Chapter 103: The Vengeful Cutiefly, Florges

“Then, 3, 2, 1—battle begin!”

Amidst the crowd of Gyarados, Ho-Oh, and Psyduck, Luo Mu sharply brought his right hand down.

Cutiefly chose to strike first, letting out a howl learned from Rockruff to boost itself, then flames seeped from its mouth, instantly forming a massive fiery fang that lunged straight at Psyduck!

Fire-type move: Flame Wheel!

It wasn’t that Cutiefly enjoyed type-disadvantaged battles; first, it was still young with a shallow move pool, and second, its experience couldn’t support a single training dog memorizing type effectiveness charts.

Psyduck, however, knew its Water-type nature granted resistance to Fire moves, so it chose to endure the hit while countering with Water Gun.

Seeing this, Luo Mu sighed helplessly—sometimes intelligence backfires; Cutiefly had changed drastically since its early days.

Cutiefly dashed to Psyduck’s side like a gust of wind; Psyduck immediately raised its left arm to block, while Water Gun charged, ready to unleash a powerful close-range blast.

It had considered: it hadn’t yet mastered enough decisive close-combat moves; protecting its body from injury mattered more than protecting its arm.

But in an instant, Psyduck realized it was wrong.

Cutiefly’s Flame Wheel bit straight into Psyduck’s arm—a sharp pain and burning sensation surged through it; that alone wouldn’t have been fatal. But then, to Psyduck’s stunned expression, Cutiefly whipped its head, unleashing a brute force Psyduck couldn’t resist, yanking its arm—and its whole body—into the air!

That wasn’t over. Cutiefly roared, and rock energy rapidly coalesced into several basketball-sized boulders that slammed into Psyduck, knocking it from midair.

This seamless combo left Psyduck dazed; its gathered Water Gun dissolved into droplets that rained down. Cutiefly, dampened by the water, shook its fur irritably to dry off.

Psyduck crashed to the ground from midair, lying there unable to rise for a long while.

This combo was entirely taught by Kukui’s Rockruff, catching Psyduck completely off guard.

In the following battle, Psyduck, injured and slowed, stood no chance against Cutiefly, whose physical stats had now caught up.

Even though Psyduck used its signature move, Water Pulse, and dealt some damage to Cutiefly—now wary of Hypnosis—it ultimately lost the ability to fight under Cutiefly’s relentless Double-Edge.

Amidst the bowed, dejected Psyduck, the calm Gyarados, and the proudly flaring Ho-Oh, Luo Mu hurried to the center of the battlefield and applied the pre-prepared medicine to both Pokémon.

After double-checking several times and confirming both Pokémon were fine, Luo Mu exhaled in relief—he’d take them to Florges later for healing.

Luo Mu scooped up Psyduck and Cutiefly, their expressions starkly different, and carried them to where Gyarados waited, setting them down.

As soon as he placed Psyduck down, its three Psyduckling subordinates rushed over, worried, their cries overlapping and giving Psyduck a headache.

But Psyduck understood they cared; it mustered what energy it had to respond.

There was sorrow, and there was joy: Cutiefly, having avenged itself, wagged its tail so fast it looked like a propeller; Ho-Oh, accepting Cutiefly’s show of triumph, let it ride atop its slightly round body—like doting new parents indulging their child.

After this battle, Luo Mu gained a clearer understanding of Cutiefly’s and Psyduck’s strengths.

Cutiefly’s innate talent was clearly superior to Psyduck’s—this, even Luo Mu, who didn’t worship talent above all, couldn’t deny; from their move-learning progress, Psyduck still lacked diverse moves, while Cutiefly already had several high-power ones.

Especially with Double-Edge combined with Cutiefly’s confirmed hidden ability, Hard Head, according to game data, it formed a terrifying same-type-boosted 150-power move with no drawbacks.

Add Cutiefly’s rapidly growing physical strength, and the gap between it and Psyduck would only widen further.

As for Psyduck, its intelligence was undeniably exceptional for a Pokémon—it reacted swiftly in battle, made training easier for its Trainer, and learned moves with varied effects: White Smoke, Black Smoke, Hypnosis—all could deliver unexpected results.

Unfortunately, it faced Cutiefly’s reckless, head-on style, and misjudged the power gap between them, leading to its defeat.

Not long after, Luo Mu brought Cutiefly, still buzzing with excitement, and Psyduck, dejected, back home.

Florges, having absorbed ample sunlight, had been waiting; beside it sat a Sentret with newly regrown feathers.

The Sentret, looking weak, helpless, pitiful, lit up the moment it saw Luo Mu, trotting toward him with quick, pattering steps.

A normal Sentret might fly over, but this Sentret, rescued by Raichu, clearly suffered psychological trauma and chose to walk—though its gait looked comically like a clumsy penguin.

Luo Mu barely held back his laughter.

The Sentret clung tightly to Luo Mu’s right leg, gazing up with the dependence of a chick unable to leave its parents.

But Luo Mu’s strange expression suggested this wasn’t simple.

During the last check-up at the Joy Girl’s clinic in Pingdi Town, she’d specifically told him this Sentret was male and likely an adult.

Combined with its tail, much larger than a normal Sentret’s, the Joy Girl even suspected this Sentret was the leader of a Sentret clan.

That was precisely why Luo Mu nearly cracked—he couldn’t reconcile the image of a dignified clan leader, after leaving its group, acting like a helpless chick clinging to his leg.

Even more boldly, what if the Sentret’s subordinates happened to see it acting like this? The scene reminded Luo Mu of a short video he’d seen before his transmigration.

A scar-faced stray cat, dominant and respected among its gang, always brought back plentiful food and earned admiration from its followers.

Until one day, when it began to beg affectionately—on the walls of the alley, dozens of its subordinates stood watching.

Luo Mu, finally holding back his laughter, rubbed his eyes and forced a calm expression: “Florges, please take care of the healing for these three.”

“Huan huan~”

Florges smiled confidently, as if everything was under control, and slowly led Luo Mu and the three Pokémon into the room.

This room had been specially cleared by Luo Mu—it was narrow, likely an old couple’s storage closet.

Luo Mu placed a simple portable bed inside, and with Florges, a rudimentary farm clinic was born.

(End of Chapter)