As Zubat continuously vomited, Xiao Zhi seized the opportunity: "Use Shadow Punch to knock it down!"
Muk quickly drew back its fist, condensed a ball of Ghost-type energy, and then fiercely struck Zubat's body.
Shadow Punch heavily hit Zubat's body, emitting a dull thud. Zubat was knocked back a few steps, its body swaying unsteadily. It fell into a brief state of imbalance, feeling as if the world was spinning.
Li Qingfeng saw that Zubat had not yet lost its ability to fight and admired its stamina. He had to admit that this Zubat could be considered a model worker, as it hadn't fallen after taking a close-range Gunk Shot.
But overall, Muk's damage was still a bit low.
Seeing this, Xiao Zhi continued to command: "Muk, one more time, use Shadow Punch!"
Muk heard Xiao Zhi's command, once again condensed a ball of Ghost-type energy, forming a giant fist, and struck towards Zubat's body.
Aju also responded: "Zubat, block with Air Cutter."
At the same time, Zubat spread its wings, releasing sharp Air Cutters, attempting to block the Shadow Punch attack.
Shadow Punch and Air Cutter collided, producing a huge crashing sound. Muk's Shadow Punch was powerful, defeating Zubat's Air Cutters one by one.
Shadow Punch heavily struck Zubat's body, creating a deafening roar. Zubat was sent flying, crashing into a distant wall, leaving a large dent.
"Zubat, you've worked hard." Aju shook his head slightly. Xiao Zhi's Pokémon were very well-trained; he must have spent a lot of time on them.
(Da Mu Xuecheng: Hmm.)
He walked up to Xiao Zhi, conjured a heart-shaped, light pink badge as if by magic, and said, "This Pink Badge is proof of your successful challenge. Please keep it safe."
Xiao Zhi accepted the badge and thanked him, "Thank you, Mr. Aju."
Aju lowered his body slightly and asked, "It's still early. I have Pokémon healing equipment here. How about you come learn Acid after your Pokémon are healed?"
[Acid: Power 65. If the target is poisoned, its power doubles.]
He smiled, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes. As for why he wanted to teach Xiao Zhi a move, it was naturally because Xiao Zhi's Muk had sparked his appreciation for talent.
Clearly, Xiao Zhi was somewhat tempted. However, he thought that he couldn't make Xiao Gang, Xiao Xia, and others wait too long because of him.
Xiao Gang seemed to sense Xiao Zhi's dilemma from his back and laughed, "Xiao Zhi, you go ahead and learn Acid from Gym Leader Aju here. Xiao Xia and I will go explore the backyard."
Xiao Xia also nodded. Muk's smell was really too strong; she needed to get some fresh air outside: "Mm, Xiao Zhi, just focus on learning. Come find us after you're done."
With that, Xiao Gang and Xiao Xia quickly left, hoping to disperse the lingering smell of Muk.
Xiao Zhi recalled Muk and, led by Aju, arrived at the healing room.
While waiting for the healing process, Aju learned that Xiao Zhi had a Bulbasaur and was quite interested. He also asked him to release Bulbasaur later and shared a bit of gossip: "Why hasn't it evolved yet? Are you planning to evolve it at Bulbasaur's secret garden?"
"What, what, a secret garden? Where is that? Is it on the map?"
Xiao Zhi was confused after hearing this. Could that so-called garden really make his Bulbasaur evolve?
As a poison-type Gym Leader, he knew some information about poison-type Pokémon like the Venusaur family.
Aju stood by, explaining to Xiao Zhi: "Legend has it that whenever a Bulbasaur in a certain place is about to evolve, they will go to a secret garden. It is said that there is a massive Venusaur there."
"Bulbasaur that arrive there will evolve into Ivysaur under the guidance of Venusaur, and the evolution happens simultaneously. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance, otherwise, I would still want to go see it."
Aju waved his hand. He had only heard about it from a friend. His friend also had a Venusaur, which had evolved into Ivysaur there when it was still a Bulbasaur.
Xiao Zhi nodded slightly, thinking about whether he could reach that place in the future.
However, what exactly was Bulbasaur thinking?
Did it want to evolve?
Even though his Pikachu knew that the Thunder Stone couldn't make him evolve, he still subconsciously didn't want to touch the item.
Squirtle and Bulbasaur's strength had also reached the point where they could evolve, but why hadn't they evolved yet?
Thinking of this, Xiao Zhi quickly asked this (future) Gym Leader (Elite Four): "Mr. Aju, I'd like to ask you something. What are your thoughts on evolution?"
Xiao Zhi had previously asked Li Qingfeng about evolution, but Li Qingfeng's answer left him somewhat uncertain.
At that time, he had given the answer: It has its own destiny.
Aju, however, fell silent. Did Xiao Zhi ask him this question because his Pokémon didn't want to evolve?
But his own Pokémon had never been in a situation where they didn't want to evolve.
Then, he simply said a few words and skipped the topic.
After all, evolution is extremely important to everyone, and it's not uncommon for Pokémon to become irritable after evolving and then attack their Trainer.
In Xiao Zhi's situation, a Gym Leader's words would generally influence the other party's decision. (Aju believed this himself.)
Once Xiao Zhi's Pokémon were healed, the two came to a specialized training ground. Xiao Zhi released Muk and Bulbasaur.
Aju also observed Bulbasaur for a while, finding that it was also well-trained, and his evaluation of Xiao Zhi increased by a few points.
"Crobat, I'll need your help." Aju uttered the name of a Pokémon Xiao Zhi had never heard of.
Li Qingfeng, seeing this, gave a fair assessment: 'This is Zubat's evolved form; it's quite powerful.'
It seemed that this Crobat was Aju's current ace Pokémon. For these two Pokémon of Xiao Zhi to be taught moves by this Pokémon, they were quite lucky.
The move Poison was not very important for Bulbasaur; even if it wanted to learn it, Muk (which learns it by leveling up) could teach it later. Now, focusing on Acid was the most important thing.
Aju began to explain the move: "First, we need to clarify what Acid is. As the name suggests, it's about splashing the opponent with a special venom."
"Under normal circumstances, its damage isn't very high, but if the opponent is poisoned, the damage will be much higher."
"Toxins are produced by specific glands within a Pokémon's body, then sprayed or splashed out. Crobat, please demonstrate."