Pokémon Home – Backyard
"It's a good thing I was picky when I bought this place."
Ren looked around at the spacious backyard and smiled. This had been part of his plan from the very beginning.
The store's backyard had plenty of open space—more than enough for customers to hold Pokémon battles.
"So, are you two ready?"
Ren positioned Lily and Jason on opposite sides and asked calmly.
Standing beside Ren was Emma, watching with bright, curious eyes, while Diancie stood a little farther back, holding a camera.
Yes—Ren himself was filming this.
"No problem at all!"
"I'm good too."
Lily was brimming with energy, completely fearless. As expected of a confident rich girl.
Jason, on the other hand, was a little nervous. He was an otaku through and through, but he still forced himself to steady his pounding heart.
This brand-new experience made him both nervous and excited.
"Alright," Ren said with a smile.
"Here begins the battle between Lily and Jason."
"The rules are simple: one-on-one. Each side uses one Pokémon. When one Pokémon loses the ability—or the will—to continue battling, the other side wins."
"The battle begins!"
After announcing the rules, Ren stepped back, officially handing the field over to the two Trainers.
"It feels surprisingly formal and professional," Emma whispered, blinking as she glanced at Ren.
This shop owner really was mysterious. How did he know so much about Pokémon?
But those thoughts quickly passed as Emma turned to Lily.
"Go, Lily!"
"Squirtle, Squirtle~!"
(Fight! Fight!)
Squirtle waved its little claws enthusiastically, cheering along.
As a Pokémon, it clearly understood what was happening.
"Hmph! Of course! Charmander—crush that fox across from you!"
"Li~"
Lily shouted confidently, but it was obvious that Charmander, still rather shy by nature, lacked confidence. Even its response sounded timid.
"My Vulpix won't lose to a lizard!"
Jason refused to be outdone.
"You—!"
Lily instantly bristled. Who was he calling a lizard?!
"Ahem."
Ren pinched the bridge of his nose, unable to watch any longer.
"Miss Lily, Pokémon battles aren't won by shouting. You need to give commands and have your Pokémon use moves."
"…Oh."
Lily froze for a second, then hurriedly pulled out her Pokédex to check Charmander's moves.
She'd completely forgotten about that part.
"Ember… Growl… Scratch…"
Ren felt a headache coming on as he watched her flip through the Pokédex mid-battle.
Good grief…
"Vulpix! Use Ember!"
Compared to Lily, Jason was clearly more experienced—after all, he had already seen Vulpix use moves before.
"Woo~!"
Vulpix opened its mouth, firing small bursts of flame straight toward Charmander.
Because Lily hadn't given any command yet—and because Charmander was still inexperienced—it didn't dodge at all.
The flames struck cleanly.
"Char!"
Charmander cried out as it was knocked to the ground.
"Charmander! Are you okay?!"
Lily panicked and rushed to ask.
"Char…"
Charmander struggled to its feet and let out a weak cry to reassure her. There were scorch marks on its body, but nothing serious.
Fire-type moves weren't very effective against Charmander.
Seeing that Charmander was fine, Lily finally breathed a sigh of relief—then immediately glared angrily at Jason.
"That was so unfair! You actually attacked my Charmander!"
"Hey, you have to be fair," Jason retorted.
"You're the one who didn't give any commands. The battle already started."
"We're in a serious match—how is that a sneak attack?"
"Tch! So annoying! Charmander—use Ember too!"
Jason froze for a moment.
Emma, watching from the sidelines, also went stiff.
Charmander puffed out its chest, and small fireballs shot straight toward Vulpix.
But what surprised Lily was—
Jason didn't tell Vulpix to dodge.
The next second, the flames hit Vulpix squarely—
And then stopped.
The fire seemed to cling to Vulpix's body, slowly being absorbed.
A faint red glow spread across Vulpix, making its fur look even more radiant.
"How is that possible?" Lily stared in disbelief.
"Flash Fire, you idiot!" Emma finally snapped.
"Didn't we read Vulpix's info together earlier?!"
Jason didn't even look at her, his gaze full of quiet confidence—as if he were staring at someone hopeless.
"Ah… right. I forgot…"
Lily's face flushed red.
Yes—Flash Fire. Fire-type moves didn't hurt Vulpix at all. Instead, they powered it up.
"Vulpix—keep using Ember!"
Jason grinned.
Now this felt good.
Stronger flames shot out one after another, the power of Vulpix's Ember clearly greater than before.
"Charmander, dodge!"
Emma shouted anxiously.
Charmander tried to move its short legs as fast as it could, barely avoiding most of the flames—but it was still grazed by one or two.
Thankfully, the damage wasn't severe.
"…Isn't this just two beginners flailing at each other?" Ren muttered, covering his face.
One side was spamming Ember, while the other ran around in panic trying to dodge.
As expected, he shouldn't have had high hopes for the world's first Pokémon battle.
Diancie held the camera in one hand, then covered its mouth with the other and let out a dainty yawn.
Honestly…
This wasn't nearly as entertaining as Tom and Jerry.