Poliwag Outwits Growlithe

Poliwag's driving force for wanting to grow stronger was its wish to evolve, though there seemed to be some other emotion mixed in as well.

Luo Mu had some guesses about it, but he could not be completely certain yet.

That did not stop Luo Mu from placing Growlithe and Poliwag on opposite sides before crouching down. "I won't give any commands. Spar with each other."

Poliwag looked at Growlithe, who was staring back with a fighting spirit blazing in its eyes. It hesitated, but when it thought of its three little followers, a sharp glint flashed through its gaze.

Ever since hatching, Poliwag had known that it was much smarter than others of its kind. Therefore, after its three little followers came to rely on it, it took on that responsibility.

No matter what, it had to prove that it could contribute to the farm like those Eldegoss. Only then could it gain a foothold in this Shangri-La-like farm.

"Three, two, one, begin!"

The moment Luo Mu's voice fell, Growlithe let out an excited howl and opened its mouth, spitting several scorching Embers toward Poliwag.

Poliwag had happened to be deep in thought. Although Luo Mu's countdown alerted it, it still reacted a beat too slowly. It could only instinctively keep the Embers away from its vulnerable belly and take the attack on its back.

Poliwag felt white smoke rise from the damp skin on its back as the moisture evaporated, followed by a searing, burning pain. It immediately sensed trouble.

I was careless!

Poliwag often fought in the wild as well. Drawing on its limited experience, it first sprayed a stream of water into the air, letting it fall over its body to ease the burning sensation.

Then, Poliwag churned the mud soaked by Water Gun with its lower body and flung several clumps of mud at the charging Growlithe.

Growlithe could not stop in time and got smacked in the head by the mud. The fur above its head became filthy, and even its vision was somewhat obstructed.

Luo Mu watched Poliwag pull off that move with pleasant surprise. This Poliwag's battle awareness seemed rather extraordinary!

Although Growlithe quickly came to its senses and began vigorously shaking its head, some of the mud still clung stubbornly to its fur.

If its sight was impaired, then it would track by scent. Following Poliwag's smell, Growlithe used Flame Wheel and rolled forward at high speed.

Seeing this, Poliwag, which knew the power of Growlithe's Flame Wheel, put its nimble mind to work once more.

An overwhelming flood of Bubble surged from its thick lips, covering the ground in a thick layer of foam. Yet after doing all that, Poliwag did not stop moving. Instead, it fixed its eyes on the incoming Flame Wheel, seized the right moment, and leaped high into the air!

Growlithe's Flame Wheel ignored the thick foam on the ground and sped toward Poliwag. At first glance, Poliwag's efforts seemed pointless, but in reality, they greatly slowed Flame Wheel's movement and weakened its flames.

Not to mention that Poliwag had thrown itself into a powerful high jump. Growlithe could only charge past it in frustration.

Dropping out of its Flame Wheel state, Growlithe shook off the foam clinging to its body, only to suddenly realize that the world before its eyes had become much clearer.

The foam had washed the mud off its fur!

Before Growlithe could celebrate having "seen the light again," Poliwag began to descend, landing right in front of it.

Growlithe tensed its muscles, intending to deal Poliwag a fatal blow with its ultimate move, Double-Edge. However, before the move could fully gather power, the spiral pattern on Poliwag's belly suddenly came into view.

Growlithe stared at the spiral pattern, and the momentum it had built collapsed like floodwaters bursting through a dam. Its eyes beneath its fur gradually turned vacant, and finally, its body tilted before it fell to the ground and began snoring soundly.

Poliwag's final trump card—Hypnosis!

"Excellent!"

Luo Mu strode forward, applauding with both hands.

Today, Poliwag had shown him how to outwit Growlithe through strategy when its strength was inferior.

Its entire chain of moves had been setting up the final Hypnosis, which was certain to take down Growlithe. This level of battle intelligence could no longer be described as promising—it was terrifying!

Poliwag's battle intelligence had undoubtedly surpassed that of some ordinary rookie Trainers. Luo Mu had never expected that among the Poliwag he had brought back on a whim, there would be a Pokémon with such potential.

Faced with Luo Mu's praise, Poliwag shyly lowered its head, though its heart was dancing with joy.

Wonderful. So I really can do it too!

Luo Mu picked up Growlithe, who was sleeping soundly on the ground, and checked it over. Once he confirmed that it had no external injuries and that even its fur had been washed clean by the foam, he relaxed.

Then, he took out a bottle of Burn Heal sold in the shop and walked over to Poliwag with a gentle smile. "The burn on your back from Ember needs treatment too."

With that, Luo Mu aimed the special Burn Heal spray at the reddened area on Poliwag's back and sprayed it several times.

Poliwag only felt a cool sensation spread across its back. To its surprise, not only did the burning lessen, but the pain became far less noticeable as well.

"Wululu~" (〃'▽'〃)

Poliwag comfortably narrowed its eyes.

"See? This medicine works really well." Seeing how much Poliwag was enjoying it, Luo Mu's smile widened, and he began chatting away. "Back when I caught Charcadet... Oh, you probably don't know that was Ceruledge's name before it evolved. You know, that Pokémon wearing shadowy armor and carrying Flame Greatswords in both hands. The one that looks Very Cool."

Poliwag thought back, and its impression of that Pokémon immediately surfaced in its mind.

It remembered that although the Pokémon usually looked cold and rarely spoke, the temperature around it would rise slightly whenever it saw the skewers Poliwag made being eaten.

It seemed very happy.

Seeing that Poliwag remembered, Luo Mu said, "I'll continue, then. Charcadet was incredibly proud back then."

"It once had a Trainer, but for various reasons... No, Simply Put, Charcadet was not strong enough at the time, so that Trainer chose to abandon it."

"Grrr!" (angry face)

Poliwag bounced angrily, seemingly indignant over Charcadet's experience.

"I met Charcadet in the wilderness outside Alfornada. It was hostile toward every human then, and I put in a great deal of effort In order to win it over."

Luo Mu rolled up his sleeve, revealing an obvious patch on his right arm whose color did not match the rest of his skin.