Poliwhirl Outsmarts Growlithe

Poliwag's driving force behind wanting to grow stronger was its wish to evolve. Besides that, it seemed to have some other feelings as well.

Luo Mu had some guesses, but he couldn't be completely sure yet.

That didn't stop him from setting Growlithe and Poliwag down apart from each other, then crouching and saying, "I won't give you any instructions. The two of you can spar with each other."

Poliwag turned its gaze toward Growlithe, who was meeting its eyes with a battle-hungry stare. It hesitated, but when it thought of its three underlings, a glint suddenly flashed in its eyes.

Ever since it hatched, Poliwag had known that it was much smarter than other members of its species. So, when the three underlings had joined it, it had taken on the responsibility.

No matter what, it had to prove it could contribute to the farm just like those Whimsicott. That was the only way it could establish a foothold on this farm that was like Taoyuan.

"Three, two, one, begin!"

The moment Luo Mu finished speaking, Growlithe let out an excited howl and opened its mouth, shooting several blazing embers at Poliwag.

Poliwag had been thinking, so even though Luo Mu's countdown had alerted it, it was still a beat too slow. It could only instinctively dodge the embers away from its vulnerable belly and take the hit on its back.

Poliwag felt its damp skin turn white with steam as the moisture evaporated. Then came a searing, burning sensation, and it knew it was in trouble.

It had let its guard down!

Poliwag often battled in the wild. Drawing on its limited experience, it first sprayed a stream of water into the air, soaking its body to ease the burning sensation.

Then Poliwag stirred the mud beneath it with its hind legs, splashing it with Water Gun, and flung several clods at the charging Growlithe.

Growlithe couldn't stop in time and took the mud squarely in the face. The fur on its head became filthy, and its vision was partially obstructed.

Luo Mu was pleasantly surprised to see Poliwag's move. This Poliwag's battle instincts seemed pretty extraordinary!

Although Growlithe quickly reacted and began shaking its head, some of the mud remained stuck in its fur and wouldn't come off.

If it couldn't rely on its eyesight, it could track by scent. Following Poliwag's scent, Growlithe rolled toward it at high speed with Flame Wheel.

Seeing this, Poliwag knew how powerful Growlithe's Flame Wheel was, and once again put its nimble mind to work.

A torrent of bubbles surged from its thick lips, blanketing the ground in a thick layer. But Poliwag didn't stop there. It kept its eyes fixed on the oncoming Flame Wheel and leapt high at just the right moment!

Growlithe's Flame Wheel ignored the thick layer of bubbles and raced toward Poliwag. At first glance, Poliwag's effort seemed useless, but in reality, it had greatly slowed the Flame Wheel and weakened its flames.

What's more, Poliwag had put all its strength into leaping high at that very moment. Growlithe could only rush past in frustration.

Exiting its Flame Wheel, Growlithe shook off the bubbles clinging to its body and suddenly realized that the world before it was much clearer.

The bubbles had washed the mud from its fur!

Before Growlithe could even celebrate being able to "see the light again," Poliwag began to fall, landing right in front of it.

Growlithe tensed its muscles, intending to deliver a fatal blow with its ultimate move, Double-Edge. But just as it had gathered half the energy for the move, the spiral pattern on Poliwag's belly suddenly caught its eye.

As Growlithe stared at the spiral pattern, its gathered momentum drained away like floodwater through a breached dam. Its gaze beneath its fur gradually turned vacant. Finally, it toppled over and fell fast asleep.

Poliwag's final trump card—Hypnosis!

"Brilliant!"

Luo Mu walked over, clapping his hands.

Today, Poliwag had shown him how to outsmart Growlithe through cunning, despite being weaker.

Every move in that sequence had been setting up the final attack, Hypnosis, which was sure to take Growlithe down. Its battle intelligence wasn't merely promising—it was downright terrifying!

There was no doubt Poliwag's battle intelligence already surpassed that of some ordinary rookie trainers. Luo Mu hadn't expected that among the Poliwag he'd brought back on a whim, there would be a Pokémon with such potential.

At Luo Mu's praise, Poliwag lowered its head shyly, but inside, it was overjoyed.

Wonderful! So it really could do it!

Luo Mu picked up Growlithe, who was fast asleep on the ground, and examined it. It had no external injuries, and even the mud had been washed from its fur.

Then he took out a bottle of Burn Heal from the shop and went over to Poliwag, smiling warmly. "The burn on your back needs treatment too."

With that, Luo Mu sprayed a few bursts of the special Burn Heal on the reddened patch on Poliwag's back.

Poliwag felt a cool sensation spread across its back. To its surprise, the burning sensation eased, and the pain became less noticeable too.

"Bululu~" (〃'▽'〃)

Poliwag narrowed its eyes in comfort.

"See? This medicine works really well." Seeing how much Poliwag was enjoying it, Luo Mu smiled even more broadly, and once he got started, he couldn't stop talking. "I once caught a Charcadet. Oh, right—you probably don't know that's what Ceruledge was called before it evolved. You know, the Pokémon wearing dark armor, with Flame Blades for hands? It looks really cool."

Poliwag thought back, and an image of that Pokémon instantly came to mind.

It remembered that although the Pokémon usually seemed aloof and taciturn, the temperature around it would rise slightly whenever someone ate the skewers Poliwag had made.

It had seemed really happy.

Seeing that Poliwag remembered, Luo Mu continued, "Anyway, Charcadet was really proud back then."

"It had a former Trainer, but for various reasons... No, to put it simply, Charcadet wasn't strong enough at the time, so the Trainer abandoned it."

"Bululu!" (▼へ▼メ)

Poliwag hopped angrily, as if outraged on Charcadet's behalf.

"I met Charcadet in the wilderness near Anistar Town. Back then, it was hostile toward all humans. It took me a lot of effort to win it over."

Luo Mu rolled up his sleeve. On his right arm, there was a clearly visible patch of skin whose color didn't match the rest.