Chapter 13: Meeting Xiao Fei, The Moon Stones Acquired
Chapter 13: Meeting Xiao Fei, The Moon Stones Acquired
A Fierce Battle Begins
"Frogadier, use Quick Attack!"
Ron made the first move, targeting the opposing Squirtle.
Meanwhile, the young trainer with an Arbok had also locked onto Lillie, commanding his Pokémon to use Poison Fang.
A single bite struck Cleffa hard.
Neither Cleffa nor Squirtle had time to react before collapsing on the battlefield.
Ron and the young trainer exchanged knowing smiles.
Both understood that the real battle was between them—Lillie and her Pokémon were never meant to be major threats.
By eliminating them first, they could now focus on a true one-on-one duel.
"Arbok, use Toxic!" the young trainer shouted.
"Frogadier, use Protect!" Ron countered with a smirk.
From observation, he had already figured out his opponent's battle habits.
Leading with Toxic to poison the enemy before using other moves to chip away at their HP—a standard attrition strategy.
A translucent Protect barrier appeared, blocking the incoming Toxic attack.
The young trainer frowned.
"Arbok, Toxic again! I don't believe you can block it twice!"
Ron shook his head slightly.
Protect wasn't a long-term solution—the more it was used, the lower the success rate.
However, the fact that his opponent repeated the same move showed that it was a deeply ingrained habit.
If he didn't break his predictable patterns, this trainer would never reach Elite Four level.
"Use Rain Dance!" Ron commanded.
Frogadier leaped into the air, summoning dark storm clouds over the battlefield.
Raindrops began to fall, drenching the ship's deck.
At the same time, Arbok's second Toxic attack landed, spreading a dark purple glow over Frogadier's body.
Ron narrowed his eyes.
Now comes Bind and Poison Fang…
Just as he expected, the young trainer called out:
"Arbok, use Bind, then follow up with Poison Fang!"
"Double Team, then Water Pulse!" Ron responded smoothly.
Frogadier split into ten clones, surrounding Arbok from all directions.
Arbok lunged forward, but its attack missed completely.
Before the young trainer could react, a real Frogadier appeared on the left, launching a powerful Water Pulse.
The attack slammed into Arbok, sending it flying backward across the deck.
"Arbok, get up! Use Poison Sting, hit all of them!"
The young trainer sounded nervous now.
Arbok wobbled as it stood back up, then opened its mouth, releasing a barrage of poison needles across the battlefield.
One by one, the Frogadier clones flickered and disappeared.
But where was the real one?
The young trainer's eyes widened in confusion.
"Where did it go?!"
"Frogadier, Bounce! End this!"
By the time the young trainer looked up, it was already too late.
With a devastating knee strike, Frogadier came crashing down from above, slamming Arbok's head into the deck.
Arbok fainted.
The ship captain stepped forward, raising his hand.
"Victory goes to Ron!"
---
Greninja's Evolution
At that moment, a bright white light engulfed Frogadier.
The falling rain swirled around its body, forming a rotating column of water.
As the light faded, standing in its place was a majestic Greninja.
One hand formed a seal on its chest, the other raised high—its presence was nothing short of a true ninja warrior.
Ron walked up to Greninja and gave it a hug, smiling.
"You finally evolved!"
Greninja gave a cool nod, clenching its fists—completely satisfied with its new form.
Ron quickly took out an Antidote, curing Greninja's poisoning.
Just then, the young trainer walked up to him.
"I'm Xiao Fei from Fuchsia City," he introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you."
Ron finished treating Greninja, then shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Ron from Pallet Town."
Lillie stepped forward.
"I'm Lillie, traveling with Ron."
Xiao Fei nodded.
"Nice to meet you too. Ron, how long have you been traveling? You're really strong."
"Not long," Ron answered. "I just got my starter Pokémon this year."
"But I'm already thirteen, so maybe I've seen a bit more than you."
Xiao Fei's eyes lit up.
"Oh, I see! You're competing in the Indigo League, right? Let's have a rematch when we meet there!"
Ron smirked.
"Sure. But you'd better improve—if you battle like today, you'll still lose."
"I'm looking forward to an even better battle next time."
---
Acquiring the Moon Stones
Later, Ron and Lillie met with the ship captain, who handed them two Moon Stones.
However, Ron didn't evolve Nidorino into Nidoking yet.
Nidorino still had moves to learn—skills Nidoking would never be able to master.
Since Nidorino's potential was top-tier, it was best to wait until it learned them all before evolving.
Xiao Fei listened carefully, his expression turning serious.
His eyes filled with determination.
---
Training for Bonded Evolution
Over the next two days, Ron focused on fishing for Pokémon and studying Bonded Evolution.
To unlock it, he needed absolute synchronization with Greninja.
Their movements had to be as one.
This… led to some embarrassing training exercises.
Ron mimicked Greninja's ninja-like stances, struggling to match its speed.
Meanwhile, Lillie watched with amusement, cuddling a Horsea she had caught with Ron's help.
Nearby, Snowy (Alolan Vulpix) looked on jealously, clearly disapproving of Horsea taking its usual spot in Lillie's arms.
As their Bonded Energy deepened, water streams enveloped Greninja's body, forming a high-speed spinning vortex.
When the vortex dissipated, a Bonded Greninja stood before Ron.
Excited, he immediately checked its updated status.
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Greninja's Status Screen
Pokémon: Greninja (Bonded Evolution)
Level: 36
Gender: Male
Height: 150 cm
Weight: 40 kg
Ability: Protean
Moves:
Toxic Spikes (Egg Move)
Water Shuriken, Shadow Sneak, Feint Attack
Bounce, Double Team, Water Gun, Rain Dance
Hydro Pump, Extrasensory, Protect, Spikes
Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Substitute
However, the system's response was disappointing:
"Your bond isn't strong enough yet."
Ron sighed.
As he lamented his financial struggles, the distant coastline of Vermilion City finally came into view.
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