Chapter 13: Poisoned
Chapter 13: Poisoned
"He, hecha. Hecha."
Boulder grunted breathlessly, his eyes wide with fear as he stared at Jing He and Gastly. To him, they looked like two grinning devils!
Devils!
They were devils!
This wasn't a battle; Boulder never even managed to touch Gastly once! His attacks seemed to have no effect on Gastly, and while Gastly didn't attack much, every move it made was more painful than a direct hit.
More importantly, he couldn't run away!
Not only was Gastly much faster, but every time Boulder thought about fleeing, he would inexplicably freeze, unable to move a muscle.
What had he just gone through?
Paralysis, confusion, sleep, flinching, burns...
Every time he managed to break free from one negative effect, another would immediately take its place. It didn't even take a full round of attacks for his stamina to drain away in mysterious, excruciating pain.
Was this a battle?
It felt more like a pure form of torture.
Just thinking about the battle with Gastly made Boulder shudder in fear.
And those eerie laughs from Gastly, especially when it would suddenly appear behind him for no reason...
Not to mention, the human named Jing He was even scarier!
Despite looking so frail and seemingly good for nothing except his looks, his words had deeply etched themselves into Boulder's heart: "Cure him, then fight again."
Could a normal being say something like that?
Boulder felt his young heart had been dealt a crushing blow.
In comparison, Metang seemed "gentle" and Dove was definitely the best Trainer in the world!
Seeing Boulder's pleading expression, Jing He raised his hand to stop Gastly.
"That's enough, don't be so cruel, Gastly."
"Gast!"
Gastly grumbled, unimpressed.
Cruel? Me?
"Surprisingly, you accepted it faster than I thought," Jing He said, rubbing his chin without looking at Gastly.
Honestly, the outcome of the battle between Gastly and Boulder was entirely as he had expected.
Primarily because Gastly had a huge advantage over Boulder.
Dove's Boulder had impressive potential and inherited the move "Megapunch," but the problem was that it was a Normal-type move.
Without support moves like "Foresight" or "Odor Sleuth," a Normal-type move couldn't hit a Ghost-type Pokemon like Gastly.
At least, not with Boulder's current strength.
Not only was "Megapunch" ineffective, but the two times Boulder used "Tackle," another Normal-type move, also failed to affect Gastly.
Additionally, Boulder was a Rock and Ground-type Pokemon, but Gastly had the "Levitate" ability.
A Pokemon with "Levitate" could ignore most Ground-type moves unless it was forced to the ground or affected by moves like "Gravity."
In summary, out of all the moves Boulder knew, only his Rock-type moves could damage Gastly.
Moreover, Boulder's greatest strength was its high physical defense, but it was slow.
Gastly, on the other hand, excelled in special attacks and speed.
A perfect counter!
As long as Jing He and Gastly didn't make mistakes, and Boulder's strength wasn't significantly higher than Gastly's, there was no way Boulder could win.
This was why Jing He chose to handle it himself instead of letting Daigo and Metang do it.
Gastly's first battle needed to build its confidence.
But now, it seemed the confidence had been built a bit too much. No major issue, though.
"Boulder?"
Dove jogged into the battle area, calling out tentatively.
"Hecha!"
Finally, no more of Jing He's calm commands or Gastly's eerie laughter. To Boulder, Dove's voice was like a heavenly melody, and he immediately ran to her side, clinging to her for comfort.
Only when you lose something do you realize how precious it is.
Dove was taken aback by the sight.
Was this really her Boulder, whose head was almost in the clouds?
At Jing He's nod, Dove quickly comforted Boulder.
It was clear that after today, Boulder would be much more subdued.
He might still be proud, but at least he wouldn't be as arrogant as before.
Daigo and Metang also approached the battle area, their expressions and demeanor complex.
On one hand, he hadn't expected Dove's Boulder to become so well-behaved.
On the other hand, he was impressed by Jing He's healing methods and battle skills.
Chapter 1
Previously, when David learned that Justin also owned Pokemon, he had curiously asked if Justin would engage in battles.
At the time, Justin's response was—what's a battle? No, I don't.
But now, it seems that the timing of moves, their combinations, and coordination don't look like those of someone who doesn't know how to battle at all.
Especially, those moves used by Gastly were simply, simply—
Metalon rubbed its eyes.
It felt like something had gotten in them.
Before David and Metalon, who were approaching, could say anything, they heard Justin, who was observing the condition of Bonsly, muttering to himself:
"Hmm, it seems that in certain situations, 'physical intervention' can be more straightforward and effective than 'psychological intervention.'"
"Ku!"
Metalon's expression froze.
It looked at David with a pleading expression.
Wasn't it also supposed to undergo 'physical intervention'?
David's eyes twitched.
Physical intervention?
He felt that Bonsly had suffered a more severe psychological blow, didn't he?
But regardless of the process, they had to admit that the result was good.
This was evident from how Bonsly clung to Diana and refused to leave her side.
David took a deep breath.
"Teacher Justin, is it over?"
"It's over." Justin nodded. "I was thinking that if Bonsly was more resilient, we'd switch to you and Metalon once Gastly got tired."
David: "..."
Was Bonsly not resilient?
Most Pokemon wouldn't be able to endure after their first awakening, right?
Bonsly had managed to withstand two rounds.
To David, this already made Bonsly a determined being.
Bonsly's ability is 'Rock Head,' not 'Iron Head.'
He was a bit worried that Bonsly's confidence might be completely shattered.
"Thank you, Teacher!"
At that moment, Diana, who had calmed Bonsly, came to thank Justin.
"He, hecha."
Bonsly, who had lost its previous disdain, hid behind Diana and called out hesitantly.
"Ku!"
Gastly laughed, its black mist forming a hand-like gesture.
But its laughter made Bonsly shudder.
Justin squatted down and said to Bonsly, "Listen to your Trainer. You do have a chance to defeat Gastly."
"Hecha?"
Bonsly was stunned and instinctively looked at Diana.
Diana, who had already been instructed by Justin, nodded solemnly.
"Hecha!"
Bonsly's eyes sparkled again.
Seeing this, Justin smiled.
David, standing nearby, also had a glint of light in his eyes.
Clearly, he had overworried.
His gaze towards Justin held even more approval.
"Ku, ku~~"
Am I awesome?
Chapter 2
David and Diana went to class, while Justin took Gastly back to the consultation room.
On the way, Gastly was unusually excited.
This was its first battle, and the result was obvious—it had easily overpowered its opponent.
Moreover, this was a validation of Gastly's training over the past period, which was a good thing for both Gastly and Justin.
"Don't be too proud."
Justin smiled as he brewed himself a cup of coffee.
He saw more than Gastly did, including its strengths and advantages, as well as many areas for improvement.
These areas of improvement would be their main focus for the next phase of training.
Practical combat is one of the most effective ways to test training results.
"Bonsly wouldn't have lost so easily if it had followed its Trainer's commands."
At the appropriate time, Justin would also need to remind this little guy not to get too arrogant.
But Gastly didn't think so.
"Ku!"
It was as if it didn't have a Trainer.
Watching Justin seriously brewing coffee, a mischievous glint appeared in Gastly's eyes. It gave a low, wicked laugh and slowly faded away.
When Justin turned around with the coffee in hand,
"Ku!"
He saw Gastly suddenly appear, making a silly face, and its long tongue licking him.
An ambush!
Justin's expression froze.
He raised his hand to wipe the saliva from his face, but halfway through the motion, his hand paused in mid-air.
His face turned a shade of purple.
"This time, I really got poisoned."
"Ku?!"
And it wasn't just any poison.
The consultation room echoed with Gastly's panicked voice.
Perhaps to increase the update volume, some encouragement would be appreciated.
(End of Chapter)
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