Chapter 180:Natsume's Strategy Analysis, Victreebel vs. Gyarados

Milotic possesses the power to soothe emotions in both humans and Pokémon.

Under the gentle pink glow, Manaphy and the others, including Squirtle, all calmed down.

Manaphy's antennae rose once more.

A red beam connected Mudkip and the others together.

Heart Swap was successfully released.

“Mudkip~”

Mudkip and the others’ consciousness returned to their respective bodies.

“Mudkip!”

As soon as Mudkip returned to its body, it immediately dragged Larvitar to the riverbank.

“Larvitar!”

Mudkip couldn’t understand how there could be a Pokémon that couldn’t swim!

“Mudkip!”

With a splash, Mudkip jumped in to demonstrate how to swim to Larvitar.

“Larvitar.”

Larvitar shook its head repeatedly.

“Mudkip!”

Mudkip swam ashore and stood behind Larvitar.

Kick~

“Larvitar!”

With a cry, Larvitar was kicked into the river by Mudkip.

Larvitar sank like a stone.

As soon as it hit the water, it sank straight down.

Mudkip blinked.

Larvitar didn’t resurface.

“Mudkip!”

Mudkip panicked and quickly jumped in, dragging the heavy Larvitar back up.

“Mudkip.”

Mudkip was exhausted.

Lying on the ground, Larvitar coughed up water.

Natsume crouched beside Mudkip and said, “Mudkip, Larvitar’s body is different from yours.”

“You should give it a break.”

“Mudkip.”

Mudkip sighed.

“Alright, let’s head inside, little ones.”

With all the commotion, everyone was now awake.

Natsume led them back into the room.

Water-type Pokémon generally enjoy small dried fish.

Fried, marinated, steamed—Natsume ordered a variety of types and flavors.

Eevee are omnivorous Pokémon.

Whether it’s meat or vegetables, as long as it’s tasty, they’ll eat it.

The morning time passed in a somewhat noisy atmosphere.

Kiko woke up around noon.

She got up and looked at herself in the mirror, glancing at the marks on her body.

“Oh dear.”

Kiko ruffled her messy hair and then covered her face.

Recalling the previous night’s experience made her heart race.

How was she supposed to go out?

“Jigglypuff?”

The door to the room was gently opened.

“Ah.”

Kiko quickly pulled the covers up to hide her body.

Jigglypuff waddled in and hopped onto Kiko’s bed.

“It’s you.”

Kiko sighed in relief.

“Jigglypuff, where did you go yesterday?”

Kiko picked up Jigglypuff, hugging its round body.

“Jigglypuff.”

Jigglypuff flailed its short limbs, trying to explain.

“Jigglypuff almost got blown away by the wind yesterday.”

Natsume leaned against the doorway, watching Kiko, and waved.

“Luckily, Noivern was there, so nothing happened.”

Kiko looked at Jigglypuff and said, “Is that so? You little one, let’s see if you still dare to run around outside.”

Jigglypuff jumped down from Kiko’s hand.

“Jigglypuff.”

Jigglypuff stood with hands on hips.

It wasn't my fault; it was because of the sudden rain.

After speaking, Jigglypuff ran outside again.

“This little one.”

Kiko murmured and then looked at Natsume.

She subconsciously touched her exposed shoulder, her face turning bright red.

Red all the way to her neck.

Kiko murmured, “G-good morning.”

“It’s already noon.”

Natsume smiled at Kiko, “You should get up; Victreebel is already waiting for you.”

“Victreebel~”

At the room door, Victreebel peeked its head in.

“Victreebel~”

Victreebel waved its leaves.

Kiko suddenly remembered.

Today she was going to challenge Gyarados with Victreebel.

Kiko had never participated in a Pokémon battle before.

So she was a bit nervous, but also a little excited.

Kiko changed into sportswear and walked out of the room.

Natsume was sitting on the sofa, watching a live broadcast.

It was the Western Region Champion Battle.

At that moment, the trainer appearing on the screen was a tall woman with long purple hair.

Her complexion was very pale, almost bloodless.

Her gaze seemed to be fixed on something far away.

“Mismagius, Shadow Ball.”

Bam~

In the battle arena, a dark shadow quickly condensed in front of Mismagius.

Shadow Ball shot forward.

“Donphan, Rock Slide!”

Donphan let out a deep grunt.

With a flick of its tire-like trunk, a massive rock was sent hurtling toward Shadow Ball.

Whoosh~

The Shadow Ball suddenly vanished.

Rock Slide missed its mark.

In front of Donphan, the Shadow Ball reappeared.

This was a disappearing Shadow Ball!

Bam~

Donphan was blasted away instantly.

“Amazing.”

Kiko stood behind Natsume, watching the battle on TV. “The Western Region Champion is probably Queen Arashijima, right?”

Natsume nodded, “It should be.”

“But why did that move disappear just now?”

Kiko asked in confusion, “I thought they would collide.”

Natsume explained, “I think it used Phantom Force.”

“Phantom Force lets a Pokémon vanish into a different space.”

“When Mismagius released Shadow Ball, it used this technique, which is why Shadow Ball disappeared suddenly.”

Kiko realized, “So that’s how it is.”

Kiko turned to Victreebel beside her and said, “By the way, I don’t really know the moves Victreebel can use.”

“Victreebel~”

Victreebel quickly told Kiko the moves it could perform.

Natsume helped translate, “This Victreebel’s ability is Chlorophyll.”

“Wait a second.”

Kiko quickly took out her phone and opened her notes.

“I know Chlorophyll; it increases a Pokémon’s speed in sunny weather.”

“That’s right, you really are a good student.”

Natsume praised before continuing, “It can use Vine Whip, Sleep Powder, Razor Leaf, Sweet Scent, Stockpile, Spit Up, Swallow, Gastro Acid, and Power Whip.”

Kiko listened attentively.

Her nimble fingers quickly made notes on her phone.

“I know the effects of moves like Vine Whip, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent.”

“But I'm not quite sure about Stockpile, Spit Up, and Swallow.”

Kiko had good study habits; if she didn’t understand something, she would ask.

Natsume explained, “Stockpile can increase Victreebel's Defense and Special Defense.”

“Additionally, Stockpile can be used consecutively.”

“While using it, Victreebel cannot use other moves, so you need to manage the timing of Stockpile carefully.”

“The power of Spit Up and Swallow is related to Stockpile.”

“They are considered combo moves.”

Natsume patiently elaborated, “Spit Up releases all the accumulated power.”

“The more power you accumulate, the greater the power of Spit Up.”

“Swallow, on the other hand, uses the accumulated energy on itself, allowing for health recovery.”

“Like Spit Up, the amount restored is also connected to the number of times you’ve accumulated it.”

Kiko finished taking notes.

Kiko continued to inquire, “What about Gastro Acid?”

“Is it a poison-type damaging move?”

“It is a poison-type move, but it's not a damaging type move.”

Natsume responded, “Victreebel’s Gastro Acid can nullify a Pokémon's ability.”

“In battle, if you think your opponent's ability is troublesome, you can use Gastro Acid the first time to seal that ability.”

Kiko diligently recorded this.

“So if it were you, Natsume, how would you arrange Victreebel's tactics against Gyarados?”

Natsume smiled at Kiko and said, “It seems you’re a theoretical type.”

Kiko held her phone and said, “Since this is my first battle with Victreebel, I want to be well-prepared.”

Natsume said, “In fact, Pokémon battles, simply put, are about avoiding your opponent's moves while successfully landing your own.”

“If you want to think more complexly, you also need to consider terrain, weather, Pokémon abilities, the moves they know, and whether you’re going first or second.”

“Many people like to prepare a bunch of tactics before a battle, but often when they actually stand in the arena, their minds go blank.”

“In the battle arena, anything can happen.”

“So my advice is to trust your companion and your instincts.”

“This is your first battle, so don’t think too much and enjoy the fun of battling.”

The rain gradually stopped.

“Awooo~”

A roar from Arcanine echoed at the foot of the mountain.

The large balcony became dazzlingly bright.

Natsume stood up and said, “Let’s go. It’s a nice day.”

“I’ll have Dragonite call a Gyarados out for you.”

“Huh?”

Kiko didn’t react immediately. “Wait, wait a minute.”

“Is it that soon?”

“I’m not ready yet.”

Pop~

Natsume patted Kiko's shoulder and smiled, “Be confident; Victreebel is already prepared.”

“Kabutops!”

Victreebel waved its leaves.

Kiko looked at Victreebel, took a deep breath, and said, “I understand.”

In the farm gym’s training area.

“Victreebel, let’s do our best together.”

Kiko encouraged Victreebel while standing in front of it.

“Victreebel!”

Victreebel looked up at the sun, displaying a confident demeanor.

“Today’s challenger is a very beautiful girl.”

“A beautiful maiden and Victreebel, that’s quite a rare combination.”

Outside the battle arena, tourists saw that a battle was about to take place and quickly gathered around.

Kiko wasn’t nervous about being watched by so many people.

She often hosted school events while she was studying.

“Dragonite~”

In the sky, Dragonite flew in with a Gyarados.

“Roar~”

Seeing so many people around, Gyarados opened its mouth and let out an angry roar at the crowd.

Energy gathered in Gyarados’s mouth.

It was about to unleash a blast at the crowd.

“Dragonite!”

Dragonite gave a swift slap with its paw.

Gyarados's wide-open mouth immediately shut.

Natsume walked past and said, “I’ll leave it to you, Gyarados.”

This Gyarados was not very high-level, around level 30, similar to Victreebel, making it a suitable opponent for Kiko and Victreebel.

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite waved at Kiko and made a gesture of encouragement, then, together with Natsume, pushed toward the battle arena.

Rotom floated in the middle and announced, “The rules of the match are 1v1. The match ends when one side's Pokémon loses battle capability.”

“If there are no issues, please have both Pokémon enter the arena.”

“Victreebel, go!”

“Roar~”

Gyarados was nearly seven meters long, and just its head was about the same size as Victreebel's body.

“Roar!”

Gyarados roared at Victreebel.

“Victreebel, use Gastro Acid!”

Kiko remembered Natsume’s advice that if she found her opponent’s ability troublesome, she should use Gastro Acid right away.

Gyarados flew up, trying to evade Victreebel’s attack.

Victreebel's attack speed was quick.

Additionally, Gyarados’s large size made it easy to hit.

Gastro Acid successfully Accuracy.

The purple slime dissolved into Gyarados’s body.

“Roar!”

Gyarados let out an annoyed roar and then used Hydro Pump.

When Gyarados first entered the battle, Kiko had been very nervous and scared.

However, the moment Gastro Acid successfully hit its target, Kiko inexplicably felt much more relaxed.

“Victreebel, dodge and then use Stockpile!”

“Victreebel~”

Victreebel moved quickly under the sunlight.

Natsume smiled slightly as he watched Kiko enter the fray, “Looks like you did it.”

“What do you mean?”

Natsume turned to see Onami standing behind him.

Gyarados's ability is Intimidate.

This ability easily instills fear in others.

Natsume thought Kiko's significant fear must be strongly related to Gyarados's ability.

So, prior to the official battle, Natsume had given Kiko a notice: Use Gastro Acid.

Natsume wanted Kiko to defeat her fear through this battle.

“One tactic arranged.”

Natsume said to Onami, “By the way, you arrived quickly.”

Onami tucked her hair behind her ear, “As soon as you sent me a message, I came right over.”

“And Manaphy?”

“Playing on the mountain with Squirtle and the others.”

Natsume looked at Onami's excited expression and asked, “Do you want to go up first?”

Onami glanced at the battle happening on the field.

“Roar!”

Gyarados grew angrier when it realized its attack had missed.

This time, it charged directly at Victreebel.

Water flowed around Gyarados’s body.

Waterfall!

“Victreebel, use Sleep Powder!”

Victreebel cast Sleep Powder at the charging Gyarados.

However, Sleep Powder didn’t affect Gyarados at all.

Gyarados bulldozed right through the Sleep Powder!

Bam~

Victreebel was knocked away.

Onami shook her head slightly, “It’s okay; let’s wait for their battle to end.”

In the battle arena, Kiko started to panic.

“Why didn’t Sleep Powder work?”

“Roar!”

Seeing it had missed, Gyarados continued using Waterfall!

Kiko didn’t have time to think about why it didn’t work.

She wasn’t the type to get hung up on such issues.

“Victreebel, dodge and use Razor Leaf!”

In the sunny conditions, Victreebel's speed was impressive.

Additionally, Victreebel had resistance to Water type moves, and with the earlier Stockpile increasing its defensive abilities, it didn’t take much damage.

Victreebel quickly jumped up and evaded Gyarados’s attack.

Bang~ Bang~

Razor Leaf, perfect hit!

Kiko exclaimed, “Well done, Victreebel!”

“Kabutops~”

“Now’s the time; use Stockpile again!”

Victreebel tightened its body.

A faint energy surrounded Victreebel.

“Roar!”

Gyarados shook its head.

Waterfall!

Clearly, this Gyarados had quite a stubborn personality.

Kiko displayed a confident smile, “Dodge and then Stockpile!”

In the sky, Gyarados dove downward, crashing heavily toward the ground.

Victreebel jumped to the side, avoiding Gyarados's body, and used Stockpile for the third time!

“Victreebel, for the final move, Spit Up!”

A remarkable amount of energy rapidly condensed in front of Victreebel's wide mouth.

At that moment, Victreebel's mouth resembled a cannon, aimed directly at Gyarados.

Gyarados looked up at Victreebel.

“Roar!”

Boom~

The energy that Victreebel had accumulated was unleashed all at once.

Under the massive shockwave, Gyarados was sent flying into the sky.

Tourists standing outside the battle arena instinctively stepped back as Gyarados flew toward them, screaming in surprise.

Gyarados did not crash into them.

Natsume looked up at the sky as a glow of Psychic shimmered in his eyes.

Gyarados floated in the air and began to descend slowly.