Standing off to the side, Su Yiqin asked in puzzlement, "Ye Qing, wasn't your Chimchar only born recently? How did he learn Ember so quickly?"
Wang Yao had always wanted to set Su Yiqin up with his buddy, so he immediately seized the chance to praise him. "What else could it be? His Pokémon's got outstanding potential!"
"Oh."
Su Yiqin nodded vaguely. Pokémon with outstanding potential really did defy common sense.
Sun Xiaowei looked around uneasily. "All right, all right, let's hurry up and go. I remember that Rattata live in groups."
Ye Qing nodded. This wasn't the anime world, and he didn't have that idiot Ash's freakishly tough body. A Pokémon's attack really could kill him!
Because Pokémon existed in this world, its plants had gradually evolved a special resin over thousands upon thousands of years. When exposed to flames or damage, they automatically secreted this resin to extinguish fires and heal themselves. Otherwise, how could they survive the Pokémon's daily bombardments?
After walking a little farther, the group ate lunch and continued deeper into the forest.
Along the way, Chimchar defeated several Caterpie and Oddish in addition to the Rattata, leaving him brimming with fighting spirit!
Looking at the surrounding forest, Ye Qing said, "I think we've come far enough. Any farther and we might run into danger."
Both girls were already tired. Hearing Ye Qing's suggestion, Su Yiqin hurriedly agreed. "Okay, I'll have Xiao Qing check for a river nearby. We can camp near it."
"Chirp!"
Swablu answered happily and flapped her wings, preparing to fly higher.
"Don't!"
Ye Qing hurriedly stopped her. This wasn't the city. The forest was full of wild Pokémon, and many of them had their own territories. If Swablu flew recklessly up into the sky, other Flying-type Pokémon might take it as a challenge!
"Oh, it'll be fine."
Sun Xiaowei waved a hand dismissively. The sky was so vast. What were the odds of running into one?
Su Yiqin frowned. Ye Qing did have a point. Just as she was about to call Swablu back, a powerful gust suddenly swept toward them!
"Chirp, chirp!"
A huge shadow swept over the forest above them. The next instant, Swablu's screams rang out.
"Xiao Qing!"
Startled, Su Yiqin pulled out her Poké Ball and hurriedly recalled the falling Swablu.
"Fearow?"
Looking at the Fearow glaring down at them from above the forest, Ye Qing hurriedly checked his information.
Pokémon: Fearow (level 17) Potential: E- Status: Severely injured (exhausted) Gender: Male Type: Normal Ability: Keen Eye (Fortunately, his keen eyes prevent his accuracy from being lowered.) Held Item: None Egg Move: Quick Attack Basic moves: Peck, Fury Attack, Aerial Ace, Mirror Move, Pluck Tutored moves: None TM moves: None Notes: A Pokémon that depleted his potential to force an evolution. If anyone dares provoke him, he will savagely attack anyone near his territory.
"Level 17?"
Ye Qing's brow furrowed. No single Pokémon on their side could handle an opponent this strong. Fortunately, Fearow was severely injured. If everyone's Pokémon ganged up on him, they still had a chance.
The menacing Fearow nearly scared Wang Yao into wetting himself. Tugging at his girlfriend, he shouted, "Holy shit, this might be his territory! Let's get out of here!"
Ye Qing stepped forward and shouted, "We can't possibly outrun him! The vegetation here is dense, so he doesn't have much room to move. Fighting back is our only chance!"
Fearow gave the intruders no time to think. Enduring the pain of his injuries, he turned into a streak of white light and charged straight at them!
Ye Qing pulled Su Yiqin behind a tree and pointed at Fearow. "Chimchar, Ember at full power!"
Sun Xiaowei knew Ye Qing was right. Besides, with her family always keeping her on a tight leash, she'd never experienced anything this exciting. She wrenched her hand out of Wang Yao's grip and ordered the Torchic beside her, "Torchic, we'll use Ember too!"
Seeing the flicker of excitement in his girlfriend's eyes, Wang Yao gritted his teeth and shouted, "Fuck it, let's fight! Treecko, use Bullet Seed!"
Torchic and Treecko unleashed their moves simultaneously. The three attacks merged into a torrent of energy and blasted toward the rapidly descending Fearow!
Boom!
Smoke and dust billowed from the point of impact, and a shock wave rapidly spread outward!
Ye Qing raised an arm to shield his eyes from flying stones and leaves, then continued issuing orders to Chimchar. "Find an opening and jump onto his back!"
"Ooh-ah!"
Chimchar was clever. His nimble body shot up a tree, steadily closing in on Fearow!
The trees here grew densely, leaving Fearow little room to dodge.
Sun Xiaowei's violent streak had been fully unleashed. She shouted excitedly, "Cover him! Keep using Ember!"
Torchic took a deep breath and spat scorching embers at Fearow as he recovered.
"We'll use Quick Attack!"
After that initial exchange, Wang Yao's fear had faded considerably. He was even beginning to think this Fearow wasn't all that strong.
Treecko kicked hard off a tree trunk and turned into a streak of green light, rushing straight at Fearow.
"Use Roost."
Su Yiqin took the opportunity to release the badly injured Swablu and have her quickly recover her strength.
Fearow was furious. If his injuries had healed, he would never have let them act so brazenly! His long beak became a steel spike, viciously stabbing Treecko in the stomach and leaving him half-dead.
At the same time, Torchic's Ember arrived, crackling as the flames struck Fearow's face.
"Caw!"
Fearow was enraged. The crest atop his head stood upright, so crimson it looked ready to bleed.
His furious eyes locked onto Torchic, and he opened his beak to spit out a stream of embers!
Though he had copied the move with Mirror Move, each ember he spat was the size of a grape, its power many times greater. They sprayed toward Torchic like machine-gun fire.
Ye Qing clenched his fists and shouted, "Now! Use Fire Punch!"
While Fearow's attention was completely occupied, Chimchar leaped hard from a tree behind him and landed squarely on his back. Raising a fist wreathed in flames, he slammed it down onto Fearow's head!
Thud!
The punch made Fearow stagger. His old injuries and new wound flared up at once, cutting off his Ember, but the blow still wasn't enough to bring him down.
The enraged Fearow turned his attention to Chimchar on his back and drew a deep breath, ready to spit out another blast of scorching embers!
Ye Qing shouted anxiously, "Don't stop! Keep using Fire Punch!"
Chimchar, you've got to hold on! As long as Ember doesn't take you out in one hit, Blaze will kick in, and one more Fire Punch will finish this badly injured Fearow!
"Xiao Qing, use Peck!"
Just then, Su Yiqin pointed at Fearow and shouted at the crucial moment!
"Chirp!"
Having recovered most of her strength, Swablu gave a piercing cry and blurred into motion, slamming straight into Fearow's face.
Swablu's attack wasn't particularly powerful, but it was deeply insulting. In his fury, Fearow immediately abandoned Chimchar and began pecking relentlessly at the Swablu in front of him.
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