, its body stronger, and it looked much more like a fighting cock from Earth.
Misty, seeing Combusken for the first time, took out her Pokédex and aimed it at the Pokémon.
Pokédex: "Beep. Combusken, the Young Fowl Pokémon. A Fire/Fighting-type. This Pokémon trains its legs and thighs by running through fields and mountains. It battles with the scorching flames it breathes from its beak and its destructive kicks. Its internal fire burns intensely during battle, allowing it to unleash 10 kicks per second with a combination of speed and power. It can let out sharp cries to focus its mind and intimidate foes. It is a Pokémon with strong fighting instincts and will continue to battle until its opponent gives up."
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