Chapter 92: Trainer and Pokémon
Croagunk seemed to have anticipated the moment the match whistle would blow. Despite his speed stat not being his strong suit, he actually initiated the attack first.
If he met it head-on with physical combat, there would be an extremely high probability of being poisoned; but if he dodged and fought from a distance, Rio wouldn't be able to display his own strength.
This dilemma was placed before Ming Rizhao and Rio.
A thousand thoughts raced, but the reality was that the first-moving Croagunk was already about to charge in front of Rio.
At this moment, Croagunk's trainer, Maji, unhurriedly called out the first command: "Use [Poison Sting]!"
"Croa!" Croagunk raised the orange finger on its right hand. Dripping with the blackish-purple venom that seeped from it, it forcefully poked towards Rio.
"Rio, you can't take it head-on! Dodge quickly!"
For once, Ming Rizhao and Rio's thoughts aligned. Facing the foul smell of the venom, Rio didn't even have to think and immediately retreated hastily.
Seeing the surprise attack fail, Maji directly switched tactics.
"Croagunk, use [Taunt]!"
"Croa, croa, croa!"
Croagunk wore a sleazy smile, wagging its finger back and forth. The whole frog shook its head and bobbed its body, even rolling its eyes at Rio with disdain.
Thump, thump, thump, thump. A nameless fire ignited in Rio's heart.
The comical frog-like Pokémon in his eyes looked more and more detestable, and he grew angrier the more he looked. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer. Rio couldn't help but raise his fists, about to land a blow on this provocative frog face.
"Don't, Rio! Calm down!" Ming Rizhao shouted anxiously, seeing Rio rush forward as if he had lost his mind, yelling furiously.
But Rio, his head already clouded by anger, didn't heed her advice and delivered a punch upon reaching Croagunk.
Croagunk raised a hand to block, its toothed mouth splitting into a triumphant, sinister grin.
"Bang!"
A hit! Rio's heart leaped with joy, but he didn't expect his fist to feel as if it had struck slippery skin, and a good deal of the force was dissipated.
"Damn it, I fell for it!"
The force being dissipated meant Croagunk hadn't received serious damage.
And, misfortunes never come singly. The thing Rio and Ming Rizhao worried about most had happened.
"Gulp." Rio swallowed, trying to alleviate the dry feeling in his mouth, but to no avail.
Everyone saw blackish-purple spots spread all over Rio's body. Some of the timid children in the crowd, seeing this terrifying scene, couldn't help but cover their eyes, unable to watch.
This was one of the reasons many people disliked battling Poison-type Pokémon.
Not only was it troublesome, but the various visual effects after being poisoned were also rather creepy.
Under the dual influence of Croagunk's "Poison Touch" ability and "Poison Affinity" special talent, Rio fell into a "poisoned" state.
Generally speaking, on the competition field of a Pokémon battle, when one's Pokémon falls into an abnormal state such as "paralysis" or "poison," trainers can use items like "Paralyze Heal" or "Antidote" to remove the abnormal status. However, one of the rules of this Electric Town competition was that the use of items during battle was prohibited. Therefore, they could only rely on the Pokémon's own moves to remove the abnormal status.
Unfortunately, Rio had no such move.
Actually, if Rio was willing to sneakily take out a Potion from his [Backpack] and use it, he could still guarantee his HP would remain within a certain range, so as not to be consumed too much by the "poison." However, Rio disdained to use such a cheating tactic.
"Since I'm already poisoned, I might as well take the opportunity to get in close and finish it!"
Rio gritted his teeth, enduring the discomfort in his body, and waited for Ming Rizhao's command.
He hoped Ming Rizhao could see this only chance for victory.
But he waited and waited, and in the end, all he got from Ming Rizhao was: "Retreat backwards! Don't move recklessly, Rio."
A nameless fire ignited in his heart. The suppressed frustration and the maddeningly awkward feeling made Rio, whose head was already in chaos, unable to hold back any longer.
"If we keep dodging, when will we ever win?!"
Rio decided to do it himself.
"[Brick Break]!"
He raised his right hand high, holding his palm vertically, and brownish-red Fighting energy began to gather at the edge of his hand.
"Croagunk, use [Venoshock]!"
Maji's voice, confident of victory, sounded, followed by a large gush of thick venom sprayed from Croagunk's puffed-up cheeks!
A trace of fierceness appeared in Rio's eyes. "Watch me split it apart..."
"Bang!" Before his voice fell, Rio's vision went black, and he collapsed on the stage.
He didn't know what happened after that.
…
Seeing her Pokémon fall and enter a state where it could no longer battle, Ming Rizhao, somewhat lost and dejected, took out her Poké Ball and recalled Riolu.
At this time, Maji recalled his Croagunk amidst the referee's declaration and then said with a mocking smile on his face, "You didn't really think you could win the championship with just one high-level Pokémon, did you? Too naive. I watched all of your matches. There's no coordination to speak of between you and your Pokémon. You just act recklessly."
"What's even more pathetic is that your Pokémon doesn't seem to trust your commands much either, preferring to do things itself."
"You only know how to rely on your Pokémon's high level to win matches. You don't deserve to be a Pokémon trainer at all!"
Maji's mocking words made Ming Rizhao's little face turn pale.
The audience below the stage was also displeased with his shameless demeanor.
"Hey, hey, hey, treating a young girl like that is going too far, isn't it?"
"Exactly! So what if you won one match? What's there to be so smug about?"
"…"
However, no matter how much the audience condemned Maji, the result of the match remained unchanged.
The winner was victorious, the loser only defeated.
"Iya, iya!!"
Ralts, who had always been good-tempered at Ming Rizhao's feet, couldn't help but want to protest a few words, but was picked up by the silent Ming Rizhao, who then turned and left the arena.
Taking all this in, the white-bearded uncle mixed in the crowd nodded, then shook his head. "The talent is there, for both the trainer and the Pokémon. However, they still haven't understood a very important lesson."
"Is this why you wanted me to guide them, my neighbor..."
The uncle chuckled and, using his phone, attached the recording of today's match to a message and sent it to someone.
…
In the Zidian City Pokémon Center.
Nurse Joy, dressed in her pink nurse's uniform, operated the Pokémon healing machine for a bit.
"Hello, your Pokémon has finished its recovery."
Ming Rizhao took the Poké Ball containing Riolu and held it tightly in her hand.
Rio, who had recovered inside the Poké Ball, sighed secretly in his heart.
Although it wasn't his intention, he also felt that their connection might end here.
It wasn't because of the defeat; what battle has a constant victor? But the most important problem was that inexplicable barrier between him and the girl, which prevented the two of them from coordinating smoothly.
A forced melon is not sweet. Or perhaps the two of them were simply unable to cooperate well? If they forced it, everyone would be miserable.
"Swoosh!" A white light flashed, and Rio popped out of the Poké Ball.
He followed the silent Ming Rizhao to a corner of the Pokémon Center, and then he prepared to speak.
"No, Rio! Trust me, I will find out the reason! Although there are still problems now, I still believe we will be the strongest combination!"
Unexpectedly, Ming Rizhao broke the silence first, speaking with a firm tone.
Seeing Ming Rizhao's extremely serious eyes, Rio opened his mouth but said nothing.
"Let's high-five on it!"
Ming Rizhao extended her hand, her palm facing Rio.
"…"
Rio looked on in silence.
In his vision, Ming Rizhao's Aura, far from being diminished by this setback, was instead radiating a light that seemed even more brilliant, even more dazzling.
Suddenly, a word flashed through his mind.
"Conviction? Is this what the Squirtle Boss, or Mewtwo, or you, are pursuing?"
Rio looked down at his own paw and smiled. "It seems I've underestimated you."
And then, the human girl's palm and Riolu's paw slapped together.
Beside them, Ralts was surprised to find a very faint, thin glimmer of light emerge from Rio's body.
At this moment, a hearty voice sounded not far away.
"Very good, very good! I was thinking you might give up on this Pokémon with infinite potential. As a Pokémon trainer, never giving up is our eternal conviction!"
Who was he?
An uncle wearing a camouflage jacket with a full white beard laughed heartily, walking towards the three bewildered little ones.