Rebattling Gary

After learning from the Little Girl that Kakuna appeared in Viridian Forest, Qian Bing immediately made his choice.

No, that wasn't right. Only children had to choose. He wanted both.

To complete the mission before anyone else, Qian Bing raced against time, his feet moving like the wind. He avoided every patch of wild grass where he might encounter wild Pokemon, unwilling to waste even a moment on the road.

The lush Viridian Forest was already visible in the distance when, suddenly, his left palm trembled. A dark shadow crashed down from a large tree in front of him.

Fortunately, the Spirit Illustrated Handbook Spirit had warned him in advance. Qian Bing reacted in time and dodged to the side, avoiding a direct hit from the figure that had jumped down from above.

He looked up in surprise. Through the cloud of dust, a Yellow-haired Handsome Boy stood with one hand on his hip and the other gripping a Spirit Ball, staring at him eagerly...

Once he recognized the familiar figure, Qian Bing became furious. He cursed irritably, "Gary! Is your brain fried? Don't you know how dangerous that was?"

"It's been so long, but your reactions are still as sharp as ever. Just as expected of the strongest opponent I acknowledge in my heart. Enough talk. Hurry up and have a Pokemon battle with me!"

Qian Bing only wanted to hurry to Viridian Forest and complete the two missions at hand. He had no time to battle Gary, so he immediately refused without even thinking.

"I'm busy. Move."

"As a Pokémon Trainer, how can you retreat and avoid a battle? That's what cowards do. I absolutely won't allow an opponent I've acknowledged to do something like that. I'll beat some sense into you! Go, Wartortle!"

Qian Bing was speechless.

Who the hell needs your permission? These days, even fighting comes with forced sales?

Move! Don't you know that my time is worth precious commission?

"I'm busy with a mission. I don't have time to fool around with you here."

As he spoke, he directly started walking, intending to pass Gary and leave.

"Wartortle, use Water Gun!"

But Qian Bing had completely underestimated Gary's thirst for battle. The next second, a Water Gun struck the ground in front of him. If Qian Bing hadn't reacted quickly, he would have soaked his pants and been forced to continue his adventure in misery.

That completely enraged him.

"If I don't knock you flat, are you going to keep standing here as a vicious dog blocking the road? Fine, I'll grant your wish! Go, Bulbasaur. Use Vine Whip!"

When Gary saw Qian Bing finally attack him, a trace of joy flashed across his face. He immediately threw himself into the battle.

"Wartortle, dodge and counter with Water Gun!"

Gary's Wartortle was clearly well trained. When the Vine Whip lashed toward it, it slightly bent its short but powerful legs, then leaped into the air, dodging the Vine Whip like a jump-rope trick.

At the same time, it opened its mouth and fired a stream of water as thick as an adult's arm at Bulbasaur.

If it had been any other move, Wartortle's evasive maneuver could have been considered flawless. It had not only dodged the attack successfully but had also had enough strength to launch an attack while floating in midair.

But it clearly lacked experience dealing with a Grass-type Pokemon's Vine Whip.

Vine Whip consisted of two vines extending from Bulbasaur's body. Even after shooting out, Bulbasaur could still control their speed, direction, and so on in midair. They might not have been as easy to control as its own arms, but they were not far off.

After the Vine Whip passed by Wartortle's body, its tips suddenly curved nimbly. They spun rapidly in midair as if gathering force, then lashed toward Wartortle's back with a howl.

"Wartortle, fire Water Gun at the ground!"

"Bulbasaur, use Tackle on it!"

Qian Bing and Gary issued their next commands almost simultaneously.

Gary reacted quickly and promptly made Wartortle change the direction of its Water Gun, but half of the attack had already been fired. Changing its target at that point was not easy.

Wartortle desperately turned the Water Gun by roughly thirty degrees, but the Vine Whip had already slammed heavily into its Turtle Shell.

The Turtle Shell provided decent protection, so the blow did not cause Wartortle too much damage. But its body could no longer maintain its balance. It fell backward and landed flat on its back in an awkward heap.

Wartortle had only just landed and had not had time to react when Bulbasaur flashed in front of it and slammed into it, sending it flying several meters.

After that chain of attacks, Wartortle's injuries were not particularly serious, but the humiliation was immense.

It was all thanks to Qian Bing's accurate judgment of the situation and the Grass-type Pokemon's elemental advantage over the Water-type Pokemon.

In the blink of an eye, Bulbasaur had gained an absolute advantage.

However, Gary was an extraordinarily gifted Pokémon Trainer. Rather than becoming discouraged in the face of adversity, he was spurred on to fight harder. He immediately issued his next command.

"Wartortle, use Tackle repeatedly to close the distance, then attack Bulbasaur at close range with Water Gun."

Hearing the command, Wartortle slapped its fallen forelimbs against the ground. Using them for support, it sprang up, then pushed off powerfully with its right leg and charged toward Bulbasaur.

After one Tackle, it had greatly shortened the distance between itself and Bulbasaur. Only a few meters remained.

At this point, Wartortle slowed down, and its stamina had clearly dropped considerably.

Qian Bing sneered inwardly. At Wartortle's current speed, even if it uses Tackle, how much damage can it really do to Bulbasaur?

But the next second, his pupils suddenly contracted, and surprise appeared on his face.

He had not expected Wartortle to immediately change its posture after the first Tackle, landing on all fours and using all four limbs to drive its body forward. This made up for the loss of stamina caused by the intense burst of movement.

After taking a small hop while crawling to catch its breath, Wartortle stamped both hind legs heavily against the ground. Like a rabbit fitted with a spring, it fiercely crashed toward Bulbasaur.

Using two Tackle moves in succession looked like a simple combination of two minor skills, with no difficulty at all. In reality, it placed extremely high demands on a Pokemon's physical abilities.

Without deliberate training by a Pokémon Trainer, or the enhancement gained from evolving once, Wartortle could not possibly use this technique at its current stage.

Amid his shock, Qian Bing watched the distance between Bulbasaur and Wartortle rapidly shrink. At this point, it was no longer realistic to come up with any complicated response.

In the space of milliseconds, his mind turned rapidly yet calmly. In the end, a trace of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes as he said, "Hold on, Bulbasaur. Take its attack and counter with Vine Whip."

Trading a Grass-type Vine Whip, which had an elemental advantage, for an ordinary-type Tackle was absolutely worthwhile.

Qian Bing might have seemed somewhat unconcerned about Bulbasaur's safety, but with their reactions clearly too slow, exchanging damage was the wisest choice.

Bang!

The next second, Wartortle's body slammed heavily into Bulbasaur.

Although Bulbasaur had a gentle temperament, it was quite tenacious. It dug its four feet into the ground and struggled to keep its body from being sent flying.

However, after gouging four claw marks into the ground beneath it, it was still forcibly pushed back one or two meters by the tremendous force.

Just as Qian Bing expected, the Vine Whip came howling back. It was about to strike Wartortle again when Wartortle suddenly opened its mouth wide and spat a huge stream of water at Bulbasaur.

It was Water Gun!

At such close range, the Water Gun's power could be displayed almost to its fullest. Bulbasaur had already nearly exhausted itself trying to keep its body stable and could no longer resist. Under the impact of the water, it was sent flying backward.

Because Bulbasaur's body had lost its balance, the Vine Whip deviated from its original trajectory. Meanwhile, the recoil from the Water Gun sent Wartortle flying back a short distance. The instant its body descended, it narrowly passed the sweeping Vine Whip.

In the end, Wartortle had completed a counterattack at an almost negligible cost.

Qian Bing's heart tightened when he saw this. He sighed, "Gary really is a formidable opponent. Looks like I have no choice but to take him seriously."