Chapter 9: Red VS Xiao Mao

Xiao Chi Ge, come battle with me!

Xiao Mao put away the Pokédex and Pokeball in his hand, his eyes blazing as he stared at Red, his tone full of an unhideable fighting intent. For him, being able to have a match with Xiao Chi first is the most proper opening to the journey.

Red was momentarily stunned, then looked at Huo La beside him, saw Huo La smile and nod indicating "it's fine", and also put away the Pokédex and Pokeball, excitement flashing in his eyes: "Alright, then let's start our journey with a battle!"

"Conveniently, the Oak Research Institute's backyard has a dedicated battle arena; I'll take you there," Professor Oak said, smiling at the sight.

As the core area for Pokemon research, the Pallet Town institute's facilities are already comprehensive; the backyard battle field not only marks the standard red-and-white boundaries, but also equips simple protective devices, sufficient for novice Trainers to spar.

The group arrived at the backyard, Professor Oak stood at the edge of the arena, cleared his throat, and instantly entered "referee mode": "Now Red will battle Xiao Mao; each side may use only one Pokemon. Whichever Pokemon first loses its ability to fight, that side loses!"

Hearing this familiar referee script, Huo La couldn't help but smile knowingly—it's almost identical to the scene he saw in an anime in his previous life, down to the wording and tone.

"Let the match begin!"

As Professor Oak's voice faded, Xiao Mao immediately said, "Squirtle, use Water Gun!"

Squirtle assumed a battle stance, opened its mouth and sprayed a clear jet of water straight toward Charmander's direction.

"Charmander," Red said calmly, his voice steady, "dodge the Water Gun, rush to Squirtle's side, and use Scratch!"

Huo La stood at the sidelines, listening to Red's orders, and silently nodded; Red's battle experience is indeed seasoned.

The Fire-type Charmander is naturally countered by the Water-type Squirtle; if it stubbornly uses Flamethrower against Water Gun, not only will its power be suppressed by the type disadvantage, it will also waste Charmander's stamina.

Rather than a head‑on clash, it's better to bypass the attack, get close, and exploit Squirtle's weakness—high defense but insufficient agility.

"Want to get close? Not that easy!" Xiao Mao clearly saw through Red's intent, immediately adjusted the command, "Squirtle, change Water Gun to Point Shot, block Charmander's path!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Squirtle immediately throttled the force; the once continuous water jet instantly became intermittent "water bullets", densely firing toward Charmander's advance direction.

Huo La raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised yet unsurprised, after all this early‑stage rival that could go toe‑to‑toe with Zhi Ye should naturally have such reactions.

He was curious whether the newly obtained Squirtle could execute the demanding "Water Gun Point Shot"—this requires the Pokemon to precisely control internal water output and master the spray rhythm, something ordinary rookie Pokemon cannot achieve.

Although the water bullets the Squirtle on the field fired were slightly weak, it truly performed the Point Shot; each bullet landed precisely on the path Charmander might rush through.

"The League‑bred starter Pokémon really have something," Huo La muttered admiringly, "their technique foundation is already solid; only the power needs polishing, and given time they'll become formidable combat power."

Under the suppression of the Point Shot Water Gun, Charmander's rush speed noticeably slowed, the flame on its tail flickered anxiously—several times it tried to dodge the water bullets but was forced back by the dense attacks, unable to get within three meters of Squirtle.

At that moment, Red's voice rang again, breaking the stalemate: "Charmander, no need to hurry, use Smoke Screen to obscure the battlefield's vision!"

Charmander instantly understood the order, inhaled sharply, opened its mouth and expelled a dense black smoke— the smoke instantly spread in the arena's center, enveloping both it and Squirtle.

The previously clear battle field instantly turned hazy, even Squirtle's Water Gun lost its target, firing aimlessly into the depths of the smoke.

Huo La's eyes lit up at the sidelines!

The Smoke Screen not only blocks Squirtle's sight, nullifying the Point Shot, but also creates a close‑range opportunity for Charmander.

Shortly after the Smoke Screen spread across the arena, a continuous "tsara" sound rang out—the sharp scrape of claws against a shell, dense enough to picture Charmander repeatedly slashing in the smoke.

Clearly, Red seized the chance the Smoke Screen provided, allowing Charmander to close in on Squirtle and continuously attack during the opponent's blind spot.

"Squirtle, retreat into your shell quickly!"

Even without seeing the scene inside the Smoke Screen, Xiao Mao swiftly judged from the voice—he knew Squirtle's advantage lies in its hard shell; retracting into it for defense can minimize damage as much as possible.

Yet within the Smoke Screen, besides the claw‑scraping sounds, a few muffled grunts from Squirtle were also heard.

Huo La, listening from the sidelines, understood clearly; evidently Charmander's attacks weren't wholly blocked by the shell—perhaps Squirtle delayed retracting by half a second, or Charmander seized the gap, and a few strikes landed.

"Can't keep taking passive hits!" Xiao Mao quickly adjusted strategy, shouting toward the Smoke Screen, "Squirtle, use Rapid Spin to blow the Smoke Screen away!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a "whoosh" wind sound rose from within the Smoke Screen.

Immediately, a rotating blue figure surged out of the smoke. Squirtle's limbs and head were tucked into its shell, its backplate spinning at high speed like a blue top, the swirling airflow gradually dispersing the Smoke Screen.

In no time, the arena's smoke thinned considerably, and everyone finally saw the situation clearly:

Squirtle continued spinning rapidly in place, faint claw marks visible on its backplate; Charmander stood nearby, its two claws emitting a faint white glow, clearly still in battle mode, though a few scratches adorned its chest—likely from being grazed as Squirtle spun.

"Now's the moment!" Red seized the instant the Smoke Screen dissipated and immediately issued a new command.

Charmander opened its mouth and spat a stream of sparks; the fine flames flew toward Squirtle's rotating shell. Yet the sparks, upon striking the hard backplate, were deflected by the rapidly spinning shell, leaving no damage or even a scorch mark.

"Charmander, keep the Ember going! Continue attacking!" Seeing the Ember ineffective, Red did not change the order, instead kept commanding Charmander to keep spewing Ember.

Huo La frowned, a doubt surfacing in his mind; Red could not possibly be unaware that Ember cannot penetrate Squirtle's shell, so why make Charmander perform a futile effort?

Yet as the Ember was repeatedly deflected, his gaze fixed on the arena floor suddenly brightened, and the doubt cleared: the rebounded sparks hadn't fully extinguished, instead landing on the weeds at the arena's edge.

Pallet Town's recent dry weather meant the half‑withered weeds ignited upon contact with the sparks; within seconds the flames spread along the grass, gradually forming a small fire ring around Squirtle!