"Big Bear, Turtwig, come with me. This is a good chance to deepen our 'rapport.'"
"Dawn, make sure you don't stray too far from me. Just do what you can, and don't get hurt."
After giving Sceptile his instructions, Xiaoyun set off on his monster-grinding trip with the two Pokémon and Dawn.
"Turtwig, speed up your Razor Leaf a little. Don't let that Kabuto get away."
"Big Bear, don't just use Hammer Arm. Try using Rock Tomb in actual combat to stop that Omastar. Work on your move proficiency."
And so, what was clearly a Pokémon riot turned into a scene of harmonious live combat drills.
"Piplup, use Bubble Beam."
"Buneary, use Ice Beam."
"Pip!" "Bun!"
Meanwhile, Dawn was also commanding her two companions against an Armaldo, but this Armaldo was clearly quite strong. It actually sliced straight through their moves with the X-Scissor it formed with its arms.
"This Pokémon is so strong..." Dawn looked gravely at the Armaldo before her.
"Dawn, try having Piplup release Bubble Beam around Ice Beam."
Xiaoyun offered Dawn a suggestion from the side. Ice and water were a fairly common combination in Double Battles. Combining moves in battles with multiple participants could produce better results.
"No problem. Let's try again!"
"Piplup, Bubble Beam. Buneary, Ice Beam." Dawn obediently nodded at his words and gave orders to the two Pokémon ahead.
"Pip!" "Bun!"
This time, Buneary fired an icy-blue beam first, and Piplup's pale-blue Bubble Beam followed close behind, surrounding Ice Beam.
Under the influence of Ice Beam's cold air, the surrounding Bubble Beam turned into pellets of ice, carrying the central Ice Beam along as they attacked Armaldo.
"Armal!"
Armaldo continued gathering purple energy into an X-Scissor in its claws, trying to cut through the attack again. This time, however, it failed. A combination of two Pokémon's moves clearly wasn't so easy to withstand, and it was knocked out outright.
"Wow, the moves became that much stronger?"
Dawn's mouth fell slightly open in surprise. That Armaldo had blocked every one of her attacks just now, yet such a small adjustment had produced such significant damage.
"That's right. When you're commanding two Pokémon at once, combining their moves is the most effective approach. The power isn't as simple as one plus one equals two. This is one of the most commonly used techniques in Double Battles."
"Your moves were attacking simultaneously earlier, but their targets were too scattered. Making good use of each move's characteristics is how you can raise your level as a Trainer." Xiaoyun explained the basics of Double Battles to Dawn.
"Roar."
While Xiaoyun was instructing Dawn, Ursaring had somehow started fighting an Aerodactyl that had appeared from who knew where. Only, something about this fight looked distinctly off.
"Roar!" (You rock-brained idiot! How dare you sneak up on me!)
The suddenly attacking Aerodactyl had slapped Ursaring across the face with Steel Wing. The bear was a little dazed before it began cursing.
"Raa, raa, raa..." (You big dumb oaf! You're built like a brute, and now you're throwing false accusations at me? I was sleeping perfectly peacefully over there, and you were tossing rocks everywhere like an idiot! Playing mage when you don't have the ability-who do you think you are, Alakazam?)
Flying overhead, Aerodactyl looked down at the bear and launched into its stream of insults. There was a conspicuous bump on its head, most likely Ursaring's handiwork.
"Roar!" (Say that again!)
Ursaring was a little stunned by this barrage of insults, then roared back at Aerodactyl.
"Raa, raa!" (Oh, losing your temper already? You really are a brainless, muscle-bound oaf. Come up here and hit me if you've got the guts!)
Aerodactyl wasn't intimidated in the slightest, and the words flowed ever more smoothly from its enormous, gaping mouth. It even pulled a face at Ursaring, looking utterly arrogant.
"Roar." (You...)
"Raa, raa." (Just look at you. Short legs, thick neck, and a circle drawn on your chest. Worried people won't be able to hit you, so you painted them a target?)
Aerodactyl gave Ursaring no chance to speak, hitting it with a seamless verbal combo.
Bang!!
"Roar." (I'll kill you.)
Ursaring flew into a rage. It could have let this fake dragon calling it a hulking brute slide, but it actually dared mock its adorable ring pattern. That was the pride of its species. It couldn't tolerate that at all.
Immediately afterward, Ursaring conjured several huge rocks out of thin air and hurled them toward Aerodactyl.
"Raa." (Hey, dodge! Can't hit me, can't hit me!)
Relying on its flying skills as an ancient ruler of the skies, Aerodactyl perfectly dodged every boulder, even finding time to taunt Ursaring now and then.
"What is this Pokémon...?" Dawn opened her Pokédex to scan it.
Aerodactyl, the Fossil Pokémon. A ferocious prehistoric Pokémon, it attacks its opponent's throat with its serrated fangs. Revived through research into genes extracted from amber, it is a vicious Pokémon from ancient times.
Were all Aerodactyl like this these days? If he remembered correctly, the first Aerodactyl Ash met had been just as obnoxious!
But wasn't it supposed to have ruled the skies in ancient times? Looking at its irritating behavior, that information seemed a little off.
Xiaoyun was also watching the scene with a strange expression. Although he couldn't understand what they were saying.
But watching Ursaring curse on the ground, periodically forming attacks and throwing them at Aerodactyl, only for it to dodge with nimble movements and still have time to pull a face, he knew they had to be exchanging some "beautiful" hometown expressions.
"Xiaoyun, should we go help Big Bear now?" Dawn asked, looking at Xiaoyun in confusion.
"It's fine, Dawn. Let me handle it. I want to try catching this Aerodactyl."
Xiaoyun watched Aerodactyl continually toy with Ursaring in the air. At over two meters tall, about the same size as Ursaring, it was probably leader-class too. And judging by how much it still had to spare, it was probably stronger than Ursaring.
As for its nasty personality?
No problem. Xiaoyun maintained that once he caught it, he had plenty of ways to properly train this dragon and make sure it behaved.
In any case, he had already set his sights on this Aerodactyl's body. He had to catch it, or he wouldn't be able to put the thought to rest.
"Big Bear, come here. I've got something to tell you."
Xiaoyun beckoned to the furious Ursaring, signaling for it to come over first.
"Roar."
Although Ursaring was angry, it still obediently walked over when it heard Xiaoyun calling.
"Come here and tone down that expression. Follow my commands in a moment, and I guarantee you'll get to punch that dragon." He patted Ursaring's belly, signaling for it to follow his commands shortly.
"Roar!" Ursaring quickly nodded at his words. It knew its Trainer was full of crafty ideas. Now it would definitely get to punch that obnoxious dragon.
"Aerodactyl, have a battle with me," Xiaoyun called to Aerodactyl, which was standing atop the cave.
"Raa." (A battle? You mean a fight, right? Sure, let's fight.)
Aerodactyl looked unconcerned after hearing what this human said. It hadn't been revived for long and didn't yet know about the current League, but it more or less understood what Xiaoyun meant.
A fight?
Back in its era, it fought every single day.