Natsui and the others left the stands. They waited in the player tunnel for some time. Finally, they saw Ash walking out. He looked very sad and walked with heavy steps.
Max, May, and the others saw him like this. They decided not to say the kind words they had prepared.
They could not help it because Ash looked very unhappy.
Natsui saw that no one was speaking, so he was about to talk first. However, a person moved quickly beside him. Misty had already walked toward Ash!
Even though she had the body of a ten-year-old girl, she walked like a warrior.
Everyone looked at her because of her strong attitude. She looked serious and angry. Suddenly, she raised her right hand and moved it toward Ash's face!
What!?
The others were surprised by this. They watched as Misty's hand moved down.
Even Ash was so scared that he did not move. He stood there and forgot to move away!
However, Misty's hand stopped suddenly. It was only a few centimeters from Ash's face. She did not hit him.
Eh?
Ash was surprised by Misty's action. He looked at her in confusion.
"M... Misty, what are you doing?"
To be honest, he was really afraid. He knew Misty's personality and thought she was going to hit him. He did not expect her to stop at the last second!
"Hmph," Misty looked at him with narrow eyes and made a sound. "So you can still make other faces? I thought you had left your soul back on the battlefield."
Ash's face became very red. "I... I'm just... I'm just..."
"You're just what?" Misty spoke bluntly. "You lost, so you lost. Why do you have that sad face? Is it such a big deal that you were eliminated? It simply means your level is not high enough. Since it is your own fault, you just have to work harder for next time!"
Sometimes, a stubborn person needs hard words.
After Misty spoke harshly, Ash woke up. His face turned red, then purple, and then normal again. Surprisingly, the sadness in his heart went away because of Misty's words!
Max and the others felt better when they saw Ash return to normal. They also admired Misty. May gave Misty a silent thumbs-up.
As expected, only Misty was brave enough to do that!
"That's right, Ash! Cheer up!" Morrison spoke at this moment. "Remember how you comforted me yesterday? How can you be so pathetic now that it's your turn!?"
Ash was surprised when he heard Morrison's words. Then he realized he should not be so sad.
Yes, he was acting just like Morrison was yesterday.
If Morrison could move on, why couldn't he?
He turned his sadness and loss into one last sigh.
After that sigh, his eyes looked bright again. He nodded to the people around him.
"You guys are right. A temporary failure doesn't mean anything. My journey has just begun! Next time, I definitely won't stop at the Top 8!"
"That's the spirit," Max said with a laugh. "That's the Ash we know!"
After Ash was eliminated, Natsui was the only one left.
It is better to describe Natsui as a giant tree. This tree was very strong and had been defeating every opponent. He was dominating the Ever Grande Conference with power that no one could beat.
Natsui entered the Top 4. Next, he had to fight in the semifinals.
His opponent for this match was the girl with blue hair who had defeated Ash!
In this battle, Natsui got revenge for Ash. He won 6-0 again and defeated the girl easily.
He was truly unstoppable.
Ash felt many different things when he saw this.
He could not beat that opponent with all his strength, but that opponent could not even defeat one of Natsui's Pokémon. It made him feel discouraged.
They had not fought officially since the Silver Conference. He realized there was a very big gap between them.
As I thought, I still need much, much more hard work...
Natsui defeated his opponent in the semifinals. He was the first person to enter the finals. He waited for the winner of the other match.
In the other match, the two trainers fought with much doubt.
Yes, they were hesitating!
They both wanted to win to reach the final and get glory. But when they thought about facing Natsui, that scary man, their stomachs hurt. They were even shaking with fear.
What was the point of reaching the finals?
Was it to be defeated easily while the whole world watched? Was it to just be a background character for him?
But they were not happy if they did not enter the finals. None of them wanted to lose at the last step.
They felt stuck in the middle, and it was very uncomfortable.
In the end, a player named Robert was stronger. He reached the finals with many complex feelings. He became Natsui's opponent.
However...
When the audience looked at Natsui and Robert, they all shook their heads.
The difference in strength was too big.
It was so big that they believed Natsui would easily win. Only crazy gamblers would bet money on Robert.
After the semifinals, there was one day of rest.
On this day, Natsui and Robert both made a video for the final battle. The tournament organized this.
At the same time, many advertisements appeared in the Hoenn region. The Pokémon League wanted everyone to know the news. This included people in small towns, islands, and deserts. They wanted the TV signal to stay clear!
On the internet and in the stadium, the support for Natsui and Robert was 97% to 3%!
What did that mean?
Natsui was leading by a lot with 152,780,000 votes!
There was no comparison between the two in image, personality, or strength.
This was the most one-sided support in the history of the Ever Grande Conference.
Everyone expected Natsui to win the championship!
After half a day of work, Natsui got calls from Sabrina, Erika, Maya, and Professor Cerise's family. He even got a call from the Kalos region.
Anabel, Looker, Lance, Clair, Lisia, and other friends also called or sent messages to him.
Some people could not come to Hoenn to cheer for him because of their jobs or because they lived far away. Others had different reasons.
However, everyone felt the same. They would watch his match on television.
Natsui felt warm after talking to these people.
It was a good feeling to be cared for.
He had met many friends and girlfriends since coming to this world.
He had strong ties to this world. If someone told him to go back to his old world, he would be very reluctant. He would probably say no.
He had made too many connections here. He was not able to leave it behind...
After resting for a night, Natsui felt strong and had much energy. The final battle finally arrived.
Cannons fired, and balloons and streamers went into the sky.
Before the start, the President of the Pokémon League, Mr. Goodshow, gave a speech. He thanked the staff and the players for their hard work. Finally, the host spoke, and the two trainers walked into the arena. Everyone watched them.
Natsui heard the loud cheers. He waved to the audience as he walked to the trainer's command zone.
Robert was on the other side. He looked much more nervous than Natsui.
This was his first time in the finals. Also, the loud cheers for Natsui put much pressure on him!
His own condition was okay, but everything else was bad for him.
He knew that everyone thought he could not beat Natsui. He knew he was probably not a match for this man.
He could only say he would do his best.
The host introduced the two players. Then, the field on the large screen began to spin.
Robert looked nervous, but Natsui looked relaxed. The field for the first half was chosen. It was the Grass Field.
This was a fair battlefield. Except for Pokémon that look like fish or jellyfish, most Pokémon could fight well on the Grass Field.
This was good news for Robert.
The referee gave a signal. Both players took out their Poké Balls at the same time. The cheers from the audience were very loud!
Robert did not move first, so Natsui released his Pokémon first.
There was a blue light, and his Blaziken appeared. People cheered even more when they saw this Pokémon. It had performed very well before.
Only Robert looked unhappy.
He remembered when Blaziken won a 1-vs-3 match. He was not the person who lost that match, but he felt very bad when he thought about it.
He had studied the videos. He used his own Pokémon to try to simulate the battle. But no matter how many times he tried, he could not change the result.
Was he going to experience that same thing today?
This was a "surprise" at the beginning...
Luckily, Robert had expected this. The Poké Ball in his hand had a Pokémon that was good against Blaziken!
He threw the Poké Ball, and his Pokémon appeared.
"It's Slowbro!" the host said with a laugh. "Robert's first Pokémon is actually Slowbro! This is a Pokémon he never showed in any of his previous battles! It seems he also hid a secret move for this final battle!"
I see.
Natsui smiled when he saw this Pokémon.
Slowbro is a Water- and Psychic-type Pokémon. It only takes half damage from Fire-type or Fighting-type moves. It was a very good choice to fight Blaziken.
It was not a Water Field, but he sent out a Water-type Pokémon.
He was well-prepared. He guessed that Natsui would use Blaziken first.
Natsui thought Robert was a good trainer for planning this. From a normal perspective, Robert was very strong. If Ash fought him, Ash would only have a 40% chance to win.
But even a strong player like Robert felt he might not win against Natsui.
However, Slowbro made the match more interesting.
Slowbro is the other evolution of Slowpoke. It looks silly and clumsy, but it is strong.
The Water and Psychic types give it many different attacks.
Slowbro's body is pink. It walks on two legs. Its head looks like Slowpoke's head. Its belly has cream-colored stripes. A shell shaped like a spiral is biting its tail.
Slowbro looks like many real animals, such as hippos and otters.
Slowbro walks on two legs, so its arms and legs are longer than Slowpoke's. It evolves because a Shellder bites its tail while it hunts in the sea.
People say the tail of a Slowpoke is sweet. The Shellder bites the tail because it wants to eat it. It does not let go. The Shellder's shell turns into a spiral because it wants to get more sweetness from the tail.
If the Shellder falls off during a battle, or if the tail is cut, Slowbro changes back into a Slowpoke.
Slowbro is a bit slow to react. In a way, this is an advantage.
There are toxins from the Shellder on its tail. These toxins are in its body, so it is hard for Slowbro to feel pain. If it is attacked, it only notices the pain after a long time. This helps it stay in the battle longer.
It might sound useless, but this trait is important.
Because of this extra time, it might change the result of the match!