Chapter 138: Pain and Joy
Chapter 138: Pain and Joy
"The Green Grass Trial?" Carter was indeed intrigued.
Naoki nodded and explained, "It's a trial I've recently created. The focus is primarily on battles against Grass-type Pokemon, helping challengers to train and gain more combat experience against this type."
"And if one were to clear all the trials, there's also a mysterious grand prize awaiting!"
Hearing about gaining experience against Grass-types and the mention of a grand prize, Carter's eyes widened with excitement. "I want to participate!"
He sent out a Poke Ball, and with a flash of white light, a Pidgeotto appeared before Naoki.
"Pidgeotto, another battle awaits! Are you ready?" Carter's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm.
"Pidgeotto!" The bird Pokemon flapped its wings, its gaze resolute.
"Excellent, you're full of spirit." Naoki praised, "But before we begin, let me explain the rules of the trial."
He led Carter to the simple battle arena and beckoned to the three Ride Taur. Soon, the three Pokemon goats trotted over.
Naoki continued, "The trial consists of three stages. The first is a 1v1 battle, where you send out one Pokemon to face off against one Ride Tau."
"The second stage is a 2v2 battle. You can send out two Pokemon, but they'll battle against two Ride Taur simultaneously."
"And the third stage..."
"Is it a 3v3 battle?" Carter interjected, "I send out three Pokemon to engage in a team battle with these three Ride Taur?"
Naoki affirmed with a nod.
He began to speak with a straight face, making up the rules as he went, "Team battles are excellent for honing a trainer's command skills and fostering teamwork among Pokemon, which is essential for growth."
Carter clenched his fists, understanding dawning on him. "I get it! Can we start now?"
Pidgeotto's Ice-type moves were inherently strong against the Grass-type Ride Taur. Moreover, over the past few months, Carter and Pidgeotto had undergone rigorous training, and they had already collected three Gym badges.
The Green Grass Trial would be a breeze!
Naoki gave a slight nod. "Of course."
He took a step back and signaled to the Ride Taur with his eyes.
The leader of the Ride Taur understood his intention and eagerly rushed onto the battle arena.
Naoki stepped forward and whispered, "Take it slow. Don't incapacitate your opponent right away."
After all, the main purpose of the Green Grass Trial was to help the Ride Taur expend their excess energy. If they defeated their opponent too quickly, it would defeat the purpose of the trial.
"Meeeh?" The Ride Tau seemed confused for a moment, but soon it nodded in agreement, "Meeeh!"
Satisfied, Naoki stepped back and asked Gurleton to bring out several cups of fruit juice milk from the refrigerator.
These drinks were his homemade concoctions, boasting impressive restorative effects for stamina.
Watching his actions, Carter was perplexed. "Hmm? Mr. Naoki, aren't you going to direct the Ride Taur during the battle?"
Naoki shook his head. "The Ride Taur know what to do."
Then he asked, "Are you ready?"
Carter and Pidgeotto nodded simultaneously.
Naoki imitated the pose of a referee from the Pokemon anime and declared, "Let the battle begin!"
"Pidgeotto, use Icy Wind!" Carter chose to strike first.
Pidgeotto flapped its wings, and Ice-type energy transformed into freezing cold air that swept toward the Ride Tau.
The Ride Tau's eyes sparkled with excitement. It took a slight step back and stomped its hind legs, causing a surge of strong green light to engulf its body.
In an instant, the entire grassy field was enveloped in the light, and countless illusory blades of grass, created from the light, swayed gently.
The Ride Tau took the hit directly, but the next second, a green healing light coalesced beneath it and flowed into its body.
"It had no effect?" Carter was astonished. Then, to his surprise, he saw the Ride Tau charging at Pidgeotto, trampling the grass beneath its hooves.
The horns on its head grew longer and sharper; being impaled by them would be disastrous!
Carter quickly ordered Pidgeotto to fly higher, but in response, countless thick and long vines sprouted from the Ride Tau's body, chasing after Pidgeotto as it soared into the sky, leading to a tense and thrilling pursuit.
"Dodge! Dodge!" Carter's rhythm was completely disrupted by the Ride Tau, and he could only frantically issue commands.
Unfortunately, Pidgeotto's evasive maneuvers proved futile.
During the chase, the Ride Tau's vines entangled with each other, merging into an even larger and thicker vine that surpassed Pidgeotto's altitude.
Then, like a toppling pillar, the massive vine crashed down, slamming Pidgeotto to the ground and sending up a cloud of dust.
After a moment, the dust settled, and Pidgeotto lay in the large crater it had created, its eyes spinning like spirals, clearly having lost consciousness.
Carter stared at the scene, dumbfounded.
Soon, the Pidgey opened its eyes, and as it finished the last drop of milk, its body returned to peak condition.
Carter ran over, intending to ask if the Ride Tau's previous move was the Vine Whip he knew, but as he reached the spot, his attention was drawn to the cup of milk.
"What is that? The healing effect is incredible!"
Naoki replied, "This is the power of cuisine."
Carter: "???"
Wait, do ordinary culinary dishes have such effects?
Seeing his confusion, Naoki smiled and explained, half-truthfully:
"It's not ordinary food. It's a ability I've had since birth. When I cook, I can infuse my intentions and emotions into the dish, creating meals that help Pokemon grow and improve."
The Pokemon on the ranch would surely attract attention, so it was better to be prepared. After all, this world already had its fair share of extraordinary abilities.
Carter paused, then asked, "Is it like the powers of ESP, Wave Guiding, or Ever Grande?"
The academy's library had books documenting these very powers.
Unlike Pokemon, these abilities manifested in lucky humans, granting them extraordinary capabilities.
ESP, for example, had effects similar to Psychic-type Pokemon.
Wave Guiding was said to allow one to sense all things, and those with this power in ancient times were called Wave-Guiding Brave.
But the most unique was the Ever Grande power, which only manifested in humans living near the Ever Grande Forest.
It was believed to be a blessing from nature, enabling those with this power to heal Pokemon and communicate with them emotionally.
"That's right," Naoki nodded.
"I see..." Carter's doubts were cleared, and he turned his attention back to the Ride Tau. "So, the move the Ride Tau used earlier was Vine Whip?"
"Yes," Naoki affirmed. "When Vine Whip is trained to its limit, it can manifest in the way you just saw."
As he spoke, Naoki looked at the eager Ride Tau and asked, "Do you want to continue the challenge?"
Hearing this, Carter glanced at the seemingly ordinary Ride Tau.
His mind flashed back to the exaggerated move the Ride Tau had just performed.
The grassy field, the wooden horns, and Vine Whip...
With just one move, it had defeated the Messenger Pidgey despite the type disadvantage.
Undoubtedly, Carter and his Pidgey were no match for the Ride Tau at this point.
A sense of retreat instinctively arose within Carter, as the strength the Ride Tau had just displayed far exceeded that of the Gym Leaders he had faced before.
However, at that moment, the Messenger Pidgey, instead of being intimidated by the powerful Ride Tau, was spurred on, bravely facing its opponent.
"Pidgey!"
Carter was slightly taken aback but soon understood what the Pidgey meant.
Alright! Let's battle again!
Naoki was surprised by this turn of events.
He hadn't expected this Messenger Pidgey to have such a tenacious personality.
However, he merely said, "You're always welcome."
After a pause, he added, "Don't approach this trial with a normal mindset. Winning isn't the goal; it's about gaining more experience from the battle and learning how to handle powerful opponents."
"Imagine yourself as the Champion of the Padia region and think about what a Champion would do."
Hearing these words, Carter felt enlightened. He sincerely thanked Naoki, "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Naoki! I understand now!"
Naoki breathed a sigh of relief. Luring wild trainers to help the Ride Tau expend its energy was like cutting spring onions—he couldn't let his "spring onions" wither before he achieved his goal.
He declared, "Then let's begin!"
This time, Carter changed his battling style.
He retreated while advancing, dodging the Ride Tau's Vine Whip and looking for an opportunity to strike.
Gradually, both he and the Pidgey became fully immersed in the battle.
Just when Carter thought they were getting a grip on the rhythm, the Ride Tau suddenly changed its style.
It bent slightly, its determined gaze fixed on the Pidgey in mid-air, and the Grass-type energy in its mouth surged wildly, transforming into a massive grass blade.
In the next second, the Ride Tau dashed forward with unbelievable agility.
The blade sliced through the air, and the Pidgey's body was instantly knocked away, falling to the ground, unable to battle.
Instant knockout! Again!
Carter's face once more wore an expression of shock.
After Naoki finished feeding the Messenger Pidgey the fruit juice milk, Carter hurriedly asked, "Th-then... what move was that?! Can Ride Tau use that kind of move?"
"Leaf Blade," Naoki replied concisely. "It's just a different way of using it. However, the move the Ride Tau used just now wasn't only Leaf Blade, but also Aerial Ace, a Flying-type move."
"Oh God! Is there any Pokemon that can use Leaf Blade like that?! Even the Grass-type Pokemon of the Gym Leaders don't use Leaf Blade like that?!"
This was too unreasonable!
No, to be precise, the strength of this Ride Tau was just too terrifying! A Gym Leader? An Elite Four member? Or perhaps a Champion?
Having been knocked out twice in a row, Carter felt a mix of pain and happiness, but then he thought, to have an opponent with the strength of an Elite Four member as a sparring partner was just too good to be true!
Seeing the boy's expression, Naoki smiled and asked, "Are you giving up?"
Carter took a deep breath, his heart aching yet joyful, and shook his head firmly. "No! We must pass this trial!"
Battle! Battle again! Battle, darn it!
"Excellent." Naoki's eyes shone with appreciation.
The first stage of the Green Grass Trial, the third challenge, officially began!
Time passed slowly as the sun rose high and then slowly set.
Naoki stood by, watching the battle, his expression changing from initial delight to one of nervousness.
He hoped he wasn't pushing the boy too far.
As the sun set, the sky was painted with a beautiful sunset.
The three Ride Taur had exhausted all their energy, and though they were a bit weary, they felt truly happy.
Through battles, they had expended their energy in a much more enjoyable way than before.
Naoki patted their heads and then had Motostoke bring over a basket of Grass Dumpling treats and poured them into the feed trough.
The three Ride Taur happily returned to their pen and began to enjoy their dinner.
Carter and his Pidgey plopped down on the ground, exhausted and breathless.
Although the magical cuisine helped restore Pidgey's physical strength, the mental fatigue from the intense battles couldn't be easily remedied.
The Pidgey was mentally drained, and it lay on the ground, weakly chirping before falling into a deep sleep.
Seeing this, Carter returned it to its Poke Ball and whispered, "You've done well. Get some good rest now."
Naoki looked at the young trainer with genuine admiration.
"To be honest, I admire your determination."
After a whole day of intense battles, Carter felt physically exhausted but mentally refreshed.
He said, "No, Mr. Naoki, it is we who should be thanking you."
Naoki: "..." This kid's gone crazy, totally crazy.
Carter looked at the Poke Ball in his hand and said, "Through today's battles, Pidgey and I have learned a lot... Even though we kept getting knocked out in one hit, I can feel that both Pidgey and I are improving."
Naoki was taken aback for a moment, and seeing Carter's determination, he smiled and said,
"I'm glad to be of help, and I hope you'll continue to grow through this trial. Pidgey is a Pokemon with a lot of potential."
"Hmm?" Carter looked at him intently. "Mr. Naoki, have you seen trainers using Pidgey before?"
"I've heard of one." Naoki thought of the special episode featuring Old Man Yan: "That trainer's Pidgey was incredibly strong. Its Ice-type power could even freeze time and defeat legends."
"Freeze time, defeat legends..." Carter repeated these eight words, astonished. "How strong must that be?"
"Who knows?" Naoki shrugged.
Carter seemed to think of something and suddenly asked, "Mr. Naoki, you must be an incredible trainer yourself, right?"
Naoki was slightly taken aback. "Why do you say that?"
Carter: "Because those three Ride Taur were raised by you! Not only that, but you also taught Caterpie Electric Net!"
Naoki smiled and shook his head. "I can't say I'm a trainer, maybe just a half-breeder at best. But my main job is still a ranch owner! Remember the special power I mentioned before?"
The power to infuse love and emotion into his cuisine, creating magical meals that made Pokemon feel happiness and fulfillment.
Carter understood, and his eyes lit up as he nodded. "Yes, the Ride Taur must have felt your love and emotions when you cooked for them, which is why they are so strong!"
"Our teacher at the academy said that emotions and intentions are also a source of power for Pokemon, aiding their growth, evolution, and move learning! Love is infinite, and its power is boundless!"
"Our teacher also said that those who can do this are the most incredible Pokemon breeders in the world!"
Naoki: "..."
Well, maybe it wasn't that exaggerated. As night fell, Carter stood up and bid Naoki farewell. "Mr. Naoki, I'll be leaving now. We'll be back tomorrow!"
Naoki, who had been worried about not having any visitors the next day, was delighted to hear this.
"You're always welcome."
(End of Chapter)
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