007 Riolu's First Battle, Easily Won
"Ultra Ball Presentation Card!"
[Ultra Ball Realization Card: After using this card, you will obtain a genuine Ultra Ball whose internal spatial buffer allows Pokémon to rest more comfortably, consistent with the advanced capsule designs occasionally shown in the Pokémon Adventures manga.]
"The market price of an ordinary Poké Ball is only 1,000 Alliance coins, but an Ultra Ball reaches 50,000 Alliance coins. The difference is fiftyfold!"
Is the standard 1,000-coin Poké Ball considered expensive?
Of course not Poké Balls are masterpieces of refined spatial compression technology, something the manga often emphasizes during Professor Oak's lectures.
And Ultra Balls are even more extravagant.
Above the Ultra Ball is the Luxury Ball, whose price is so absurd that even in the manga only wealthy characters like Platinum Berlitz carried them freely.
There should be surveillance cameras in this section of Earl Dervish's Forest. Xu Jing therefore chose not to use the Ultra Ball Realization Card for now. After all, the card could always be stored safely inside the system's interface.
He raised Riolu's Poké Ball, then took out his phone with his free hand. He snapped a commemorative selfie both to mark the moment he became partners with Riolu and as a nostalgic tribute to the manga scenes where Trainers captured milestone Pokémon.
"Come out, Riolu!"
Xu Jing tossed the Poké Ball into the air.
With a familiar "bang!"
The Poké Ball opened, its light condensed, and Riolu's silhouette reformed on the ground straight out of the classic summoning panels from Pokémon Adventures.
The Poké Ball automatically rebounded back toward Xu Jing. He caught it smoothly and pressed the central button to shrink it to thumb size before storing it again.
"Hey~"
After appearing, Riolu looked up at Xu Jing and greeted him proactively.
This human… is my Trainer. I hope my intuition guided me correctly!
"Riolu, from today onward we'll be companions who share hardships and growth together. Please take good care of me~"
Xu Jing crouched down and gently rubbed the top of Riolu's head.
Riolu's ears were extremely sensitive similar to how the manga depicted Lucario reacting sharply to changes in aura.
As soon as Xu Jing's hand touched its fur…
Riolu's ears twitched backward in response.
Riolu raised its eyes toward Xu Jing.
This feeling… truly amazing.
"I saw you eating that apple earlier. You must still be hungry. Was that primary-grade energy cube enough? I have more here."
Riolu stared at the cube in Xu Jing's palm, sniffed it, then accepted it and gulped it down with a single bite.
"Pfft~"
Suddenly, movement rustled through the bushes nearby.
Riolu immediately snapped its gaze toward the sound.
Xu Jing turned to follow its line of sight.
A small Pokémon covered entirely in twisting vines leapt out from the undergrowth.
It was a Tangela the vine monster Pokémon!
Its entire body was wrapped in pale blue vines, exactly like the manga illustrations where Tangela's vines hide nearly all of its features.
The exposed portion of its face was pitch black, with only its round eyes peeking out.
At first glance, it looked timid… but also somewhat startled.
"Puff?"
Tangela had come today because it knew an apple tree grew here and wanted to find food. But it did not expect another Pokémon and a human had already claimed the area. This made Tangela rather displeased, and it glowered at Xu Jing and Riolu with cautious irritation.
The two small feet sticking out beneath Tangela's vines swayed left and right, making the layers of vines covering its entire body sway rhythmically.
This was the signature preparatory motion of Tangela when it was about to launch an attack exactly like the stance depicted in the Pokémon Adventures manga whenever Tangela used its binding techniques.
"Riolu, it looks like this guy will be our very first real fight together. How about it? Feeling confident~?"
Riolu nodded with natural confidence.
Hmph! Just watch me!
"Puff!"
Tangela shrieked and lunged straight toward Riolu, initiating the battle. Riolu's eyes sharpened immediately, the same way Lucario focused during aura combat scenes shown previously.
After bouncing forward several times, Tangela finally closed the distance. Xu Jing felt excitement swelling in his chest as he issued the first official command of their partnership!
"Watch out for its vines! Avoid them don't let those vines wrap around you!"
"Jiu!"
Riolu was clearly far more agile in movement than Tangela.
When Tangela attempted to strike, it was still a good meter away…
But Riolu had already pushed off the ground forcefully and leapt aside.
"Puff!?"
Tangela hadn't expected Riolu to dodge with such precision. Startled, it attempted to shift direction, but its round, vine-covered body couldn't match Riolu's mobility at all.
"Quick Attack!"
Seizing the clean opening, Xu Jing commanded Riolu to use Quick Attack the same high-speed dash technique repeatedly highlighted in the manga as a staple early-battle move.
Swish!
In only two rapid steps, Riolu closed the distance on Tangela.
"Boom!"
Tangela's body was sent flying, crashing hard into the trunk of the apple tree.
"Tangela's defense is not bad at all. Riolu Encore with another Quick Attack!"
Riolu, who had originally assumed that a single Quick Attack would be enough to knock out such a small opponent, turned to check on the foe. When he saw Tangela shaking violently and attempting to get up again, Riolu realized Xu Jing was correct.
"Jiu!"
The second Quick Attack slammed into Tangela once more, sending it tumbling against the apple tree again and shaking the branches with a "rustling" sound.
Tangela was still stubbornly attempting to stand and Struggle.
But at that moment, several ripe apples dropped from the tree and knocked against Tangela's head, finally bringing the vine Pokémon down for good.
"Jiu!"
Victory!
Seeing that his opponent had been cleanly defeated, Riolu stood proudly with his forepaws crossed before his chest, posing with cool confidence like a seasoned fighter from the manga.
But in the next heartbeat, he was suddenly grabbed and lifted into the air as Xu Jing spun him joyfully in circles.
"Haha! We won our very first battle!"
[Ding! Congratulations to the host. You have won your first battle with the Earl Dervish Pokémon. The side mission is complete. You have obtained: Primary Card Draw × 1]
"Another one? Use the primary draw card!"
Xu Jing felt a surge of heat and excitement.
He was already getting addicted to the thrill of defeating wild Pokémon, receiving system rewards, and leveling up. What would the second primary draw produce this time?
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