"Fine, then. I'll make you give up. One Pokémon each, winner takes all!" Liu Qing flicked his hand and tossed a Poké Ball into the air. As it opened, an Archen with brilliantly colored feathers appeared before him.
"Raticate, come on out!" Zuo Jie threw his own Poké Ball at the same time. In a dazzling flash of white light, a Raticate with sleek, glossy fur appeared opposite Archen. Its enormous incisors snapped together with sharp cracks, radiating fighting spirit.
"Archen, the First Bird Pokémon. It is said to be the ancestor of bird Pokémon. Unable to fly, it hops from branch to branch." Zuo Jie paused at the sight of Liu Qing's Pokémon and immediately took out his Pokédex. "So it's a bird that can't fly!"
"You can attack first!" Liu Qing crossed his arms over his chest, watching Zuo Jie and his Raticate with an indifferent expression.
What a strange feeling! Liu Qing stood there so casually, yet Zuo Jie felt an overwhelming pressure, as though he faced a towering mountain he could never climb. He shook his head hard, angry at his own timidity, and snorted. "I won't hold back! Raticate, Dig!"
At Zuo Jie's command, Raticate immediately pointed its head downward, its small paws digging like lightning as it vanished underground. Without even waiting for Liu Qing's orders, Archen flapped its wings and cried out, racing forward across the field and narrowly avoiding Raticate as it burst out of the ground.
"Raticate, keep using Dig!" Zuo Jie wasn't discouraged by the miss. At his command, Raticate used its move again, repeatedly burrowing into and out of the ground until the once-intact field was riddled with holes. Finally, as Archen crossed one of them, Raticate erupted from it and slammed into Archen, sending it flying into the