009 :The Good Luck Brought by the Good Luck Card
"Don't worry! Wait for the opponent to get close, avoid the attack at the last moment, and then concentrate the Aura energy in your body to swing out with your fist!"
In the dense woodland beside a quiet lake, fallen leaves covered the ground, and the air was filled with the faint scent of moss and water.
Xu Jing was engaged in a real battle together with Riolu, facing a wild Aipom that had clearly lived in this forest for a long time.
"Ooooh~!"
With a sharp cry, the Aipom leaped down from a towering tree, using its flexible arms to control its balance in midair. Its palm-like tail stretched out suddenly, aiming straight for Riolu's torso.
Riolu remained calm. Relying on its natural sensitivity to Aura, it sensed the trajectory of the attack and easily dodged with a swift somersault to the left.
The Aipom's tail struck nothing but empty air, slamming into a piece of gravel on the ground instead. The impact sent fragments flying, which crashed into a nearby boulder with a dull, heavy sound, demonstrating the Pokémon's raw physical strength.
"Riolu, now!" Xu Jing shouted.
"Ria—woo!"
Taking advantage of the brief opening when Aipom landed and lost its balance, Riolu stepped forward decisively and closed the distance in an instant.
Its right paw clenched tightly into a fist, and a metallic sheen spread across it, shining with the cold luster of steel, just like the polished ore once seen in the mines near Oreburgh City in the Sinnoh region.
"Yes! That's it! Bullet Punch!"
Xu Jing, who had been observing closely from the side, was overjoyed. Under his guidance and through repeated practice described in the previous chapters, Riolu finally succeeded in properly using Bullet Punch. The Steel-type move struck Aipom squarely on the jaw, sending it flying backward through the air.
Before the opponent could recover, Xu Jing gave another order.
"The final blow, Quick Attack!"
"Jiu!"
Riolu's blue-black figure flashed like lightning, moving faster than the eye could follow, and the decisive strike knocked Aipom unconscious, ending the battle completely.
"Done it, three wins in a row!"
Seeing Aipom defeated, Xu Jing and Riolu came together, bumping fists and high-fiving each other to express their excitement and growing trust as partners.
[Ding! Side Task 3 completed. You have obtained: Primary Draw Card ×1]
With the three-game winning streak finished, another opportunity to draw a card had appeared.
Xu Jing's eyes flashed with unmistakable joy.
Once you get something good, of course you use it right away!
"Junior card drawing pool, start drawing cards!"
[Ding! Congratulations to the host, you have drawn: Good Luck Card]
[Good Luck Card: After use, the secondary card will grant the host enhanced luck for the next one hour]
Good luck?
Xu Jing blinked, slightly surprised, but quickly accepted it. After everything he had experienced since awakening the system, this kind of effect was not hard to believe.
"Use it!"
After activating the card, nothing visible happened. No light, no special effects, and no immediate changes.
Xu Jing didn't hesitate or overthink it.
He simply chose a direction at random and set off deeper into the forest with Riolu walking steadily at his side.
However, before long, Xu Jing quickly realized that something was indeed different.
On a small rocky hill ahead, half-buried among stones and soil, a familiar round figure emerged.
It was a Geodude.
The combination of Rock-type and Ground-type attributes meant that Geodude was naturally restrained by Fighting-type attacks. This was especially true for Riolu, who according to the training results accumulated in the previous chapters had already achieved preliminary mastery over Bullet Punch, a Steel-type move that further exploited Geodude's weaknesses.
Xu Jing decisively commanded Riolu whom he often called Gouzi out of habit to rush forward and use Bullet Punch without hesitation.
The steel-coated fist struck true.
Geodude was defeated almost instantly, its rocky body scattering dust as it collapsed.
Four consecutive wins!
Xu Jing didn't slow down. With the Good Luck Card still in effect, he continued to search the surrounding area for Pokémon suitable for a Fighting-type to challenge.
Before long, they encountered another Rock-type Pokémon the so-called "Nonsense Potted Plant."
This Pokémon was none other than Sudowoodo, the Imitation Pokémon from the Johto region, famously known in the Pokémon manga for pretending to be a tree in order to avoid enemies.
When they encountered Sudowoodo, it was standing stiffly on a tree branch, deliberately disguising itself as part of the environment. Unfortunately for it, a flock of Spearow happened to fly over in search of food. Startled by the sudden noise and movement, Sudowoodo lost its balance and fell heavily from the tree.
Riolu seized the opportunity and rushed forward, throwing a powerful Bullet Punch.
However unlike the previous opponents this "nonsense potted plant" proved tougher than expected. Sudowoodo endured the first Bullet Punch and was not immediately defeated. It struggled, wobbling as it tried to stand back up, its rocky limbs trembling.
Still, under Riolu's second clean punch, Sudowoodo finally collapsed and obediently fell to the ground.
A few minutes later, Xu Jing and Riolu encountered yet another Rock-type Pokémon a Rock Crab, better known as Dwebble.
Much like Shuckle, Dwebble is a combination of Bug-type and Rock-type, carrying a stone shell on its back as described in the manga's Pokédex entries.
Even so, it was still restrained by Bullet Punch.
Half an hour passed in this manner.
By now, Xu Jing had completely understood the true function of the Good Luck Card.
For example, his current objective was to complete ten consecutive victories, and his partner Pokémon was Riolu, a pure Fighting-type.
At present, Riolu had achieved preliminary control over Quick Attack and Bullet Punch, thanks to both repeated battles and the earlier Bullet Punch skill card.
Under the blessing of the Good Luck Card, the Pokémon that Xu Jing and Riolu encountered were overwhelmingly those whose attributes were restrained by Riolu's typing and move set.
Now, half an hour later, Xu Jing and Riolu had already completed seven consecutive victories. Although they occasionally ran into Pokémon of other attributes along the way, Riolu's Quick Attack for positioning and Bullet Punch for finishing blows made those battles manageable without issue.
At this point, Xu Jing brought Riolu to rest beside the lake.
Nearby, several students were placing specially prepared Pokémon food along the shoreline, clearly attempting to lure Water-type Pokémon. Others, who had come better prepared, were fishing from the edge of the lake, hoping to encounter aquatic Pokémon.
"Riolu, we've already won seven battles in a row. Don't you feel happy~?" Xu Jing leaned back in the shade of a small tree and looked at Riolu resting beside him.
Because the Bullet Punch skill card had greatly accelerated Riolu's control over the move, the bond between Riolu and Xu Jing had grown noticeably closer in a short period of time.
Riolu narrowed its eyes in response, then threw a couple of punches into the empty air, clearly indicating that it could continue fighting at any time.
This little guy was a complete battle maniac!
Morale was extremely high!
Just then, a Trainer fishing in the distance suddenly shouted excitedly.
"Holy crap! Corsola I caught a Corsola!"
"Crash!"
The student yanked the fishing rod hard, causing the surface of the lake to explode with splashing water.
A pink-and-white Pokémon was pulled onto the shore.
"Huh?"
This Pokémon resembled coral from the seabed, with bright colors and a beautiful appearance.
It was none other than Corsola, the rare Water/Rock-type Pokémon often mentioned in the manga as being uncommon in inland lakes.
"Damn, bro, you're insane! Hurry up and see if you can subdue it!"
"Oh man, Corsola is my favorite so cute and beautiful!"
"I'm so jealous!"
The commotion immediately drew the attention of the surrounding students.
Everyone turned to look.
.....