It's sealed—now what?
Everyone present had the same question lingering in their minds.
"Clefairy, clef, clefairy…"
A strange silence fell over the entire battlefield, broken only by the persistent chants of the Clefairy. All eyes were fixed on the Poké Ball Rotom hovering in the arena.
Even some researchers had moved closer, focusing intently on the Poké Ball Rotom.
Two minutes later.
"Rooaaar!"
With a painful roar, Charizard was released from within.
At that moment, Charizard was panting heavily, its powerful aura clearly diminished compared to earlier.
A difference of 16 levels… and only two minutes?
Natsume quietly recorded that detail in his mind.
Looking at Charizard's condition, Lance's eyes widened as he instinctively called out:
"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"
"Rooaaar!"
Charizard opened its mouth, and a torrent of flames gathered and grew in size.
Crack—
A golden electric arc flickered across Charizard's body, instantly cutting off the attack.
"Paralysis?"
Lance blurted out in shock.
"Your Curse Ball has a paralysis effect too?"
"Of course. Why else would it be called the Curse Ball? Rotom, use Curse Ball again!"
The immobilized Charizard was once again shrouded in a violet beam of light.
Two minutes later, Charizard entered the battle standing up… and was dragged out horizontally.
"Charizard is unable to battle! Natsume wins the first round!"
Brock loudly announced the outcome of the match.
What kind of move is that…?
Lance's pupils shook.
"Natsume, send out your second Pokémon," Natsume calmly said.
"…Fine. I understand." Lance's expression grew serious. "Return, Charizard."
"Go! Gyarados!"
"ROOAARR!!"
A flash of red light, and a dragon-like Pokémon with a spiny dorsal ridge in the shape of the kanji for "fierce" appeared in the arena.
The most eye-catching feature was its enormous, menacing mouth.
[Gyarados, LV70]
"Poké Ball Rotom, use Curse Ball!"
"Dodge it—quick!"
This time, Lance didn't dare let his Pokémon take the Curse Ball head-on.
It was simply an unbeatable technique in a one-on-one.
"Use Crunch!"
Gyarados skillfully dodged the purple beam and, following Lance's command, instantly closed the gap with Rotom.
Crunch—a Dark-type move, super effective against the Electric/Psychic-type Poké Ball Rotom. And with Gyarados at such a high level, one hit could be devastating.
But surprisingly, Natsume went against the flow:
"Rotom, ram into it!"
Boom!
Crunch landed squarely on Rotom, who let out a low grunt of pain.
"Oblivion Ball!"
As expected, the Poké Ball Rotom—whose base stats were entirely allocated to defense—did not faint.
Buzz—
A strange pulse of energy radiated from inside Rotom, instantly engulfing a radius of several meters.
The space touched by the wave turned black and white, as if Rotom had drained all color from that part of the world.
Gyarados's own colors began fading, shifting into a lifeless grayscale.
No struggle. No fear. Gyarados simply froze eerily mid-air.
What… is this?
Lance felt a growing sense of dread as he observed Gyarados's condition.
As the last of Gyarados's color drained away, the light wave violently retracted, and the now black-and-white Gyarados was drawn back into the Poké Ball Rotom.
"Rotom…"
As if drained of energy, Rotom's glow faded to gray. The electric currents and shattered Poké Ball fragments began to contract and hovered motionless in the air.
"What did you do to my Gyarados?!" Lance cried out.
The name "Oblivion Ball" alone sounded incredibly dangerous.
"Relax, it'll be released once the battle's over. Send out your next Pokémon—the stronger it is, the faster Gyarados will come back."
Natsume waved him off casually.
"…Alright."
Lance nodded gravely. He understood Natsume's implication—he had to beat Poké Ball Rotom.
I never imagined a single Pokémon could do this much…
Lance's face was tense—he was getting serious now.
"Let's go, old friend!"
With Lance's shout, an enormous orange Dragon-type descended from the sky and landed in the center of the arena.
"ROOAAAR!"
Dragonite let out a sky-piercing cry and fixed its gaze seriously on Rotom.
It had been observing the battle from above for a while and wasn't about to let its guard down.
[Dragonite, LV88]
"Try attacking my Rotom—the harder you hit, the faster Gyarados will come back. Curse Ball and Oblivion Ball are out of PP, it won't fight back!"
Natsume called out to Lance.
Lance found this strange, but still gave the command:
"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!"
Boom!
A blinding white beam slammed into Poké Ball Rotom.
Strangely, aside from a dull ripple of grayish-white energy, Rotom showed no reaction.
What's going on?
Lance was baffled.
"Keep going!"
Sure enough, Natsume's voice rang out again. Glancing over, Lance saw a slicked-back Pikachu offering Natsume a potato chip.
Seeing that scene ignited a strange fire in Lance's chest.
"Thunder Punch!"
BOOM!
Crackling lightning gathered in Dragonite's fist as it smashed squarely into Rotom.
This time, Rotom finally reacted.
Whoosh!
A fainted Gyarados was released.
When Lance saw the injuries—especially the scorch mark shaped like a fist—his face turned pale.
"You transferred the damage?!"
"Of course. Why else would I tell you to hit Rotom?"
Natsume mumbled, still chewing on chips.
Lance: "…"
He'd thought his Gyarados was in mortal danger if he didn't defeat Rotom quickly. Turns out it was all part of a plan!
Lance suddenly felt a weird sense of frustration building inside him.
"Dragonite, Draco Meteor Dive!"
Lance gave the order decisively, wanting to end this match quickly.
Rotom had already taken a full-power Crunch from Gyarados—it was on its last legs.
"ROOAAAR!!!"
Dragonite soared into the air, its energy condensing into the shape of a colossal dragon before diving down with terrifying momentum.
"Brother Natsume, look out!"
Ash's anxious voice rang from the sidelines. That hit would definitely knock Rotom out!
Crunch.
Natsume kept munching chips, as if he didn't even see it coming.
"ROOAAAR!!"
In the blink of an eye, Dragonite reached Rotom.
"Rotom, Healing Ball."
"Rotom!"
A green beam of energy shot out, striking Dragonite at point-blank range.
Whoosh!
Dragonite was absorbed.
The next second, a slightly confused but very healthy Dragonite reappeared on the battlefield, surrounded by a soothing green aura.
Congratulations! Your healthy Dragonite has become an even healthier Dragonite.
Lance: "???"
You can interrupt moves like that?!
"Misty, is this kind of battle even allowed?"
Ash asked, visibly puzzled.
"I dunno… feels kinda shameless—but I guess it's still strategy… if you've got thick enough skin."
"Is that so…"
Ash squinted.
He had a feeling he could learn a lot from Brother Natsume.