Chapter 34

"Scyther, use X-Scissor! Aim for the sharp horn on the top of Nidoran's head!" Huo La's command fell clearly, his gaze locked tightly on the Nidoran in the grass that was preparing to counterattack with Poison Sting.

"Scy-ther!" The Scyther let out a crisp cry, its wings beating into an afterimage, its twin blades quickly overlapping into a cross in front of it, descending from the sky with a cold, chilling glint.

With only a soft "Click," the X-Scissor hit the most fragile sharp horn on the top of Nidoran's head precisely.

Nidoran let out a short whimper, its body swayed, and it fell straight into the grass, thoroughly losing its ability to battle.

"Now is the time." Huo La whispered to himself, his wrist flicking lightly as he threw the Poké Ball he had prepared toward the Nidoran.

A red light flashed, Nidoran's body was instantly wrapped, turning into a stream of light and pulled into the ball.

The Poké Ball wobbled gently on the ground twice, and finally stabilized with a "Ding," the button lighting up with a soft white light—capture successful.

Huo La stroked the Poké Ball containing Nidoran in his hand; the faint vibration from his fingertips made the smile at the corners of his mouth even deeper.

In these past few days, he had encountered quite a few Pokémon of the Nido family, some lively and active Nidoran, others cautious and sensitive Nidoran, but most had the "Rivalry" ability and unremarkable aptitude, until just now in the grass, he finally encountered this individual carrying the "Poison Point" ability that could improve its aptitude.

Pokémon: Nidorina

Gender: Female

Level: Lv18

Aptitude: C

Status: Injured

Nature: Docile

Type: Poison/Ground

Ability: Poison Point (30% chance to poison the opponent upon attack)

Height: 0.5m

Weight: 8kg

Held Item: None

Skills: Growl (Proficiency 78%), Poison Sting (Proficiency 38%), Scratch (Proficiency 45%)

Improvement Count: 1 (???)

"It really wasn't in vain to circle in the forest for so long." Huo La tucked the Poké Ball into his belt, side-by-side with the Poké Balls of Bulbasaur, Beedrill, and Scyther. "Although it hasn't evolved into Nidoqueen yet, it can still learn skills that counter the Rock-type."

To be safe, I'll buy a "Dig" TM at the Pokémon Center when I get to Pewter City.

He then turned and walked to the Scyther, reaching out to pat its blade-arms gently: "You did very well, Scyther. The precision of your X-Scissor has improved again; it seems you have completely adapted to my training rhythm."

"Scy-ther!" The Scyther beat its wings excitedly, its blade-arms rubbing gently against Huo La's palm, as if asking for praise.

Huo La looked at the spirited Scyther in front of him, a satisfied smile appearing on his face, and subconsciously pulled up the system panel to check its status:

Pokémon: Scyther

Gender: Male

Level: Lv20

Aptitude: B

Status: Healthy

Nature: Brave

Type: Bug/Flying

Ability: Steadfast (When a Pokémon with this ability flinches, its speed increases by 1 stage.)

Height: 1.6m

Weight: 56.2kg

Held Item: None

Skills: Quick Attack (Proficiency 28%), Fury Cutter (Proficiency 38%), Air Slash (Proficiency 35%), X-Scissor (Proficiency 49%), False Swipe (Proficiency 3%)

Improvement Count: 0

Although it has B aptitude, it has the hidden ability "Steadfast." As long as I polish its skill proficiency well later, Scyther will definitely become one of my main forces.

He put away the panel, looked up at the setting sun, and said to the Scyther: "According to our planned route, we can leave Viridian Forest by tomorrow at the earliest. Next, I'll have to trouble you to fly out and find a place to rest—preferably a dry cave or an abandoned wooden house."

"After we leave the forest, we are going to Pewter City to challenge Gym Leader Brock. His Rock-type Pokémon have extremely strong defense; that will be a tough battle, so we must rest well today and cannot be careless."

"Scy-ther~" The Scyther responded, its wings spreading suddenly, stirring up a gust of wind, and it rose straight into the high sky. It circled in mid-air, confirmed the direction, and flew toward the outskirts of the forest. Its emerald-green figure soon became a small dot, disappearing among the branches.

A moment later, a familiar sound of wing beats came from high above—the Scyther was back! Its emerald-green figure swooped down from the canopy, landing steadily in front of Huo La, its blade-arms pointing toward the northwest, emitting "Scy-ther, Scy-ther" cries.

"Found a place to rest?" Huo La understood immediately, stood up, and patted the fallen leaves off his body. "Good, let's go now. Get plenty of rest tonight, and we'll set off for Pewter City first thing tomorrow morning!"

————

When the glass door of the Pewter City Pokémon Center was pushed open, it brought a burst of refreshing cool air—unlike the humid heat of Viridian Forest, this city, famous for its Rock Gym, had a hint of dry chill even in the wind.

Huo La walked to the front desk, handed his Pokédex to Nurse Joy for registration, and gently placed the Poké Balls containing Bulbasaur, Beedrill, Scyther, and Nidorina on the tray: "Please help them with a comprehensive check-up."

"No problem, please wait a moment~" Nurse Joy smiled as she took the Poké Balls and turned to send them into the treatment device in the back. "You can pick them up in about half an hour."

After thanking Nurse Joy, Huo La turned and walked toward the goods sales area on the other side of the lobby.

Unlike the setting in the animation he remembered where they "only provided treatment," the Pokémon Center in this world had long since developed into a comprehensive facility integrating multiple functions.

Treatment areas, rest and accommodation areas, and sales areas were all available. In branches in large cities, each area was even established in a separate building.

At this moment, the sales area was bustling with people, and many Trainers were selecting supplies.

The shelves reached from the floor to the ceiling, with clear and easy-to-understand classification labels: from basic Poké Balls and Potions to advanced TMs and stat enhancers, and then to Energy Cubes and nutrient biscuits tailored to the tastes of different Pokémon, it was simply dazzling and overwhelming.

Huo La slowed his pace, looking particularly carefully—he wasn't short of money, but he would never spend it recklessly. As a Trainer just starting out, every single League Coin had to be spent on the "cutting edge."

He first walked to the "Basic Item Area," picked up a pack of "Great Ball Refills." Although he had blank Poké Balls prepared by his mother and provided by Professor Oak in his bag, they were all standard balls, so having a few extra Great Balls was never a mistake.

Then he picked out a few bottles of "Super Potion" and a few "Antidotes." Although the Pokémon Center could provide free treatment, these emergency items were the key to saving lives when encountering unexpected situations in the wild.

Walking a few steps forward, he reached the "Energy Cube Area."

The shelves were filled with cans of cubes of different colors, with corresponding types and effects marked on the labels.

"This 'Enhanced Bug Energy Cube' is good; the fluorescent grass ingredients it contains can improve the proficiency of Bug-type moves." Huo La picked up a can with a butterfly pattern printed on it, nodded with satisfaction after checking the ingredient list, and then casually picked up a can of Ground-type "Rock-Earth Energy Block." "Nidorina just joined; although it doesn't have the Ground-type, it will learn Ground-type skills next, so using this for auxiliary matching is just right."