"Slakoth and Metang are both unable to battle! The first battle ends in a draw!"
As the referee held both flags out horizontally, Xia You and Norman's first battle ended with both sides down.
There was nothing to be done about it.
After their last exchange, the two Pokémon had continued grappling for quite a while.
They traded blows, finishing their initial probing and pushing the battle into its simplest and most brutal stage-face-to-face close combat!
It had to be admitted that Norman had trained this Slakoth exceptionally well. In performance, strength, and experience, it was undoubtedly a cut above Metang.
But relying on its outstanding defenses and the advantage of taking half damage from Slakoth's Normal-type moves, Metang had used its Steel-type moves to force a mutual knockout!
Yet upon seeing this result, unlike Xia You, who was pleased, Norman had a different reaction.
He could only smile helplessly.
There really was... nothing he could do.
After all, when there was no overwhelming gap between two Pokémon, type advantages could often prove decisive. That had been exactly the case in the battle just now.
"Well done." Looking at Xia You, Norman praised him. "My Slakoth may not have evolved yet, but it's very strong. Before you, far too many people underestimated it and ended up falling before it."
Xia You knew he was neither boasting nor trying to save face.
Judging by the strength this Slakoth had displayed, it certainly could give overconfident or inexperienced Pokémon Trainers a deeply unforgettable "surprise"!
Xia You smiled. "Metang did benefit from a certain type advantage to draw with it. I'm already very satisfied with that result."
Seeing how modest and composed the young man before him was, Norman nodded in approval.
As expected of a man who had won two consecutive regional