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"Wartortle… Wartorrrtle…"
Just after the wave from the Lapras's Water Pulse subsided, Wartortle flailed its stubby arms and crawled onto the same platform where Liam was standing. Once it made it up, it flopped over with a look of lingering fear and lay flat on the platform.
"Ah!! Wartortle, you're way too lazy! How could you slack off at a time like this?! Go, Wartortle! Use Skull Bash!"
Suddenly pulled into Liam's arms, Delia blushed furiously, lowering her head and avoiding his gaze. But the moment Wartortle climbed up onto the platform, she was instantly distracted.
Puffing out her cheeks in frustration, she marched over to Wartortle, grabbed its tail, spun it around twice in midair, and with Wartortle screaming the entire time, she hurled it straight toward the Lapras on the lake.
Seeing this scene unfold, Liam instinctively took a step back to distance himself from the danger zone.
As Wartortle flew through the air, clutching its tail with tears in its eyes, it shouted loudly. Then, fiery light engulfed its body as it rocketed straight toward Lapras with incredible speed.
"Wuuu~"
Seeing the same troublemaker charging back again, Lapras let out a soft, cheerful call. It dipped its head and slipped gracefully beneath the water's surface, dodging Wartortle's Skull Bash once more.
"Wartortle!"
Missing its target, Wartortle immediately aborted the attack, flipping gracefully midair in its shell and landing solidly on another nearby platform on the lake.
"Wartortle?"
Once it landed, Wartortle began scanning its surroundings for the enemy—but came up empty. It tilted its head in confusion.
"Wuuu~"
Just then, as Wartortle remained baffled, Lapras suddenly erupted from the water behind it. Its light blue body burst high into the air, glowing faintly with specks of white light. Then—BOOM!—it slammed down hard from above, flattening Wartortle beneath it.
"W-Wartortle…"
Caught off guard by the crushing blow, Wartortle's eyes went wide. It looked completely knocked senseless.
"That's Body Slam. This little guy may be small, but it sure knows a lot of moves. Looks like Wartortle's in for some real pain this time."
Liam chuckled quietly as he watched from afar, seeing Wartortle struggling frantically under Lapras's weight.
"Hmph! So mean! My Wartortle won't lose that easily! Wartortle! Use Water Gun, right now, from this distance!"
Delia immediately turned and shouted her command, clearly annoyed by Liam's schadenfreude.
"Wartortle! Wartorrtle!!"
Hearing Delia's command, Wartortle fought to push Lapras up just enough to create a small gap. It puffed its cheeks, then blasted a high-pressure Water Gun at close range, striking Lapras right in the neck.
But...
"Wuuu~ Wuuu~"
Lapras didn't even flinch. Instead of showing pain, its face was filled with joy. Its blue skin shimmered with healing green light—as though it were being healed instead of hurt.
"Uh… Delia! That Lapras's Ability must be Water Absorb! Water-type moves won't work on it—in fact, they'll heal it instead! Quick, use a different move!"
From his position, Liam instantly realized what had happened. Lapras had the Water Absorb Ability—a trait that completely negates Water-type attacks and even restores HP when hit by them. It's a nightmare for Water-type Pokémon. Liam looked at the pitifully squashed Wartortle with growing sympathy.
"What? That's so unfair! That kind of cheating ability exists?! Ugh, what do I do, what do I do… I've got it! Wartortle, use Aqua Jet to escape!"
Delia clenched her brows, worry flashing in her eyes as she watched Wartortle pinned beneath Lapras. Her mind raced. Then suddenly—an idea!
"Wartortle! Wartorrtle!!"
Wartortle responded immediately. This time, it unleashed another Water-type move, but not to attack. A powerful burst of water surged around its body, and the sudden force propelled it upward, finally breaking free from Lapras's crushing hold. It shot into the air in a streak of water.
"Now's your chance, Wartortle! Use Skull Bash again!"
Seeing Wartortle escape, Delia beamed with excitement. Her plan had worked. She wasted no time shouting the follow-up command.
"Wartortle!"
Obeying instantly, the water around Wartortle vanished, replaced by the blazing glow of Skull Bash. Flames trailing behind, Wartortle dropped from the sky like a missile, diving straight at Lapras on the platform.
Lapras, seeing the incoming strike, tried to dive into the lake again—but it was too late. It was still on the platform, and its mobility was severely limited.
WHAM!
The full-force Skull Bash landed directly. Lapras let out a cry of pain and was sent flying, crashing hard into the lake.
"Yeah! You got it! Way to go, Wartortle!"
Delia jumped up in joy, cheering loudly. She showered praise on Wartortle, who had landed back on the platform triumphantly.
"Wartortle, wartorrrtle~!"
Puffed up with pride from the compliment, Wartortle stood tall, chest out, patting its chest dramatically with its little hands.
"…Should I remind Delia that the battle isn't actually over yet?"
Off to the side, Liam glanced at the thrilled Delia and asked Aerodactyl softly.
"Raaah…"
Aerodactyl gave a low growl, as if saying, "Let the drama unfold."
"Wuuu!!"
Sure enough, just as Liam had predicted, the battle wasn't over. As Wartortle was busy soaking up praise, a cry rang out behind it.
Lapras had jumped back onto the platform. Its big, watery eyes glistened with tears—clearly accusing Wartortle of its earlier "cruelty." It opened its mouth again. A deep blue Water Pulse began forming and was fired viciously at Wartortle.
"Wartortle, dodge it! Then use Bite!"
Delia's voice rang out the moment Lapras launched its attack.
"Wartortle! Wartortle!"
Reacting immediately, Wartortle leapt up, perfectly dodging the pulse. Its round body rolled and flipped midair, landing directly on Lapras's back. Then it opened its mouth wide and sank its teeth deep into Lapras's neck.
Lapras screamed and thrashed, trying to shake off its attacker—but Wartortle wouldn't budge. It clamped down hard, letting out low grunts as it held on for dear life.
THUD!
Time seemed to freeze. Finally, with a heavy crash, Lapras collapsed onto the platform. Its eyes rolled back, and it stopped moving, tears still glistening in the corners of its eyes.
"Ah! We did it! Now's the chance—go, PokéBall!"
Delia had been waiting for this moment. She quickly pulled out a brand-new PokéBall from her bag and hurled it from a distance. It hit Lapras right on the head—ping!—and with a flash of red light, Lapras was absorbed into the PokéBall.
The red-and-white PokéBall dropped onto the platform, its center light blinking as it wobbled back and forth.
One… Two… Three…
DING!
The PokéBall stilled.
"Yes! I did it! I caught Lapras!"
Delia saw the PokéBall stop moving and burst with joy. She turned around and dove into Liam's arms, expressing her excitement and pride over catching her very first Pokémon.