The next morning, the faint morning light shone through the window into Lin Fan's room. A wild Pidgey 'thump-thump-thumped' on the window, waking Lin Fan from his deep sleep.
“Ugh ah~”
Lin Fan squirmed a bit in bed, stretched, and then got up energetically to wash.
The Fighting Dojo was some distance away, and since they had agreed to meet at eight, it was natural to leave early.
In the small bed beside Lin Fan's, Weedle instinctively tensed its body upon seeing the Pidgey, its gaze serious, and the Poison Sting on its head poised for action.
But then it reacted, letting out a big sigh of relief, and just as energetically followed Lin Fan's pace.
Compared to the Poké Ball, it still preferred to stay on Lin Fan's shoulder.
Before long, the well-fed human and Pokémon rode their electric scooter from home, enjoying the breeze on their way to the Fighting Dojo.
...
As the saying goes, the morning is the best time of the day, and this is especially true for martial artists.
Although it was only seven in the morning, intense training sounds were already coming from inside the Fighting Dojo.
Lin Fan locked his electric scooter, glanced at the spirited Weedle, and stepped into the dojo.
As the only dojo in Twilight City, its scale was quite large, with numerous students inside. As far as the eye could see, there were uniform white training suits and Fighting-type Pokémon.
“Mankey, Machop, Makuhita... Oh, Tyrogue, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Hitmontop, the whole family is here.”
Lin Fan's eyes lit up. Listening to the continuous shouts, he suddenly felt a surge of interest.
If humans could also be considered a type of Pokémon, then their attributes would probably be Normal + Fighting.
In the anime of his previous life, there were many human-shaped Machamp. Setting aside the super Saiyan Zhi Ye, Bruno and Bea were both capable of genuinely sparring with Fighting-type Pokémon, so calling them human-shaped Pokémon was not an exaggeration.
As for Zhi Ye, he was purely a super Saiyan, a cheat among cheats.
Amidst his thoughts, a familiar shout broke Lin Fan's concentration.
“Hey, Lin Fan, over here!”
Following the voice, a beautiful figure in a training suit came into view. Her smooth forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and scattered around her on the ground were broken wooden boards, which made Lin Fan's eyelids twitch.
These were not boards for performance, but real ones at least 5 centimeters thick.
If Su Ling were to kick him...
Hiss...
Lin Fan gasped, thankful that he wasn't in the wild and Trainers didn't need to participate in battles.
Wiping away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, Lin Fan walked towards Su Ling, his gaze falling on a resolute-eyed Pokémon beside her.
It looked like a child, with a grayish-blue body, red pupils and black irises. It had three tile-like objects on its head, five fingers on each hand, undivided toes, and a tail.
“It really is Machop. Judging by its eyes, it's a very good little guy. I wonder if its ability is Guts, No Guard, or Steadfast.”
Lin Fan pondered, then walked over to Su Ling with a smile and greeted her.
Su Ling responded, her gaze fixed on the Weedle on Lin Fan's shoulder, with a hint of confusion and curiosity in her eyes.
After a while, the curious Su Ling finally asked, “Um, your starter Pokémon...”
Looking at the somewhat bewildered Su Ling, Lin Fan smiled, “It's this little guy. It's not like those ordinary Weedle. If you underestimate it, you'll pay a heavy price, you know.”
“Besides, how does that saying go? There are no useless Pokémon, only useless Trainers.”
Upon hearing this, Su Ling's eyes flickered, and she became a little more cautious.
In her impression, Lin Fan was not one to boast. Perhaps this Weedle really had something extraordinary about it.
But how strong could a Weedle really be? Almost no one wanted this kind of Pokémon.
As Su Ling watched with some confusion, Weedle suddenly tensed up and turned its head, spitting a String Shot behind it.
“Good reaction speed.”
A deep voice came, and Lin Fan belatedly turned his head. Su Ling's father, Su Wu, came into view.
Su Wu looked at his palm with some surprise; it was still wrapped in a circle of Silk Thread. A peculiar sensation from the Silk Thread made him instinctively clench his fist, and he looked at the fully alert Weedle with a strange expression.
Its size was indeed a bit unusual, and this Silk Thread seemed to have a unique corrosive property.
Was it the inherent toxin within this little guy?
The thought flashed through his mind, and Su Wu smiled, patting Lin Fan's other shoulder.
“I heard you're having a Pokémon battle with Su Ling? Good, young people should have this kind of sharp vigor. What kind of Trainer doesn't battle?”
With that, Su Wu walked over to Su Ling, smiling meaningfully, “I'll be your referee. I'm also a bit curious about the outcome of this battle.”
Su Ling's eyebrows slightly raised. According to her understanding of her father, his words meant he didn't think she would win.
Her Machop wouldn't lose to a Weedle?
Su Ling's fighting spirit suddenly surged, and she stared at Lin Fan with bright eyes, “Then let's start early.”
Lin Fan shrugged and exchanged glances with the Weedle on his shoulder. The latter immediately jumped down, ran to the battle arena, and looked up at Machop, conveying its readiness through action rather than words.
Lin Fan and Su Ling took their positions. On the field were Weedle vs. Machop, and on the sidelines, Su Wu stood with his arms crossed, nodding slightly, “The battle rules are 1v1, and no Pokémon can be switched.”
After instinctively saying this, Su Wu belatedly realized that both participants were beginners and only had one Pokémon each.
Smiling apologetically, Su Wu's gaze sharpened, “Then, let the battle begin!”
“Machop, use Bullet Punch!”
Su Ling shouted, initiating the attack first.
Bullet Punch? It must be an egg move.
Lin Fan stared at the white light emanating from Machop's hand. With the help of this white light, Machop's punching speed suddenly increased significantly.
However, unlike moves like Quick Attack which increase one's movement speed, Bullet Punch only increased punching speed, so it would still take some time for Machop to get close to Weedle.
“Use String Shot to slow it down, evade the opponent from the side, and use Poison Sting for defense.”
Lin Fan calmly commanded, his skilled demeanor completely unlike a beginner.
After the command was given, Weedle quickly spat a String Shot from its mouth, aiming to entangle Machop. However, due to the remaining distance, Machop easily reacted and avoided the String Shot's entanglement.
Seeing this, Lin Fan instead showed a smile.
“It seems it doesn't have the No Guard ability, so we still have a chance.”