"Rapid Spin–Gyro Ball!"
"Charge Beam!"
Wartortle withdrew into its shell and began spinning rapidly. A gleaming silver aura surged around its body, intensifying with each rotation as its speed and power multiplied. It barreled toward Pikachu, who was unleashing a concentrated beam of yellow energy crackling with electricity—the natural bane of Water-type Pokémon.
The battle was taking place inside the Battle Dome, on a flat, barren earthen arena with no obstacles in sight.
Earlier, Lena's Wartortle had set up Rain Dance, causing a steady drizzle to fall from the ceiling. The rain activated its hidden ability, Rain Dish, allowing it to slowly recover health over time.
Lena knew that Steel-type moves weren't effective against Electric-types, but Gyro Ball worked differently—it calculated damage based on the difference in speed between the user and the opponent. The slower the user, the stronger the attack.
Pikachu was undeniably faster than Wartortle, and the combination of Gyro Ball with Rapid Spin only amplified the move's potential.
Because Lena had consistently focused her Pokémon's training on defense, Wartortle eventually learned Iron Defense. And after repeatedly using Iron Defense while spinning with Rapid Spin, it managed to learn Gyro Ball—another Steel-type move.
As for Pikachu, Arthur had honed its ability to fire electricity in a straight line immediately after charging. That specific training eventually led it to learn Charge Beam. It had replaced Nasty Plot in his move set, which until then hadn't provided much strategic value. Most of the time, Charge was more useful in enhancing Electric-type moves, while Nasty Plot had fallen short in real battles.
Currently, Arthur was experimenting with repurposing the residual Dark-type energy from the once-learned Nasty Plot to eventually teach it Knock Off. So far, there had been no noticeable progress. He was also working on combining Charge and Charge Beam into a chained technique. Since both moves shared a similar effect, he believed it wouldn't take long to master.
Chained with Withdraw, Rapid Spin concealed Wartortle's main body inside its shell while also slightly increasing its Defense. As a result, the physical damage it took was significantly reduced.
While Withdraw didn't directly boost Special Defense—and Pikachu's Charge Beam was a Special Attack—the inherently defensive nature of the move still offered a small reduction in the damage taken.
Thanks to the combination of Gyro Ball and Wartortle's defense-focused training under Lena, it endured the brunt of Charge Beam and managed to land a solid hit on Pikachu.
Pikachu was knocked back but quickly recovered, landing on its feet and regaining balance with ease. Then, its form shimmered with a purplish aura, blurring for a moment as three afterimages flickered into view.
A seamless combination of Agility and Double Team—Arthur's Pikachu had successfully created three afterimages!
Both Pokémon had grown immensely during this time.
This was the current stage of progress for both Arthur's and Lena's starter Pokémon.
---
[Pikachu]
[Ability: Lighting Rod]
[Level: 24]
[Moves: Thunder Wave, Electro Ball, Charge, Agility, Spark, Double Team, Volt Switch, Charge Beam, Feint]
---
[Wartortle]
[Ability: Rain Dish]
[Level: 25]
[Moves: Rain Dance, Gyro Ball, Water Gun, Withdraw, Rapid Spin, Bite, Water Pulse, Protect, Iron Defense]
---
Pikachu was close to reaching Level 25. The reason it remained at Level 24 was because Lena trained her Pokémon harder than he did. He wanted to catch up, but with so many responsibilities lately, he barely had time to personally guide his Pokémon's training.
At best, he could only leave them challenges to complete—tasks designed to strengthen both their bodies and their moves.
As for Lena's Wartortle, it had fully committed to a defensive path.
If the burden hadn't been so great, Lena might have incorporated Iron Defense into her Withdraw–Rapid Spin–Gyro Ball combo, even though she knew Iron Defense was almost useless against Pikachu.
"Pikachu, Charge Beam!"
Four Pikachu surrounded the lone Wartortle. Each crouched low, tails raised, electricity crackling in front of them. Simultaneously, all fired Charge Beams toward the Wartortle in the center.
"Wartortle, Protect against the one in front!"
Wartortle raised its short arms, summoning a shimmering blue hexagonal barrier just in time to block the incoming Charge Beam. The other beams passed harmlessly through—it was clear those were just fakes from the afterimages.
Arthur didn't flinch when Lena accurately predicted which was the real attack. She had done it before and never missed.
Curious, he had asked her how she managed it. Her answer surprised him: she detected where the Water Element was densest.
Arthur was dumbfounded, but soon understood.
She was using the fact that every living creature contains water to pinpoint the real Pikachu!
What kind of cheat was that!?
Wouldn't this make Double Team essentially useless against Knights or Mages who trained in Water or similar Elements that could sense something within living beings?
Not necessarily.
Arthur was determined to have the last laugh today!
"Pikachu, Agility and Double Team again!" Arthur commanded, and Pikachu's form shimmered with purplish energy, creating three afterimages in an instant.
"Charge Beam!" he ordered as all four Pikachus gathered yellow electricity before firing simultaneously, cutting off Wartortle's escape from all sides.
"It's useless, bro!" Lena grinned confidently, focusing once more to sense the water within the real Pikachu. "Water Pulse—aim for the one in front!"
"War!" Wartortle opened its mouth, unleashing four rings of water pulses that sped toward the Charge Beam in front.
Protect couldn't be used continuously without risking failure, so Lena decided to take her chances with pure water instead. With four rings of Water Pulse fired, at least one should successfully transform into pure water.
But to their shock, the water pulses passed right through the Charge Beam—and through the Pikachu in front of them.
At that instant, a sharp, electrifying pain shot through Wartortle's body as it realized the Charge Beam from behind was the real attack, not the one it was defending against.
But it was too late. The beam struck while its guard was down, landing a critical hit.
The Charge Beam, empowered by two prior boosts to Pikachu's Special Attack, tore through Wartortle's thick shell and struck with lethal force.
Bzzzztt!
Wartortle's body convulsed violently before going limp, its slightly charred form collapsing face-first onto the ground—completely unconscious.
"Damn it..." Lena pouted and sent Wartortle back into its Poké Ball. "You did great, Wartortle... sorry, I misjudged..." She clipped the Poké Ball to her waist and pulled out another.
Turning to Arthur, she looked eager to ask how he managed to confuse her senses.
But before he could answer, Lena shook her head with a smile. "I'll try to figure it out myself!"
Arthur opened his mouth to speak, then paused and closed it, nodding in approval.
In a real battle, your opponent rarely explains their tactics—except the truly cocky or those stalling for time.
The reason his Pikachu managed to fool Lena's Water elemental sensing was because of the move Agility.
Since Agility was a Psychic-type move, it emitted Psychic energy. Arthur had planned this with Pikachu beforehand, using the Psychic energy from Agility to mask its true position while leaving a trace of energy in one afterimage—confusing Lena's sense.
Psychic types played with the mind. Although it couldn't mimic water, it could mimic the sense of a real body—making it easy to fool the confident Lena who trusted her ability to detect Water Element.
Of course, since Pikachu wasn't particularly skilled at channeling Psychic energy, the effect was limited. Arthur doubted the same trick would work on Lena a second time.
Well... unless he evolved his Pikachu into an Alolan Raichu.
Turning to his Pikachu, he smiled. "Good job, buddy!"
"Pikaa Pika~!" Pikachu danced happily, then took a battle stance, ready for the next fight.
"Let's go, Lapras! Send that Pikachu back to its Poké Ball!" Lena pressed the center of the Poké Ball, and the figure of a blue plesiosaur with a white shell on its back materialized.
"La~" it cried as it landed on the ground.
The arena wasn't exactly what Lapras preferred, but it could still move on land without trouble.
The rain from Wartortle's Rain Dance continued to fall, splashing against Lapras and activating its Hydration ability.
Lapras, too, had grown significantly during this time. It had already resolved to fight wholeheartedly for Lena—and it wouldn't limit itself to just putting opponents to sleep with Sing anymore.
---
[Lapras]
[Ability: Hydration]
[Level: 20]
[Moves: Growl, Water Gun, Sing, Mist, Disarming Voice, Life Dew, Ice Shard, Chilling Water, -empty-]
---
According to the rules Arthur had set, in a 1v1 battle format, switching Pokémon mid-battle was allowed—but the opponent was granted a free hit during the switch-in. However, if a Pokémon fainted, the replacement couldn't be attacked immediately upon being summoned.
Since both of Lena's Pokémon were Water-types, switching out against a Pikachu would be risky. A free Electric-type attack could severely injure her next Pokémon. That's why she hadn't tried to switch earlier.
Lena quickly formulated a plan and gave her command. "Lapras, use Ice Shard to create obstacles!"
"La~" Lapras opened its mouth and fired shards of ice around the battlefield, forming jagged protrusions across the terrain.
The icy terrain was designed to limit Pikachu's movement.
She still couldn't figure out how Pikachu had managed to fool her Water-elemental sense, so she focused on disrupting its mobility and tempo instead—hindering its Agility and Double Team combinations.
"Pikachu, Electro Ball!"
Only three Pikachus remained—the third afterimage proving difficult to maintain amid the obstacles. They formed spheres of crackling electricity, tossed them into the air, leapt up, spun, and kicked the Electro Balls toward Lapras in perfect unison.
"Disarming Voice!"
Lapras, gifted with a natural talent for singing, let out a melodic cry. The soundwaves rippled across the battle arena, striking the incoming projectiles and distorting two of them—revealing those as afterimages.
Identifying the real one, Lapras immediately countered with a Water Gun, nearly at point-blank range as the real Electro Ball closed in fast.
Bzzzt—BOOM!
Beyond its vocal talent, Lapras also excelled in producing pure water—far more than Wartortle. The Water Gun, formed from pure water, struck the Electro Ball and successfully intercepted it. However, the explosion occurred too close—Lapras took the brunt of the shockwave. Stray sparks and electrical fragments scattered across its body, causing it to cry out in pain.
A normal Electro Ball might've been neutralized by the pure water—but this one had been supercharged by Charge Beam. Its latent power was nothing to scoff at.
"Lapras, use Life Dew!"
"Thunder Wave!"
As Lapras winced in pain and tried to gather energy to form a healing droplet, Pikachu suddenly appeared before it, releasing a wave of electricity.
The Thunder Wave hit Lapras squarely, paralyzing it and preventing the use of Life Dew.
From that moment on, the battle became one-sided.
Lena's luck continued to falter—her Lapras was repeatedly paralyzed, and soon it collapsed unconscious.
"I lost..." Lena sighed, recalling Lapras into its Pokéball. "You did great, Lapras. We'll win next time."
Usually, she managed to force Arthur to call out his Misdreavus, but today she hadn't even made it past his Pikachu.
I'll figure it out next time... she encouraged herself, determined to find a way to identify the real Pikachu, a task she had failed at earlier.
On the other side, Arthur released Misdreavus and apologized, "Sorry, I'll let you fight next time."
"Vu~" Misdreavus nodded obediently, still remembering the scolding it received yesterday for failing to return before the Safari Zone's opening.
After the hectic day yesterday, today was more manageable for Roland, as most villagers had already received their starter Pokémon. However, the truly busy ones were Nurse Anna Joy and her Nurse Pokémon.
A steady stream of Rookie Trainers came to heal their Pokémon at the Pokémon Center—so many that she jokingly complained that even a whole week working at Joy Bakery wasn't this exhausting. Yet, a smile lingered on her face, showing how much she loved her current job.
While helping Anna Joy this morning, Arthur had to admit, watching Pokémon get treated and happily left with their Trainers was surprisingly uplifting. The sense of satisfaction it brought was comforting, granting him a rare moment of peace.
Is this what vets feel when caring for pets and animals? It felt really good.
"Alright, let's head back. We'll be getting our new Pokémon Eggs today," Arthur reminded Lena, who happily followed him home.
At his research lab, he made his way to the area designated for summoning Eggs and prepared to summon two of them.
"Oh? New Pokémon? How about you give me one as well?" Virelyra's voice echoed from Luxury Ball on Arthur's waist, which then opened on its own. As her humanoid form materialized, she stretched and yawned before straightening up, fresh from her beauty nap.
"Unless you want another Dratini or Swablu, I don't have any other Dragon-types right now," Arthur replied with a shrug.
There was actually Kingdra, but Virelyra had made it clear before that she wanted a Dragon/Flying dual-type, so Kingdra was out.
Salamence existed in Gen 3, like Altaria, but Arthur hadn't created a template for Bagon yet.
In fact, he still hadn't finished Gen 2 yet—thanks to a certain someone who banned him from drinking Memora Potion.
It wasn't that he couldn't skip the generation and create a specific template Pokémon for her, but there was simply no need.
Ignoring Virelyra's heartbreaking pout, Arthur turned to Lena and asked again, "A Water-type Pokémon that's not exactly Water-type, right? Want to randomize it?"
"Yes," Lena nodded eagerly, excited to add a new member to her team—her Pokémon shared the same anticipation.
By now, Arthur was quite proficient in the art of summoning—engrained in his muscle memory, somehow sharper than his brain's.
In no time, an Egg materialized.
Lena thanked him and picked it up, examining it alongside her Pokémon and Virelyra.
The Egg was warm to the touch, its murky purple shell patterned with thorn-like streaks tipped in vivid purple. Toward the creamy base, small, sharp bumps jutted out—hinting at the spined menace within.
"It looks… dangerous. A Poison-type?" Lena guessed curiously, though she didn't intend to ask Arthur for confirmation.
Arthur smiled to himself, thinking about his own Pokémon Egg, ready to be summoned.
This one held a lot of untapped potential—no less than Porygon's—but it should be much safer to let it roam freely.
As the summoning light dimmed, another Pokémon Egg appeared.
Cradling it gently, he smiled.
The Egg crackled faintly with static, its shell a smooth, glossy orange streaked with electric-blue bolts that danced unpredictably across the surface.
Driven by curiosity and his own research, he set aside his usual preferences and summoned another Electric-type Pokémon as his third partner!