"Hmph! It's just one win, what's there to be proud of?" Lily recalled Horsea, clearly unconvinced, and then leaped back to the shore.
"Daisy,, Violet, I'm sorry. This battle was tougher than I thought!"
Back on the shore, Lily looked at my two sisters with an apologetic expression. She hadn't shown much strength in the first match and ended up losing to an opponent using a Magikarp. A sense of discomfort lingered in her heart.
"It's okay, don't blame yourself. The opponent is strong, and we were prepared for this. A Trainer who can use a Magikarp this well is clearly on a different level. We just have to give it our all!"
Sakura comforted her sister gently, having already recognized Ash's skill from just one match.
Even without intensive Pokémon training, her instincts as a Water-type Trainer allowed her to sense Ash's potential. Facing a Magikarp that couldn't even use Water-type moves, Ash had skillfully managed to win. If he hadn't used the final Struggle move, he could have easily defeated our third sister without even getting hurt.
The previous trainers from Pallet Town were already impressively strong, but Ash seemed to surpass them all.
"In that case, I'll take the second match!" Violet volunteered. With their younger sister defeated, it was natural for the second sister to step up. Of course, the last match was reserved for their strongest sister, Daisy.
Violet jumped onto the platform, facing Ash directly. "You may have beaten my younger sister, but I won't be so easy to defeat."
"Bring it on!" Misty, watching from the audience, couldn't shake the strange feeling that Ash was the one acting like the Gym Leader.
"This kid is too arrogant. I'm going to teach you a lesson. Go, Seaking!"
Violet tossed her Poké Ball, and out came Seaking, the evolved form of Goldeen, resembling a large goldfish with a sharp horn on its head.
"Come back, Magikarp!" Ash called back his Magikarp. Although it hadn't used much energy, he decided to return it to its Poké Ball first.
"Thank you," Ash said softly to the Poké Ball in his hand.
Seeing this, the three Cerulean sisters were taken aback, feeling a twinge of shame.
In all their battles, they had never considered their Pokémon's feelings. Whether they won or lost, they had never offered words of encouragement. But now, seeing Ash's care and warmth toward his Pokémon, they couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
"Now it's your turn, come on, Axew!"
Boom!
With a flash of light, a figure appeared on the floating platform in the pool. As the light faded, the small but fierce Axew stood ready for battle.
"It's an Axew! Looks like this second match is looking good too." Misty, still watching from the audience, couldn't help but think Ash had this in the bag.
"Yeah, Axew is strong, but it's still newly caught. Its compatibility with Ash might not be great yet, and in a water-based arena like this, Seaking has the advantage, so we need to be careful."
Brock, as usual, stayed calm and analyzed the situation.
Dragon-type Pokémon naturally have an edge over many other types, but Axew was newly captured, and the battlefield put it at a disadvantage. That made him a bit concerned.
"Huh? That's a Pokémon I've never seen before!" The three Cerulean sisters were surprised. Having rarely left Cerulean City, they were unfamiliar with many Pokémon, especially those from other regions like Unova.
"But no matter what Pokémon you send out, I won't lose. We need to save the honor of the Cerulean Sisters. Seaking, use Horn Attack!"
Seaking's expression shifted as it heard the command, and it moved rapidly through the water with astonishing speed. The sharp horn on its head gleamed brightly as it charged directly toward Axew on the floating board.
Though Axew was safely perched on the board and out of Seaking's direct reach, all Seaking needed to do was smash the floating board. In this kind of water-based arena, the advantage was entirely with the Water-type Pokémon. Non-water Pokémon had a much harder time here; without a solid foothold, they were at the mercy of their aquatic opponents.
"Axew, stay on the move!" Ash ordered.
Boom!
Seaking's powerful Horn Attack struck the floating board, shattering it into pieces. Fortunately, Axew reacted swiftly, leaping to avoid the impact just in time and landing on another nearby floating board. But Seaking was relentless, quickly diving back underwater and targeting Axew's new position.
Boom!
Another attack from below sent Axew scrambling as the floating board beneath it was destroyed. Axew managed to jump to yet another floating board, but the situation was becoming more precarious.
"I'd like to see how long you can keep dodging!" Violet taunted. "Once all the platforms are gone, you won't have anywhere left to run! Seaking, use Horn Attack from below!"
"Hmph! This is exactly what we've been waiting for," Ash said with a confident grin.
Violet's heart sank as she caught sight of Ash's smile, sensing something was about to go wrong, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Axew, jump and use Dragon Rage!"
At Ash's command, Axew leaped into the air just as Seaking rushed toward the bottom of the floating board. While airborne, Axew's abdomen began to glow with a blue light as it charged up the Dragon Rage attack.
Roar!!
Boom!
"Uh-oh!" Violet realized too late what was happening. Axew unleashed the Dragon Rage from above, the powerful blue energy ball descending just as Seaking smashed into the floating board. But before Seaking could cause any damage, Dragon Rage hit the board first.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosive force of the Dragon Rage tore through the water, sending shockwaves across the arena as Seaking was caught in the blast.