I'm the Owner of the Pokémon Day Care In the World of Pokémon
Chapter 1485: Battle

Chapter 1485: Battle

"Please take it easy on me." Yuga replied to Chikai, then turned to Beidou and said, "Since everyone is here, let’s begin."

Beidou nodded and motioned for Chikai to come to the side of a battle field that had already been prepared. Once both sides were in place, he announced, "The official Gym Battle between Chikai from Rustboro City and Verdanturf Gym Leader Yuga Shimizu now begins..."

After announcing the rules of Verdanturf Gym, it was Yuga who first sent out his Pokémon, as per Gym Battle regulations.

The Pokémon Yuga sent out was Ivysaur. This Ivysaur had evolved from the Bulbasaur Yuga had originally captured on a remote island, the one particularly good at herb gathering (see Chapter 1319 for details).

Maybe it was because life at the YoYo Day Care was just too good, but the Bulbasaur had grown extremely sturdy over time. Not only was its physique more robust than the average Bulbasaur, the bulb on its back looked swollen as if it had been overfed with nutrients, seeming like it might burst open at any moment.

Perhaps because of that, the Bulbasaur hadn’t been able to complete its second stage of evolution for quite a while. The Snivy, Treecko, Chikorita, and Chespin that lived in the same flower sea sub-ecopark, all younger and weaker than it, had evolved, yet it still hadn’t.

Later, its good friend, Larvitar (who is now a Pupitar), saw it was troubled by this and began to train with it rigorously every day. After a period of intense "hell training," the Bulbasaur finally evolved.

After evolving into Ivysaur, its physique remained more robust than the average Ivysaur, but now it was no longer the overnourished "fake fat" type—it was radiating a strong, sharp aura all over. You could tell at a glance it wasn’t someone to mess with, even the bud on its back was more vibrant than others.

Ivysaur hadn’t had many chances to participate in Gym Battles—this was only the third time—so it was especially excited. As soon as it appeared, it whipped out its unusually thick vines and slammed them repeatedly against the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Ivysaur!"

Yuga shouted at it in warning. Only then did Ivysaur settle down, even playfully winking at Yuga.

"Now, will the challenger please send out their first Pokémon!"

As Hokuto’s voice fell, Chikai also released his Pokémon—it was a Swellow.

...

[ Swellow ]

Type: Normal, Flying

Ability: Guts

Gender: Male

Potential: Yellow

Level: 48

Moves: Peck, Focus Energy, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Aerial Ace, Air Slash, Boomburst, Reckless Charge, Double Team, Agility.

...

This was Chikai’s starter Pokémon, the very one his parents had bought for him from the YoYo Day Care back before Yuga’s parents passed away.

Of course, Swellow no longer remembered Yuga. Not only had more than a decade passed, but its memories of living at the YoYo Day Care were already fading. Plus, the original Yuga had a very hands-off attitude—he rarely helped his parents with the family business—so it was only natural that Swellow didn’t recognize him.

After all, back then the YoYo Day Care didn’t have its own ecopark like it does now. The Pokémon in the shop were usually bought in and sold out quickly, so they rarely lived there for long.

Most of the Pokémon sold at the YoYo Day Care at that time were eggs. Swellow was one of the rare few Pokémon that had actually been sold as a hatched Pokémon.

Although this Swellow didn’t have high potential and now had more and more difficulty improving its strength, Chikai had never given up on training it and always kept it by his side.

"Swellow~!"

As soon as Swellow appeared, it let out a powerful cry and began to square off against the Ivysaur below.

Facing Swellow’s provocation, Ivysaur showed no fear. Its two thick vines whipped out again. This time, instead of slapping the ground, it swung the vines through the air, demonstrating in front of Swellow.

Back before it evolved, Ivysaur had been very timid. But after living in the YoYo Day Care for a long time and encountering many powerful beings, its courage had been built up over time. A little Swellow didn’t amount to much in its eyes.

Of course, its level was still a bit lower than Swellow’s, and its type was also at a disadvantage, so it didn’t really have much of an edge.

For Gym challenges, Yuga usually didn’t pick a high-level Pokémon to start with. On the one hand, it was to test the challenger’s strength, and on the other hand, it was to give the challenger time to adapt.

Even though Yuga took the challengers into consideration like this, over the past two years he had become increasingly strict with trainers who came to challenge the Verdanturf Gym, and the number of badges he gave out had decreased more and more. As a result, some less capable challengers had started avoiding Verdanturf Gym altogether.

"The challenger attacks first!"

Hokuto’s voice rang out, and the next second Chikai shouted, "Swellow, use Aerial Ace!"

"Swellow!"

Swellow, cloaked in a white light, suddenly dove from the air and charged hard at Ivysaur.

Yuga didn’t give an order, but Ivysaur had already started responding to the enemy on its own. Its two extremely thick vines began to whip around quickly, forming a dense net of vines that not even air could penetrate.

Swellow was forced to dodge desperately, and as a result, the momentum it had built up for Aerial Ace was suddenly disrupted. Naturally, it could no longer pose a threat to Ivysaur.

Seeing this, Chikai immediately instructed, "Swellow, use Agility!"

Upon hearing this, Swellow’s speed suddenly increased sharply. Afterimages began to appear in the air as it moved, and with the boost from Agility, it became faster and faster. Ivysaur’s vines could no longer lock it down.

Seizing on a mistake from Ivysaur, Swellow finally broke through the vine net and used Aerial Ace again to charge at Ivysaur.

It was then that Yuga finally spoke up.

"Ivysaur, use Sludge Bomb!"

"Ivysaur~!"

Responding to the command, Ivysaur retracted its vines and opened its mouth to spit out a mass of purple sludge. The sludge scattered into a wide spray in the air, and Swellow, unable to brake in time, flew straight into it.

By coincidence, the poison in the sludge stuck to Swellow’s body and caused it to fall into a poisoned state.

"Swellow~ Swellow~!"

Swellow screamed as it pulled away from Ivysaur. Its red cheeks had turned a sickly purple from the effects of the poison.

Seeing this scene, Chikai couldn’t help but frown slightly. He immediately ordered, "Swellow, use Double Team!"

"Swellow~"

Swellow endured the burning pain from the poison corroding its body. Its figure flickered, and in the air, two to three dozen identical Swellows appeared, circling above Ivysaur’s head, waiting for a chance to strike.

It was obvious that Swellow had put a lot of effort into mastering the move Double Team. Otherwise, with its current capabilities, it wouldn’t be able to create two or three dozen illusions so easily.

But then again...

"Ivysaur, use Razor Leaf!"

Who doesn’t have their own signature move?

As Yuga’s voice rang out, countless tiny leaves suddenly shot out from the flower bud on Ivysaur’s back. Each leaf was sharp like a blade, and they densely flew toward the Swellows in the sky.

Ivysaur’s level wasn’t high, so it couldn’t master intermediate or advanced moves, but it could easily handle basic skills. After all, in the flower sea sub-ecopark, it had no shortage of teachers.

"Swellow!!!"

There were simply too many leaves in Razor Leaf, and the attack covered too wide an area. After one illusion after another was wiped out, Swellow’s real body was finally hit as well. It had already been poisoned, and this blow just made things worse.

Seeing this, Chikai had no choice but to recall it into its Poké Ball and then sent out his second Pokémon.

Chikai’s second Pokémon was also one that countered Grass-types.

...

[ Rapidash ]

Type: Fire

Ability: Flash Fire

Gender: Female

Potential: Green

Level: 55

Moves: Ember, Flame Wheel, Stomp, Flame Charge, Fire Spin, Take Down, Inferno, Agility, Flare Blitz, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Wild Charge, High Horsepower, Heat Wave, Drill Run, Hell Thrust.

...

"Rapidash~"

After Rapidash was released, it raised its two front hooves high, then stomped them down hard and let out a series of neighs. A wave of heat rippled across the battlefield.

Compared to the previous Swellow, this Rapidash was clearly stronger in every way.

Out of a Grass-type Pokémon’s instinctive fear of Fire-types, Ivysaur instinctively stepped back, but then felt embarrassed about it and tried hard to stand tall and proud.

As a Gym Leader, Yuga couldn’t switch Pokémon. So even though he knew Ivysaur would be under great pressure facing Rapidash, he had to grit his teeth and let it continue.

Yuga took the initiative and said, "Ivysaur, use Grassy Terrain!"

Ivysaur wasn’t an offensive Pokémon. Expecting it to launch a fierce attack against Rapidash from the start was unrealistic, so it was better to first lay the foundation for support.

"Ivysaur~!"

Ivysaur responded, and a green glow appeared beneath its feet. As the glow spread across the battlefield, blades of grass formed from Grass-type energy began to sprout.

Just as Yuga’s voice faded, Chikai’s voice rang out as well.

"Rapidash, use Heat Wave!"

Ivysaur might not be an aggressive attacker, but Rapidash certainly was!

Rapidash raised one front hoof and stomped it hard on the ground. A scarlet heat wave spread out from its body, rolling outward and soon overlapping with the grassy terrain Ivysaur had just set up.

The moment the green grass touched the red heat wave, they burst into flames with a "whoosh," and the grassy terrain was instantly cleared away.

The fact that Grassy Terrain was the signature move of the Verdanturf Gym was no secret. Clearly, Chikai had come prepared.

The heat wave kept spreading and soon surrounded Ivysaur. Ivysaur couldn’t help but show a panicked expression.

"Ivysaur, use Venoshock!"

Yuga’s voice rang in Ivysaur’s ears, and it immediately calmed down. A pool of purple poisonous liquid suddenly appeared at its feet. The poison began to churn like waves and covered the approaching heat wave completely.

Zzz~ Zzz~ Zzz~

The fire burning the poison made sizzling noises, and thick smoke started rising on the battlefield, releasing a pungent stench.

"Rapidash, use Flame Charge!"

At Chikai’s command, Rapidash began galloping rapidly around the battlefield.

Flame Charge has an effect — the more it’s used, the faster the user becomes. So, Rapidash didn’t rush to attack Ivysaur right away but kept circling around it continuously.

This not only made Rapidash’s speed increase more and more, but also effectively placed a great deal of psychological pressure on Ivysaur.

Ivysaur wasn’t qualified to compete in speed against a renowned sprinter like Rapidash, so it had to focus all its attention, carefully watching Rapidash’s every move.

However, an unexpected situation occurred. At first, Rapidash’s speed indeed increased continuously, but gradually, it started finding it harder and harder to breathe, and its strength also began to drain away.

As it turned out, the toxic liquid used by Ivysaur earlier in its Venoshock had been burned by flames, and the poison had evaporated into the air. With Rapidash’s fast running causing it to breathe more heavily, it inhaled large amounts of the poisonous fumes.

Thus, it was accidentally poisoned.

Yuga and Chikai both gradually noticed Rapidash’s abnormal condition and quickly realized the key to the situation. One was surprised, and the other was stunned.

For Yuga, this was an unintended blessing — like planting a willow without intention and getting a shade — a pleasant surprise. But for Chikai, it was a completely unexpected disaster. He had thought Rapidash had a sure win against Ivysaur, but never expected an accident like this to occur.

Knowing that Rapidash was now poisoned, Chikai understood that he had to finish this quickly. If it dragged on any longer, Rapidash might collapse even before Ivysaur did.

So, under Chikai’s command, Rapidash used Flame Charge and charged straight at Ivysaur.

Ivysaur tried to trip Rapidash with its vines, but Rapidash’s whole body was wrapped in flames, and the vines instantly turned to ashes upon contact.

Boom!!!

With a loud crash, Ivysaur was sent flying and lost consciousness with its head tilted. _{free.w e bn.ov(e)l(.)com}

Looking at the fallen Rapidash not far away, it couldn’t help but take a heavy breath. The poison’s corrosion was becoming more and more serious.

Yuga recalled Ivysaur and thought for a moment before sending out his second Pokémon — Whimsicott.

This Whimsicott had been at YoYo Day Care for a very long time. It was also the only Whimsicott in the entire daycare, because it had neither found a mate nor had any offspring.

It rarely participated in Gym battles anymore. The reason was simple — its level was getting higher and higher, and it was often no longer suitable to appear in Gym matches.

As soon as Whimsicott came out, it used the move Tailwind. Thanks to its ability Prankster, the move was executed with almost no interference at all.

Ivysaur couldn’t compete with Rapidash in speed, but Whimsicott was a different story. Speed was its forte to begin with, and now it also had the boost from Tailwind.

Seeing Whimsicott appear, Rapidash opened its mouth and unleashed a powerful Flamethrower. A thick pillar of fire fiercely surged toward Whimsicott.

Whimsicott didn’t panic. It moved lightly with the rising gusts, easily dodging Rapidash’s Flamethrower. Its crisp and cute laughter echoed across the battlefield.

With the speed advantage, Whimsicott didn’t need to end the battle quickly. As long as it stalled for time, the poisoned Rapidash would collapse on its own. Besides, Whimsicott wasn’t an offensive-type Pokémon and didn’t need to win in a rush.

As the poison spread further, Rapidash became more and more pained and exhausted. Meanwhile, Whimsicott secretly planted a Leech Seed on its body.

That was the end for Rapidash. Its HP began draining faster and faster. In the end, Whimsicott barely used any offensive moves at all, and Rapidash collapsed directly, while Whimsicott, on the other hand, used the Leech Seed to nourish itself to fullness.