Victory in the First Battle

With a roar from Charmander, Blaze activated.

The flame on Charmander's tail blazed fiercely, as though the Pokémon had gone berserk.

"Charmander, aim at Poliwag and use Ember!" Jiang Nian immediately went on the offensive when he saw Blaze activate.

Blaze only lasted for a limited time. If he failed to settle the battle before it wore off, he would be at a disadvantage.

Activating Blaze also consumed a great deal of a Pokémon's stamina, so ending the battle quickly was the best option.

Zhang Cheng had already worked out a countermeasure.

Since the start of the battle, Jiang Nian had never ordered Charmander to use Ember.

That was because Water-type Pokémon took only half damage from Fire-type moves.

Charmander's Special Attack was higher than its physical Attack, which put it in a difficult position when Ember was ineffective.

It could only battle Poliwag using other moves that did not match its type.

Jiang Nian's choice had also been sound: he had repeatedly used Growl early in the battle to lower Poliwag's Attack.

Then, with Blaze boosting Ember, a special move that matched Charmander's type, he could deal heavy damage to Poliwag.

But the rookie Trainer clearly lacked experience and did not understand the moves well enough.

Growl lowered a Pokémon's physical Attack, while the Water Gun Poliwag used was a special move.

As a result, Charmander's earlier Growls had done little to affect Poliwag.

"Poliwag, use Water Sport!" Zhang Cheng calmly directed Poliwag.

Poliwag clearly outclassed Charmander in speed. Speed was the standout stat in Poliwag's base stats.

Poliwag had a base Speed of 90, making it much faster than Charmander, whose base Speed was 65.

Although Jiang Nian had ordered Charmander to attack with Ember first, Poliwag's Water Sport took effect sooner.

The entire battlefield instantly grew damp. For a while, the power of Fire-type moves on the field would be reduced by fifty percent.

Ember struck Poliwag directly, but it did not inflict serious damage.

Charmander had higher Special Attack, and Ember matched its type. With Blaze added to the mix, that attack could potentially have ended the match even against a Water-type Pokémon like Poliwag.

But with Water Sport taking effect, combined with Poliwag's natural resistance to fire as a Water-type, the Ember attack did little damage.

"It's time to settle this. Poliwag, use Water Gun again and finish the battle."

"Charmander, dodge!" Jiang Nian urgently commanded.

Charmander had just taken a heavy hit and then used Ember at maximum power, consuming a great deal of stamina. It could no longer dodge this Water Gun.

Water Gun hit, and Charmander was knocked out.

At the same time, Zhang Cheng noticed that Poliwag had risen to level three.

Through this battle, Poliwag had gained practical combat experience and successfully leveled up.

"Charmander is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Zhang Cheng," the staff member announced.

"You're strong, but I won't lose to you next time," Jiang Nian told Zhang Cheng.

"Thanks for the match. Confidence is a good thing. Keep at it," Zhang Cheng replied politely.

The two then returned to the lounge with the staff member leading the way.

There was another battle that afternoon. After taking Poliwag to the Training Ground's Treatment Room, Zhang Cheng went to have a simple lunch.

After lunch, Zhang Cheng returned to the lounge to wait for his afternoon battle.

While resting, Zhang Cheng also considered how to develop Poliwag from here.

Poliwag's main advantage at present was speed. Its Attack and HP were not particularly high.

Its offensive options were also too limited, with Water Gun as its only attacking move.

Zhang Cheng planned to try getting Poliwag to use Bubble Beam once today's battles were over.

Bubble Beam was much more powerful than Water Gun, and it had a chance of lowering the opponent's Speed when it hit.

In battles against Pokémon with similar speed to his own, Bubble Beam would be a great help.

Soon, it was time for the afternoon battle. After receiving treatment from Chansey in the Treatment Room, Poliwag was back in peak condition.

His opponent that afternoon was a Trainer who used Snivy, a Pokémon that was relatively rare in Jiangcheng City.

The main starter Pokémon in Jiangcheng City were Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.

For this trainer to have obtained a Snivy as their first Pokémon, they presumably had some significant connections in another city.

With a staff member leading the way, the two returned to the same battlefield used that morning.

"Go, Poliwag!"

"Go, Snivy!"

They sent out their Pokémon at the same time, and Zhang Cheng used the system to scan Snivy's information:

Name: Snivy (level 3)

Gender: Female

Potential: B-

Type: Grass

Held item: None

Basic moves: Tackle, Leer

Egg moves: Glare, Magical Leaf, Grassy Terrain

Ability: Contrary (Stat changes affecting a Pokémon with this ability are reversed. Stat changes caused by Pokémon with Mold Breaker, Teravolt, or Turboblaze are unaffected by Contrary. Stat changes transferred through Baton Pass or Psych Up are retained normally. Stat reductions caused by paralysis and burns are also unaffected.)

Notes: Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon. She always remains calm, unshaken by anything, and produces energy through photosynthesis using the leaf on her tail.

She had inherited plenty of moves, and her Potential had even reached the B rank. She was a Pokémon with tremendous promise.

This battle would be very difficult. That was Zhang Cheng's first impression upon seeing his opponent's Pokémon.

Poliwag's Water Gun would struggle to deal much damage to Snivy, while she could likely secure victory by wearing Poliwag down with Tackle.

Water Sport would be useless as well.

If the opposing Snivy had learned Magical Leaf, he would have no chance of winning this battle.

Although his chances were slim, Zhang Cheng still intended to fight.

Retreating without a fight was not his style. Even if he lost the match, he could gain battle experience that would help him in future fights.

At the staff member's signal, the match began.

Zhang Cheng decided to seize the initiative and attack first. "Poliwag, attack with Water Gun at full power!"

A blast of Water Gun shot out, and the opposing Snivy retaliated with Tackle.

Because Snivy's Grass type resisted Water-type moves, this Water Gun dealt less damage than her Tackle.

Poliwag quickly fell behind, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Poliwag's Level was still too low, and its offensive options were too limited.

After several rounds of exchanges, the gap between Poliwag's remaining HP and Snivy's grew wider and wider.