Before Zhen Si stood a little monkey with orange fur, a pair of large ears sticking upright, and flames blazing from its rear.
—It was Chimchar, one of the Sinnoh Region's Starter Pokémon!
Chimchar raised its slender arms and let out a spirited cry. It was clear that Zhen Si had trained it well.
It was utterly unlike the one in the anime, subjected to hellish training with unconcealable exhaustion in its eyes.
While Luo Mu sized up Chimchar, Zhen Si was likewise assessing the Pokémon Luo Mu had sent out.
His first reaction was confusion.
Putting aside when Luo Mu had caught a Goomy.
Of course, Zhen Si knew Goomy.
After all, Nemona, his classmate who often challenged him to battles, had raised one. Zhen Si had sent Pokémon out to fight it many times.
But the Goomy before him was clearly vastly different from what he remembered.
Was that steel shell reflecting a cold gleam under the sunlight trying to imitate a Magcargo?
And wasn't it nearly as large as Nemona's Goodra?
Seeing that Luo Mu, who for some reason was smiling rather sinisterly and giving him an inexplicably ominous feeling, had no intention of explaining, Zhen Si could only nervously have Chimchar probe out its opponent's capabilities first.
"Charge in, Fury Swipes!" Zhen Si shouted in a deep voice.
"Chim-char!"
Chimchar immediately responded to Zhen Si's command, rushing toward Goomy with nimble steps.
Since it had only been caught recently, Chimchar had not only yet to evolve, but had not mastered any decent moves either. In Zhen Si's view, its only advantage was probably its agility, which surpassed Goomy's.
He planned to direct the battle around that.
Besides, Fire-type moves were not particularly effective against Dragon-type Goomy anyway, so it did not matter whether it had mastered