"Come on then, let me see your strength."
On the standard battlefield, Shadow spoke calmly as he tossed out a Poké Ball.
With a flash of white light, a Zubat appeared before him.
Seeing this, Gu Yuan opened up his system. This was a little function he had discovered, it could scan the data of other Pokémon.
The Zubat's strength and move proficiency were about on par with his Charmander's, and neither Pokémon had a type advantage over the other.
This meant that the determining factor would be who had the better commanding skills, him or Shadow.
"Get ready, Charmander. From here on out, you'll be fighting on your own. Make sure to listen to my instructions carefully."
Hearing his trainer's voice, Charmander ran forward with an eager "Chaaar!", the flame on its tail flickering and bouncing.
Gu Yuan could feel that the little Pokémon was also excited to battle.
"You can have the first move."
Charmander took its position, and Shadow generously gave Gu Yuan the right to strike first.
Gu Yuan didn't hesitate. Against such an unfathomable opponent, he would take any advantage he could.
"Charmander, use Growl!"
He didn't start with an attack. Instead, he chose to weaken Zubat first.
Charmander only knew six moves, and against a flying opponent like Zubat, landing a Scratch or Bite was very unlikely.
As for Dragon Rush, that was out of the question. Charmander's current power simply wasn't enough to pull it off.
That left Ember as his only real offensive option, but Gu Yuan knew firsthand just how unreliable his partner's aim could be.
He had been drilling Charmander during downtime these past few days, but hitting a nimble flier like Zubat was still a shaky proposition. So he opted to play it safe: weaken Zubat first, then attack with Ember.
Growl would lower Zubat's Attack while also distracting it, the optimal first move.
He didn't bother with Smokescreen; Zubat relied on echolocation through Supersonic, so blinding it with smoke would be ineffective.
"Zubat, use Supersonic!"
Almost at the exact same instant Gu Yuan gave his command, Shadow countered.
First strike only meant you acted first; it never guaranteed the opponent wouldn't retaliate immediately.
This was reality, not a turn-based game. No opponent would wait for one move to finish before using theirs.
Whether the first strike set the pace depended on the trainer's ability, the Pokémon's power, and their coordination.
Charmander let out its Growl just as waves of Supersonic energy rippled outward from Zubat.
The two very different sound waves clashed, interfering with each other. Both Pokémon were hit, but the effects were greatly diminished.
Charmander, for example, should have been thrown into confusion, but instead only felt a little dazed, not enough to lose control. But to Shadow, that was already enough.
"Zubat, rush in and use Astonish!"
After hearing the command, Zubat dove down under Shadow's intimidating presence and hit Charmander from behind.
Gu Yuan saw that Charmander froze momentarily.
Damn it! He flinched.
Astonish not only dealt damage but also had a chance to flinch its target.
"Snap out of it, Charmander! Fire off Ember, don't worry about aiming!"
Seeing Zubat swooping down, Gu Yuan didn't care about accuracy anymore. He just wanted Charmander to disrupt the assault.
Half-dazed, Charmander still responded to its trainer's call, gathering flames inside its body.
Sparks shot out, but scattered wildly like headless flies. Two of them even streaked toward Gu Yuan himself, he only dodged in time thanks to his quick reflexes.
"Zubat, fly up! Evade the flames and strike the instant they stop!"
Obeying, Zubat climbed higher, easily weaving past Charmander's erratic flames.
Gu Yuan could see how well-trained this Zubat was. It could hear and execute complex commands with no hesitation.
The moment the flames ceased, it dove like an arrow.
"Charmander, use Ember again!"
But Gu Yuan could see his partner still hadn't fully recovered. He just wanted to buy time, hoping a second Ember would stall Zubat's charge.
The distance was too short. Before Charmander could release the flames, Zubat was already in its face.
Astonish landed clean. The ghostly energy jolted Charmander awake, but in that moment of clarity came the flinch; the move had struck at maximum effect.
Dark streaks raked across Charmander's chest, leaving two shallow wounds and forcing it into a flinched state.
Unlike the games, flinching here didn't follow rigid rules. Its duration depended on the Pokémon's willpower and the strength of their bond with their trainer.
"Charmander, you can do it!"
As Gu Yuan shouted in encouragement, Shadow continued with his attack.
"Zubat, use Astonish again!"
Another strike landed. Charmander staggered, its body flaring with sudden heat, the Blaze ability had triggered.
Perhaps it was the power of Blaze, or maybe Gu Yuan's desperate encouragement reached it, but Charmander roared defiantly.
Fire came to its mouth, more than in any of the previous attempts, and he began to use Ember again.
But it was too late.
Zubat caught the timing perfectly. With no need for a command, it flaped its wings and used Gust.
A burst of wind then sent the Blaze-empowered Charmander flying back, defeated.
The match was over. Gu Yuan had lost.
"Ten days," Shadow said flatly as he recalled Zubat. "I'll teach you how to battle in those ten days. If you can't impress me in this period… then there will be no need to keep you and you'll go back to where I found you."
He turned to leave, his voice cold, but his eyes betrayed a glimmer of satisfaction that Gu Yuan didn't catch.
With his commanding skills, he could defeat Senior and Ace trainers with ease, so Gu Yuan's loss was a foregone conclusion for him.
But Gu Yuan had shown enough adaptability to impress him. At least far more than most trainers in their first real battle.
But Shadow wasn't about to say that. Instead, he would keep piling pressure on Gu Yuan, squeezing out more of his potential.
Back on the battlefield, Gu Yuan quickly calmed himself.
He gave Charmander a potion, carefully addressing its wounds, and noted that Shadow had already prepared supplies nearby, clearly expecting to dominate the battle.
While waiting for Charmander to recover, Gu Yuan replayed the battle in his mind.
From the start, he knew defeat was inevitable. He was just a rookie, after all. Shadow had chosen a Pokémon of equal strength only to give him a chance.
As for Shadow's final words, Gu Yuan didn't dwell on them. Better to focus on how to improve than waste time overthinking.
There was no way he would go back to that life.
Sitting cross-legged beside his Charmander, his eyes sharpened began to plan.
Once the fire lizard recovered, Gu Yuan started training again, now even more focused than before.