Chapter 215: Time to Clock In for Work
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"Return."
Blaine recalled the Ninetales that was Unable to Battle. That set of close-range Crunch and Scald attacks had indeed caught him off guard.
But the battle intensity in his heart burned even brighter. He couldn't wait to see what other surprises this Youth had in store for him in the next two battles.
He did wonder about that move, though. It was Scald, wasn't it?
Although it was a Water Type Move, the water temperature was extremely high, even having a chance to inflict a Burn Status on the opponent, just like a Fire Type Move.
One could say Scald was a very special Move, a Fire Type attack within the Water Type.
"Heh heh... What a coincidence."
Blaine seemed to have thought of something. He reached for a Poké Ball on his waist, a smile on his face.
*It's the perfect chance to test out that move this one just learned...*
"You come back for a bit too, Wartortle!"
Ash didn't directly take out a Poké Ball to recall it. Instead, he walked forward, picked up the exhausted Wartortle, and carried it to the edge of the Battle Arena, reaching out to pat its smooth head.
The deep blue energy surrounding the latter gradually dissipated as it exited its Torrent state.
"Wartortle, you've proven your strength. Even though I used to feel like laughing whenever I saw your head, I swear, from now on, you're my fifth-ranked ace general!"
"Warto?"
Wartortle touched its head. Fifth?
How infuriating for a turtle!
Seeing Wartortle about to open its gaping maw and give his arm a Crunch, Ash quickly corrected himself:
"Oh, that was a slip of the tongue! You are now one of my top-five ace generals!"
At his words, Wartortle's expression finally eased slightly, showing its approval.
Even though he meant the same thing, the different way of phrasing it gave the turtle a different feeling.
Such is the charm of language.
Ash chuckled, placing Wartortle behind him. Suddenly thinking of something, he reached toward Wartortle's face.
"Oh, right, Wartortle, let me borrow your sunglasses."
He had already guessed why Blaine always wore sunglasses... staring intently at a book for a long time on a normal day was already hard on the eyes, let alone in a magma field like this where hot air was constantly rising. Putting on sunglasses was like activating an eye-protection mode. It was the same principle as when you're reading and type "eye-protection" in the comments, and the interface automatically switches to eye-protection mode.
Hearing this, a smile finally appeared on Wartortle's lips.
Its intelligence was not low, and it somewhat understood that its old cry as a Squirtle, "Jeni-jeni," was a homophone for "borrow from you, borrow from you" (jiè nǐ, jiè nǐ) in the human language.
One could say that Squirtle was a Pokémon that couldn't refuse others.
But now, it was completely different. It was a Wartortle!
"Warto-warto (Not lending it, not lending it)."
Wartortle sat slumped on the ground. Even though the floor was a bit hot on its butt, it still defiantly let out its new cry, decisively refusing.
"I've never been able to understand your cries, but you're not shaking your head, so that means you're willing to lend them, right? As expected of my Wartortle."
Ash casually plucked the Pointed-Frame Sunglasses from Wartortle and put them on. The fiery, scorching scene around him indeed became much clearer.
Wartortle: "?"
*So troublesome for a turtle...*
In the Cinnabar Gym, two men in sunglasses once again stood at opposite ends of the Arena, facing each other from a distance. The confrontational Momentum slowly began to build again...
"So hot..."
As the Referee standing in the middle, Brock couldn't help but be covered in profuse sweat, constantly wiping away the sweat dripping from his forehead.
It wasn't just the volcanic magma under his feet; even the vicious sun overhead seemed to be growing more and more intense.
"Wait..."
Brock's eyes suddenly flashed. He opened them wide, realizing something was wrong.
Generally speaking, Weather Abilities or Moves are considered artificial modifications of the natural weather. If the weather is forcefully changed, its duration won't be very long.
For example, forcefully changing Sunny Day to rain would last for five turns at most.
When the three of them had arrived, the weather on Cinnabar Island was just normally sunny, a far cry from a full-blown Sunny Day. Especially inside this not-so-spacious volcano crater, their environment could even be described as cool and shady, with no sunlight able to shine in directly.
In other words, the Sunny Day weather was actually forcefully created by the Drought Ninetales. Normally, 5 or 6 turns would be the limit, but much more time than that had already passed, yet the intensity of the Sunny Day was only growing stronger.
Blaine noticed Brock's reaction and spoke softly:
"It seems this foreign companion of yours has some understanding."
Brock: "?"
Blaine ignored Brock's bewildered expression and looked at Ash, suddenly posing a question.
"Youth, do you know what a Heat Rock is?"
"Heat Rock?"
Ash was taken aback for a moment. He really wasn't familiar with that.
"Pokedex Beep. Heat Rock, an Item. When held by a Pokémon, it can extend the number of turns for Sunny Day."
The Pokedex helpfully reminded him.
"Well said. But Heat Rock is just the officials' name for it. In reality, this kind of rock is a hard stone that has been continuously burned and refined in volcanic magma, yet can still maintain its form!"
Blaine spread his arms, a somewhat crazed look on his face beneath his sunglasses, marveling at this volcanic Battle Arena.
"You could say this entire volcano is one giant, natural Heat Rock."
This wasn't a matter of extending it by a few turns, but an indefinite Sunny Day!
And under an indefinite Sunny Day, his Fire Type Pokémon would have an absolute advantage!
"Burn once more!! My Scorching Flames!!"
Blaine let out a low roar, his Aura reaching its peak as he fiercely threw out his second Poké Ball.
"Bang!"
A flash of red light revealed a valiant, horse-like Pokémon. Its face was proud and resolute, with a noble horn growing from its forehead. The tip of the horn was faintly surrounded by a sacred aura, giving it an extraordinary presence.
Its powerful, well-proportioned limbs and iron hooves looked perfectly suited for running. Its pale yellow skin was wreathed in a fiery red Mane, which looked like real flames flickering in the wind.
Under the light of Sunny Day, the flaming Mane burned even more intensely!
"Pokedex Beep. Rapidash, runs at an extremely high speed. Its body is covered in a flaming Mane. Only a Trainer it recognizes will not be burned by its flames. But other than being rideable, it's not of much use."
The Pokedex noted.
Ash nodded and put away the Pokedex. His expression was completely serious as he sized up Rapidash's four long legs.
"So this match is a contest of Speed, is it? In that case, I choose you, Pikachu!"
Without further hesitation, he waved his hand and sent out his ace general!
In his memory, Pikachu had been slacking off for a long time. Ash couldn't even remember the last time Pikachu had battled.
But when it came to a competition of Speed, his Pikachu would never lose to anyone!
Or any horse!
"Pika..."
Feeling the scorching heat radiating from the ground beneath its feet and from the great fiery horse before it, Pikachu nodded. It puffed out its round belly and walked forward step by step, its pace slow and heavy...
*Mm, it's time to clock in for work.*
(end of chapter)