Some were even worse: those lucky guys who had both girlfriends and Pokémon. Every time they posted couple photos, Hu Bin gritted his teeth and fought the urge to delete them from his contacts. Poor Hu Bin had been single for all eighteen years of his life. Now, all he felt was envy and jealousy.
Many of Hu Bin's classmates were posting photos, but he wasn't. He was waiting for school to start so he could bring Vulpix along and show off to all his classmates.
Today, Hu Bin sat cross-legged on the ground in the Pokémon Training Hall's Snowfield Battle Area, dressed in a down jacket. Beside him, Vulpix sat quietly with eyes closed, sensing the flow of Ice-type energy.
This was part of their training, too. The Training Manual explained that being in a suitable environment made it easier to sense the flow of different energies, which greatly helped with controlling elemental energy and increasing the power of moves.
So this exercise was also one of Vulpix's daily requirements.
Soon, Vulpix finished meditating and opened those eyes. White light gathered inside Vulpix's open mouth, then shot out and pierced straight through a rock ahead.
Seeing this handiwork, Vulpix nodded in satisfaction. I finally learned Aurora Beam!
Hu Bin was delighted to see little Vulpix unleash Aurora Beam. Originally, Powder Snow had been Vulpix's only Ice-type move, but thanks to all their recent training and Vulpix's talent, Aurora Beam had now joined the list.
"Hmm, I'll have to give this little one an extra helping when we get home. A well-earned reward!"
Vulpix turned and leaped into Hu Bin's arms, those big eyes practically saying, Praise me! Come on! Little Vulpix did great!
How could Hu Bin not understand what little Vulpix wanted? With a faint smile, he stroked Vulpix's head and showered Vulpix with praise. "Amazing! You learned Aurora Beam so quickly! You're incredible!"
Under this barrage of sweet words from a beloved trainer, Vulpix was overjoyed.
With their day's training finished, Hu Bin and Vulpix left the training hall.
They had barely stepped through the doors when a man's voice came from behind Hu Bin. "Hey, you up ahead! I've been watching you for a while. Interested in a Pokémon battle?"
Hu Bin and Vulpix turned around to see a boy about Hu Bin's age, dressed in white casual clothes, looking at them.
"You want to battle me?" Hu Bin was getting excited, too. After all this training, he could finally fight alongside Vulpix.
Excitement filled the boy's face. "That's right! I want to battle you. You and your Vulpix are strong. I've been watching you train for a long time, and I think you'd be worthy opponents."
"What do you think, Vulpix?" Hu Bin asked, looking down.
Vulpix looked up at him with a determined gaze. "Vul!" I'll take on ten at once!
Seeing that determined look, Hu Bin felt a rush of excitement shoot straight to his head. He turned to the boy. "All right, let's have a battle! This'll be a good chance to see how much our training has paid off."
So Hu Bin and the boy went to a battle area inside the training hall. Quite a few people were training nearby. Their eyes lit up when they saw the two preparing to battle, and they all turned toward the field to watch with interest.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Yi Nanzi. This will be a one-on-one match, decided in a single battle." The boy gripped a Poké Ball as he introduced himself with a serious expression.
"I'm Hu Bin. This is my first battle with Vulpix, so please go easy on us!" Hu Bin was a little nervous, but Yi Nanzi's name made him want to laugh. Yi Nanzi sounded like "a man." Even his name emphasized his gender!
"All right, let's begin! My Cyndaquil can't wait any longer! Go, Cyndaquil!"
"Yinuo!"
A red light flashed, and a blue-gray Cyndaquil appeared on the field, eyes narrowed to slits.
* A Cyndaquil! Wow, this guy must be pretty rich to get his hands on a Pokémon like that. A Fire-type... this could be troublesome!* Hu Bin was rather surprised.
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil cried out, flames erupting from its back as it got ready to fight.
Hu Bin sent Vulpix onto the field as well. "Go, Vulpix!"
"Vul!"
Once on the field, Vulpix looked at the opponent with an excited smile. My first battle! This is so exciting!
The battle erupted almost immediately. Yi Nanzi gave the first command. "Cyndaquil, use Ember!"
"Yinuo." Cyndaquil fired embers from its mouth toward Vulpix.
"Vulpix, use Quick Attack!"
In an instant, Vulpix dodged the embers like a streak of white lightning and charged toward Cyndaquil at high speed.
"Dodge it, Cyndaquil!"
Hearing Yi Nanzi's command, Cyndaquil ran to the side, avoiding Vulpix's Quick Attack.
"Vulpix, turn around and use Mist!" Hu Bin commanded calmly.
Vulpix wheeled around and spewed a large cloud of white vapor from its mouth, covering the entire field in a thin layer of mist.
Inside the mist, Cyndaquil grew a little flustered, looking around in every direction for Vulpix.
When Yi Nanzi saw the mist covering the field, a hint of panic appeared on his youthful face.
Then he gave a command. "Cyndaquil, use Quick Attack to get out of the mist!"
Hearing the command, Cyndaquil used Quick Attack and raced out of the mist.
"Vulpix, use Aurora Beam!" As Hu Bin watched Cyndaquil about to emerge, he gave the order to Vulpix, who was already lying in wait behind the mist.
"Vul!" The white light gathered in Vulpix's mouth shot toward Cyndaquil and struck instantly.
Cyndaquil let out a cry of pain. That hit had clearly hurt.
Still, it wasn't enough to knock Cyndaquil out. After all, Ice-type moves didn't do much damage to Fire-type Pokémon.
"Get up, Cyndaquil! Use Swift on Vulpix!"
Cyndaquil got to its feet and fired a barrage of little stars toward Vulpix.
"Vulpix, keep using Aurora Beam! Knock those stars down!" Hu Bin reacted swiftly with a counterattack.
The icy beam collided with the stars on the field, producing a tremendous explosion.
Vulpix's Aurora Beam proved stronger. It knocked down every star and continued toward Cyndaquil, striking it squarely. Cyndaquil crashed to the ground, eyes turning into little spirals, unable to battle any longer.
A flash of red light enveloped Cyndaquil and drew it back into its Poké Ball. Holding the ball, Yi Nanzi said gently, "You did really well, Cyndaquil!"
Then he looked at Hu Bin. "You really are strong! I lost this time, but I won't lose to you next time."
Hu Bin looked at Yi Nanzi and said earnestly, "All right. I look forward to our next battle."
Despite how calm Hu Bin looked now, it was all an act. His hands had been slick with cold sweat during the battle.
The victorious Vulpix leaped excitedly back into Hu Bin's arms to celebrate their win together.
Hu Bin didn't hold back on the praise, either. Once again, he showered Vulpix with so many compliments that the little Pokémon's head spun.
Ding! Congratulations to the host on winning your first battle. Rewards: one Protect Manual and 1,000 points.
Before you continue