"Alright... 3, 2, 1—battle, begin!"
Surrounded by Swampert, Moltres, and the Poliwags, Lucas swung down his right hand sharply.
Growlithe once again took the initiative, barking out a howl it had learned from Lycanroc to boost itself. Without hesitation, flames welled up in its mouth, transforming in a blink into huge fiery fangs that lunged at Poliwhirl!
Fire-type move: Fire Fang!
It wasn't that Growlithe liked battling against type disadvantages. First, it was still young and its move pool was shallow; second, it didn't have enough experience to memorize a type effectiveness chart.
On the other hand, Poliwhirl, knowing its Water typing could resist Fire attacks, chose to tank the hit while countering with Water Gun.
Seeing this, Lucas shook his head helplessly. Sometimes, being too clever backfires. Compared to when Growlithe had just hatched, the difference was night and day.
Growlithe, moving like the wind, rushed to Poliwhirl's side. Poliwhirl raised its left arm to block, Water Gun ready to fire at close range for maximum effect.
It had considered that, not yet having mastered decisive close combat moves, protecting its body was more important than its arm.
But in an instant, Poliwhirl realized it was wrong.
Growlithe's Fire Fang clamped down on Poliwhirl's arm, sending waves of burning pain. That alone would have been bearable, but the next moment, to Poliwhirl's shock, Growlithe whipped its head, and the brute force yanked Poliwhirl's arm and body into the air!
It wasn't over yet. Growlithe let out a loud howl as Rock energy quickly coalesced into several basketball-sized stones, which struck Poliwhirl and sent it crashing down from midair.
The seamless combo left Poliwhirl dazed, its gathered Water Gun dispersing into droplets that rained down, splattering on Growlithe, who shook them off uncomfortably.
Meanwhile, Poliwhirl crashed heavily to the ground, struggling to get up.
This whole chain combo had been taught by Kukui's Lycanroc, catching Poliwhirl completely off guard.
For the rest of the battle, the injured Poliwhirl, now slower, couldn't keep up with Growlithe, whose physical abilities had caught up.
With Growlithe now wary of Hypnosis, even though Poliwhirl managed to land some damage with its ace move Water Pulse, it still lost when Growlithe fearlessly used Double-Edge, knocking it out.
With the Poliwhirls looking downcast, Swampert remaining calm, and Moltres proudly lifting its head, Lucas hurried to the battlefield, taking out prepared medicine to treat both Pokémon.
After double-checking to make sure both were fine, Lucas sighed in relief. He planned to take them to see Comfey for some healing later.
Lucas scooped up the two with different expressions and set them down with Swampert and the others.
As soon as he put down Poliwhirl, its three little Poliwag brothers gathered worriedly, their calls overlapping so much that the already discouraged Poliwhirl got a headache.
But Poliwhirl knew its brothers were just concerned, so it forced itself to respond.
Where there is loss, there is also joy. Having gotten its revenge, Growlithe was so excited its tail was spinning like a propeller. Moltres, proud of Growlithe's achievements, let it ride on its slightly plump back—like doting new parents.
After this battle, Lucas had a clearer understanding of both Growlithe and Poliwhirl's strengths.
Growlithe's talent was definitely better than Poliwhirl's—even Lucas, who wasn't obsessed with stats, couldn't deny it. The move learning speed made it obvious: Poliwhirl still lacked variety, while Growlithe already knew several powerful moves.
Especially with Double-Edge, combined with Growlithe's confirmed hidden ability Rock Head, it could unleash a terrifying STAB move with 150 power and no recoil, according to the games.
With Growlithe's rapid physical growth, the gap between it and Poliwhirl would only widen further.
As for Poliwhirl, its intelligence as a Pokémon was outstanding, able to react in battle and making things easier for its trainer. The moves it learned had various effects—Mist, Haze, Hypnosis, etc.—that could surprise an opponent.
But it lost because Growlithe's bulldozing style caught it off guard, and it misjudged the power gap.
Before long, Lucas brought the still-excited Growlithe and the dejected Poliwhirl home.
Comfey, who had finished plenty of photosynthesis, was already waiting, with a Delibird who had regrown its feathers sitting beside it.
The weak, pitiful-looking Delibird's eyes sparkled the moment it saw Lucas, hurrying over with waddling steps.
Normally, a Delibird would fly, but this one, rescued by Luxray, clearly chose walking because of trauma. It walked awkwardly like a clumsy penguin—almost comical.
Lucas barely kept himself from laughing.
Delibird hugged Lucas' right leg, looking as needy as a chick that couldn't be separated from its parents.
But Lucas' odd expression hinted that things weren't so simple.
During a checkup with Nurse Joy, she had mentioned that this Delibird was a male and, in fact, already an adult.
Plus, with a tail much bigger than normal Delibirds, Nurse Joy even suspected it might be the boss of a Delibird group.
What made Lucas nearly lose it was the thought that, if Joy was right, this supposed boss, so dignified in its group, now acted like a spoiled chick at his feet. The contrast was just too much.
He even thought, what if Delibird's underlings saw their boss like this? It reminded him of a short video he'd seen before reincarnating:
A scar-faced stray cat boss, tough and respected among strays, would act cute and beg for food from humans—until one day, all his followers saw him doing it.
Stifling his laughter, Lucas rubbed his eyes and tried to act normal. "Comfey, I'll leave the aromatherapy for these three to you in a bit."
"Comfey~!"
Comfey beamed as if to say, leave it all to me, and slowly led Lucas and the three Pokémon into a room.
This room had been cleared out by Lucas—it was small, probably a storage room for the old couple who'd lived here before.
He set up a simple portable bed, and with Comfey, a makeshift farm hospital was born.
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