“Time is tight. I don’t know when Joy will be finished tidying up, so let’s do a 1v1. Is that okay?”
Yu Huijun didn't know how long it would take Joy to organize the items she needed, but a 1v1 during this time was certainly fine.
It was a good chance to see the difference between a child raised by Psychic-type Pokémon and one raised by Mightyena or similar Pokémon.
After all, with the China Alliance's large size, all sorts of people existed. If they were lucky, they'd be discovered and brought back when they were very young. If not, they'd grow up to be complete savages.
This was the first person discovered who hadn't completely disconnected from humanity and had even become a Trainer, so there was a need for observation.
“I have no problem.”
Yu Feng suppressed his eager Lao Mei and nodded. Although he would challenge the China Alliance later, getting to know a Gym Leader in advance wasn't bad.
And he didn’t know why, but his Lao Mei was really active today.
“I also have no problem.”
Although it wasn't a formal challenge, Uncle Yu must have had a deeper meaning behind his actions. Fu Ningna also agreed to this battle format, otherwise, the treatment later would be troublesome, not to mention it could easily damage the child's self-confidence.
At least in Fu Ningna's opinion, Yu Feng challenging her now was a state of being overwhelmed. Even though the China Alliance distributed starter Pokémon later, it was still stronger than someone like Yu Feng, who was ten years old and just starting his journey.
Fu Ningna then thought for a moment and decided to send out Oshawott, as he knew how to control his strength so as not to make Yu Feng cry.
“moga.”
Hearing Fu Ningna’s words, Oshawott shook his head, indicating he wouldn't participate. As the saying goes, 'one who eats a person's food has a soft mouth, and one who takes a person's hand has a short hand.' He had just accepted their tea, and now he was going to go out and abuse someone? Oshawott wasn't that shameless.
“Eh, why! Oshawott!”
Seeing Oshawott unwilling to go, Fu Ningna’s cheeks puffed out in anger, looking exactly like a bloated pufferfish, expressing her condemnation of Oshawott's refusal.
“moga, moga.”
Oshawott indicated that no matter what she said, he wouldn't go out today. Instead of arguing with him, she should think about who else to send out.
“Seriously, the others don’t know how to control their strength.”
Seeing Oshawott's firm stance, Fu Ningna knew there was no way around it and began to consider who else she could send into battle.
After rejecting several options, Fu Ningna could only pull out a Poké Ball with a special logo printed on it from her waist.
“Go, Singer!”
She mused that among her companions, only she could go easy. The others were heavy-handed. When Yu Feng traveled to their region later, they should be able to have a good fight.
Having made up her mind, Fu Ningna didn't dally. A Primarina with long, wavy sea-blue hair elegantly emerged from the Poké Ball.
“Primarina!”
Primarina looked at the battle target before her with a loving expression. She had already heard the conversation. The young lad… fellow in front of her was her opponent.
As someone who had cared for most of the Pokémon in the team as they grew up, she was very experienced in holding back.
“Then for my side, go, Indeedee!”
“Ai Wan!”
Indeedee, though somewhat surprised to hear Yu Feng's words, still elegantly stepped forward to face the Primarina opposite.
Even though she felt the opposing Primarina was very strong, Xiao Feng Feng’s direction was her path forward.
Primarina also looked at Indeedee with a smile. Although they weren't the same species of Pokémon, she could feel that the Indeedee in front of her, like herself, was specifically for caring for people.
“Alright, then the rules are 1v1, unlimited, official battle. Begin.”
Seeing that both sides were ready, Yu Huijun immediately announced the start of the match.
“Singer, use Disarming Voice to test the waters!”
Since it wasn't a formal Gym challenge, Fu Ningna decided to take the first move to gauge her opponent's strength and avoid an upset.
“La la la~~~”
As Primarina sang, a mesmerizing sea-blue sound wrapped around Indeedee.
Indeedee did not show weakness. When the announcement began, an invisible Psychic energy had already spread across the field. Even if Primarina wanted to stop it, it would be futile, as she couldn't stop it without Psychic abilities.
Indeedee closed her eyes, a red light flashing on her body, and endured the Disarming Voice to complete a Calm Mind.
“Primarina!”
Primarina felt Indeedee's improvement. Since the battle began, her dangerousness had increased by more than one fold, especially at the beginning, going from slightly troublesome to threatening. Now that she had completed Calm Mind, it was even more exaggerated.
She couldn't help but remind Fu Ningna to be careful. Losing was a small matter; being disheartened was the big one, especially since she had heard that the other party had only been traveling for a year.
“I understand, I understand. Use Sing.”
Fu Ningna bit her finger, looking at the situation on the field with a worried expression. She hadn't even graduated yet. She had taken over her family's Gym because of her good strength. Usually, when facing an opponent, Oshawott could defeat them without her needing to explain.
Now, encountering a difficult enemy, and with Oshawott unwilling to fight, it exposed her lack of real combat experience. Crushing battles were fine, but encountering such 'evenly matched' opponents and falling into a stalemate made things difficult.
A beautiful song, like a maggot in the bone, wrapped around Indeedee. Indeedee endured the sleepiness, completed another Calm Mind, and then fell asleep.
This was why Yu Feng didn't really want to battle against such Pokémon. The sound was pervasive, almost a guaranteed hit. Aside from Pokémon with the Soundproof ability, it was basically an unsolvable existence. Fortunately, he had anticipated such a situation.
Yu Feng had already taught Indeedee how to cope and spoke his first words since the battle began.
“Indeedee, use Sleep Talk.”
Hearing Yu Feng speak, Yu Huijun knew his situation. He must have been linked to Indeedee through Psychic power just now.
“Oh no, Singer, stop her quickly!”
Hearing Sleep Talk, Fu Ningna became even more panicked. This Indeedee, with two layers of boosts, who knew how painful one move would be?
Primarina also didn't dare to be careless. After all, she had successfully boosted herself again. Although she didn't know why the opponent wasn't dodging or counterattacking, it would be bad if this Sleep Talk pulled out an attacking move.
A huge bubble appeared from her mouth. As the bubble grew larger, it suddenly split into countless small bubbles, surging towards Indeedee.
Dense foam engulfed the sleeping Indeedee. The battered ground kicked up countless dust clouds, shrouding Indeedee within.
Unfortunately, according to the law of 'no damage with smoke,' Indeedee did not take much damage.
Just as they were nervously staring at the dust, tiny leaves shot out from the smoke.
