"Come, let us raise our glasses to celebrate Charcadet, Gastly, and Fuecoco successfully breaking through to Rookie Rank."
"Starting today, this means that, just like the rest of you, they can begin training, participate in duels, engage in combat, and many other activities!"
Holding up his glass of juice, Gu Yuan declared with a hint of grandiosity. For Charcadet and the others, who had not yet experienced the harsh realities of the world, Gu Yuan's words undoubtedly ignited a passion in their hearts, making them impatient to train and eager to battle! This was Gu Yuan's initial goal.
"This afternoon, I will arrange battles for you. I hope you won't disappoint me then, and that you can showcase your fighting spirit."
"Come, let us toast again!"
Gu Yuan refilled their glasses with juice and raised his glass once more. Watching Charcadet and the others grow excited, Gu Yuan nodded contentedly. Alakazam, however, silently shook its head. Three silly children. They were tricked by Gu Yuan in such a short amount of time. I fear three little battle maniacs have been added to the team.
In the afternoon, Gu Yuan kept his promise and began searching for suitable opponents for Charcadet and the others. Unfortunately, in the safe area where Gu Yuan currently stayed, the nearby Pokémon basically possessed Senior Rank strength. Having no choice, Gu Yuan had to venture further out before he could find Rookie Rank opponents for the trio.
The order in which Gu Yuan arranged for them to battle was simple: the order in which they joined the team. The first up was naturally the oldest of the trio, Charcadet. Charcadet is a Fire-type Pokémon from the Paldea region, and it has two final evolutions.
One is using the Auspicious Armor to evolve into the Fire/Psychic-type Armarouge.
The second is using the Malicious Armor to evolve into the Fire/Ghost-type Ceruledge.
After evolving into Ceruledge, it can also learn the exclusive move, Bitter Blade. This move allows it to restore HP equal to half the damage it inflicts after attacking. This will provide Ceruledge, who acts as an assassin, with more endurance, allowing it to coordinate with Annihilape for clean-up.
Speaking of which, following this developmental trend, all three of the young Pokémon will possess the Ghost type in the future. In a way, Gu Yuan is inheriting Agatha's mantle.
However, it was too early to discuss these things. For Charcadet, the most important thing right now was the Raticate in front of it.
"Go, Charcadet, use Leer!"
The command rang out, and Charcadet executed the move perfectly. Leer activated, and Raticate's defense began to drop.
Overcoming its fear of Charcadet, Raticate countered by using Quick Attack. Enveloped in white light, Raticate's speed increased.
"Charcadet, Ember!"
Based on his knowledge of it over many days, Gu Yuan was very aware of Charcadet's calm and composure. Even when facing a wild Pokémon's attack for the first time, Charcadet maintained a normal state of mind and successfully deployed Ember. The flames erupted, blocking Raticate's charge.
"Charcadet, charge in and use Astonish!"
Seizing the opportunity, Gu Yuan had Charcadet launch a counterattack. It quickly appeared in front of Raticate, startling the opponent while simultaneously striking Raticate with a punch.
"Charcadet, Clear Smog!"
Purple sludge shot out, accurately hitting Raticate just as it landed. Finally, Charcadet's Ember burst forth again, easily concluding the battle.
Although a battle of this level could no longer capture Gu Yuan's attention with his current strength, the moment the fight ended, Gu Yuan still walked up to Charcadet and praised it profusely, making Charcadet quite shy.
"Prepare yourself, Gastly. It's your turn next."
Gu Yuan did not switch opponents. After feeding Raticate some medicine, he waited for Raticate to wake up.
Raticate slowly opened its eyes. Seeing the familiar surroundings, it knew it had not been captured by the human just now. Just as Raticate prepared to head home, it saw that the group of people was still standing there. If it weren't for Gastly being the one ready in a battle stance, Raticate would have thought it was under some kind of Illusion.
"Gastly, use Confuse Ray!"
Gu Yuan did not care what Raticate was thinking. Seeing it wake up, he immediately had Gastly launch an attack. The light beam shot out and Raticate was a moment too slow and failed to dodge, causing the Confuse Ray to take effect, making it randomly attack its surroundings.
"Gastly, turn invisible and use Lick!"
Dealing with a Pokémon that had lost its mind was the easiest thing. Easily dodging Raticate's attacks, Gastly floated behind it and stuck out its tongue for a Lick. Stimulated by the pain, Raticate somewhat recovered its senses. Unfortunately, Gu Yuan had Gastly seize the chance to use Hypnosis. Raticate, already feeling groggy, was powerless to resist the force of Hypnosis and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
"Gastly, use Lick again, and then Confuse Ray!"
Using the same trick again, after licking Raticate awake, Gastly immediately put Raticate into a state of confusion. After several rounds of attacks, Raticate was literally licked into submission by Gastly. It would probably dream of that long tongue tonight.
Just as he had done for Charcadet, Gu Yuan showered Gastly with praise. Unlike the shy Charcadet, Gastly was thick-skinned and showed no sign of shyness; it even felt that Gu Yuan's praise was insufficient and that his literary ability was lacking.
Suppressing the impulse to punch Gastly, Gu Yuan sent out the last Pokémon, Fuecoco.
Raticate woke up again. Looking at the prepared Fuecoco, Raticate almost wanted to cry. It was from this moment that Raticate vowed it would never fight back if any other human attacked it, even death wouldn't be this miserable!
Despite its thoughts, Raticate immediately felt it was time for revenge when it noticed that Fuecoco looked somewhat slow-witted. Quick Attack rushed out again, heading straight for Fuecoco.
"Fuecoco, use Ember to block Raticate's attack, then Round!"
Compared to the calm Charcadet and the playful Gastly, Fuecoco, despite looking slow, was actually a case of great wisdom concealed as foolishness. Its reaction speed was not slow at all. Flames shot out, instantly blocking Raticate's charge.
Next, Fuecoco's singing voice rang out, draining Raticate's stamina while also making its head feel dizzy.
"Fuecoco, use Ember!"
The Round concluded, followed by a torrent of flames. Raticate tried to dodge, but its footing softened, causing it to fail to completely escape and be scorched by some of the fire.
The familiar singing rang out again. Raticate was now unable to advance or retreat. It was forced to listen to the entire song, after which it was defeated by a final Ember.
As it fell, Raticate secretly vowed that it would never stand up again, no matter what.
With that, the first battles of the trio all ended in victory!