This was Natsui's first time battling against a Slakoth.
In his previous travels, whether it was street battles or other formal competitions, very few Trainers brought this kind of Pokémon onto the field.
Mainly because it was simply too lazy.
If it were its evolved forms, Vigoroth or Slaking, that would be understandable. However, Slakoth's limited advantages were all overshadowed by its laziness, making it utterly lackluster in battles.
Moreover, ordinary people simply didn't have the patience to raise it. After all, this kind of Pokémon extremely disliked moving and was only willing to stay in fixed locations. But Trainers needed to travel around constantly, so there was really no way to accommodate it.
Especially when it was sleeping, no matter how much one called, it wouldn't wake up. If a Trainer released it to battle someone at such a time, it would become a laughingstock.
Only Gym Leaders like Norman would meticulously nurture it.
Facing this Slakoth, Natsui also sent out his own Pokémon.
As the Poké Ball opened, his Metang appeared on the battlefield.
Judging solely from type advantages, although Metang couldn't suppress Slakoth, Slakoth's Normal-type moves would only deal half damage to Metang due to its Steel type.
Moreover, Slakoth was only in its base form, while Metang had already evolved into its second form, possessing much stronger physical qualities.
If one looked only at these two points, Metang was indeed in a more favorable position.
But similarly, although Natsui's Metang had undergone some private training, this was its first time participating in a Gym Battle. In terms of experience, it seemed slightly lacking, which seemed to put the two Pokémon back on the same level.
Seeing that both of them were ready, under the referee's signal, the match officially began.
"Metang, use Confusion!"
"Slakoth, use Shadow Ball!"
As expected of a 'quasi-Elite Four' Trainer. Perhaps he guessed what Natsui was going to do. At the start of the battle, at the same time Natsui issued his command, Norman also gave his instruction.
An invisible force collided with the Shadow Ball in mid-air, causing a violent explosion.
He actually anticipated Natsui's command and made a targeted defense at the same time!
However, amidst the smoke formed by the explosion, a figure suddenly smashed through the smoke.
It turned out Metang had quietly approached, drifting across the half-court under the cover of the smoke, and charged toward Slakoth!
Upon reaching Slakoth, Metang raised its two iron claws and used Metal Claw to swipe fiercely at Slakoth!
The two iron claws flashed with a cold light, looking both fast and accurate.
But just at the moment the Metal Claw was about to touch Slakoth, Slakoth dodged to the side with extremely nimble footwork, avoiding this attack with ease!
Oh?
Natsui raised an eyebrow but didn't dwell on it. Instead, he continued to issue a second command.
Metang continued to use Metal Claw, grabbing at Slakoth. But this time, Slakoth merely took a misstep and dodged Metang's attack once again.
Now, Natsui had to take this seriously.
His gaze focused as he carefully observed Slakoth's movements. Only then did he discover that Norman's Pokémon was somewhat unusual.
As a Pokémon generally recognized as moving relatively slowly, people actually had a certain stereotype about Slakoth, believing them all to be slow and clumsy.
But what was displayed before Natsui right now was a completely different situation!
He saw Slakoth dodging and maneuvering, using a 'swaying' and 'floating' method to dodge every single one of Metang's attacks in succession!
So that's how it is…
Presumably, Norman must have conducted special training targeting its weakness. No wonder it performed like this.
Since that was the case, it seemed he couldn't engage in close-quarters combat with it anymore but needed to switch to another method of attack!
Thinking of this, Natsui ordered again, having Metang move toward his own half of the field.
However, this time when he wanted to leave, it was Norman's turn to refuse.
Perhaps realizing what Natsui wanted to do, seeing Metang retreat, he hurriedly ordered Slakoth to stick to it closely without leaving a single step!
"Just like that! Slakoth, use Faint Attack!"
caught off guard, Slakoth suddenly extended its arm and struck at Metang. Fortunately, Natsui had been guarding against this move and had Metang float up into the sky in time, barely dodging the blow!
Just as Norman guessed Natsui's routine, Natsui also understood his thoughts.
It was just defensive counterattacking; actually, it wasn't a big deal.
However, taking this opportunity, Metang finally put some distance between itself and Slakoth, returning to its original half of the field.
Slakoth didn't chase after it. It seemed that although it could easily dodge Metang's close-range attacks with its agile footwork, its own speed hadn't changed. Trying to catch up with the floating Metang in such a spacious battlefield was obviously not that easy.
"Metang, Confusion attack!"
Natsui repeated his old trick. He didn't believe Slakoth's Shadow Ball could successfully block Metang's Confusion attack every single time. As long as a mistake occurred once, he would seize the opportunity continuously after that!
Norman naturally understood Natsui's plan too.
However, he evidently had other ways to deal with this.
"Slakoth, use Blizzard!"
Slakoth opened its mouth and spat out crystal-clear snowflakes. These snowflakes grew larger and denser in the air, finally forming a fierce blizzard that blew extensively toward Metang.
Although the Ice-type Blizzard only dealt half damage to the Steel-type Metang, Norman's goal wasn't Metang itself, but something else entirely.
Amidst the countless snowflakes, the originally invisible psychic energy suddenly seemed to take shape as it rushed through the air.
Seeing its trajectory clearly, Slakoth just twisted its body and easily dodged this attack.
This wasn't the end of it. The cold snowflakes blew onto Metang, instantly coating its metal-like body with a layer of frost!
And affected by this frost, the various joints on Metang's body began to slowly lose their ability to rotate freely!
So that was the idea!
Natsui understood Norman's plan with just one glance.
Precisely because Metang wasn't a Pokémon in the form of 'living flesh'—it might not even have blood flow—it was more like cold stone. As a result, its surface temperature was extremely low. Once covered by ice and snow, it couldn't melt or clear away the ice relying solely on itself!
Sure enough, a second later, affected by the Blizzard, Metang's body wobbled a few times. It seemed even the simple act of floating couldn't be maintained steadily.
Truly not simple. Even though it was such a weak Pokémon, now not only did it have unique dodging methods, but it could also use the Ice-type Blizzard. He didn't even know what other trump cards were hidden.
One could only say that Norman had truly raised his Pokémon exceptionally well!
However, while this method might work against other Trainers, against him, it was still somewhat inadequate.
These thoughts only flashed through his mind. Out loud, he issued a command without hesitation: "Use Zen Headbutt!"
As a Psychic-type move, Zen Headbutt concentrated the power of willpower on the forehead to attack. Sometimes, due to this imposing manner, it could even make the opponent fearful and flinch!
Protected by psychic energy, Metang charged toward Slakoth again.
Although this back-and-forth movement rendered the previous distancing useless, there was no helping it.
This was already the optimal choice Natsui could make among the moves Metang currently mastered.
And this time, because there was a certain distance between the two Pokémon, it gave Metang enough acceleration. Consequently, when it reached Slakoth, its momentum had already reached its peak!
However, a Gym Leader's Pokémon wasn't so easily scared off.
Under Norman's command, Slakoth changed its previous laziness. Its aura also changed abruptly. It actually stopped dodging and instead chose to meet Metang head-on!
Under the gazes of Natsui, Norman, Caroline, and Misty, as the two Pokémon got closer and closer, finally, they crashed fiercely into each other…
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