VS Leon

"Dreepy!"

Leon stared in surprise at the figure that had suddenly appeared. It moved so fast it was like a flash of light; only after Blake flicked its forehead did he realize what had flown over.

"Sorry for the spectacle. This little guy was only a month old and didn't know any manners."

Blake grabbed Dreepy by the tail and forcibly dragged it away from the plate of fried eggs. Over the past month, Dreepy had shed its skin three times, growing from around thirty centimeters long to nearly fifty. It was about to reach the usual size described in the Pokédex, though that so-called usual size merely meant Dreepy had left its infancy; it did not mean every Dreepy was only that long.

"This was my first time seeing a Dreepy."

Leon leaned closer and carefully watched Dreepy's every movement. The little guy had noticed there were other people here now. Sleepy as it was, it had not noticed anyone arriving at the house last night.

"See-ya?"

Dreepy tilted its head at Leon, curiosity appearing on its face.

"Be careful. This guy wasn't as well-behaved as he looked. He loved pulling pranks."

Blake held Dreepy firmly with both hands, afraid the little guy would peck Leon in the face. He did not know where it had learned it lately, but Dreepy loved pecking people in the face. For ordinary people, that could hurt for half the day. After all, not everyone was a super rookie from Pallet Town.

"That's great! I want a Dreepy too! All right! It's decided! I'm getting a Dreepy someday too! It'll be the mainstay of my Ghost-type team!"

After watching Dreepy for a while, Leon suddenly raised a hand and shouted.

"Roar..."

Charmeleon helplessly held its forehead. Here he went again, talking to himself again.

"Then I wish you success."

Blake did not say anything discouraging. After all, he remembered that Leon really did have a Dragapult on his team, and it was indeed extremely powerful.

"Thanks! How about we battle now? I can't wait any longer!"

Leon said excitedly.

"Don't rush. We had the whole day. Even if you weren't hungry, your Pokémon needed food. Let's eat first. The other two were awake too."

As Blake spoke, he looked upstairs. Amid a series of clicking door sounds, two beautiful young girls came downstairs chatting and laughing.

"All right, then we'll battle after breakfast!"

Leon looked at Blake with blazing eyes.

"Sure, no problem. I never went back on my word."

Blake nodded.

"Wow! Breakfast was already ready?"

Sonia was so touched she nearly cried. After so many days, ever since leaving home, she finally felt that familiar feeling of being home again. The bed was soft, and there was food waiting when she woke up. It was wonderful!

"Eat first. We were waiting for you two. Oh, and don't forget to wash your hands."

Blake restrained Dreepy with one hand and pointed toward the washroom beside them with the other. Come to think of it, Blake's house had an unusually large number of bathrooms and sinks. There was even a small sink right beside the dining table. Blake had found that strange before, but after thinking about it, perhaps it was because there were so many Pokémon in the house besides people, which was why there were so many bathrooms and washrooms.

They washed their hands and ate. Apparently, even a whole day yesterday had not been enough for Lulina and Sonia to talk. They chirped nonstop at the table, while Leon and Blake ate with their heads lowered, occasionally adding more food for the Pokémon that had not gotten enough.

After breakfast, out on the Pokémon battle field, Leon, who had long been unable to hold himself back, excitedly twisted his waist and swung his arms, ready for battle.

In Blake's eyes, if Leon had Professor Oak's Pokédex from the special edition, then Leon's title would definitely be Battle Man. Unlike Red, a Battle Man skilled at wild battles, Leon was undoubtedly an absolute powerhouse in regulated battles.

"Then I'll be the referee!"

Lulina stood in the middle of the field, holding two small flags.

"Under 3-on-3 non-standard battle rules, each person can only actively switch Pokémon twice, but there are no restrictions on the moves used!"

So-called non-standard battle rules were minor modifications made to standard battle rules. Under standard rules, Pokémon could only choose four moves to use in each battle, testing a trainer's move selection and overall tactics. At the same time, the number of Pokémon used determined how many times they could be actively switched, preventing endlessly switching Pokémon to use certain shameless tactics. Of course, switches caused by moves like Baton Pass and U-turn did not count toward that limit. Other than held items, using additional items was prohibited, each Pokémon could hold only one item, and attacking trainers was forbidden.

Non-standard battle rules, on the other hand, were a kind of half-wild battle generally used in the Elite Four Challenge and Champion Challenge. This format did not restrict the number of moves a Pokémon could use, while everything else remained the same as standard rules. It tested one's absolute strength.

As for purely wild battles, there were not nearly so many rules. Sneak attacks, poisoning, physically attacking trainers, ambushing the battle site beforehand with a bunch of Pokémon ready to use Self-Destruct—nothing was off-limits. Some people even loaded their Pokémon up with a pile of items, arming them to the teeth.

Leon had chosen the non-standard battle rules himself. In his view, aside from the Gym Challenge, nothing showcased a person's strength better than this kind of non-standard battle.

"I have no objections," Blake said.

"Neither do I! Then first up! Go, my partner!"

"Thwack!"

As soon as Leon finished speaking, he threw out a Poké Ball. Thwackey landed on the field and excitedly waved the drumsticks in its hands.

"I'm counting on you, Dhelmise."

Blake likewise sent out Dhelmise to meet the challenge. From an elemental standpoint, Haunter would have been better suited to deal with Thwackey, but against another Grass-type like Thwackey, Blake wanted to see whether Dhelmise could learn something from it.

"Great! Both sides, get ready! Begin!"

Lulina raised her flags and brought them down. The next moment—

"Thwackey! Acrobatics!"

"Dhelmise! Iron Defense!"

Leon chose to attack immediately. As a Flying-type move, Acrobatics was super effective against the Grass-type Dhelmise, and using that move showed Thwackey was not holding an item.

Blake knew Dhelmise's speed could never compare to Thwackey's. Since that was the case, it might as well bolster its defense right from the start!

"Rumble!"

Though Dhelmise was slower, moves used on itself could take effect more quickly. Before Thwackey's attack reached it, a gray, iron-like sheen covered Dhelmise's entire body, greatly raising its defense. With its already excellent physical defense, Dhelmise successfully withstood the super-effective Acrobatics.