Vigoroth simply loved to move too much.
Natsui discovered that in every one of its actions—whether attacking, defending, or running—it would always mix in some superfluous movements like pacing, tip-toeing, rubbing its hands, scratching its cheeks, or beating its chest.
This was due to its nature, and it was also something it revealed inadvertently.
With a thought in his heart, he ordered Combusken to launch an attack again. At the same time, he stared carefully at Vigoroth's movements once more. Sure enough, just as he had discovered, these were indeed all subconscious reactions of Vigoroth!
A plan instantly formed in his mind.
Without time to ponder whether it was truly feasible, seeing that Combusken's speed had already gradually slowed down, he could only put all his eggs in one basket and use action to test his conjecture.
"Combusken, use Scratch!"
He deliberately had Combusken use a move that was relatively easy to dodge. Just as he expected, when Combusken swiped its claws at Vigoroth, in the very next second, after Vigoroth easily dodged, it subconsciously tip-toed and jumped twice to the side!
Natsui immediately seized this opportunity!
Just as Vigoroth was landing, he made a prompt decision and shouted loudly: "Target diagonally behind you, use Double Kick!"
Although somewhat puzzled in its heart, Combusken still obeyed its Trainer's command. Without even turning its head, it kicked out two times directly backward!
Thud! Thud!
These two kicks struck Vigoroth's chest with direct precision!
Vigoroth staggered back a few steps. The immense pain made it clutch the kicked area and grimace!
Oh?
Seeing this scene, Norman raised his eyebrows. He didn't think much of it at first, assuming Natsui had just luckily guessed it.
However, the subsequent developments truly made him feel that something was amiss.
Natsui repeated his old trick, trying the method from just now once more, and he achieved success again!
And this time, being kicked in the same spot consecutively, Vigoroth was in so much pain that it even broke out in a sweat!
Now the problem was serious.
Norman furrowed his brows tightly, pondering in his heart why things had turned out like this.
Obviously, the man opposite him had seen through Vigoroth's movements and thereby predicted its reactions.
But… how exactly did he do it?
On the other side, seeing Norman looking confused, Natsui smiled lightly.
This was the so-called "spectator sees clearly while the player is confused."
There are only wrong names given at birth, but no wrong nicknames given later.
When humans first got to know Pokémon, they gave these Pokémon various names based on their habits and characteristics. The reason Vigoroth is called Vigoroth is undoubtedly because of its hyperactive personality!
As Norman's Pokémon, Norman naturally understood Vigoroth very well—one could even say he was extremely accustomed to it. But precisely because he was so accustomed to it, he overlooked this important characteristic.
Of course, actually, it wasn't just Natsui; surely many people had discovered this point. But evidently, they didn't take it seriously, or perhaps even if they noticed, most Trainers couldn't seize this fleeting opportunity.
Even after a long time, Norman himself had relaxed his vigilance regarding this characteristic.
However, his experience and insight were undeniable. Although Norman was puzzled initially, after staring carefully at Natsui's gaze for a while and then turning to look at Vigoroth, he quickly understood the reason within.
So that was what it was!
However, even if he wanted to change this, he couldn't change anything.
One must know that this habit of Vigoroth was something it had possessed ever since it evolved. How could it be controlled with just a few words?
Under such an offensive, Vigoroth couldn't resist at all. After enduring another Fighting-type move attack, its eyes rolled back, and it finally fell backward.
"Vigoroth is unable to battle! The winner is Combusken!"
This battle could be described as a stalemate in the early stage and a total collapse in the later stage.
If Natsui hadn't discovered Vigoroth's weakness, it probably would have ended in another mutual destruction like the Slakoth and Metang match just now.
From this, one could also see that even when using conventional Pokémon to deal with novice Trainers, Norman's strength was indeed very high.
Recalling the equally panting Combusken, Natsui waited quietly for Norman's third Pokémon.
Norman didn't take out his third Pokémon immediately. Instead, he clapped his hands first and smiled at Natsui. "I didn't expect you to actually predict Vigoroth's movements. Truly excellent observation skills!"
"This isn't something worth being happy about." Not wanting to hear this, Natsui shook his head with some regret. "In the end, I'm too young and still have a long way to go. If I were truly excellent enough, I should have noticed these things right at the start of the battle. That way, the battle would have been a bit easier."
Even more excellent?
Norman looked at this man with a complex gaze.
To be able to summarize and reflect immediately after winning a battle—this was something many people couldn't do in a lifetime.
With his current strength, he could already easily win two regional league championships. If he continued to grow like this, who knew what he would become in the end?
He really wanted to see what kind of height Natsui would stand at eventually!
Retracting his thoughts, Norman took out the third Poké Ball from his chest pocket.
"Next is my final Pokémon. This Pokémon is very strong; it counts as one of the more powerful ones in my hands. In fact, many challengers on ordinary days have fallen at its hands, leading to a failed challenge."
Hearing him say this, Natsui also focused his gaze on that Poké Ball.
It could be seen that the strength of Norman's first two Pokémon increased progressively. So, this final Pokémon would undoubtedly be the strongest of the three.
And for Norman to acknowledge it, it was evident that its strength must be truly formidable!
Under his gaze, Norman threw out the third Poké Ball.
As a blue light flashed, a Pokémon shaped like a gorilla appeared on the battlefield in a side-lying posture.
Looking at this Pokémon, Natsui was speechless for a moment.
He didn't expect his guess to actually be right. It really was Slakoth's final evolutionary form—Slaking!
One could only say that, from a certain perspective, Norman was truly a man with plenty of obsessive-compulsive disorder. He actually possessed three forms of the same Pokémon simultaneously, and he had even poured his heart and soul into raising all of them seriously!
Just how much did he like this kind of Pokémon!
Slaking had a pink pig-like nose and beige skin. The circles around its eyes were brown, making it look somewhat lazy and as if it hadn't woken up. There were two tufts of sprout-like white hair on its head, and a ring of white fur around its neck. The fur on its limbs was brown, somewhat resembling the baboons and gorillas on Earth.
Helplessly shaking his head, Natsui put his hand into his waist pouch and began to ponder what to use to counter it.
At the same time, Misty also took out her Pokédex again and pointed it at Slaking.
She had the same doubts in her heart as Natsui. She wanted to ask Caroline the reason Norman did this, but since this involved other people's privacy, she didn't speak up rashly.
The Pokédex beeped: "Slaking, the Lazy Pokémon. Normal type. Slaking is the world's most slacker Pokémon. It usually lives lying down. It eats food within its reach, such as grass. Only after eating all the grass around it will it very reluctantly turn over and move to another spot. Therefore, around it, one can always find regular circles formed after Slaking lies down and eats all the grass around it. However, although it looks like it's just lying motionless, it is actually accumulating power for a counterattack. By releasing the accumulated energy at once, it can unleash astonishing strength."
Since she wasn't very far away, the voice of the Pokédex naturally reached Natsui's ears.
However, he already knew this data beforehand, so whether he heard it or not didn't really matter.
And precisely because he understood it, he clearly knew the power of this Pokémon.
It was truly very strong.
As a Pokémon with extremely high attack power, excellent defense, and the ability to take a beating, don't look at it lying there lazily now, seeming indifferent. In fact, it also possessed extremely fast speed, completely on par with those faster opponents. It could give those careless Trainers, or those who looked down on it, a blow that would catch them off guard!
And what to use to counter it became the most critical question.
Reviewing his lineup in his mind, Natsui first excluded those Pokémon that were still very weak, focusing his target on the few remaining Pokémon.
Although he said "remaining," actually it was nothing more than Dragonite, Tyranitar, and Scizor—these three.
And looking at it this way, his third participating Pokémon could only be chosen from among them…
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