After Song Zheng finished his battle with the Infernape trainer, Jun Shafeng approached him. Can we have a match tomorrow?
Song Zheng glanced at him, a bit embarrassed. Sorry, my Trainer Pokétch just notified me that my Rhydon broke through to level 31. It's too high to battle in the park now. But there's a fishing tournament coming up in Water Village. They have an arena there that allows Pokémon up to level 40. If you're free, we can battle there.
Jun Shafeng thought for a moment and nodded. Sounds good." He paused, then added, I didn't know the Pokétch could track Pokémon levels.
Song Zheng noticed Jun Shafeng wasn't wearing a Pokétch and asked, How many Pokémon do you have? What levels are they?
Jun Shafeng knew Song Zheng was sizing up his strength. Just one—Growlithe, level 26. But I just beat a trainer with a level 30 Pokémon.
Song Zheng nodded, impressed. "Fighting stronger opponents makes your Pokémon grow. Beating a higher-level Pokémon within level 30 is rare—you must be a solid trainer. Why aren't you D-rank yet?"
Jun Shafeng gave an awkward smile. "My parents passed away a few years ago, and I was in a slump. I only recently decided to get serious about being a trainer."
Song Zheng looked apologetic. "Sorry for bringing that up."
Jun Shafeng waved it off. "It's fine."
Song Zheng offered some advice. "There are three level 30 trainers left in the park. You already fought Bai Yu. The other two are Ouyang Peng, the guy I just battled, and a Water-type trainer—a girl who's pretty aloof. I don't know her name. If you want to level up Growlithe, challenge them."
"When does the fishing tournament start?" Jun Shafeng asked.
"It lasts 15 days and starts tomorrow," Song Zheng replied. "You've got time to battle here first. I'll be at Water Village if you want to find me."
Song Zheng headed to the park's bike rack, grabbed his bicycle, and rode off.
After resting, Jun Shafeng released Growlithe from its Poké Ball and used the system to scan the Pokémon of other trainers in the park. When he found a suitable opponent, he challenged them. Over the day, he fought 13 battles, winning seven and losing six. Growlithe, exhausted, barely reached level 27.
Still, Jun Shafeng's battles made him a bit of a local celebrity in the park.
The next morning, he returned with Growlithe, muttering, "I hope we run into Ouyang Peng or that Water-type trainer today."
As he spoke, he spotted Bai Yu battling Ouyang Peng. Bai Yu was using a Scyther instead of his Ambipom, while Ouyang Peng had swapped his Infernape for a Beedrill. After a back-and-forth fight, Scyther won by a slim margin.
Jun Shafeng checked their Pokémon's levels with his system: Scyther was level 29, Beedrill was level 28.
"We need to hurry and challenge them before their Pokémon hit level 30 and they leave the park," he thought.
After the match, Bai Yu noticed Jun Shafeng in the crowd. "Hey, Jun Shafeng! Let's have another battle."
Jun Shafeng nodded, calling Growlithe to the battlefield. Bai Yu tossed a Poké Ball, and a Flaaffy bounded out.
The system quickly displayed Flaaffy's stats.
[Flaaffy]
[Type: Electric]
[Level: 30]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Static]
[Moves: Thunder Shock, Thunder Punch, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Double Team, Body Slam, Wild Charge]
Jun Shafeng's eyes widened. "Flaaffy's hidden ability, Static? If Bai Yu pairs it with a Pokémon that has Plus or Minus, their Special Attack would get a boost."
Bai Yu, seeing Jun Shafeng sent out Growlithe again, was determined to redeem his earlier loss. The two nodded, signaling the start of the battle.
Bai Yu took the lead. "Flaaffy, use Thunder Wave to paralyze it!"
Jun Shafeng smirked. "Growlithe, use Quick Attack to get some distance, then Double Team!"
Before Flaaffy could aim, Growlithe darted away with Quick Attack, then split into three clones using Double Team. With its rising level and practice, Growlithe's mastery of Double Team had improved, allowing it to create and control three clones at once.
Bai Yu frowned, seeing the four Growlithes spread across the field. Hitting a clone instead of the real one would leave Flaaffy open to attacks from the others.
Sensing Bai Yu's hesitation, Jun Shafeng seized the moment. "All Growlithes, use Flamethrower!"
The four Growlithes unleashed torrents of fire. Bai Yu, forced to act, ordered, "Flaaffy, hit one with Thunder Wave!"
As Thunder Wave struck one clone, dispersing it, the four Flamethrowers slammed into Flaaffy, scorching it.
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---end of this chapter...