Chapter 70: Battle Against the Data Collector
A few days later, Celebi sat on Ryan's shoulder, waving a small branch in its hand, clearly in a good mood.
Ryan had no choice. Celebi, like Ash's Pikachu, refused to enter its Poké Ball. Celebi wasn't heavy anyway, so he just let it be.
Celebi was a mythical Pokémon among the legendary species, and ordinary people couldn't tell that Celebi was legendary, so Ryan felt comfortable with it visible.
Celebi had been in an excellent mood recently. It had originally thought that leaving the clan and living with a strange trainer would mean it wouldn't have enough to eat or proper care. Unexpectedly, after following this person, its life became more colorful, with delicious food and fun activities. Its strength was also improving many times faster than back with the clan, and it almost didn't want to leave.
As Celebi was humming a tune, a flash of green darted past them. Ryan rubbed his chin and said, "Looks like a Scyther. Pretty fast, but unfortunately I already have Pheromosa, so I'm not short of Bug-type Pokémon right now."
Celebi nodded: "This Scyther is too plain, not as elegant as Pheromosa."
Another green flash appeared, and the Scyther landed in front of Ryan, adopting a threatening stance. Ryan scratched his head and said, "Celebi, how about you handle it?"
Celebi shook its head, indicating it didn't want to battle such an ordinary Pokémon. Ryan had no choice but to send out Gyarados and said, "Looking for a fight, are you?"
"Ahem. How did you spot me?" After coughing twice, a mustached man emerged from behind a tree.
"You underestimate me. My eyesight is quite sharp—I can track your Scyther's speed. Did you think I couldn't see the edge of your clothes peeking out from behind that tree?" Ryan said helplessly.
"Haha. You appear to be a very skilled trainer. You've trained your Gyarados exceptionally well too," the man said. "My name is Muramasa, and this is my partner, Scyther. I call him Masamune. I've been searching for a Pokémon trainer like yourself."
"I'm Ryan from Pallet Town. You're looking for me?" Ryan asked, pointing at himself, puzzled. He couldn't quite recall this scenario from the games or anime. He only remembered the major plot points; the minor ones had long been forgotten. He vaguely recalled that this man was seeking a trainer to teach his son a lesson.
"Yes, may I ask a favor of you?" Muramasa said. "If not, that's perfectly fine."
"Hmm. Sure, I'm not in any rush. I'll come with you," Ryan said thoughtfully.
"Thank you very much. Please follow me," Muramasa said, leading Ryan forward.
After walking for a while, Ryan came across a traditional dojo building. Inside, he saw many trainers and Pokémon exercising together. Ryan strongly supported the philosophy that trainer and Pokémon should cooperate and grow as partners.
Seeing Muramasa return, the students immediately bowed and said, "Sensei, welcome back."
"Yes. Please continue your training," Muramasa said solemnly.
Then he led Ryan to the main hall, where a student immediately offered him tea and explained the dojo's history and Muramasa's background.
"Are you the opponent my father has chosen?" a voice called out.
Ryan looked over and saw a young man holding a laptop computer. He glanced at Ryan and said, "You're Ryan from Pallet Town, right? I've researched your profile. You're quite capable—even won the Pokémon League championship."
He opened the laptop, checked something, and said, "You're a Type-C trainer—an aggressive battler. You excel at overwhelming opponents with raw power."
"Shingo. This is my son," Muramasa said as he approached. "I'd like to ask you to have a battle with him. Would that be possible?"
"That's no problem, but I'm afraid it might damage your son's confidence," Ryan said.
Ryan knew that the best way to motivate such a prideful person was to appear dismissive of their abilities.
As Ryan had expected, Shingo's anger immediately flared upon hearing this, and he shouted, "What?! You're underestimating me! Fine, let's battle! This is a guaranteed victory for me—I won't lose. I'll make you regret those words!"
With that, he walked toward the battle arena, threw a Poké Ball, and sent out his Scyther. "Come and fight! My Blade's stamina, speed, and attack power have surpassed my father's Masamune. It's already the strongest Scyther in the world!"
Ryan almost laughed at this declaration. "Do you know why a frog at the bottom of a well remains weak?"
"Why?" Shingo asked, not catching the metaphor.
"Because the sky it can see is only as large as the well's opening. The well becomes its entire world," Ryan explained.
"You're just full of empty words!" Shingo shouted. "I want to see how strong you really are."
"Very well, let me show you what exists beyond your small world. Since Scyther is Bug and Flying type, I'll use Pheromosa," Ryan said, sending out his Ultra Beast.
Celebi saw Pheromosa and waved at it, and Pheromosa smiled elegantly in return. Pheromosa had the closest relationship with Celebi after Cosmog.
"No data on this Pokémon? I need to record it quickly," Shingo said, frantically typing. "Alright, data registered. I'm guaranteed to win now. Blade, Quick Attack!"
"Quiver Dance, then evade and counter with High Jump Kick," Ryan commanded. "Be gentle—just teach it a lesson."
Pheromosa looked at Scyther with aristocratic disdain, and with graceful dance movements, it easily avoided Scyther's Quick Attack. Then, with an elegant leg strike, it sent Scyther flying.
"Triple Kick," Ryan ordered.
Pheromosa vanished from its original position instantly, appeared beside the airborne Scyther, and kicked it back toward the field. Then it flashed to the ground and launched it skyward again. With the final strike, a devastating axe-kick slammed Scyther into the arena floor.
"Impossible! Speed, reflexes, and attack power are all off the charts. It's so fast my equipment couldn't even track it properly. What kind of monster is this?!" Shingo shouted. "I need to update the data, update the data!"
"Do you think you have time to worry about your computer right now? Let's finish this. Lunge!" Ryan commanded.
"Get out of the way, Blade!" Shingo shouted, his eyes leaving the computer screen for the first time to look at his Scyther.
But it was too late. Pheromosa launched itself forward with both feet, striking Scyther's torso and sending it crashing into the wall behind, where it collapsed, unable to continue.
"Blade!" Shingo ran over and helped his Scyther up. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Scyther, having regained some strength, shook its head to indicate it was fine.
"Shingo, what happened to your computer analysis?" Muramasa asked with a knowing smile.
Shingo shook his head and said, "I couldn't even track Pheromosa's movements. I didn't have time to analyze any data."
"There's nothing wrong with gathering information to understand your opponent beforehand. But you're relying too heavily on that data during battle," Ryan explained. "The battlefield is constantly changing and unpredictable. Data analysis can't account for every variable in real combat."
"I've learned my lesson. I won't lose next time!" Shingo declared. He left with Scyther, probably heading to the Pokémon Center for treatment.
Muramasa bowed deeply to Ryan. "Thank you for teaching my son this valuable lesson. He needed to understand that there's more to Pokémon battling than just numbers and statistics."
"The bond between trainer and Pokémon, adapting to unexpected situations, and trusting your instincts—these things can't be quantified in a database," Ryan added. "Your son has potential, but he needs to look beyond his screen and truly connect with his partner."
As Ryan prepared to leave, Celebi chirped happily from his shoulder, clearly pleased with how the battle had gone. Pheromosa had demonstrated the elegant power that made Ultra Beasts so formidable, and Ryan felt satisfied that he'd helped a young trainer learn an important lesson about the true nature of Pokémon battles.
(End of Chapter)
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