Joey's next three matches were a breeze. There were Ekans, Rattata, a Zubat. One kid even entered completely straight faced with nothing but a Caterpie and a Weedle. He also, through some organizational fluke, wound up battling that same girl's Pidgey and Nidoran. It didn't matter. Raticate dispatched each enemy with his swift, unyielding fangs. While he weathered each battle without a scratch, Joey noticed Raticate falter toward the end. The poison was sinking in, but there was only one battle left.
The last competitor had also used only one pokémon to make it to the finals; a powerful Mankey. As usual, Raticate opened with a jaw wrenching fang attack, but Mankey didn't so much as flinch. His eyes were closed and he was glowing with a focused energy. Joey panicked, realizing that Mankey was the faster of the two.
"Quickly! Attack!" The sliding tackle was not enough to finish the job. Mankey reeled, but then unleashed a mighty karate chop that sent Raticate skidding through the dirt. Raticate stood, regarding Mankey with a lethal ferocity, but at that moment the poison took effect. The rat swayed, then dropped.