A Battle Between Two Newborn Pokémon

A Battle Between Two Newborn Pokémon

"Come on!"

Lu Ze and Sui Yan stood facing each other in the Pokémon battle arena, with a referee from the Battle Center between them. He held a small red flag, and when it fell, the battle began.

"Both sides, release your Pokémon."

The two of them simultaneously took out their Poké Balls and released their respective Pokémon. Sui Yan sent out his Growlithe, while Lu Ze released his starter Pokémon, Zubat.

"Zubat, it's your first battle. Do your best."

Zubat fluttered up and down twice to show that it understood, then stared seriously at the Growlithe across from it. The Growlithe bared its fangs and let out two fierce growls.

"Whoosh!"

The referee's small flag fell, and the two gave their commands at the same time.

"Growlithe, rush in—Bite!"

"Zubat—Supersonic!"

Zubat flapped its wings and opened its mouth, releasing invisible sound waves. The charging Growlithe was affected, its momentum abruptly halting before it began crashing around in different directions.

"Damn it, that's underhanded! You used Supersonic right away!"

Watching Growlithe lose control on the field, Sui Yan grumbled irritably.

Fortunately, this was just an ordinary arena. In another type of venue, a Growlithe in Confusion might have gotten hurt.

"Zubat, get close and use Absorb!"

Lu Ze smiled confidently and pressed his advantage. Zubat flew beside Growlithe and gave it a quick suck. An invisible stream of energy flowed from Growlithe's body into Zubat.

"Beating up a baby feels great~"

Lu Ze sighed.

"Growlithe, snap out of it!"

Sui Yan shouted anxiously. Whether it was his shouting or Zubat's Absorb that did the trick, no one knew.

Growlithe shook its head, clarity returning to its eyes. It had actually broken free of Confusion.

"Awesome, Growlithe! Use Bite on Zubat!"

Seeing Growlithe recover, Sui Yan shouted excitedly.

"Zubat, fly higher!"

Zubat flew upward. Growlithe had no ranged attacks and simply could not reach Zubat. It could only hop around beneath it and bark continuously.

"Lu Ze, you're so underhanded."

Sui Yan looked at the scene before him in utter helplessness.

"Zubat, use Absorb."

Zubat flew slightly lower and, after making sure Growlithe still could not reach it, repeatedly used Absorb to drain Growlithe's stamina.

Seeing that it could not reach its opponent no matter what, red flames began to rise around Growlithe's body.

"Hm? Is that... Flame Charge?"

Lu Ze guessed as he saw the flames on Growlithe.

Sui Yan, meanwhile, was somewhat stunned. Why had flames suddenly appeared around Growlithe?

"Finish it—Air Slash!"

Zubat gathered strength in the air for a moment, then swept a white blade of air from its wings and struck Growlithe.

"Growlithe is unable to battle. Zubat wins."

Seeing the spirals in Growlithe's eyes after it fell, the referee raised his small flag and announced the result.

Zubat flew back to Lu Ze's side, panting lightly.

Seeing Zubat like this, Lu Ze understood that it was still a newborn Pokémon. Even though Air Slash was its Egg Move, something etched into its DNA, using it now still consumed a great deal of stamina.

"Come on, let's carry Growlithe outside for a checkup. We can register them while we're at it."

Lu Ze walked over to Sui Yan, who was comforting Growlithe on the field.

"Okay, let's go, Growlithe."

Growlithe had regained the ability to move not long after the battle ended. It was already doing much better after Sui Yan fed it an Energy Cube, but it still needed a checkup for any hidden injuries.

"Lu Ze, you were too underhanded. Not only did you use Supersonic, you flew into the air so I couldn't touch you. That was too much."

Even as they walked, Sui Yan kept complaining about Lu Ze's underhanded tactics.

"That was your own problem, okay? At that starting distance, with no ranged moves, of course I'd inflict a status condition first. See? Once the status condition landed, I won easily."

"Bullshit. That was because you were flying in the air and I couldn't reach you."

"Haha, you're just stupid. You don't even know your own Pokémon's moves."

Lu Ze laughed as he mocked Sui Yan.

"What moves? Growlithe was just born. Doesn't it only have Bite and Leer? I couldn't touch you anyway, so what would lowering your Defense stat with Leer do?"

"There was a ring of flames around Growlithe in the middle of the battle. Do you know what that was?"

"What was it?"

"Flame Charge, idiot. Your Pokémon was born yesterday too, so why could Zubat use Air Slash? Because Pokémon have things called Egg Moves."

Lu Ze explained impatiently. Only then did Sui Yan suddenly understand, regretfully punching Lu Ze once.

"Damn, why didn't I think of that?"

"Seriously, and you call yourself a top student. All that studying was for nothing."

"Quit being so sarcastic. It was my first battle, so I was too nervous."

"Tch!"

The two handed Growlithe over to the young nurse, then sat on the benches outside to wait. Before long, the nurse came out with Growlithe.

"Your Growlithe is in good condition. There's nothing wrong with it, but be careful. Newborn Pokémon should avoid high-intensity battles, as they can easily sustain hidden injuries that may affect them later."

"Sorry, we'll be more careful."

Facing the serious young nurse, the two replied somewhat sheepishly.

"It's fine. Every year, new Trainers come here for Pokémon battles because they can't restrain their excitement after their Pokémon hatch. It's not a big problem, as long as the battles aren't too intense or prolonged."

"Thank you, Nurse. We understand."

"Mhm, you're welcome. It looks like you haven't had your Pokémon registered yet, so hurry over. There are especially a lot of people these past few days."

After saying that, the nurse turned and left. Lu Ze and Sui Yan looked at each other, then simultaneously recalled their Pokémon and headed for the Registration Center.

Registering a Pokémon required either a student ID or national ID. Once the registration was connected to the network, that Pokémon would officially be recognized as yours. After this rule was introduced, the number of abandoned Pokémon dropped significantly.

However, many people still liked exploiting loopholes. Wealthy families would first have their Pokémon appraised, then abandon those with poor Aptitude afterward. After all, Aptitude appraisals were extremely expensive, and ordinary people rarely had them done.

Later, the government discovered this situation and cracked down on it heavily. Now, if someone wanted an Aptitude appraisal, they could not have one done at any Pokémon Center or appraisal institution without registration.

Registration for Lu Ze and Sui Yan was even more complicated. Since they were seniors in high school, the Pokémon's birth date had to be verified during registration. If it had been born more than five days ago, registration would not be permitted.

This was also one of the fairness rules of the National College Entrance Examination. It would be impossible to let a Pokémon trained for over a decade compete against one someone else had trained for three months.

That was why so many people had gone to buy Pokémon Eggs after the mock exam ended that day.

They waited in line for a long time because there were simply too many people. Finally, it was almost Lu Ze and Sui Yan's turn, so Sui Yan released Growlithe and Torkoal, while Lu Ze released Zubat and Munchlax.

Sui Yan was a little surprised when he saw Munchlax. "You actually caught a Snorlax?"

"Yeah, it's what I was just telling you about. Then my dad took me to buy my second Pokémon."

The moment Munchlax came out, it hugged Lu Ze's leg and kept rubbing its head against his calf.

"Alright, alright, stop rubbing. Here, take it."

Lu Ze smiled helplessly. Knowing that Munchlax was asking for Energy Cubes, he took out a box from his Backpack and handed it over, then gave one to Zubat as well.

"Did you bring Energy Cubes?" Lu Ze asked Sui Yan.

Sui Yan suddenly realized, then took out a box of Energy Cubes and distributed several to Growlithe and Torkoal.

"Next."

A staff member called out from inside. Lu Ze gave Sui Yan a shove, signaling for him to go in first.

Sui Yan came out shortly after entering, and Lu Ze went in afterward. Before long, both of their Pokémon had been registered. From now on, anyone could look up their owners online using the Pokémon.

They had waited a long time to register their Pokémon because there were so many people. By the time they came out, it was already past one and nearly two o'clock. After eating together, they decided to head home separately.

"My papers are almost finished. I should be able to wrap them all up this afternoon, so the Written Trial should be secure. How's your Written Trial going?"

"Who am I? A top student, of course I'll be fine!" Sui Yan declared confidently.

"Alright, then. Let's meet at the Pokémon Center tomorrow. I'll rent a small training field. The two of us can train together tomorrow. How about you follow my lead? Your command skills are kind of bad."

"Bullshit, it was my first time, okay?"

Sui Yan flew into a rage, and Lu Ze laughed at him.

"Even a platypus isn't as stubborn as you."

"***"

"Haha, alright, I'll stop. See you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow. I'll definitely beat you into submission!"