After two battles in the morning, Pangoro had reached Level 32—Commander Rank. At this level, it would be the leader of a small group in the wild.
The third and final match of the day approached quickly as time passed.
[Contestants Nathan Vesper and Helen Rose, please proceed to Arena Two through the contestant tunnel. Your match is about to begin!]
[Contestants Nathan Vesper and Helen Rose, please proceed to Arena Two through the contestant tunnel. Your match is about to begin!]
[Contestants Nathan Vesper and Helen Rose, please proceed to Arena Two through the contestant tunnel. Your match is about to begin!]
The announcement echoed.
Nathan put away his phone, a confident smile tugging at his lips as he stepped into the tunnel and emerged onto the battlefield.
The crowd erupted into cheers upon his appearance.
After all, Nathan had garnered quite a reputation, having recently developed two new, practical Fighting-type moves, sparking widespread discussion and interest.
But when Helen entered, the cheers grew even louder.
As expected, in terms of popularity, girls definitely had the edge.
"This is the final match on Arena Two today, and it's the highlight of the day."
"That's right. Both Helen and Nathan are top-tier among rookie trainers. Helen has so far defeated all her opponents with just her Banette and Shedinja—completely undefeated. It's also evident she specializes in Ghost-types, and we all know trainers who focus on a single type, especially Ghost-types, tend to be incredibly formidable."
"And as for Nathan..."
..
"Compared to Helen, Nathan's strength is nothing to scoff at either. Since the start of the tournament, no one has even forced him to use his second Pokémon. Even I'm extremely curious about just how powerful his first Pokémon is."
"Haha, not to mention, Nathan's Pangoro has displayed immense strength, along with two brand-new, highly practical Fighting-type moves."
"At this point, it's hard to say who has the upper hand. One thing's for sure: the next match will reveal the true victor. Let's look forward to it."
As the commentary ended—
The referee raised his flag, then dropped it with a shout:
"Battle, begin!"
"Go, Shedinja!"
With a bright smile, Helen raised her Poké Ball. A flash of red light released a Pokémon that looked like a spirit from beyond the grave.
Shedinja.
A dual Bug/Ghost-type with modest base stats.
It's an alternate evolution of Nincada, alongside Ninjask. Essentially the discarded shell from its evolution—a hollow husk. Because it's hollow inside, its body is extremely light and incredibly fast.
This particular Shedinja was brown, with a dark brown belly, light brown wings and back, and a white 'halo' above its head—making it look like an angel descended from the heavens.
"Shedinja, huh..."
Nathan murmured, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
A unique Pokémon, indeed.
But he didn't hesitate. With a flick of his wrist, he threw a Poké Ball.
"Go, Pangoro!"
"ROAR!"
A thunderous roar echoed as Pangoro appeared. Its massive frame exuded an intimidating presence.
"Shadow Ball!"
Helen, still smiling, gave the order.
A black energy sphere formed in front of Shedinja and launched toward Pangoro.
"Dodge, then close the distance!" Nathan commanded calmly.
Pangoro responded instantly, leaping to the right and evading the Shadow Ball. Then—with a burst of speed and a sharp "whoosh"—it used Shave to dash toward Shedinja.
"Shedinja, Phantom Force!"
Helen squinted slightly and issued her next command.
Phantom Force is a two-phase Ghost-type move. First, the user vanishes and becomes untouchable. Then, it reappears to strike the opponent unexpectedly.
As Helen's voice fell, Shedinja's figure vanished.
Pangoro halted, growling in frustration.
"Don't panic. Stay alert." Nathan frowned slightly, then said firmly, "Get ready to use Iron Body."
"Roar!"
Pangoro roared in acknowledgment, heightening its awareness.
Suddenly—
Shedinja reappeared behind Pangoro, its body glowing with shadowy energy as it struck with a whooshing sound.
"Roar!"
Unable to turn around in time, Pangoro instinctively activated Iron Body, tensing its body until it looked as solid as steel.
Clang!
Sizzle!
Sparks flew off Pangoro's back.
A painful groan escaped its mouth.
Even though it had used Iron Defense, the attack wasn't purely physical. Pangoro still took significant damage and winced in pain.
"Turn around—Crunch!"
Nathan gave the next order without hesitation.
"Roar!"
Without pause, Pangoro twisted its body, dark energy surging to its fangs as it lunged toward Shedinja with a Crunch attack.
"Shedinja, dodge, then use Shadow Sneak!"
Helen's composed command rang out. Shedinja evaded quickly.
Being a Ghost-type, it was especially vulnerable to Dark-type moves like Crunch, which would deal double damage if hit—a surefire knockout.
Especially since Shedinja has very low HP.
While dodging, Shedinja's shadow extended across the ground, looping behind Pangoro in preparation for a surprise strike.
Nathan calmly instructed, "Consecutive Shave! Evade the Shadow Sneak and pursue—Crunch again!"
"Roar!"
Pangoro's legs sprang into motion. With a burst of speed, it dodged the incoming shadow just in time, and surged toward the recently dodging Shedinja.
Shedinja was fast—but Pangoro was faster.
Within seconds, it caught up and chomped down.
Seeing this, Helen frowned deeply.
Shedinja couldn't match the explosive burst of Shave, and she knew it.
"Shadow Claw!"
Swish!
Despite fear in its eyes, Shedinja obeyed and launched a Shadow Claw at Pangoro.
Both attacks landed at the same time.
But—
With a cry of pain, Shedinja collapsed to the ground, losing the ability to battle.
Pangoro, meanwhile, bore a bleeding wound across its belly from the Shadow Claw. It panted heavily but remained standing—still capable of fighting.
"You did well, Shedinja." Helen said softly, returning her Pokémon. She then picked up another Poké Ball and looked toward Nathan.
"Your Pangoro is strong, but it'll lose the next round. If your second Pokémon is also a Fighting-type, then you'll lose this match."
"Come out, Banette!"
With a flash of red light, a creepy, black doll-like Pokémon appeared. Its mouth was sealed with a zipper.
This was Helen's true ace.
Nathan remained calm and smiled. "Fighting-types really don't have much advantage against Ghost-types... But I'm not planning to lose this match."
"Return, Pangoro."
He recalled Pangoro to its Poké Ball.
Then, reaching for the Poké Ball around his neck, Nathan's lips curled upward.
Ghost-types were always eerie, elusive, and hard to counter—and their moves were often devastating.
Fighting-types were a poor match against Ghosts.
If he had continued with Pangoro, it would've only ended in defeat.
Even though Pangoro had reached the Commander level, Helen's Banette was at the peak of that rank—and combined with the typing disadvantage...
Pangoro needed more time to overcome such odds.
Nathan knew this well. That's why he recalled Pangoro.
"Oh? Is Nathan finally going to reveal his second Pokémon?" The commentator perked up as Nathan gripped the Poké Ball hanging from his neck.
"There's been buzz online for years about how Nathan has had a Pokémon since he was a kid. It's always been shrouded in mystery, and no one knew what it was—until now. There's no doubt this is his main Pokémon. If Pangoro, a school-issued Pokémon, has grown so strong, I can't wait to see how powerful his true partner is!"
"His very first starter Pokémon? So exciting!"
"Nathan, take her down! Let's make it to the top sixteen!"
"You got this, Nathan! We're rooting for you here in Poplar City!"
The audience roared with anticipation.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Nathan's the only rookie trainer from Poplar City who's still in it! His first Pokémon has been a hot topic online—people have all kinds of theories. Get ready to film!" a reporter said urgently to the camera crew.
"Heh."
Nathan could faintly hear the voices cheering for him. His smile widened. He unhooked the Poké Ball and pressed the button.
"Volcarona, it's your time to shine."
"Let's end this match."
Buzz...
With Nathan's murmur, red light surged forth.
The outdoor stadium, which had been cool and breezy under overcast skies, was suddenly filled with blazing heat.
Buzz...
Volcarona entered the field.
And with its arrival, the weather instantly shifted to bright, scorching sunlight.
"Vol-caa!"
Volcarona hovered in midair. Its three pairs of orange-red wings—symbols of solar fire and sunspots—fluttered slowly, scattering shimmering scales that turned into flames upon touching the ground.
A powerful aura surged forth, causing Banette to instinctively take a step back—fear flickering in its eyes.
"T-This is...!"
Both commentators jumped to their feet in shock as Volcarona made its entrance.