Shu Tong's Personal Charm (Please Bookmark and Vote)

A white flash streaked past.

Pidgeotto soared into the air again, looking down at the ground.

"Weedle?" Shu Tong called.

"Chirp!"

Weedle responded to Shu Tong.

Seeing Weedle reappear before him, Shu Tong clapped repeatedly in praise.

Weedle was beneath a tree. Dodging directly in that situation would never have worked, yet its reaction speed had been so fast that, at the critical moment, it used String Shot to bind the trunk and pull itself away with the leverage.

In that instant, without extraordinary reflexes and the Run Away ability ingrained in its bones, it would have been impossible to evade Pidgeotto's Quick Attack.

Shu Tong thought back. Ever since he had met Weedle, it seemed to have been using String Shot to bind branches. Could its Run Away ability be using silk to pull itself away from attacks? Or had it been born with this instinct?

"No way, it can do that? This Weedle is incredible." Yin Shu gave a thumbs-up and shook it three times.

"This is pretty interesting. Quick Attack is the move Pidgeotto has trained the most. It has never been dodged in battles against opponents of the same level, yet your Weedle actually avoided it this time. You've completely changed what I thought possible. Not bad, kid." Yuan Tian was surprised, but he also began to admire Shu Tong.

"Brother Yuan, let's continue," Shu Tong said.

"Pidgeotto, go! Use Quick Attack continuously!" Yuan Tian ordered.

Pidgeotto was holding back its frustration as well. Quick Attack, a move that had always worked without fail, had actually failed this time.

"Pidgeotto!"

Pidgeotto beat its wings and charged at Weedle again.

This time, Weedle was better prepared. It used String Shot again and narrowly evaded Quick Attack once more. But Pidgeotto had learned from before. It performed a graceful midair flip, beat its wings, and severed Weedle's silk directly.

Without its silk, Weedle was like a kite with its string cut, with nothing to rely on.

And Pidgeotto's Quick Attack came again.

Weedle immediately panicked, because there was no nearby point for it to use as leverage.

"Weedle." Shu Tong conveyed his intent, and Weedle suddenly understood.

Weedle fired String Shot at Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto merely tilted its body slightly and easily avoided it. Yet Weedle was far from finished. It then swung its body, sending its silk whipping along with it.

The silk lashed out in a full three hundred and sixty degrees without a blind spot, and it worked. The silk stuck to Pidgeotto's body.

Weedle continued winding the silk, trying to bind Pidgeotto in place.

Unfortunately, the gap in levels was too great. It could no longer stop Quick Attack's Fearless Advance.

Bang!

Weedle was still struck by Quick Attack.

"That wasn't easy," Yuan Tian remarked.

"It's not over!"

Weedle cried out, signaling for Pidgeotto to come again.

Yuan Tian had thought it was already over and had completely relaxed. He never expected Weedle to still be able to Get Up after taking a hit from Pidgeotto.

"Good grief." Yuan Tian chuckled twice.

Yin Shu walked over to Shu Tong and said, "Your Weedle has extraordinary potential. With those reflexes, if Yuan Tian's Pidgeotto weren't so much higher level than it, that head-swinging String Shot just now would definitely have restrained it. Follow that up with attack moves, and it could absolutely secure victory."

"That isn't head-swinging String Shot. It's Counterattack Shield," Shu Tong said calmly.

"What shield?"

Counterattack Shield was not an especially difficult tactic. With a solid move like String Shot, one only needed to swing one's head to achieve the effect. It used centrifugal force to cover a wider area, creating interference and defense.

Shu Tong had first seen it used by Ash in the anime, though Ash might not have been its creator. Similar techniques could be found in many places, much like the sword flourishes of Chinese martial arts.

After stubbornly enduring two Quick Attacks, Weedle climbed back up once more.

Yuan Tian and Yin Shu silently praised it. This Weedle's willpower is absurdly strong. It simply refuses to stop until one side falls.

"For Viridian Force... persist."

Shu Tong's expression turned serious, but inwardly he cursed, You little Weedle. Getting knocked dizzy this time finally made you tell the truth. So you really are craving my Viridian Force.

After the final blow, Weedle fell.

Though Pidgeotto had won, Yuan Tian could not feel happy at all in his role as a sparring instructor.

Shu Tong walked over to Weedle and saw that yellow-green energy cover its entire body again before gathering in Weedle's fangs.

Ding!

Weedle's information updated.

[Name]: Weedle

[Type]: Bug, Poison

[Ability]: Run Away

[Moves]: String Shot, Poison Sting, Bug Bite

[Individual Talent]: Mid-grade

[Recent Turning Point]: With the help of its trainer's Viridian Force, it absorbed the energy of Poison Sting. Its individual talent is continuing to improve.

[Recent Turning Point]: Two months later, while undergoing special training with its trainer in the northern woods of Creek Town, it was the first to bear the brunt of an invasion from the Mystery Realm and died tragically.

So Weedle had learned Bug Bite. It seemed the Bug type energy within its body was slowly being unearthed as well.

With Viridian Force paired with Moomoo Milk, Weedle closed its eyes and even let out a strange laugh.

It was not until night had fully fallen that Shu Tong took Weedle home.

Under the lingering glow of the setting sun, Yuan Tian watched Shu Tong's shadow stretch longer and longer. "Old Yin, do you think Shu Tong might become a ranked trainer someday?"

"I think it's very possible," Yin Shu said.

"Then should we place our bets on him? If he truly accomplishes something in the future, perhaps he can give us a hand. We can't stay in this tiny Mang Mountain as forest rangers forever," Yuan Tian said.

"Sure! Then should we return those twenty thousand yuan to him?" Yin Shu asked.

"Well... forget it. We just won't charge him next time, and we'll put our full effort into helping him train. As long as he feels it was worth the money, he'll definitely be grateful to us," Yuan Tian said.

"You always make it sound so nice."

When Shu Tong returned home that evening, he stopped in the courtyard.

"Come out, Weedle."

"Chirp!"

"You just mastered Bug Bite today. Try it now. Bite off that branch," Shu Tong said, pointing at a branch of the gingko tree.

Weedle moved cleanly and decisively, using String Shot like a stunt wire to "fly" up to the branch.

Bug Bite attacked the same way as Bite, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, and Ice Fang: all of them used the teeth to attack. The difference was in the energy they gathered.

Weedle gathered Bug type energy in its fangs and gnawed rapidly. In just two or three seconds, the branch was bitten through and fell to the ground.

"Chew this branch into pulp. Feel the Bug type energy carefully," Shu Tong said.

Weedle obeyed Shu Tong completely. This was the unique personal charm of its trainer.