Battling Oshawott

After a quick wash, Zhang Cheng gave Poliwag a bath, followed by a full-body massage.

Zhang Cheng wanted Poliwag to be in peak condition for tomorrow's battle.

Watching Poliwag fall fast asleep during the massage, Zhang Cheng smiled with satisfaction.

Once he finished massaging Poliwag, Zhang Cheng set his alarm and went to bed, soon drifting off to sleep.

The next morning.

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

The rhythmic ringing of the alarm shattered Zhang Cheng's pleasant dream.

This was his second day of battle training. Once he completed today's training assignment, he could collect a reward of four thousand Pokémon Coins.

He would have been lying if he said he wasn't excited. Earning his first sum of money through his own efforts gave Zhang Cheng a real sense of accomplishment.

He brought Poliwag to the Nanting Training Ground. After a short wait in the lounge, a staff member arrived.

A trainer followed behind the staff member, presumably Zhang Cheng's opponent for the morning.

Through the staff member's introduction, Zhang Cheng learned that his opponent was named Ye Lang and was also about to enter his final year at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

This was the first schoolmate Zhang Cheng had met since transmigrating. Ye Lang was rather aloof and never spoke to him, leaving the staff member to handle all the introductions.

Seeing that Ye Lang had no intention of talking, Zhang Cheng had no desire to approach him either.

After a brief rest in the lounge, the two followed the staff member to the battlefield.

The staff member briefly explained the rules, then stepped aside.

"Come out, Oshawott."

Ye Lang confidently sent out his Pokémon.

Name: Oshawott (Level 3)

Gender: Male

Potential: C

Type: Water

Held Item: None

Basic moves: Tackle, Tail Whip

Egg Move: Brine

Ability: Shell Armor (Prevents critical hits, even from moves that are guaranteed to land a critical hit.)

Notes: Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokémon. The shell-shaped scalchop on his belly can be removed and used for both offense and defense.

Using his cheat's scanning function, Zhang Cheng learned Oshawott's basic information.

His potential was decent, and his Egg Move, Brine, was something to watch out for. His Ability was Oshawott's Hidden Ability, Shell Armor.

All of this was information Zhang Cheng could obtain in advance through his cheat, allowing him to see everything before the battle even began.

"Poliwag, I choose you."

Zhang Cheng immediately sent out Poliwag as well.

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

Oshawott attacked right away, his little body hurtling toward Poliwag at tremendous speed with Tackle.

"Poliwag, counter with Water Gun."

An accurate blast of Water Gun struck Oshawott, knocking him straight back as he charged.

However, Water Gun couldn't deal much damage to Oshawott.

If the opposing Oshawott could use Brine, Zhang Cheng would be at a serious disadvantage.

Brine dealt far more damage than Water Gun, and once its target's HP dropped below half, its damage doubled.

If his opponent used Brine in a battle of attrition, things would become very difficult.

The worst-case scenario still came to pass.

When Oshawott repeatedly failed to get close with Tackle, the Trainer gave a direct command. "Oshawott, attack with Brine."

"Poliwag, keep countering with Water Gun."

After several exchanges, both Pokémon's HP had dropped below half.

"Damn, Brine's double damage is about to kick in."

Water Gun and Brine clashed once more. This time, Poliwag took a devastating hit, leaving it with almost no HP.

"Poliwag, can you keep fighting? Pull yourself together."

"Poli~ Poli~"

Hearing Zhang Cheng's encouragement, Poliwag's fighting spirit flared up, and Poliwag made a charging motion toward him.

Zhang Cheng instantly understood what Poliwag meant.

Just as Oshawott prepared to launch another Brine, Zhang Cheng commanded, "Now! Poliwag, use Endeavor!"

Poliwag rushed straight at Oshawott with incredible speed, interrupting him as he began to unleash Brine.

A single Endeavor dealt a devastating blow to Oshawott. Now both Pokémon were down to their last sliver of HP.

At this point, the faster Pokémon held an absolute advantage, because whichever move landed first would determine the winner.

When it came to speed, Poliwag was undoubtedly among the best of all newly hatched Pokémon.

Oshawott quickly got back up after taking Endeavor and launched Brine.

Poliwag refused to back down either, firing off a Water Gun.

Poliwag had the edge in speed. Water Gun struck Oshawott first, knocking him out.

After Water Gun hit Oshawott, his Brine followed right behind it.

Brine's doubled damage knocked Poliwag down, leaving Poliwag unable to battle.

"Since Oshawott was the first to become unable to battle, the winner of this match is Zhang Cheng."

With the staff member's announcement, the battle's outcome was decided.

Looking at the final result, Ye Lang had lost all his initial aloofness.

"You got lucky this time. You won't be so lucky next time," Ye Lang said through gritted teeth. "You're from Jiangcheng No. 1 High School too, right? We'll have another chance to meet in the school tournament. You'd better pray you don't run into me then."

"Don't act so cocky when you've already lost to me. Save that nonsense until you actually beat me," Zhang Cheng shot back without holding back.

At that, Ye Lang had no desire to say anything more and slunk out of the Training Ground.

After the battle, Zhang Cheng once again took Poliwag to the Training Ground's Pokémon Treatment Room.

While waiting for Poliwag to recover, Zhang Cheng had lunch, then returned to the Treatment Room to patiently wait until Poliwag was fit to battle again.

Now that Poliwag had learned Endeavor, the move could produce a Surprise Attack when at a disadvantage.

Its drawback, however, was its unreliability. Endeavor offered the greatest payoff when HP was very low, but that was also when a Pokémon was at its most vulnerable and could easily be knocked out in one hit.

The move was still very useful while Poliwag could attack quickly, but once other Pokémon evolved and gained speed, Poliwag would no longer hold that advantage.

Zhang Cheng planned to train Poliwag's moves after today's battles, hoping to teach Poliwag Bubble Beam as soon as possible and improve Poliwag's fighting strength.

By the time Poliwag was ready to battle again, it was already afternoon, and Zhang Cheng's final opponent, a Trainer, had arrived.

Under the staff member's guidance, they held another match.

This Trainer's Pokémon was a level-two Sandshrew, presumably newly hatched and only just ready to take part in battles.

This opponent was much weaker than the previous Trainers. After a brief exchange, Poliwag won and also rose to Level Four.

After the battle, Zhang Cheng followed the staff member to collect his assignment reward, pocketing four thousand Pokémon Coins.

After leaving the Nanting Training Ground, Zhang Cheng headed toward a nearby Pokémon store, planning to buy some Pokéblocks for Poliwag, just as he had promised.