Torchic spotted Song Yuan and the others, and immediately grew wary.
"Chirp, chirp!"
"Let's get started. You can all come at me together."
This was a Side Quest reward practically delivered right to his door. He couldn't possibly pass it up.
But he was worried the group might not dare, so Su Yi simply invited them to attack all at once.
Frogadier had evolved once, and with its Purple Qualification, it was stronger than Pokémon of other qualifications at the same level. Besides, it was rare for someone to evolve their Pokémon so soon after entering Spirit Primal Forest.
Song Yuan hadn't planned to fight at first, but when he heard Su Yi invite them all to attack together, he immediately reconsidered.
They exchanged glances, then took out their Poké Balls, making their answer clear.
"In that case, let's see what you've got, man."
Song Yuan brought out his Spinarak. At the same time, his three lackeys took out their own Poké Balls and summoned their Starter Pokémon.
"Poochyena!"
"Bidoof!"
"Thievul!"
The three lackeys had two Dark-type Pokémon, Poochyena and Thievul, and one Normal-type Pokémon, Bidoof.
All three had Green Excellent Qualification.
As for Song Yuan, he brought out his Bug- and Poison-type Spinarak.
"Frogadier, Torchic, attack together. Frogadier, use Smokescreen. Torchic, use Ember into the smoke!"
"Frogadier!"
"Chirp!"
Torchic had just recovered some of its strength and was ready to fight again.
Su Yi had learned about Smokescreen when he'd checked Frogadier's information a moment ago. It had learned the move when it evolved.
The sudden cloud of smoke engulfed Thievul, Bidoof, and Poochyena, blocking their vision.
Torchic's Ember shot straight into the smoke, spreading through it and sending its temperature soaring!
"Bidoof!"
"Argh!"
"Yow!"
The three Pokémon, Bidoof, Thievul, and Poochyena, were all only Lv. 7. Their levels were low, and they didn't have much stamina. The heat of the smoke injured them immediately.
The three lackeys' expressions changed. A combination move?
That was way too strong!
Only Song Yuan's Spinarak was still unharmed.
Song Yuan made a snap decision. The battle had already begun, so he could only take down the leader first.
"Spinarak, use String Shot on Frogadier!"
Once Frogadier was restrained, Song Yuan would lead the others in a quick escape.
He didn't want Spinarak to get hurt. Having a Pokémon injured right at the beginning of the first day of the trial would be a serious headache.
It might even affect his final trial results.
" Torchic, give it another taste of your Ember!"
"Frogadier, take care of the other three!"
"Chirp!"
"Frogadier!"
Although this was Torchic and Frogadier's first time fighting together, they worked well enough as a team, each taking on a different task.
Frogadier would finish off the other three Pokémon.
Torchic used Ember again, burning up the String Shot heading toward Frogadier.
Song Yuan's heart sank. The smoke had begun to thin, and the other three Pokémon were injured and unable to use their moves.
Frogadier quickly knocked them out one after another. They collapsed, unable to continue battling.
Spinarak's web had been burned away, and it was afraid of Fire-type moves. It hesitated, too intimidated to approach.
"Encore, Ember!"
Spinarak collapsed, unable to continue battling.
[ Ding! Congratulations, host! Frogadier and Torchic defeated Bidoof, Thievul, Poochyena, and Spinarak, earning a large amount of Battle Experience!] [ Ding! Congratulations, host! Frogadier has reached Lv. 18, and Torchic has reached Lv. 14!] [ Ding! Congratulations, host! You successfully battled three Trainers and completed Side Quest 5. Rewards issued: Roulette Draw Chance +1. Current draw chances: 3!] [ Ding! Congratulations, host! You achieved a three-win streak and completed Side Quest 6. Rewards issued: Mysterious Item acquired and automatically stored in Spatial Storage. Please check it yourself.] [ Ding! Congratulations, host! The Battle Drop Function yielded 3 Poké Balls and 130,000 Gold Coins!]
130,000 Gold Coins?
The Battle Drop Function might as well be called the Battle Copy Function.
Su Yi privately guessed that the 130,000 Gold Coins had come from the Trainer leading the group.
The Poké Balls were the most ordinary kind, probably from the three lackeys.
Not bad, not bad!
The quests had only refreshed a little while ago, and now he'd already claimed all the rewards.
Su Yi glanced at Song Yuan and the others but didn't give them any trouble.
He turned and left with Frogadier and Torchic.
Song Yuan and his three lackeys were left scrambling to take Recovery Potions and Burn Heals out of their bags and give them to their Pokémon.
They were close to tears. Who could have guessed they'd run into such a ruthless guy?
Su Yi found a relatively secluded spot.
The quests were about to refresh, and then he'd try his luck at the Big Wheel!
Three chances. What would he get?
"Frogadier, Torchic, you both did great. Keep working well together from now on, and let's grow stronger together."
Su Yi found a cave.
From what he could tell, no other Pokémon lived there.
The footprints inside were very old and had dried up long ago.
"Frogadier!"
"Chirp!"
Torchic and Frogadier exchanged glances, then both little Pokémon nuzzled Su Yi's pant leg.
"All right. First, we'll help Torchic evolve. Then we'll need to catch a new partner. Keep an eye on our surroundings and don't let any Wild Pokémon interrupt me."
After encouraging the two Pokémon, Su Yi contacted the system with a thought.
As expected, the quests had refreshed.
[ Ding! Side Quest 7 issued: Expand your Pokémon team—own three Pokémon (excluding Groudon). Reward: One Roulette Draw Chance!] [ Ding! Side Quest 8 issued: Raise three Pokémon to Lv. 20. Reward: One Roulette Draw Chance!] [ Ding! Side Quest 9 issued: Win ten more Spirit Battles (0/10). Reward: Mysterious Fishing Rod!]
Three more Side Quests.
Well, he'd try his luck at the wheel first.
"System, I want to use the Big Wheel."
He said it silently.
[ Ding! One draw chance deducted. The Big Wheel draw begins...]
The system's prompt sounded, and soon a virtual image appeared before Su Yi's eyes.
It showed a Big Wheel.
The areas around the wheel were all dim, divided into several sections.
One showed an image of coins.
One showed an image of a card.
One showed an image of a scroll.
Another section had three question marks.
A pointer stood in the middle.
Now the pointer was spinning.
Su Yi's gaze moved between the four sections.
He dismissed the coin section immediately, without question.
When would he ever be short of Gold Coins?
He'd just earned 130,000 Gold Coins from battling those Trainers.
There was no question that the card and scroll would be good items.
As for the section with three question marks, he had no idea what it might hold.
The pointer spun more and more slowly.
It moved back and forth across the four sections.
It was about to stop.
"Anything but coins! Please, no coins!"
After a long wait, the pointer finally passed the coin section.
At last, it landed on the dim card.
The pointer stopped, and the card lit up.
[ Ding! Congratulations, host! You obtained 1 Qualification Upgrade Card!] Qualification Upgrade Card description: Choose any Pokémon. Upon successful use, its qualification will rise by one tier! Note: A Pokémon's qualification can only be upgraded once.
"Phew, what a great item!"
Su Yi was overjoyed. A Pokémon's qualification was generally fixed under normal circumstances.
If you were born with White Qualification, then you had White Qualification.
If you were born with Blue Qualification, you wouldn't change to any other qualification.
But this Qualification Upgrade Card could undoubtedly let a Pokémon change its fate.
"System, let's keep drawing!"
Su Yi was getting excited.
What great item would he get next?
Before you continue