Chapter 77: A Pokémon Trainer's Battle
Chapter 77: A Pokémon Trainer's Battle
Having solved the language problem and simply toyed with the goofy straw hat boy and his Wurmple, Rio walked towards Verdant Leaf City in a cheerful mood.
The further he walked, the clearer the outlines of various man-made buildings became.
The road also gradually widened from narrow and secluded. Among the passersby, some were rushing with their heads down, some were in groups full of laughter like they were on an outing, and some were carrying large bags on their backs, ready to peddle their prized goods to people around them at any moment.
Of course, the most conspicuous thing was that most of the passersby were accompanied by one or more Pokémon.
"Come look, come buy! Cheap and pretty accessories! You can't lose, you can't be fooled!"
A man who looked like a traveling merchant spread a piece of cloth by the side of the road and poured out a large pile of sparkling small ornaments from his backpack, arranging them on the cloth. Beside him stood a Pokémon resembling a raccoon, its two short front paws clasped together, awkwardly imitating a human bow.
"Ah, so cute!"
Since ancient times, humans have been unable to resist the charm of cute things. Before long, this small stall had attracted several young and lively girls.
Rio hid in the grass, watching through the gaps as the girls eagerly tried to stroke this endearingly cute Pokémon.
"A Zigzagoon, huh? It really does look quite cute in real life. And its fur, which looks stiff, is actually quite soft. And," Rio turned his gaze to the shiny trinkets on the vendor's stall, "Zigzagoon has the 'Pickup' ability. I estimate many of the things this stall is selling were picked up by the Zigzagoon. Using Zigzagoon's cuteness to attract customers, and then using its ability to pick up quite a few good things... this vendor has quite the business mind."
As he was watching this harmonious scene of humans and Pokémon with great interest, Rio's ears suddenly caught the sounds of a fierce battle.
Shifting his gaze, he saw on an open space on the other side of the road, two young boys standing on opposite sides with serious expressions, each holding a Poké Ball in his hand.
"A Pokémon battle?!"
This was the first time Rio had seen a proper Pokémon battle between trainers in the Pokémon world. Instantly, he couldn't even be bothered to watch the small stall anymore, his eyes fixed on the two facing off against each other.
Around the open space, a crowd of curious or enthusiastic pedestrians had already gathered.
"Oh, oh, is a battle about to start?"
"Mommy, what are those two big brothers doing?"
"They're about to have a Pokémon battle."
"Wow, Pokémon trainers are so cool!"
"Ah Zhi (Ash), don't lose to him!"
"Go for it, Xiao Hao (Goh)!"
Amidst the various discussions from the surrounding pedestrians and the cheers from their own companions, the two youths threw out their Pokémon in unison.
"Come out, Lotad!"
"Let's battle, Nincada!"
Two Poké Balls landed in front of their respective trainers. With two "pops," the Pokémon revealed themselves.
The youth called "Ash," wearing a sun visor backward, summoned a Lotad, a Water and Grass dual-type Pokémon with a blue body and a lotus leaf on its back.
The youth called "Goh," wearing a grey short-sleeved jacket, summoned a Nincada, a Bug-type Pokémon that was entirely white with a pair of brown forelegs. Its type was Bug and Ground, also a dual-type.
"Nincada's Bug-type moves can deal excellent damage to the Grass-type Lotad, but conversely, Lotad's Water and Grass-type moves are super effective against Nincada's Ground-type. I wonder how they will battle it out?"
Rio analyzed carefully, waiting with anticipation for the coming developments.
Striking first is always the key to battle.
"Nincada, use [Sand Attack]."
Goh waved his hand, commanding his Pokémon to act first before Ash could react.
Nincada didn't hesitate either. Its brown forelegs scraped the ground, kicking up a large cloud of sand towards the opposing Lotad.
"Use [Mist]."
Facing the dust cloud stirred up by [Sand Attack], Ash retreated slightly to avoid having his vision obscured by the sand, and at the same time, called for Lotad to use [Mist].
The effect of the [Sand Attack] move is to make the opponent's accuracy drop due to sand in their eyes, making it difficult to see the user's actions. Ash quickly used [Mist]—a move that prevents one's own stats from being lowered—to counter it.
The white mist spreading from Lotad's body came into contact with the splashing sand. The mist and sand canceled each other out, but it revealed the Nincada that had been crawling forward under the cover of the sand.
"Excellent, Nincada, use [Scratch]!"
Seeing his tactic succeed, Goh shouted, overjoyed.
"Zizi! (Pokémon Language) Take this!"
Nincada, using the sand to conceal its figure, had quickly approached Lotad. Facing the opponent at close range, it couldn't help but excitedly raise its two hard forelegs and then slash down forcefully.
Ash's expression changed.
"Lotad, dodge it quickly!"
Here it comes, the most classic command, Rio complained inwardly, but his eyes remained glued to the battle scene.
Perhaps because its vision was blocked by the large lotus leaf on its back, Lotad didn't react for a moment. By the time it heard its trainer's warning, it was too late to dodge. It had to take Nincada's slash head-on, crying out in pain as it retreated.
"Well done, Nincada! Keep using [Scratch] and press the advantage!"
Nincada, having gained the upper hand, continued to press forward, attempting to prevent its opponent from counterattacking with a continuous barrage of attacks.
But their intention was seen through by Ash.
"Lotad, [Astonish]!"
Lotad, who had been retreating, stabilized its body and immediately made a snarling face.
Of course, in the eyes of the bystanders or Rio, the originally cute Lotad, making this snarling face, didn't feel scary at all; on the contrary, it was a little bit cute.
However, Nincada, facing this [Astonish] move, didn't think so. It looked as if it had seen something very terrifying, broke out in two drops of cold sweat, and flinched, stopping its advance.
"Here's our chance! Lotad, use [Water Gun]!"
"Hah, ptoo!" Lotad brewed Water-type energy in its mouth, and with a spit, a thick column of water directly struck Nincada.
Ground-type is weak to Water-type, so Nincada was sent tumbling in a sorry state by the water jet.
"Finally, use [Absorb] and defeat it, Lotad!"
Verdant green Grass-type energy radiated from Lotad's body, and then the emanating energy instantly focused on Nincada.
As Lotad took a deep breath, a large amount of life-filled energy was drawn out from Nincada's body, causing the already somewhat dizzy Nincada to be completely knocked out. Conversely, the wounds on Lotad's body gradually disappeared with the infusion of energy, and the entire Pokémon became spirited again.
The result was decided!
"@" Nincada was unable to continue battling, so Ash was the winner of this duel!
"Yeah, awesome!"
Ash's companions cheered and rushed over.
Goh, on the other hand, vexatiously took out his Poké Ball and recalled the swirl-eyed Nincada.
"Damn it, you win this time. Here, 100 Yuan for the battle."
Goh reluctantly took out a few banknotes from his pants pocket, handed them to Ash, and then left in a huff.
Seeing the duel had ended, the crowd of spectators dispersed, still wanting more, leaving only the young trainer celebrating with his companions.
Rio, who had witnessed the entire event, also felt his heart surge. Although the two Pokémon fighting just now were only around lv10, and the moves used and the intensity of the battle could only be considered very basic, that kind of atmosphere of battling under the public eye, amidst the noisy excitement, and the fighting style of being in sync with one's trainer, made Rio, who was used to the struggles of wild Pokémon, feel a little longing.
"Thinking of it this way, finding a trainer doesn't seem so unacceptable after all..."
Rio pondered in his heart as he continued towards Verdant Leaf City.