Chapter 80: The Call

If his opponent knew what was going through Maki's mind at that moment, they would probably be seething with frustration.

Buizel quickly got back on its feet after taking a hit, but with Charmander's boosted speed from Dragon Dance, the brief moment was more than enough for it to close the distance.

However, Maki was now facing more formidable opponents—no longer the complete rookies he had encountered at the beginning. Buizel managed to escape using Quick Attack.

After all, engaging in close combat with a Dragon Dance-boosted Charmander was clearly a terrible idea. Before Buizel could even land a hit, it might already find itself chomped into submission.

But Charmander had anticipated this. The moment Buizel's Quick Attack ended—before it could generate new momentum—Charmander unleashed a Dragon Breath straight at it.

There was no denying that mastering Dragon Breath had significantly bolstered Charmander's battle prowess.

With no overlapping weaknesses between Dragon-type and Fire-type moves, Charmander could rely on Dragon-type attacks against Water-types, while using Fire-type moves to deal with Steel-types, which resist Dragon moves. This versatility provided excellent offensive coverage.

Buizel attempted to dodge once again under its trainer's command, trying to use another Quick Attack. But it wasn't that easy.

Quick Attack was essentially a weaker version of Extreme Speed, offering only a +1 priority boost and lower power. While it was still a useful move, its speed enhancement wasn't particularly high. Moreover, like Extreme Speed, it consumed a significant amount of stamina. Otherwise, Pokémon capable of learning Quick Attack could simply spam it indefinitely, rendering traditional speed-enhancing moves obsolete.

Buizel wasn't exactly known for exceptional stamina. Having just used Quick Attack moments ago, attempting another one immediately after left it breathless. What did they think it was, a machine?

As Buizel barely managed to catch its breath, the second Dragon Breath attack was already upon it—hitting full force this time.

Previously, it had managed to mitigate the impact with a Water Gun, but this time, the attack landed at full power, leaving Buizel in a bad state.

And most critically—

A pained expression flickered across Buizel's face, and its right arm twitched involuntarily. Charmander's Dragon Breath had left it paralyzed.

Already at a speed disadvantage, Buizel was now completely out of options. Even as it tried to retaliate with a desperate Water Gun, Charmander closed in and finished it off with a decisive Crunch.

Rather than letting Charmander continue to the next round, Maki swiftly withdrew it from the battlefield and turned to Cotttonee with a smile.

"How do you feel? You're up next."

This was the main reason Maki had brought both Pokémon to the arena—to let Cotttonee witness a real Pokémon battle. Wild encounters and official battles were vastly different, especially in single battles at the Poké Ball rank.

After today, Maki likely wouldn't be participating in arena battles for a while.

Cotttonee's infancy stage was nearly over. By the time they reached Celadon City, it would be about time for her to start battling. Keeping his battle ranking at a lower tier would make it easier for Whimsicott to "farm experience" later on.

"Cotton!"

Cotttonee patted the cotton on its body with its leafy arms, full of confidence, indicating that this level of battle wouldn't be a problem at all.

"Char!"

Walking beside them, Charmander also looked up and cheered for Cotttonee, waving its little claws as if to say, "That guy just now was a piece of cake for me, so you've got this too!"

After returning to the Pokémon Center for a break, Maki left Charmander with Nurse Joy for a check-up and recovery. Meanwhile, he returned to his room to make a video call to Sabrina.

After all, before leaving, he had promised to contact her whenever he had the chance.

The call barely rang twice before it was answered.

Even through the screen, Sabrina's delicate features lost none of their charm. Though she tried to keep a neutral expression, Maki still caught the slight upward curl of her lips—a subtle sign of her current mood.

"Oh? What's the occasion?"

Lifting her chin slightly, Sabrina spoke with an air of pride, as if saying, "You couldn't wait to talk to me, could you?"

Maki's lips twitched at her attitude but didn't react much. Instead, he got straight to the point. "You haven't been using your psychic powers lately, have you?"

Sabrina's smug expression froze instantly. Her eyes darted to the side briefly before she replied.

"No."

"You're lying, aren't you?"

"…No."

"Then how did you answer my call so fast?"

There was another brief silence before Sabrina finally came up with an excuse. "I was just quick to react."

Seeing that she was still making excuses, Maki immediately switched to his "parent mode," lecturing her until the previously confident Sabrina sat there, completely stunned and at a loss for words.

After covering the main points, Maki casually asked, "So, everything's fine over in Orange City?"

"Huh? What did you say?"

Sabrina yawned, clearly not paying attention to Maki's lecture at all.

"…Never mind. Nothing unusual happening in Orange City, right?"

"Hm? You're already in Orange City?"

Sabrina thought for a moment. Though she was often indifferent toward the League's affairs, she did keep an eye on Team Rocket. Given Orange City's proximity to Saffron City, if anything major had happened, she would've heard about it.

"Nothing special, as far as I know."

"Yeah… There were some reports of wild Pokémon acting up. I was just wondering if there was a deeper reason behind it, but it looks like I was overthinking."

Maki answered directly but didn't dwell on the topic. Instead, their conversation shifted to daily life.

At this point, Sabrina's attitude changed completely. She was no longer indifferent or sleepy. Instead, she listened intently as Maki recounted his experiences with Cottonee and the others, hardly saying a word.

Maki also took the opportunity to gather some updates on Team Rocket's situation through Sabrina. From what she knew, nothing much had changed.

At his current level, Sabrina was one of his only sources of reliable information about Team Rocket.

Finally, Nurse Joy informed him that Charmander had fully recovered. Reluctantly, Maki ended the call, leaving Sabrina looking like she still had more she wanted to say.

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