Just as its name suggested, Sceptile's design might have been based on lizards and Bastiodon.
As the Grass-type Starter Pokémon of the Hoenn Region, Sceptile was a pure Grass type. Most of its body was green, and it had a large tail like lush foliage, with sharp, blade-like leaves growing from both wrists. The round seeds on its back also stored plenty of nutrients that could instantly restore vitality to trees.
Through research and observation, Pokémon scholars had discovered that Sceptile usually tended carefully to the trees in forests and basked in the sun to regulate its body temperature. It possessed even greater abilities in rainforests, where it could run lightly through the jungle and leap nimbly between branches, pouncing on enemies from above or behind and finishing them off with the sharp leaves on its arms.
It could be said that this was a formidable, powerful Pokémon that was also well loved by novice Pokémon Trainers.
That was also why Pokémon Professors in the Hoenn Region recommended it as one of the Starter Pokémon for new Pokémon Trainers.
It was not as though Xia You had never encountered a Sceptile before, but Tetsuya's Sceptile before him now was probably the strongest one belonging to anyone he had encountered so far.
He wanted to see just how strong this Sceptile was, and how it would perform against his Blastoise!
Regardless, though, he had tremendous confidence in the Blastoise he had caught at the beginning of his journey. He believed that even though it had not competed in a long time and was at a type disadvantage, its formidable strength and experience in two tournaments would still bring him victory.
Seeing that Blastoise and Sceptile were both ready, the referee gave the signal without delay.
This also meant that the round-of-32