Chapter 48: Squirtle Vs Shinx

"Squirtle, concentrate your power and start it off with Aura Sphere!", Serena exclaimed, issuing her first move. Shortly after Ricky found a rare encounter with Mankey, the trio found their next prize in Route 2. A little blue and yellow-striped cat-like Pokemon strutted out of the wild grass nearby. Lillie saw that Serena was serious earlier, and conceded to leaving Shinx being caught by Serena.

Serena was quick to take action, grabbing one of her Pokeballs from her Trainer Belt. Even though she would be at a type disadvantage, she wanted to work on using her Squirtle for the upcoming Pokemon Gym. Squirtle came out of its Pokeball, and listened to Serena's first move.

"Squirtle!", Squirtle replied, reacting quickly to Serena's words. Squirtle's hands weren't exactly big, but she placed her two hands together, and a blue sphere started to form, entirely composed of aura. Only a handful of Pokemon can learn aura-like moves, such the case being Aura Sphere. But there are some Pokemon out there that are lucky enough to where they don't need to tap into Aura.

And Squirtle was one such lucky Pokemon. It had the ability to receive it through selective Pokemon Breeding. It is quite arduous to get, and Ricky wondered how in the hell his grandpa, Professor Oak, was able to obtain such a rare Squirtle. She even had the hidden ability to match Aura Sphere's strength later on when it Mega Evolves too!

The blue energy continued to swirl inside Squirtle's two hands, and in the next moment, she launched the attack. Aura Sphere shooted out swiftly, taking direct aim at Shinx. Shinx, in response, tucked in its body, acting as if it was about to pounce. To the trio's surprise, Shinx's fangs suddenly surged forth, creating a blue electric current around its teeth.

"Be careful Serena, that's Shinx's Thunder Fang. It looks like it wants to challenge Squirtle's Aura Sphere directly. It could do something unpredictable too.", Ricky said, gauging the ongoing scene before them. After catching his Mankey, Ricky and Lillie steered clear of the wild grass, allowing Serena to keep hunting onward. Thankfully, luck was on their side!

Serena saw a fierce look in Shinx's eyes as electric currents streaked around its fangs. Shinx didn't immediately launch itself forward at the Aura Sphere. Once Aura Sphere started cutting into the grass, leaving behind a dug-up trail, Shinx hopped aside at the last moment.

"Shiii!", Shinx yelled out, initiating a dash. Woosh! Squirtle was momentarily dazed seeing her Aura Sphere completely whiff and miss. Shinx timed the attack properly and it was closing the distance quickly.

Still, Serena remained calm and issued her next move.

"Squirtle, take cover and increase your defenses. Use Withdraw!", Serena said.

"Squirt.", Squirtle responded. Squirtle didn't wait around for Shinx to just attack her willy-nilly. One after another in quick succession, Squirtle brought her limbs deep inside her shell. It then started glowing, boosting her defensive power. Trained properly, and Squirtle's shell can be used as a good battle strategy. Serena already knew her next move as Shinx struck Squirtle's shell with a powerful surge of electricity. Bang!

Squirtle's shell took a big blow thanks to being weak to Thunder Fang, but Squirtle endured the hit. She didn't immediately pop her limbs out either. Shinx was stunned seeing its attack connect, but the shell still persisted. Serena smiled seeing this.

"Quick Squirtle, use Rapid Spin and blow Shinx away!", Serena said.

Squirtle didn't respond, but she was still conscious to receive the commande. An echo escaped from the shell, acknowledging Serena. Squirtle's shell began to move on its own, spinning around rapidly. The shell's speed increased further and further until it started to skid along the grass in a white glow. Woooosh!

"Shinx?", Shinx tried to respond, only to see the shell in place suddenly gain friction. Faster and faster, Squirtle approached Shinx. Shinx couldn't respond in time before its body was blasted away with a powerful Rapid Spin. BANG!

"Shii!", Shinx yelled out in pain, gettin blown away, and its body shot back into the tall grass. Unlike earlier generations, Rapid Spin did power up. It might not be the most powerful move out there, but it steadily grew stronger the more generations came out. Especially against a Pokemon like Shinx, it was strong!

Serena didn't remain idle during this moment. She grabbed a Quick Ball from her Item Pouch, and suddenly launched it, trying to catch Shinx in one fell swoop. The Quick Ball successfully landed on Shinx, engulfing it into a red glow. The trio's expectations grew seeing the Quick Ball start wiggling.

Wiggle. Wiggle. Wiggle. Ding!

Hearing the ding echo in their ears, Serena smiled.

"Yay! That was pretty thrilling. I didn't think I'd find a Shinx here in the Kanto Region. Either way, welcome to the team, friend.", Serena replied, picking up the Quick Ball. She wasn't sure if Shinx was going to stay all the way inside the Quick Ball, but it did!

"Shinx's Data has been registered into your Pokedex.", Serena's Pokedex said amongst her belongings.

Before she realized it, Serena's first entry in the Hoenn Region now occupied her Pokedex. There were still lots of Pokemon out there for the trio to catch. Ricky and Lillie felt happy for Serena.

"That's your sixth Pokemon now, huh?", Lillie questioned, seeing the sixth slot on Serena's Trainer Belt now filled in.

"Sure is. I'm just like you two now. We all have six Pokemon each!", Serena happily replied, only to look back at her Squirtle. Squirtle did appear to accumulate some damage thanks to Shinx's Thunder Fang, but Squirtle was able to withstand its bite. It wasn't exactly like the move Counter, but depending on the scenario, there were plenty of follow-up moves to battle with, just as this situation struck!

"And you did a good job too, Squirtle. I look forward to battling more with you. Especially against Brock!", Serena continued to say.

"Squirrr!", Squirtle happily responded, popping her limbs back out of her shell. She then jumped upward, landing upright. Yet, to the trio's surprise, Squirtle's body suddenly began to glow a bright white glow.

"Oh...", Lillie uttered. She had seen this exact same glow back when they were still inside Viridian City's Pokemon Center!

Squirtle's body began to extend outward in all directions, growing larger and larger. Her hands and feet also grew bigger. Visible claws grew, making the figure look even more fierce. Two large ears grew out of her head, and her tail grew puffy, sticking out of her shell. And for that matter, even the shell grew larger.

"Wartortle.", The Pokemon said. Sure enough, it was Squirtle's next evolution, Wartortle! Squirtle responded to Serena's determination. She wanted to continue battling just like how Lillie and Ricky will. It was a very similar situation to how Lillie's Bulbasaur evolved into Ivysaur.

"Wartortle's Data has been added into your Pokedex.", Serena's Pokedex resounded around the trio, causing them to look at Serena's Pokedex again. Sure enough, the second of three hidden icons became visible, showing Wartortle's data now inside the Pokedex.

"Guess this is your way of wanting to strive even further huh?", Serena asked.

"War.", Wartortle nodded her head.

Seeing this, Serena smiled.

"Good work, Wartortle. You can take a nice rest. We'll have even more fun inside Viridian Forest!", Serena happily said. She grabbed her Pokeball, and recalled Wartortle back inside, securing it back on her Trainer Belt.

"That was a pretty good battle. You didn't hesitate, just like Lillie. I think you two will grow fine as Pokemon Trainers. I am not sure if we'll encounter many Pokemon Trainers inside Viridian Forest, perhaps Bug-type enthusiasts. It's not like it's only Bug-Type Pokemon in Viridian Forest, though. I still want to catch that Pikachu.", Ricky said to Serena and Lillie.

"We must pass through Viridian Forest regardless, right? We've spent quite a bit of time here on Route 2 already. I'd rather not have it be nighttime by the time we find a good campsite to pitch a tent up. We can use our Pokemon to help set it up!", Lillie suggested.

"Now that isn't a bad idea. Two of us can set up the tent while one of us cooks some dinner. I suppose I can leave that to you, Ricky?", Lillie questioned.

"Heh. If that is what you want to go with, sure. I won't create something with a strong aroma though. It's a big forest inside, and we don't want to attract unwanted attention.", Ricky responded. Some powerful Bug-type Pokemon could be lurking in the shadows and while the trio could entice them with food, if they were currently eating it, that is an entirely different story.

"Hehe, I can always go for your cooking, Ricky. You're definitely the best cook of the three of us. You can leave pitching the tent to the two of us.", Serena replied. Lillie nodded her head to Serena's words.

"Good. Since we have a plan in action now, let's head inside. Once we've got everything set up, we can review Shinx's data and my Mankey's data. Like I've said previously, we got enough food in my Item Pouch that can spot us for an entire week. It's afternoon on Sunday, so we could stay inside Viridian Forest until next weekend. It just depends how good our luck is.", Ricky explained.

"We've all got something out of the neighboring Routes surrounding Viridian City, so I think it's time to head into Viridian Forest. I'm already looking forward to seeing what's inside. We should hurry along. We don't want nightfall to descend too quickly.", Lillie said.

Hearing that, the trio nodded their heads, and wandered through the rest of Route 2, avoiding the tall grass. The shrubs surrounding them were too thick to pass through, requiring certain Pokemon to cut them down. It was easier with a certain move, and it will become available to them once they clear Pewter City.

Thankfully, they made it inside Viridian Forest before nightfall. It didn't take long for an endless sea of trees to enter their view!

*****

POKEMON ROSTER:

RICKY:

Shiny Alolan Ninetales, Shiny Rowlet, Shiny Froakie, Charmander, Shiny Galarian Slowpoke (New), Mankey (New)

Legendary: Mew

LILLIE:

Alolan Vulpix, Shiny Popplio, Fennekin, Ivysaur (New), Pidgey, Shiny Buizel (New)

SERENA:

Kantonian Vulpix, Shiny Litten, Chespin, Wartortle (New), Shiny Nidoran F (New), Shinx (New)