Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension

The Pokémon Center Roy had come to was the one closest to Sheng Hai University.

Newbie Trainers were all students who had been training for less than a year. Those who came to battle in the beginner rooms were freshmen from several nearby universities.

Running into a student from the same school was hardly unlikely...

So, Roy had run into someone he knew.

"I didn't expect to run into you here."

Lin Shixian said with a surprised expression.

The battle arena was roughly the size of a basketball court. For battles between beginner Trainers, that was more than enough space.

Other than the two of them, the only person in the spectator seats was a referee.

That was because neither of them had any real fame.

It was said that whenever Xiao Bin, the Child of the Heavenly Kings, battled, several media reporters would be in the stands, along with quite a few fans.

Though they had only met once, Lin Shixian had been deeply impressed by Roy... Aside from Roy's outrageous remarks, Lin Shixian had to admit that this guy was just a tiny bit handsome.

Lin Shixian, who usually paid little attention to appearances, could not help feeling a trace of envy.

In the Trainer world, strength is what ultimately matters!

No matter who his opponent was, Lin Shixian never underestimated them. He gripped his Poké Ball seriously and waited for the referee to speak.

Aside from that initial expression of surprise, neither of them exchanged any unnecessary pleasantries. For battle Trainers...

—The moment their eyes met, the battle had already begun!

"Terrain: grassland."

"Weather: sunny."

"The rules are a 1v1 match, ending when one side loses the ability to battle!"

"Countdown: 3, 2... 1!"

The referee announced the rules and counted down. Then, beneath the two men's gazes, he sharply lowered the flag in his hand.

"Battle start!"

The instant he finished speaking, both Poké Balls were thrown at once. Amid flashes of white light, their Pokémon appeared simultaneously.

Bulbasaur and Riolu.

—Once the countdown ended, releasing Pokémon simultaneously was one of the rules of competitive battling.

Otherwise, the side that released their Poké Ball second would have too great an advantage, since they could choose a Pokémon with a type advantage.

Though the two were still newbies, they still had to follow the rules.

"That Riolu..." A flicker of surprise crossed Lin Shixian's eyes.

Whether a Pokémon had been well raised could be initially judged through many aspects: its fur, eyes, physique, presence, and more.

Once a Pokémon left its infancy and entered its growth stage, the speed of its development depended entirely on its Trainer.

Compared with a week ago, this Riolu's spirit, energy, and demeanor were worlds apart.

Lin Shixian's heart skipped a beat.

But...

What do those bands on Riolu's hands mean?

Lin Shixian was cautious yet puzzled.

Against an opponent whose abilities were unknown, probing from a distance was the best strategy!

"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!"

Bulbasaur's body trembled as the emerald seed on its back suddenly split apart, producing several green leaves that floated in midair.

The next second, the leaves turned into sharp blades and shot forth like arrows leaving the bowstring.

To be honest, Roy could not see the trajectories of the flying blades. He could only make out blurry shadows slicing through the air.

It was his first battle, and the rapid pace made his reaction a beat too slow.

Fortunately, Riolu did not need his command to deal with such a simple probe.

With a quick flash, Riolu dodged the opponent's test attack.

""So fast—!!""

Roy was astonished by the speed of Razor Leaf, while Lin Shixian was equally shocked by Riolu's nimble movements.

"Get close to him. Rock Smash."

"Disrupt him. Vine Whip."

Both gave their commands in the briefest possible words, fighting for every second.

Completely unlike the make-believe battles in the anime, Pokémon in this world were far too powerful. Even being a fraction of a second slow with a command could have an enormous impact on the battle.

The standards expected of Trainers had been raised dramatically.

Following the command, Riolu rapidly closed in on Bulbasaur. Having witnessed its agility, which completely defied that of a "Novice-level Pokémon," Lin Shixian knew that once Riolu got close, Bulbasaur would fall into a complete disadvantage.

The command Lin Shixian gave was not "attack," but "interfere."

Because if Riolu chose to withstand a Vine Whip and seized Bulbasaur's vines, it could still force the battle into close combat.

Four vine whips suddenly emerged from the emerald bulb on Bulbasaur's back.

The long whips rose high, then lashed down with terrifying force along Riolu's path.

"Boom!"

The grassland collapsed as rocks and dust erupted into the air.

Flying sand and stones pelted Riolu, forcing it to stop. Its arm glowed as it gathered energy and chopped at the rocks.

Rock Smash!

True to its name, the incoming stones were shattered to pieces.

Before Riolu had a chance to catch its breath, several dark shadows quietly struck through the cover of dust!

Another Razor Leaf!

By the time Riolu noticed them, the Razor Leaf attack had already reached a distance it could not evade.

"Chah!"

Riolu cried out in pain, several cuts appearing across its body.

However, it was not bleeding.

Pokémon were extraordinarily mysterious creatures, and some people even called them magical beasts.

What made Pokémon extraordinary was not merely their strength, but the remarkable nature of their life forms.

Dragons, ghosts, humanoids, grass, bugs, swords... Pokémon possessed all manner of strange and varied biological structures.

Yet there was one life-preservation mechanism that every Pokémon possessed.

—Near-Death State.

Suppose a Pokémon had 100 HP. Whether it suffered 101 points of damage or 9,999 points of damage, the result would be the same: its HP would drop to zero.

For humans, having their HP drop to zero meant true death.

But Pokémon were different. When a Pokémon's HP dropped to zero, it merely entered a Near-Death State.

In a Near-Death State, a Pokémon would seal away its most fundamental life force. Only if it went untreated for a certain amount of time, or was attacked again, would it truly die.

"Keep charging! Quick Attack!"

Though it had been disrupted, Riolu had still successfully closed part of the distance. Bulbasaur was already within the charging range of its Quick Attack.

However, as if he had anticipated this all along, Lin Shixian's voice rang out.

"Bullet Seed!"

Riolu hurriedly stopped and darted aside.

Bulbasaur fired machine-gun-like bullets of energy from its mouth, blasting several holes into the ground where Riolu had stood. Their power rivaled that of small grenades.

Seeing this, Roy revealed an enlightened expression.

...So this was how to deal with Quick Attack.

Quick Attack was certainly fast, but it had no room for variation.

A straight-line charging path was far too easy to predict.

Ordinary newbie Trainers might struggle to deal with it, but for a recommended student with extensive battle experience like Lin Shixian, he had long learned the proper response from his elders.

He only needed to predict the straight-line trajectory between two points.

That was why Quick Attack was merely a basic-level move.

Having learned another lesson, Roy continued his assault.

"Vine Whip!"

"Rock Smash."

The battle fell into a stalemate.

One side wanted to close the distance and end things in close combat.

The other continuously interfered from afar, seeking victory through battlefield control.

Both sides' stamina was dropping rapidly.

But the side expending more energy was undoubtedly Riolu, the attacker.

"Most pure Fighting-type Pokémon have the weakness of being poor at long-range combat. Riolu was no exception."