Poison Needle Scatter Tactics

In one final burst, Weedle simply exhausted all its energy and collapsed from fatigue.

Even so, Weedle lasted ten minutes longer than Makuhita.

Shu Tong recalled Weedle into its Poké Ball.

Everyone stared at Qian Kaile. They had all heard his wager with Shu Tong.

"What are you looking at? Don't you have anything better to do?" Qian Kaile snapped.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

The crowd made mocking noises, shooting Qian Kaile disdainful looks before returning to their own special training.

Qian Kaile felt prickling discomfort all over his body. He said to Shu Tong, "Let's battle this afternoon. If you win, I'll leave immediately today."

Shu Tong glanced at Qian Kaile. "Even shamelessness has its limits. Do you really want to be humiliated again and again?"

"I, Qian Kaile, always keep my word. This will be the last time," Qian Kaile said, patting his muscular chest.

"I hope so." With that, Shu Tong headed for the lounge.

In the lounge, Shu Tong silently channeled Viridian Force into Weedle through its Poké Ball.

Refreshed and renewed, Weedle followed Shu Tong to the speed training grounds.

Faced with Quick Attacks from dozens of Pidgey, even a fast Pokémon like Pikachu would struggle to dodge them all.

This training was actually similar to the special training Yuan Tian's Pidgeotto had given it, except Weedle now had to watch for attacks from more than a dozen directions at once.

It was no small test of Weedle's reaction speed, evasion speed, and physical coordination.

After enduring wave after wave of Pidgey attacks for half an hour, Weedle was already covered in injuries.

Yet Weedle did not care about such minor wounds at all. It even seemed happier the more severely injured it became.

Shu Tong even suspected that Weedle had a serious masochistic streak.

That afternoon, under everyone's watchful eyes, Shu Tong and Qian Kaile stepped onto the battle field.

Makuhita swung its fists. Anyone with eyes could tell that one of those power-filled punches could flatten Weedle.

But Qian Kaile no longer dared underestimate this Weedle. His mind raced as he considered where to break through.

"Battle begin." A trainee referee brought down the signal flag in his hand.

"Makuhita, Rollout straight at it. Once you get close to Weedle, use Cross Chop," Qian Kaile ordered.

It had to be said that Qian Kaile possessed considerable battle talent. This was arguably the most effective tactic: close the distance quickly, then end the battle with a single Cross Chop.

However, Shu Tong's Weedle was no ordinary Weedle anymore.

"Poison Sting," Shu Tong said.

The corner of Qian Kaile's mouth lifted slightly. A frontal Poison Sting can definitely be knocked away by Makuhita while it's using Rollout.

Yet what Weedle did next was beyond everyone's expectations.

Poison Stings shot continuously into the sky, then plummeted down at high speed, covering Makuhita's rolling path with poisonous needles.

Shu Tong smiled faintly. He had Mimicked this poison needle scattering tactic from Toxic Spikes, one of the god-tier moves for controlling the field. Of course, Weedle could not have achieved such an effect if its Poison Sting proficiency had not reached the Mastery Tier.

Creak, creak, creak.

Amid a series of sounds, Makuhita rolled into the field of poison needles.

Roar.

One poisonous needle after another pierced Makuhita's body.

Makuhita howled in pain. How could it dare keep rolling forward? It immediately came to a stop.

With the toxins entering its body, Makuhita was inevitably poisoned. Poison-type energy spread through its body, rapidly eroding its stamina.

Makuhita panted heavily, feeling the world spin before its eyes. It could barely stay on its feet.

"Concede. Makuhita can't hold on anymore," Shu Tong said.

Qian Kaile wiped the cold sweat from his cheek. He could no longer care about saving face. At a time like this, nothing mattered more than his Pokémon.

Anxious and full of concern, Qian Kaile swiftly recalled Makuhita and rushed to the Pokémon hospital.

It was clear that Qian Kaile truly cared about Makuhita's safety.

However, once he left, he definitely would not be returning today.

That night, Weedle finished the other portion of Mid-Grade Silver Powder, further improving its affinity for Bug-type energy.

The next morning, Shu Tong headed to the club early.

Qian Kaile was already waiting at the entrance, apparently for him.

"Hi," Qian Kaile said respectfully.

"You broke your word," Shu Tong said.

Putting on a haughty expression, Qian Kaile said, "I, Qian Kaile, always keep my word, and I'm not someone who can't accept defeat. If I can't beat you, then I can't beat you. I admit it. So I fulfilled my promise. I did leave after yesterday's battle, but I never said anything about today."

Shu Tong gave a contemptuous laugh. "You're something else."

"Everyone trains together at the club. Let's do special training together. If you help train me, you'll be my big brother," Qian Kaile said.

"Your Makuhita's resistance to Poison-type energy is too weak. It'll definitely suffer badly in the future. Fighting-type energy is inherently fearful of Poison-type energy, so it's easy to exploit," Shu Tong said. Building a closer relationship with Qian Kaile was undoubtedly the wisest choice.

"I noticed that too. When I went to the Pokémon hospital yesterday, the doctor said Makuhita had been poisoned badly. Even the poison of pure Poison-type Pokémon like Arbok, Muk, and Weezing isn't this potent. That's why I want your Weedle to help Makuhita train its poison resistance," Qian Kaile said.

Shu Tong gave an enigmatic smile. So this is why he's being so sincere. Still, I do need someone on my side with a certain degree of influence. Cooperation benefits both sides.

Seeing Shu Tong's expression, Qian Kaile hurriedly added, "Don't worry. I, Qian Kaile, never take advantage of others for free. I'll cover all your Pokémon's food and supplements for an entire year."

"You're that generous? My Pokémon drinks Moomoo Milk every day," Shu Tong said.

"Don't worry. Our family owns a Miltank ranch in the west. The Moomoo Milk supplied to Auspicious City comes from our family," Qian Kaile said.

Shu Tong: "...You're impressive. I'm considering raising a Munchlax as my second Pokémon."

Qian Kaile: "...You're even more impressive. But there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Did you get into some sort of conflict with Wu Hongzhen? He's approached a lot of people, myself included, and plans to go after you ruthlessly during the month-end battle assessment," Qian Kaile said.

"You agreed?" Shu Tong asked.

"Of course I firmly refused. But I refused because I'm not afraid of him. I can't say the same for everyone else," Qian Kaile said.

"I understand if the others agreed. Everyone wants to protect themselves, after all. I won't do anything to them. But as for Wu Hongzhen..." A fierce glint flashed through Shu Tong's eyes. "Just wait."

After entering the club, Shu Tong still focused mainly on weighted training, supplemented by speed and evasion training. One built the foundation, while the other brought improvement.

Before heading home that night, Weedle rewarded Makuhita with a Poison Sting, and Qian Kaile once again took Makuhita to the Pokémon hospital.

After five consecutive days of special training at the club, Weedle's talent showed no signs of improving for the time being due to the lack of Poison-type resources. However, its strength was indeed steadily increasing through repeated limit-breaking training and the nourishment of Viridian Force.

The signs of Weedle's evolution became increasingly obvious, but the timing was not yet right.

With school set to resume tomorrow, he still had not found the Toxic Grimer mentioned in Graveler's and Makuhita's Recent Turning Point within the club.