Chapter 37: Gravity and the Golden Drifloon

Several days later...…

Near a flowing river, a battle was underway. Paul was commanding his Vulpix against a wild Buizel.

The Vulpix looked like it had only recently hatched, but it showed no fear in the face of its Water-type opponent. Without hesitation, it unleashed a powerful Flamethrower at the Buizel.

The Buizel, naturally unafraid of the young Vulpix, countered with a Water Gun that collided with the Flamethrower. It then leaped forward, transforming into a rushing water pillar with its Aqua Jet attack.

"Flamethrower!"

"Vul~!"

Vulpix held its ground, spewing flames to engulf the incoming Buizel completely.

However, the Buizel wasn't weak either. With a burst of energy, it broke through the Flamethrower and closed in rapidly.

"Extrasensory, dodge!" Paul commanded.

Vulpix leaped sideways at the last second, its eyes were glowing blue as a mysterious psychic power wrapped around it, boosting its speed and narrowly allowing it to evade the Buizel's charge.

With its attack missing, the Buizel dropped out of its Aqua Jet form and prepared to use Sonic Boom.

But before it could fully recover, Paul's voice rang out again.

"Extrasensory!"

Blue light flared from Vulpix's eyes, and a strange force enveloped the Buizel. In that moment, the Buizel felt utterly powerless. It was hurled through the air, colliding with the ground multiple times as waves of pain coursed through its body. Even after the attack ended, the Buizel still felt dizzy.

"Fire Blast!"

With Paul's command, Vulpix gathered all its strength in its mouth, and a "big" flame containing explosive power flew towards the Buizel.

Disoriented, the Buizel's vision filled with red.

BOOM!

The explosion echoed loudly, and smoke billowed across the battlefield.

"Poké Ball, go!"

As the smoke cleared, the Buizel lay unconscious on the ground. The boy threw a Poké Ball, capturing it with ease.

"Phew…"

Vulpix used its psychic powers to pick up the Poké Ball and gave it to Paul. Unlike usual, it didn't wait for a praise but instead started panting heavily.

For Vulpix, executing a move like Fire Blast was still too exhausting. Unless it could secure victory in one decisive strike, using such a powerful move significantly drained its energy.

"Your movements are sharper than before, but your strength and stamina still need to work." Paul commented, scanning the Poké Ball in his hand.

"Vul~"

After catching its breath, Vulpix climbed onto Paul's shoulder and lay there, yawning contentedly.

"Stay still." Paul muttered, glancing at it briefly before continuing to examine the Poké Ball's data.

"Vul~"

Vulpix obediently stayed in place, awaiting its trainer's instructions.

"Average potential, nothing special. I don't need you."

After his analysis, Paul released the Buizel back into the wild. The revived Buizel wasted no time diving into the river and disappeared from sight.

Sometimes, Paul wondered if his standards for Pokémon were too high.

If he were his original counterpart, he'd have captured at least six Pokémon by now—enough to cover land, sea, and air. Yet, here he was, without a single Pokémon suited for swimming or flying, save for his Elekid.

At this rate, how long would it take to find a suitable Water-type Pokémon?

Traveling by boat was out of the question. Without a Water-type or a flying Pokémon capable of carrying him, Paul refused to risk it. He couldn't exactly expect Vulpix to use its psychic powers to carry him across the ocean, could he?

"Bonk!"

Thinking about Vulpix, Paul noticed it dozing off on his shoulder. Without hesitation, he flicked its forehead.

"Vul~!"

Vulpix clutched its head, looking at him with wide tearful eyes.

"If you're going to perch there, practice the Calm Mind and Gravity techniques I taught you, or keep working on your psychic-powered water-walking. Otherwise, start training in aerial movement with your psychic abilities." Paul instructed firmly, grabbing Vulpix by the scruff of its neck.

Vulpix pouted but quickly began practicing Gravity, realizing its trainer wasn't joking about tossing it into the river.

After several days of intense training, Vulpix had barely reached the threshold for using Gravity. Its control was inconsistent at best, but Paul's stern encouragement motivated it to try harder. Fueled by a mischievous desire for revenge, Vulpix focused on increasing the pressure it exerted on its trainer.

Paul, unaware of his mischievous Pokémon's thoughts, would've likely just chuckled and ignored it. After all, even a Gravity attack from a Blissey wouldn't faze him much. What could an untrained Vulpix hope to achieve?

As the sun climbed higher, Paul continued his journey, scanning the surroundings for potential Pokémon for Vulpix to spar with or capture.

Looking up, he spotted a flash of gold in the sky.

It was a golden balloon—no, a Pokémon. Upon closer observation, it had eyes and a small cross-shaped patch on its face.

"A Drifloon… and it's shiny?"

Although its color was different from the usual Drifloon, Paul quickly recognized it.

"Vulpix, Gravity."

Paul tapped Vulpix on the head, pointing at the shiny Drifloon.

"Vul~!"

With glowing blue eyes, Vulpix summoned its psychic power, creating a localized Gravity field. The shiny Drifloon caught in the field, plummeted from the sky, hovering just a few meters above the ground as it struggled against the intense pressure.

"Fire Blast! Follow with Extrasensory!"

Seizing the opportunity, Vulpix unleashed a fiery Fire Blast. The shiny Drifloon panicked, immediately using Minimize to shrink its body and dodge.

But Vulpix's Extrasensory locked onto the Drifloon, halting its escape and holding it in place just long enough for the fiery attack to land.

BOOM!

The explosion sent the Drifloon flying.

"Poké Ball, go!"

Paul threw the Poké Ball, aiming to capture the shiny Drifloon.

"Wait! Stop!!!"

As soon as the Poké Ball was thrown, an anxious voice was heard. But it was too late, the Poké Ball had already struck its target.

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