Chapter 192: Light Ball
Blaine's last Pokémon was a Typhlosion.
Typhlosion, classified as the Volcano Pokémon in Pokémon Studies, was a Pokémon truly well-suited for the current environment.
However, when Bai Feng felt the aura emanating from the Typhlosion, he asked Gym Leader Blaine with a darkened expression, "Gym Leader Blaine, this shouldn't be a Pokémon appearing in a Gym Battle, right?"
"Hahaha~" Blaine laughed. "My apologies, young Bai Feng, I got a little carried away. But it's alright, whether your Lopunny can win or not, I'll give you the Volcano Badge. If you win, I can even give you a special gift."
"Well... alright then."
Since Blaine said so, there was no reason for Bai Feng to refuse.
He heard Blaine say to Typhlosion on the opposite side, "Typhlosion, we have a super strong Challenger today. You can't hold back, or you'll be terribly embarrassed if you lose!"
"Ba-koh-boo!"
Typhlosion gave Blaine a cute wink and even gave him a thumbs-up.
"Lopunny, attack! Dizzy Punch!"
At Bai Feng's command, Lopunny leaped high into the Sky, clenching its two long ears into fists, and smashed them fiercely towards Typhlosion.
"Typhlosion, dodge!"
Hearing Blaine's words, Typhlosion activated its "Miracle Move". It got down on all fours, exerted force, and suddenly leaped away from its Original spot, dodging Lopunny's attack.
Boom!
Lopunny's fists slammed onto the Ground, and cracks instantly appeared on the Ground. Even the entire Battlefield began to shake, the chains grinding with an ear-piercing sound.
Seeing this scene, Blaine showed a look of astonishment. "Your Lopunny's talent in power is truly terrifying."
"Thank you for the compliment. Lopunny, continue the attack!"
"Mi-loo~"
Lopunny lightly tapped the Ground with its slender legs, nimbly leaping to approach Typhlosion, while simultaneously using the move Double Kick.
"Typhlosion, it's time for us to counterattack!"
"Ba-koh!"
Typhlosion roared, and blazing flames suddenly erupted from its back. It swung its arms, and under Typhlosion's control, the flames transformed into Fire Dragons that surged towards Lopunny.
Seeing this, Lopunny's expression changed. It quickly rolled backward while simultaneously using Agility.
It naturally knew this move because its mate, Heliolisk, knew it.
After using Agility, Lopunny's movements became more agile and swift. Although the Fire Dragons chased it, they could never touch it in the slightest.
Initially, Bai Feng thought that as time passed, the flames controlled by Typhlosion would gradually dissipate, but he quickly realized something was wrong.
He saw countless specks of red energy in the air being continuously absorbed by the red spots on Typhlosion's back. Subsequently, the intensity of the flames it controlled became increasingly fierce.
At first, Bai Feng didn't understand where this ability of Typhlosion came from, but as Typhlosion absorbed more and more Fire energy from the air, he finally understood: this was a special application of Typhlosion's Flash Fire ability.
The Flash Fire ability is usually passive, only activating when hit by a Fire-type attack. But Typhlosion managed to turn passive into active, and even effectively utilize the surrounding environment.
They were currently in a Volcano Crater, with a rolling Lava Pool beneath their feet. This meant that Typhlosion had a continuous supply of Fire energy to replenish itself.
Truly troublesome.
As expected of a Fire-type Elite's Pokémon!
As the number of Fire Dragons controlled by Typhlosion increased, the temperature on the Field began to soar. Lopunny's feet, stepping on the Ground, were even starting to smoke from the scorching heat.
"Lopunny, Thunder Wave!"
As the mate of an Electric-type Pokémon, how could Lopunny not know Electric-type moves?
Lopunny ran quickly across the Field, its body starting to flash with golden electric current. In the gaps between dodging the Fire Dragon attacks, it threw balls of golden light towards Typhlosion.
Most of the balls of golden light were extinguished by Typhlosion's flames, but a tiny bit of golden energy silently drilled into its body.
As time passed, Typhlosion's movements controlling the flames suddenly paused, and the Fire Dragons surging on the Field dissipated in an instant.
Typhlosion was in a state of paralysis.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Lopunny seized the opportunity, leaped forward, appeared in front of Typhlosion, and used High Jump Kick, kicking it fiercely.
Typhlosion wanted to control the flames to force Lopunny back, but the paralysis interrupted its move. It could only raise its arms to block.
Boom!!!
Lopunny used almost all its power in that kick. Under the effect of this immense force, Typhlosion was sent flying, rolling several times on the Ground, and finally fell to the edge of the Field, with half of its body already hanging off the Field.
Just as Typhlosion was about to fall into the Lava, it managed to grab onto the edge of the Field in time.
Seeing this scene, Bai Feng secretly felt it was a shame. If Typhlosion had fallen off the Field, he and Lopunny would have won the battle.
Typhlosion nimbly flipped over and cleanly jumped back onto the Field, supporting itself with its arms.
Still a flexible fatty.
However, judging by Typhlosion's current state, Lopunny's kick just now made it very uncomfortable. Its face was contorted, and it kept gasping for air, looking like it had consumed a huge amount of HP.
"Typhlosion, since it's come to this, we should give it our Final Gambit!" Blaine said with emotion. He didn't expect to be at a disadvantage so quickly. Typhlosion was the strongest Pokémon he had besides his ace.
These young people nowadays are truly remarkable!
"Ba-koh-boo!"
Typhlosion roared in response to Blaine.
"Typhlosion, Overheat!"
Overheat is a Fire-type ultimate move with extremely high power, but its drawback is that after use, the user's Special Attack stat drops significantly. For Pokémon that rely on Special Attack, this is a move that gets weaker with each use, so it's usually saved for a "Final Gambit" at the end.
Clearly, Blaine intended to decide the final outcome with Bai Feng.
Sparks began to fly from Typhlosion's fur, and it breathed out blazing flames from its mouth. The next second, a rotating column of fire erupted from its body, shooting straight towards Lopunny.
The column of fire was several times thicker than Lopunny's body. If Lopunny were hit by it, it would instantly be engulfed in a Sea of Fire.
At this critical moment, the paralysis state surprisingly didn't restrict Typhlosion.
"Lopunny..."
Bai Feng originally wanted Lopunny to dodge. With Lopunny's outstanding jumping ability, dodging this move might not be impossible.
However, Lopunny didn't listen to Bai Feng's command. Its gaze suddenly turned sharp, and it actually charged fiercely towards the blazing column of fire, its figure subsequently swallowed by the Sea of Fire.
"Lopunny!"
Bai Feng exclaimed in surprise!
At this moment, a white light suddenly emerged from the Sea of Fire. The white light transformed into a cannonball, shooting out of the Sea of Fire like lightning, and slammed fiercely into Typhlosion.
"Ba-koh!!!"
Typhlosion let out a scream and fell to the Ground with a thud.
Typhlosion, already significantly injured, could naturally not stand up again after taking that hit.
The Sea of Fire dissipated, revealing Lopunny kneeling on one knee. A considerable portion of its soft, smooth fur was scorched black.
(σσ)
At this moment, Lopunny even had the mood to raise its head and wink at Bai Feng, as if saying: Look, I won!
Bai Feng quickly ran over and helped it up.
"Lopunny, did you... just learn a new move?"
The move Lopunny used to counterattack just now should have been Mirror Coat. Its effect is to return special damage received from the opponent at double power to the opponent.
That's why Lopunny charged into the Sea of Fire without hesitation.
"Mi-loo~" Lopunny nodded upon hearing this. Just now, looking at the column of fire sprayed by Typhlosion, it suddenly had an epiphany and immediately learned the new move.
It wanted to test the effect of the new move, so it didn't listen to Bai Feng's command and charged into the Sea of Fire itself.
Bai Feng shook his head helplessly. "Why do that? Even without using Mirror Coat, we had a very high chance of winning."
Bai Feng said this while taking out a potion to treat Lopunny's injuries.
Lopunny shook its head. It wanted to end the battle quickly. It was too hot on the Field, its paw pads were almost roasted. Who could understand the feeling of being in a furnace while wearing a full coat of fur? It was simply too painful.
Instead of being slowly roasted by a small fire in a furnace, it was better to go for a Final Gambit and end the suffering sooner.
Lopunny wouldn't tell its boss the real reason. It would just let its boss think it was fighting desperately for his victory. Maybe the boss would be happy and even give it a raise in wages/salary.
In fact, Bai Feng was indeed planning to do just that. He felt that since Lopunny fought so desperately, it would feel wrong not to give it some extra prize money.
*Clap clap clap*
At this moment, Blaine clapped his hands. "Excellent, excellent, truly excellent. You are the most talented trainer among the younger generation I have ever seen. Your future is promising!"
Bai Feng said humbly, "Gym Leader Blaine, you flatter me. I still have a long way to go!"
Blaine shook his head. "I'm just speaking the truth. Since you've won against me, then according to our promise, I'll give you a gift! Follow me!"
After saying that, Blaine walked back down the stairs they came from. Halfway down, he stopped again and threw something to Bai Feng. "Oh, right, this is for you!"
Bai Feng caught the item and saw that it was the Volcano Badge. With this item, his 10 points were secured.
Looking at the Volcano Badge Bai Feng was playing with, Chiyo showed an envious expression. She used to be frequently praised by the elders in her clan as a genius.
Although there was an even more talented Cousin (Older Female) ahead of her, her Cousin (Older Female) didn't inherit the clan's special ability, and the elders also said that a genius of her Cousin (Older Female)'s level was unlikely to be encountered for many years, so there was no need to compare herself to her.
But after coming outside, Chiyo realized that there were still geniuses like her Cousin (Older Female), and not just one! It was truly disheartening...
Blaine noticed Chiyo's downcast expression and said, "As for you, young lady, keep working hard next time. You are also an excellent trainer."
Hearing Blaine's words, Chiyo's mood indeed improved slightly.
"I will," Chiyo nodded firmly.
Under Blaine's guidance, Bai Feng came to the Storage Room he had set up in the Hot Spring House. Here, Bai Feng saw many collectibles, including Fire-type Pokémon eggs, held items, rare species Poké Balls, evolution stones of different types...
Blaine pointed to the things here and said, "You can choose one item to take with you."
Bai Feng walked into the Storage Room and carefully examined the things inside.
Among the Fire-type Pokémon eggs, Bai Feng could recognize some varieties, but not others. The ones he could recognize were not rare species, so it was likely that the ones he didn't recognize were similar.
The held items were all common goods. The quality of the evolution stones was even less worth mentioning, just common goods.
Bai Feng could roughly guess that this place was probably where Blaine usually rewarded junior trainers. Although the things inside were complete, their value wouldn't be very high.
Forget it, having a reward was already a pleasant surprise, no need to be picky about the value.
Just as Bai Feng was about to pick something randomly, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of a small yellow glass ball.
Hmm? Is that a Light Ball?
Bai Feng walked over and picked up the Light Ball.
The Light Ball is a very niche held item because it only works for one kind of Pokémon, Pikachu. And Pikachu itself is also a relatively niche Pokémon, with very few people training it, which makes the Light Ball even less noticed.
However, although the Light Ball is niche, it is very rare. Most Pokémon Item Shops don't sell it.
I'll choose this one. I'll take it back as a gift for Pikachu.
"I'll take this Light Ball," Bai Feng said to Blaine, holding the Light Ball.
Blaine looked surprised. He didn't expect Bai Feng to choose such a niche item. To be honest, he himself had forgotten how this Light Ball came to be or when he put it here.
However, he didn't say anything else, just nodded and said, "Alright, it's yours."
Bai Feng came out of the Cinnabar Gym, and the sun had already set outside. It was definitely too late to return to Pallet Town now, so he decided to spend the night at the Pokémon Center in Cinnabar Town.
Chiyo hadn't left yet. Seeing Bai Feng come out, she stepped forward and asked, "Classmate Bai Feng, are you going back to Pallet Town?"
Bai Feng shook his head. "It's too late. I'll go back tomorrow morning. What about you?"
"I plan to stay and research Gym Leader Blaine's Pokémon and challenge the Gym again tomorrow," Chiyo replied.
"Then good luck."
"Thank you."
The two weren't very familiar with each other, so after chatting casually for a few minutes, they parted ways.
After booking a Room at the Pokémon Center, Bai Feng also booked a Training Room.
The Pokémon Center is a welfare institution set up by the Pokémon League to serve trainers, a comprehensive facility integrating hospital, inn, shop, restaurant, training, and other functions.
For Rookie Trainers who have just registered their trainer identity, they even provide free accommodation and meals.
However, Bai Feng was not a Rookie Trainer, nor had he even registered as a trainer, so free accommodation and meals naturally had nothing to do with him.
The fees for accommodation, dining, etc., at the Pokémon Center are very cheap, but the rental price for Training Rooms is very high. The advantage, however, is that the training facilities here are very complete.
(End of Chapter)