Polliwag Outsmarts Growlithe

Polliwag's greatest motivation for wanting to become stronger was its desire to evolve, though there seemed to be other emotions at play.

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

This didn't stop Luo Mu from placing Growlithe and Polliwag on opposite sides. He then crouched down and said, "I won't be giving any commands. You two spar with each other."

Polliwag turned its gaze to Growlithe, who met its eyes with a look full of fighting spirit. Though hesitant, when Polliwag considered its three little followers, its eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light.

From the moment it hatched, Polliwag knew it was much smarter than its peers. Thus, with its three followers looking up to it, it shouldered the responsibility.

No matter what, it had to prove it could contribute to the farm like those Whimsicotts, only then could it establish a firm foothold in this Taoyuan-like farm.

"3, 2, 1, begin!"

As soon as Luo Mu finished speaking, Growlithe let out an excited Howl and, opening its mouth, spat out several scorching sparks towards Polliwag.

Because Polliwag was deep in thought, even though Luo Mu's countdown alerted it, its movements were still a beat slow. It could only instinctively dodge the sparks away from its vulnerable belly, taking the hit on its back.

Polliwag felt its wet skin on its back first emit a puff of white smoke as moisture evaporated, followed by a burning sensation. It cried out inwardly, "Not good!"

I was careless!

Polliwag often fought in the wild. Relying on its meager experience, it first sprayed a stream of water into the air, dousing its body to alleviate the burning.

Then, Polliwag stirred the wet mud with its lower limbs, flinging several clumps of dirt towards the charging Growlithe.

Growlithe couldn't stop in time and was smeared with mud all over its head. The fur covering its head not only became filthy but also obstructed its vision.

Luo Mu, observing this move from Polliwag, was somewhat surprised. This Polliwag's awareness seemed rather unusual!

Although Growlithe quickly reacted and began shaking its head rapidly, some mud still clung to its fur, impossible to remove.

If its vision was impaired, it would track by scent. Growlithe followed the direction of Polliwag's scent and directly used Flame Wheel, rolling rapidly towards it.

Seeing this, Polliwag, aware of Growlithe's Flame Wheel's power, once again utilized its agile mind and began to strategize.

A torrent of bubbles surged from its thick lips, covering the ground with a thick layer of foam. Having done this, Polliwag didn't stop. Instead, it kept its eyes fixed on the approaching Flame Wheel, finding the right moment to leap high!

Growlithe's Flame Wheel ignored the thick foam on the ground and sped rapidly towards Polliwag. At first glance, it seemed Polliwag's actions were futile, but in reality, they greatly slowed down the Flame Wheel's speed and reduced the power of its flames.

Not to mention that Polliwag leaped high with all its might at this moment, leaving Growlithe no choice but to unwillingly miss.

Exiting the Flame Wheel state, Growlithe shook off the foam clinging to its body and suddenly found the world before its eyes much clearer.

The foam had washed away the mud from its fur!

Before Growlithe could even rejoice in its "return to light," Polliwag's body began to descend, landing right in front of Growlithe.

Growlithe tensed its muscles, intending to deliver a fatal blow to Polliwag with its ultimate move, Double-Edge. However, halfway through condensing the move, the whirlpool-like pattern on Polliwag's abdomen suddenly caught its eye.

Growlithe stared at the swirling pattern, its gathered aura collapsing like a dam bursting. The look in its eyes grew vacant, and finally, its body went limp as it collapsed onto the ground, fast asleep.

Polliwag's final trump card—Hypnosis!

"Wonderful!"

Luo Mu strode forward, clapping his hands.

Today, before his eyes, Polliwag had demonstrated how to outwit Growlithe by relying on strategy when its strength was inferior.

The series of moves had all been setup for the final "Hypnosis" move that would undoubtedly capture Growlithe. This battle IQ could no longer be described as promising for the future; it was terrifyingly potent!

Polliwag's battle IQ had undoubtedly surpassed that of some ordinary rookie Trainers. Luo Mu hadn't expected that among the Polliwags he'd impulsively brought back, there would be a Pokémon with such potential.

Facing Luo Mu's praise, Polliwag shyly lowered its head, though its heart was bursting with joy.

Great, it really can do it!

Luo Mu picked up the sleeping Growlithe, checked it, and confirmed there were no external injuries. Its fur had even been washed clean by the foam.

Then, he took out a bottle of Burn Heal from the store and approached Polliwag, a gentle smile on his face. "The burn on your back needs to be treated too."

With that, Luo Mu aimed the special Burn Heal spray at the reddened area on Polliwag's back and sprayed a few times.

Polliwag felt a cool sensation on its back. It found, to its surprise, that not only had the burning feeling lessened, but the pain was also less noticeable.

"Wurururu~" (〃'▽'〃)

Polliwag comfortably narrowed its eyes.

"See? This medicine works really well." Seeing Polliwag enjoying it so much, Luo Mu's smile widened, and he started chatting. "Once, I caught a Charcadet. Oh, you probably don't know that's the name before Ceruledge evolves, that Pokémon that wears shadow armor and wields a Flame Blade in its hands, looking really cool."

Polliwag recalled for a moment, and an image of that Pokémon instantly appeared in its mind.

It remembered that although that Pokémon usually appeared aloof and cold, its body temperature would slightly rise when it saw its handmade skewers being eaten.

It looked very happy.

Seeing that Polliwag had remembered, Luo Mu continued, "I'll keep going. Back then, Charcadet was very proud."

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

"Wurururu!" (▼へ▼メ)

Polliwag hopped indignantly, seemingly upset by Charcadet's plight.

"I encountered Charcadet in the wild near Anistar Town. At the time, it was hostile towards all humans, and I had to put in a lot of effort to win it over."

Luo Mu rolled up his sleeve, revealing a patch of skin on his right arm that was a different color from the surrounding skin.