First Pokémon Battle

"Then let's do this—a Pokémon battle!"

Although Cyclizar did not remember any moves, Xingye was still very confident about this. As long as he believed Pokémon could do it, that was enough!

"Cycli?"

Hearing his call, Cyclizar stopped chasing and playing around, immediately pounced over happily, and bit down on his head. That was probably how it showed affection...

Xingye struggled free and looked at Hala. "So, who am I battling?"

"Hmm... I originally wanted my grandson to do it. He's the same age as you and a fourth-year student at Pokémon School, so it should have made for quite a good match between you two. But it's the weekend, and he went out with his classmates, so he isn't home... Therefore, I've decided!"

"Hm?"

"I'll be your opponent! As long as you defeat me, I'll acknowledge your strength!"

"???"

Xingye was utterly dumbfounded. He thought he had misheard, but apparently he had not. He was going to battle the island's Noble Pokémon? Wait, wasn't the island's Noble Pokémon the strongest Trainer on the island?!

Seeing how stunned he was, Hala laughed. "But don't worry. Since you're a beginner, I won't use my full strength against you!"

"That's not the issue here!"

Even if the island's Noble Pokémon went easy on him, it was still the island's Noble Pokémon! But there was no helping it. This was a necessary battle, so he would treat it as a beginner's tutorial!

Hala brought them to the festival stage in the center of town. Looking at the white patterns around it, Xingye felt that this seemed to be the stage used to worship Melemele Island's guardian deity, Tapu Koko.

Slowking did not come along. It seemed to have other matters to attend to and left instead. In any case, there was no need to worry about someone running away...

"We'll battle here. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready!"

Xingye looked at Cyclizar, who was swishing its tail in front of him. He was still somewhat nervous, but he was already calculating how to make use of Pokémon's various strengths in battle without using moves.

"Don't mess around. Listen to my commands later!"

"Cycli~"

Everything was ready. Hala's expression instantly turned serious, and he tossed out a Poké Ball. A Crabrawler appeared on the stage, waving its cocky fists as it provoked Cyclizar in front of it.

"A coincidence? Or fate?"

Xingye had not expected it to be another Crabrawler. He had sent one flying only the night before last, and now another had appeared. Still, at least he had some experience now.

"Go!"

"Cycli!"

Cyclizar launched forward, accelerating instantly as it charged headfirst toward its opponent. But at that moment, Hala's eyes widened as though he had noticed something. Then he waved his hand and shouted, "Dodge to the right, then attack with Power-Up Punch!"

Hearing the command, Xingye immediately shouted, "Maintain that speed and swing your tail at it!"

Normally, it was difficult for an ordinary Pokémon to react like that. But yesterday, Cyclizar had made an instantaneous turn at full speed without deviating in the slightest. Maybe it could pull this off!

And Cyclizar truly responded. Just as Crabrawler sidestepped to dodge, it suddenly made a sharp 180-degree turn and slammed its tail into the opponent's face, sending it flying more than ten meters into a huge rock...

The battle ended in an instant. Crabrawler had been one-shot by Cyclizar's tail swipe. It was a complete gap in raw strength. This goofy-looking big lizard seemed to be anything but ordinary.

"I won~"

Xingye flashed a V-sign. Since he could one-shot a Crabrawler before, he could definitely one-shot one now too—unless Hala brought out a Crabominable.

Still, for his first battle against another Trainer, it had ended so easily that he could not help feeling unsatisfied.

Watching Cyclizar run back after defeating its opponent, Xingye could not help wondering just how strong it had been before it lost its memory.

If he got the chance, he absolutely had to help it regain its memories.

After recalling Crabrawler, Hala walked over with a hearty laugh. "I misjudged you. I didn't expect this Cyclizar to have been hiding its strength, and you were even able to command it so easily."

"So that means I won, right?"

"Of course. Your reaction speed just now was excellent as well. It seems you have great talent as a Trainer. Work hard. Consider this Poké Ball a gift."

As he spoke, Hala took out a Poké Ball and handed it over. Xingye reached out and accepted it, and excitement surged through him as he looked at the red-and-white ball in his hand.

"Don't just stand there. Go catch your starter Pokémon!"

"Yeah!"

Holding the ball, Xingye walked up to Cyclizar and raised it. "I can finally become your Trainer. Come on..."

Before he could finish, Cyclizar suddenly bit down on his hand—Poké Ball and all...

"Ow, ow, ow!!!"

"This isn't food! Let go... Let go already! My hand's going to break!"

"Cycli~"

Seeing this scene, Hala suddenly burst into laughter. "You two really do get along well. This is how Pokémon and Trainers should get along."

After a while, Xingye finally pulled his hand free. He wore a helpless smile, utterly defeated by this big guy of his.

Then he raised the Poké Ball again. This time, Cyclizar finally did not bite him. With a delighted expression, it raised a hand and suddenly slapped the Poké Ball.

A flash of red light appeared, and it vanished from the spot. At the same time, the Poké Ball gave a ding, producing the successful capture sound without even shaking.

"Was it because its affection was too high?"

Xingye was somewhat surprised, but none of that mattered. A small Cyclizar icon had now appeared in the talent section of the friend-making app before his eyes. That proved he had finally become its Trainer!

But just as he began celebrating, the Poké Ball in his hand suddenly shook. A red flash appeared, and Cyclizar jumped out on its own, stretching its body. It seemed that it did not like staying inside a Poké Ball.

The battle was over, and Cyclizar had been successfully caught. All that remained was to deal with his identification.

With Hala, the island's Noble Pokémon, leading the way, something like this should have been easy to settle... Of course, it was not going to be that easy.

After arriving at the Hau'oli City Police Station, Xingye happened to see his wanted notice flash across the large screen. It had only a photo, no name.

"How did you end up wanted?"

"I was speeding yesterday and hit someone..."

"Who did you hit?"

"Officer Jenny..."

"..."

Even Hala was left speechless. Could he stack any more debuffs on himself? How was he supposed to clear these charges?

But Hala was Melemele Island's Noble Pokémon. He would certainly be fair and impartial and would never shield a criminal... though special circumstances were another matter.

He brought Xingye and Cyclizar to the Officer Jenny responsible for this matter and explained the situation. What followed was an hour-long lecture that left Xingye completely numb...

At last, Officer Jenny finally let him off and said sternly, "Considering your special circumstances, the fact that you're a minor, and that this is your first offense, properly apologize to the Officer Jenny you knocked down. Then stay here and write a ten-thousand-word self-criticism, and you can more or less go home. But there won't be a next time!"

"Yes..."

"Also, Pokémon must wear riding gear before they are allowed to be ridden in the city. If you don't have any, first-time applicants can use their Trainer ID to go to the traffic administration office, study traffic laws and regulations, then receive a set and register it."

"Hm?"

Hearing that, Xingye perked right up. Trainers could actually get a free set of riding gear? Were the benefits really this good?

After that, he finally completed the whole process and successfully became a legal resident of Alola, obtaining identification documents.

At the same time, Hala had already taken care of his enrollment procedures. It was obviously the weekend, yet Hala seemed strangely eager, as if he were afraid Xingye might run away.

Once his enrollment was settled, he also applied for a Trainer ID on the spot. It could be used as identification too, and if it was lost, he could apply for a replacement.

This made him a genuine Trainer at last. His ID listed his rank as Beginner. According to Hala, he could only upgrade it after graduating from Pokémon School.

"Let's go home!"

With everything settled, Xingye could not wait to go back and celebrate with Cyclizar. But just as he was about to leave, Officer Jenny grabbed him.

"Huh?"

"Finish that ten-thousand-word self-criticism before you leave!"

"..."