Hesitation Leads to Defeat

Hesitation Leads to Defeat

After soothing Zubat, it was already late. Lu Ze held Zubat in his arms, stroked the Umbreon beside him, and said,

"You'll still need to help teach Zubat a few moves. You've worked hard these past few days. When my dad brings Zubat over tomorrow, I'll make you some delicious Energy Cubes as thanks."

"Eevee~"

Umbreon gave him a mildly reproachful look, indicating that it was no big deal and there was no need for thanks.

Lu Ze chuckled. "Haha, exactly. It's no big deal, so don't refuse."

Then he turned to Kommo-o as well. "You get some too, so don't refuse either."

"Roar!"

Kommo-o patted its chest, indicating that it was no problem.

Just as they were about to head home, Su Tingxi walked over and said to Lu Ze,

"Lu Ze, I thought about it. How about we go take another look at Exeggcute's Pokémon Egg?"

Su Tingxi spoke uncertainly. He still had not made up his mind because he was not sure when he would be able to get his second Pokémon. If he still only had one Pokémon after entering university, he would be at quite a disadvantage.

But he still felt that Alolan Form Exeggutor had too many weaknesses. Although it could set up Trick Room itself, that would let everyone know it would use Trick Room as soon as it entered the field. Its opponent could either boost themselves directly or attack with super-effective moves. Either way, it would be a loss for him.

Lu Ze agreed, and the four of them headed out together. Along the way, Su Tingxi told Lu Ze about his thoughts and asked him to analyze what he should do.

Lu Ze could not help finding it amusing. He felt Su Tingxi was simply overthinking things.

"Think about it. Sure, it has a lot of weaknesses, but it also has plenty of coverage. Ground-type Stomping Tantrum and Earthquake, Fighting-type Low Kick, Brick Break, and Superpower, Dark-type Throat Chop, Poison-type Sludge Bomb, Psychic-type Psyshock and Zen Headbutt, Steel-type Iron Tail and Iron Head."

"It can also set up Sunny Day, Trick Room, and terrain. It can boost with Swords Dance, run Substitute, Rest, and Poison, learn Power Swap and Skill Swap, and its defenses aren't low either. It can take hits, attack, support, and control. You're worried about taking one loss from moving second? With all that, what more could you possibly want?"

Lu Ze counted on his fingers as he listed Exeggcute's strengths one by one.

"And evolving it only takes a Leaf Stone and a trip to Hawaii. With your family background, that's easy."

Su Tingxi was completely tempted. Indeed, with so many advantages, it was wrong to fixate on that one flaw. He should make a decision sooner. So he anxiously grabbed Lu Ze and rushed forward.

"I've decided. It's definitely going to be that one. Let's hurry!"

"Huh? Hey! It can't run away, so what are you rushing for?"

Lu Ze helplessly let Su Tingxi drag him into a run.

"..."

"..."

"..."

By the time they arrived, Exeggcute's Pokémon Egg was gone. Lu Ze called over a store clerk, who said the egg had just been bought. Thus came the scene from before: the three of them stared at each other in silence.

Sui Yan and Tang Yunqin, who had been strolling along behind them, saw the scene and grew curious.

"What happened to you guys?"

After Lu Ze explained the whole story to them, both of them immediately looked at Su Tingxi with pity.

"...If you want to laugh, just laugh."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA—hic!"

When they reached the entrance, Su Tingxi was still feeling down. In the end, Lu Ze was the first to break the silence.

"Sorry, I didn't think it would really run away."

Su Tingxi shook his head and said dejectedly to Lu Ze,

"What are you apologizing for? This isn't your problem. It's mine. I missed it because I couldn't make up my mind. I should thank you for helping me analyze it. I'll take this as a lesson. I won't hesitate again in the future."

Lu Ze felt a little sorry for him.

"Have you heard that saying?"

"What?"

"Hesitation leads to defeat."

"...That's true."

"Decisiveness gets you killed for free."

"?????"

Su Tingxi looked completely baffled. Was that supposed to comfort him?

Lu Ze and the others burst out laughing. "Alright, missing this one doesn't mean there aren't others. Let's go to the Pokémon Store this weekend and see if we can pick out a suitable second Pokémon for you."

Su Tingxi smiled as well. "Alright, I'll have to trouble you."

"No problem."

The four said goodbye at the entrance of the Day Care and went their separate ways. Lu Ze stayed behind to wait for Lu Ba and Lu Ma so they could go home together. They probably would not have to wait long.

A week passed without incident, and Saturday soon arrived. Nothing much had happened that week. Every day had been the same: school, training, home, school...

But because of Lu Ze, they had all found some elder Pokémon to teach their own Pokémon moves. After a week, every Pokémon had learned at least one new move, except Feebas.

Pokémon: Zubat

Gender: Female

Type: Poison, Flying

Ability: Infiltrator (Can attack through the opponent's Barrier and Substitute)

Aptitude: Orange

Basic Moves: Absorb, Supersonic, Astonish, Mean Look, Poison Fang, Swift, Confuse Ray, Shadow Ball, Taunt

Egg Moves: Cross Poison, Air Slash, Pursuit

Pokémon: Munchlax

Gender: Male

Type: Normal

Ability: Thick Fat (Protected by thick fat, so damage from Fire-type and Ice-type moves is halved)

Aptitude: Gold

Basic Moves: Lick, Tackle, Defense Curl, Covet, Bite, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Mega Punch, Rest, Bulk Up, Sleep Talk

Egg Moves: Belch, Curse, Fissure, Counter

Pokémon: Growlithe

Gender: Female

Type: Fire

Ability: Flash Fire (When hit by a Fire-type move, absorbs the flames and strengthens its own Fire-type moves)

Aptitude: Purple

Basic Moves: Bite, Leer, Howl, Bite, Agility, Flamethrower

Egg Moves: Flame Wheel, Flame Charge, Facade

Pokémon: Torkoal

Gender: Male

Type: Fire

Ability: Drought (The weather becomes Sunny Day upon entering the field)

Aptitude: Purple

Basic Moves: Ember, Withdraw, Rapid Spin, Smokescreen, Clear Smog, Stone Edge

Egg Moves: Smog, Eruption, Fissure

Pokémon: Shellder

Gender: Male

Type: Water

Ability: Skill Link (When using multi-hit moves, always attacks the maximum number of times)

Aptitude: Orange

Basic Moves: Tackle, Water Gun, Withdraw, Ice Shard, Leer, Whirlpool, Icicle Spear, Aqua Jet

Egg Moves: Aqua Ring, Life Dew, Rock Blast, Mud Shot

Pokémon: Dratini

Gender: Male

Type: Dragon-type

Ability: Shed Skin (By shedding its skin, it may sometimes heal abnormal status conditions)

Aptitude: Red

Basic Moves: Wrap, Leer, Twister, Thunder Wave, Dragon Tail, Substitute, Dragon Dance, Ice Beam, Dragon Pulse

Egg Moves: Dragon Breath, Aqua Jet, Mist, Water Pulse, Haze

Feebas could not learn any new moves and remained the same as before. Shellder, however, gave Tang Yunqin quite a surprise. Not only did it have the Ability Skill Link, it also had Rock Blast, which it could not learn naturally and could only inherit. This week, it had even learned its core move, Icicle Spear, making Tang Yunqin ecstatic.

Meanwhile, Sui Yan secretly targeted Lu Ze in a sinister manner. Not only had Growlithe learned a ranged attack, he had also made Torkoal learn Stone Edge first, a Rock-type move that countered Zubat.

Dratini had filled in a gap in its coverage with an Ice-type attack.

On Saturday morning, the four gathered again, preparing to find a suitable second Pokémon with Su Tingxi.

On the subway, Lu Ze asked,

"So, do you want a Pokémon Egg, or do you want to try your luck in the wild?"

"Definitely a Pokémon Egg. Trying our luck in the wild for a Dragon-type Pokémon? Forget whether we could even beat it, the odds are way too low."

Su Tingxi looked at Lu Ze in confusion. How could he ask such a question?

"Haha, just kidding. Aren't we already on the subway to the Pokémon Main Store? Don't worry."

Lu Ze was delighted after teasing him, though he failed to notice Tang Yunqin and Sui Yan rolling their eyes.

"Come on, get off."

After arriving, Lu Ze called out, and the four got off together before entering the Pokémon Main Store. As soon as they entered, Sui Yan grabbed a clerk and asked,

"Hello, do you have any Dragon-type Pokémon Eggs? Please take us to see them."

The clerk's eyes lit up. Dragon-type Pokémon Eggs were quite expensive, and selling one would bring in a sizable commission. With a brilliant smile, the clerk led Lu Ze and the others toward the shelves inside.

"This way, please."

"There are currently only two known Dragon-type Pokémon Eggs: a Flygon Pokémon Egg, whose final evolution is Ground and Dragon-type, and a Turtonator Pokémon Egg."

Su Tingxi quietly asked Lu Ze,

"What do you think, Lu Ze?"

Lu Ze frowned as he explained to Su Tingxi,

"Flygon is a little better. Fly avoids Thunder, Dig avoids Earthquake, and Ground-Dragon is a good type combination. It has high Attack and decent resistances. It only takes quadruple damage from Ice and double damage from Dragon and Fairy, and it isn't slow either."

"But compared to Garchomp, which is also Ground-Dragon, it's awkward. They're both all-rounders, but Flygon is outclassed in every stat, and its coverage is nowhere near Garchomp's. You could call it a budget Garchomp. I don't really recommend it."

"As for Turtonator... its mainstream build is Shell Smash, like Cloyster, but that's awkward too. After Shell Smash, it's still slower than Cloyster. But if you run Trick Room, its base Speed is higher than most Trick Room attackers, and it can't learn Eruption or Lava Plume, which limits its damage output under Trick Room."

"Although it has the powerful signature move Shell Trap, it can only trigger after taking physical damage, and the move has negative priority, which is pretty awkward. Its advantage is probably that Ice deals normal damage and it has no quadruple weakness. It can be used to tank Ice, especially against Ice-type physical attackers like Dragon-Slayer Shell and Dragon-Slayer Blade. Still, I don't really recommend either of them."

Su Tingxi trusted Lu Ze unconditionally. Over the past several days, he had constantly asked Lu Ze questions and listened to Lu Ze's opinions and analyses of all kinds of Pokémon. He found that Lu Ze was not only more thorough than the people online, but even clearer than some school professors.

Since Lu Ze did not recommend them, then forget it. Su Tingxi gently said to the clerk,

"Alright, these two don't really fit my team-building ideas. Let's look at something else."

"Alright."

The clerk was somewhat disappointed but still maintained a smile as she served them.

As they passed through the ordinary Pokémon Egg section, Lu Ze quietly said to Su Tingxi,

"How about we look at some unidentified Pokémon Eggs? I know a little about Pokémon Eggs."

There were two types of Pokémon Eggs. One was like the day Lu Ze had picked Munchlax: the manager could accurately identify what Pokémon the egg contained, as well as its paternal and maternal lines.

The other type had unknown paternal and maternal lines and an unknown species. Although some things could be inferred from the patterns, it was only a rough guess. For example, both Dragon-type and Poison-type Pokémon Eggs had purple patterns.

These Pokémon Eggs were generally cheaper than confirmed ones, which were more expensive.

Like Sui Yan, if someone entered the store and directly stated what Pokémon they wanted, the clerk would take them to that Pokémon's eggs. The quantities of the two types were roughly equal. The first type was more convenient, while the second involved a bit of gambling.

"Alright, I trust you."