While Natsui was being interviewed, Tyson was at the training field. It was outside on the other side of the place where trainers stay. Tyson was Natsui's opponent for the next match. He was doing some last-minute training with his Meowth—the one wearing a hat—and his other Pokémon.
However, no matter how much he trained, he found one problem he could not solve.
It was the condition of his Pokémon.
He had prepared very well in private and trained every day. But once they reached the tournament grounds, it felt like something was holding them back. They could not show their full strength.
He could see with his own eyes that his Pokémon's jumping, running, and moves were affected. They were not steady. Of course, those were not the main issues. The biggest problem was their way of thinking. Tyson himself felt a little nervous. This nervousness caused their movements to become stiff and awkward.
This could not be avoided. After all, they were in a massive tournament. There were tens of thousands of people watching. Every eye in the stadium was on them. It was hard to stay completely calm.
Maybe it will take a few more matches to get used to it...
For some reason, he thought of his next opponent, Natsui.
Tyson had only seen one of Natsui's matches. He was not sure if he was just imagining it, but he felt that Natsui's Pokémon did not seem to be affected by the pressure.
Most importantly, the man's own mind seemed very peaceful. It was as if this was not the first time he had seen such a large crowd.
This made Tyson feel puzzled and a bit careful. But overall, even though Natsui's Pokémon had shown some good moves, Tyson felt that Natsui's commands were not strong or quick enough. Natsui clearly had chances to win fast, but he made the matches last a long time before finishing them.
This made Tyson feel that tomorrow's battle might be a bit difficult. But in the end, he believed the winner would be himself!
Tyson stopped thinking and looked at the training field again. He was about to say something to his Meowth when the Pokémon suddenly took a defensive stance. It showed its claws and looked toward the entrance of the field!
Tyson was surprised and quickly turned to look. He saw another Meowth standing under a tree. It was looking back at them!
He knew who it was immediately. This was the Meowth from the Team Rocket group.
Ever since meeting Ash, Tyson had seen the Team Rocket group a few times. Normally, he would not be friendly with people who did bad things. However, they both had a Meowth. This gave him and the Team Rocket group something to talk about.
But that was only between the two Meowth.
That was all.
So, why was it here now?
Before Tyson could wonder for long, his own Meowth walked toward the other Meowth and said something.
The Team Rocket Meowth looked at Tyson and his Meowth with the hat. Then, it turned around. They could only see its back.
"I only came here to give you one warning, meow. Do not underestimate that man, meow!"
"What do you mean?" Tyson's heart beat faster, and he quickly asked, "Is that man very strong?"
Meowth did not turn around. It just looked up at the night sky and spoke in a very serious way. "His strength is much greater than you think, meow. Even Team Rocket—the strongest organization in the world—is no match for him. Especially those Pokémon he has not shown yet... if you even looked at them once, you would shake all over. None of them are things you can fight against, meow!"
Tyson was full of doubt.
Is that man really that strong?
Shaking just by looking at them? That sounded like it was not true. Natsui was a normal person. He was not a ghost or a god.
He knew this Meowth was trying to warn him with good intentions. But Tyson did not believe it was that serious. He just thought the Pokémon was making a big deal out of nothing.
He was about to say that he was also very strong. But in a second, the Meowth had disappeared!
"Huh?"
This made Tyson stop speaking. It also made him start to take the matter a bit more seriously.
It was all so mysterious. Could it be true? Is Natsui really that powerful, just like the cat said?
I cannot see it at all, though...
Even with his doubts, Tyson decided to be careful. He would watch that man more closely.
It was better to be safe than sorry.
The two competitors were left alone. At the top of the Pokémon League office building, Mr. Goodshow stood with his hands behind his back. He was the President of the Pokémon League. He was also looking up at the night sky.
He heard footsteps behind him. He did not need to turn around to know who it was.
"The night sky is beautiful tonight, is it not?"
"It is beautiful." John, the Director of Broadcasting, walked up beside him. He had a cigarette in his mouth. "But I prefer the view right in front of us."
Hearing this, Mr. Goodshow looked forward. In the distance, he saw the main stadium glowing under the lights. Further away, he could see the streets with food. They were crowded and full of life.
After a long silence, Mr. Goodshow finally asked, "Do you also disagree with my decision?"
The talk between the two was a bit mysterious. Only the high-ranking members of the League knew about a plan. For this Final Tournament, they had used some secret ways to deal with one person. That person was Natsui!
Natsui had won championships in Kanto and Johto. Now, he had traveled to the Hoenn region to try and win again. To make things harder and stop him from winning, Mr. Goodshow had acted. The League had changed the battle list behind the scenes. They did not let the other strong trainers fight each other. They specially put the most powerful trainers in Natsui's group.
This way, every opponent Natsui faced would be very strong. If someone could beat him, he would be out early. This would stop the embarrassing situation of one person winning every championship.
John blew out some smoke and shook his head.
"I do not know. All I know is that the investors and the board of directors only care about how many people watch. As long as the ratings are high, they do not care who wins the trophy. The audience actually likes famous players like him. Besides, I believe that if Natsui is truly strong enough to win again, he will defeat everyone. It does not matter how many powerful enemies you give him. He will reach the finals and take the championship."
There was another silence. After a long time, Mr. Goodshow let out a long sigh.
"Do you not think I understand all that?" he said with emotion. "But how can we not even try? Letting one person win every championship is definitely not good for the growth of the League. I cannot just watch that happen. At least, not while I am still in office..."
What a stubborn old man, John thought. But he decided to try and convince him one more time.
"I have a different view on that." John threw his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. "I do not think one person winning every conference is bad for the League. In fact, if he does that, he will be a goal for everyone else. With a 'Grand Slam' winner who is so strong, other trainers will try to be like him. They will train harder to beat him. It will not make the League fall apart like you fear."
Mr. Goodshow was getting old and could be stubborn. But that did not mean he was not smart. If he was not smart, he would not have been the President for so many years.
It was just that he had never met a trainer as strong as Natsui before. He was at a point where he did not know which way would help the League the most.
Now, hearing John's words, he was moved.
He did not fully agree yet, but he had to admit that John's words made sense.
If things really happened that way, it would be a completely different result.
After a third silence, Mr. Goodshow finally shook his head.
"Perhaps. But since we have already acted this time, let us see what happens. If Natsui can still defeat everyone and win, it will prove he is truly important. At that time, we really should think about what you said—making him a legendary goal. But for now, let us focus on what is happening right now."
At 9:00 AM, the Ever Grande Conference main stadium was ready.
Unlike the earlier matches, the Final Tournament was finally happening in the largest stadium.
This was part of the main tournament. Even though it was only the first round, the stadium was packed. It could hold 80,000 people. There was not a single empty seat.
The feeling of the smaller arenas could not compare to the main stadium.
With 80,000 people, even one round of applause was like an earthquake. For the trainers, this was a major change they had to get used to.
While the crowd cheered, Natsui walked out of the tunnel with a calm face. He stood opposite Tyson.
There had already been one match before his. The crowd was already excited. The battle between Natsui and Tyson was the second match of the day.
Under their feet was a platform with a cover. This was the field they were about to use.
Once in the main tournament, the matches used a 6-on-6 Full Battle format. Trainers could change their Pokémon during the fight. There were four types of fields: Grass, Rock, Water, and Ice. A wheel would choose the field randomly.
After the first field was chosen, if a trainer had three Pokémon lose, there would be a short break. Then, a new field would be chosen for the rest of the battle.
Overall, it was the same as the Indigo Plateau or Silver Conference that Natsui had been in before.
After a short introduction of the two competitors, the announcer's voice spoke: "Both trainers are ready! Let us see what the field for the first half will be!"
As he finished speaking, a giant wheel appeared on the big screen. The wheel had pictures of the four types of fields. It began to spin fast. Then it slowly stopped after about ten seconds.
The pointer finally landed on a water drop picture.
"It is the Water Field! The first half for Natsui and Tyson has been decided. They will battle on the Water Field!"
The Water Field...
Natsui thought about it for a moment.
He did not have many Pokémon that were good for a Water Field. Compared to the other three fields, this one would definitely limit him.
But it did not matter. He believed his Pokémon would win.
Once the field was confirmed, the cover in front of them opened. With the sound of gears, a pool filled with water appeared. It had about twelve rocks sticking out of the water. This was the field everyone saw.
While the whole audience watched, Natsui and Tyson both pulled out their first Poké Balls at the same time.
Before they could release their Pokémon, Ash and the others in the stands started guessing with interest.
Morrison looked at the group and asked, "Who do you think will win this match?"
"Definitely Natsui," Misty said without thinking. "No matter how strong that Tyson guy is, he is no match for Natsui!"
Morrison completely ignored her answer.
He did not know her, so he did not know she was a trainer from a Gym Leader family. He just thought she was a pretty girl. To him, the answer from a girl like that was not important.
He turned his head to Ash. To his surprise, Ash's answer was the same as Misty's.
"I also think it will be Natsui. He is the strongest person I have ever met. No one has ever beaten him in a 6-on-6 battle!"
"My guess is Natsui too," Brock smiled. "It is not just Tyson. In fact, I do not think anyone here is as strong as him."
"What are you talking about?" Morrison shook his head at their answers. "Why are you all picking him? To me, it is clear that Tyson was better before. I think Tyson will win in the end, though it will not be easy. It will probably be decided by the last few Pokémon."
While they were guessing, Natsui and Tyson's Pokémon appeared.
Tyson's first Pokémon was a Sceptile. This surprised Natsui a little. He did not expect Tyson to give up the field advantage and send out a Grass-type Pokémon.
However, this choice was not wrong. Tyson probably predicted that Natsui would use a Water-type. So, Tyson used a Grass-type to fight it.
It could only be said that he was very smart. He had made the right prediction.
Natsui opened his Poké Ball. With a flash of blue light, a Pokémon appeared in the water.
When they saw this Pokémon, Ash, Misty, and the others all nodded like they already knew.
"It is Natsui's Blastoise. This win is almost certain."
Hearing them decide the winner so easily, Morrison was even more confused.
"Hey, hey! It is a Water Field, and he sent out a Blastoise, but Sceptile has the type advantage! No matter how you look at it, Sceptile should win, right?"
Unexpectedly, Ash grinned and said to Morrison, "The only reason you are saying that is because you have no idea how strong this Blastoise actually is! Once you see its power soon, you will understand why we said that!"
"What?"
Now Morrison was completely lost.
He really could not understand what kind of strength could make these people ignore type advantages and believe so firmly that Natsui would win!
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