"Battle, battle!" He Pingfan pestered Ling You for a battle as soon as he returned to school.
Since today was the day to receive their first Pokemon, there were no classes scheduled for the afternoon. The two could have gone straight home, but because they had agreed to battle, they first went to the battleground on the playground.
"Alright, let's start!" He Pingfan said excitedly to Ling You after warming up with Scorbunny.
"I know you're in a hurry, but don't be. For a battle, we at least need a referee, right?" Ling You squatted down, feeding Sprigatito some fish crackers, and said with a smile.
He had seen Sprigatito's body data before; her height was standard, but her weight clearly indicated some malnutrition, likely from being hungry these past few days. Ling You decided to give her a good supplement.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot." He Pingfan slapped his head, remembering this detail. He wished he had asked Old Liu to be the referee.
"Gentlemen, would you like me to be your referee?" Suddenly, a clear and pleasant voice came. The two looked over to see a young girl standing before them.
"Let me introduce myself, I'm Lin Qiuyu from Class 2. This child is my partner Riolu." The girl had long black hair tied in a high ponytail, looking valiant and spirited. Her ordinary school uniform seemed to gain a touch of competence.
"Riolu~"
Beside the girl stood a small blue dog Pokemon, Riolu. Its body was blue-black, standing on two feet, with white circular protrusions on the backs of its paws. The area around its eyes resembled a mask.
It was a very rare Pokemon.
"Hello, I'm Ling You, and this is Sprigatito." Ling You said, picking up Sprigatito, who cooperatively waved her paws and meowed, acting cute.
"Hello, Sprigatito!" Lin Qiuyu said with a smile, reaching out to stroke Sprigatito's chin. Sprigatito couldn't help but let out a comfortable purr.
"Hello, I'm He Pingfan. This is my partner Scorbunny." He Pingfan also introduced himself.
"It's nice to meet you, and Scorbunny too." Lin Qiuyu nodded, "Then without further ado, I'll be your referee!"
"Great, thank you for that!" He Pingfan said excitedly, "Scorbunny, let's go!"
"Scorbunny!"
Scorbunny bounced onto the battleground, sparks flying from its feet.
"Sprigatito, prepare for battle!" Ling You's relaxed and gentle expression changed to one of seriousness as he spoke.
"Meow!"
Sprigatito was not to be outdone, showing her small claws and looking seriously at Scorbunny. The opponent was Fire-type, which had an advantage over her, so Sprigatito was especially serious.
"Then, let the battle begin!" Lin Qiuyu said, waving her hand.
"Scorbunny, use Ember!" He Pingfan launched the first attack, using a Fire-type move that was super effective against Sprigatito.
"Sprigatito, Sucker Punch." Almost at the same time as He Pingfan's command, Ling You gave his order without hesitation.
"Meow!"
Dark Pulse energy appeared on Sprigatito's body. The originally Grass-type Sprigatito now became Dark-type, and black energy appeared on her claws as she appeared before Scorbunny with astonishing speed.
At this moment, Scorbunny had just gathered energy, and the flames in its mouth had not yet been spewed out. Sprigatito struck Scorbunny in the face with a claw, sending Scorbunny flying, and the flames in its mouth exploded directly inside.
"Cough, cough, cough~ Scorbunny~"
Scorbunny fell to the ground but immediately bounced back up, coughing and emitting black smoke from its mouth. Scorbunny looked unhappily at the triumphant Sprigatito.
"Scorbunny, we'll use Sucker Punch too!" He Pingfan also ordered when he saw this.
"Scorbunny!"
Scorbunny's eyes sharpened as it bounced towards Sprigatito, beginning to gather energy on its body.
"Hone Claws." Ling You did not launch an attack but instead had Sprigatito start to power up. Sprigatito's speed might not be a match for Scorbunny's, and even if they both used Sucker Punch, Sprigatito might not win. The best way to counter Sucker Punch now was to make the move fail.
"Meow!"
Sprigatito showed her two claws and rubbed them together. Her claws seemed to become sharper, and red energy appeared on Sprigatito's body. This was a signal of ability enhancement, indicating that Sprigatito's attack power had increased.
"Scorbunny!"
This time, it was Scorbunny's turn to be stunned. The Sucker Punch, which was almost successful, suddenly lost momentum and disappeared, the move completely failing.
"Now! Sprigatito, use Scratch!" Ling You seized the opportunity to command Sprigatito to attack.
"Meow~"
Sprigatito quickly rushed towards Scorbunny, swinging her claws in a cross, sending Scorbunny flying.
"Scorbunny~"
Scorbunny fell to the ground, its eyes spinning.
"Scorbunny is unable to battle, Sprigatito wins, so the victor is Ling You!" Lin Qiuyu announced the result.
"This Sprigatito is really strong." He Pingfan took out a Potion and sprayed it on Scorbunny. He was completely outmaneuvered.
"Excellent strategy, you and Sprigatito have great chemistry." Lin Qiuyu couldn't help but praise, "For a rookie Pokemon, being able to execute commands so decisively shows she trusts her Trainer very much."
"Thank you for the compliment, but this time it was also thanks to Little Fan not knowing what the Sucker Punch move does. We won so easily by exploiting that information gap." Ling You said, hugging Sprigatito and smiling.
"Ling You! Give me some face!" He Pingfan said with a long face. As a slacker who often skipped classes, how would he know the effect of Sucker Punch? The type effectiveness chart alone gave him headaches for a long time, let alone abilities and moves. He only knew to charge, charge, charge, believing that if he was reckless enough, he could overcome anything.
"Hahahaha." Ling You and Lin Qiuyu exchanged glances and couldn't help but laugh.
"Meow~ Meow~"
Sprigatito in Ling You's arms, seeing her Trainer laughing so happily, couldn't help but laugh too.
"I'm telling you two, you're still laughing! Sprigatito too!" He Pingfan complained unhappily.
"Alright, alright. We won't laugh anymore." Ling You held back his laughter and then said, "Let me explain Sucker Punch to you. This move only works when the opponent uses an attacking move. It allows you to attack first before the opponent attacks. It's what's called a priority move."
"I see, so that's why you had Sprigatito use Hone Claws when I was trying to use Sucker Punch. I know, let's have another match! I'll definitely win this time!" He Pingfan showed a wise expression and nodded. He had enlightened.
"I think, why don't we wait until the school team tryouts in a month to decide the winner? Seeing your battle, I can't help but want to battle too." Lin Qiuyu suggested, "Besides, Scorbunny is already very tired, isn't he?"
With that, Lin Qiuyu pointed to the already sleeping Scorbunny. Scorbunny had been excitedly waiting for his Trainer since the morning, constantly jumping around, and had just fought a big battle, so he was already exhausted.
"Alright, it's a promise then, we'll decide the winner in a month!" He Pingfan looked at the sleeping Scorbunny and didn't have the heart to force him to battle.
"Mm, we'll decide the winner in a month." Ling You nodded, "Lin, I also really want to battle Riolu."
"Of course!" Lin Qiuyu nodded, and the Riolu beside her also looked at Sprigatito with full battle spirit.
(Piplup Group: 901194306, Trainers interested can come to Miao Miao House to play)
Lin Qiuyu's image reference picture