Chapter 31 Late-Night Pokémon Battle
It was quite late, but Xia Mu didn't go home. Instead, he went to the Pokémon Center in Cinnabar Island City.
Although he had treated the four Pokémon with healing spray and replenished their stamina with Energy Cubes after the day's battles, he still needed Nurse Joy to check on their overall condition.
This was something Xia Mu did every two or three days—essentially giving his Pokémon a checkup to rule out any potential problems.
Under Nurse Joy's care, Growlithe, Lucario, Red Gyarados, and Beedrill all received thorough examinations.
The Pokémon were all in excellent health. While they had some injuries, these were common in Pokémon battles, and these minor injuries could be fully recovered with basic treatment in a short time.
After thanking Nurse Joy and Chansey, Xia Mu took his Pokémon home.
It was already 11 PM.
Although many shops were still open, there weren't many pedestrians on the streets.
Aside from a few late-night snack shops still having quite a few people, the nightclubs were also bustling with activity.
Xia Mu didn't have a habit of eating late-night snacks, although he was somewhat interested in the late-night food scene in the Pokémon world.
As for nightclubs, he had been there in his previous life, but as an ordinary person, he only went on rare occasions with friends, since the cost was too high.
Ultimately, Xia Mu was also very interested in the bars and karaoke rooms in the Pokémon world. He wondered what they were like?
Were they similar to those in his previous life? Or would they have a different kind of charm?
It must be said, he was now eighteen and an adult, so he was no longer restricted from going to such entertainment venues.
Of course, it was just a thought; Xia Mu wouldn't actually go.
At least not now.
Walking down the street, Growlithe and Lucario accompanied him.
In the quiet atmosphere, with cars occasionally passing by, Xia Mu's mind cleared, and he felt much more relaxed.
Not far from home, Xia Mu suddenly heard a commotion coming from the park's battle arena.
He knew without a doubt that trainers were battling Pokémon.
But, battling Pokémon in the middle of the night—didn't these people really get any rest or sleep?
"Let's go, Growlithe, Lucario, let's go check it out."
Intrigued, Xia Mu led the two children towards the sound.
Only when they entered the park and reached the Pokémon battle area did Xia Mu see what was going on.
It was even more lively than he had imagined.
At this hour, none of these children's families seemed to care.
The Pokémon world truly is the Pokémon world.
If this were Xia Mu's previous life, teenagers would probably still be unable to take care of themselves, and if they weren't home by this hour, their parents would likely call the police.
The children here ranged in age from eleven or twelve to fifteen or sixteen; Xia Mu was the oldest among them.
He approached discreetly, reaching the outer edge of the crowd.
Everyone was watching the Pokémon battle, so no one noticed his arrival.
A boy and a girl, around fifteen years old, were battling.
The boy was using a level 39 Nidoqueen, and the girl was using a level 38 Sandslash.
These levels surprised Xia Mu.
He then took the opportunity to observe the Pokémon of the surrounding trainers.
While most of the Pokémon they carried were low-level, only around level 20, some were high-level. The highest-level was a level 46 Ninetales, two levels higher than his Growlithe.
[Am I just ignorant? So, ordinary trainers can also have high-level Pokémon?] Xia Mu suddenly felt his worldview being challenged.
His previous ideas were mostly based on the games.
He used to think that random Pokémon in games weren't very good, and their levels weren't very high.
For example, after transmigrating, Xia Mu thought that the Pokémon of random trainers were at most level 20 or 30, and anything over level 30 was considered very strong.
At least that's how he perceived them in Cinnabar Island City.
Coupled with the influence of the game, Xia Mu assumed that Pokémon over level 40 were already considered elite among gym leaders.
Over level 50 was another level altogether, representing top-tier league champion trainers.
Now, thinking about it, he realized he'd been a bit foolish.
Someone of a certain age, if they focused on training a Pokémon, could probably raise it to over level 40 or 50.
In other words, what's wrong with random trainers?
In this real world, everyone is the protagonist of their own story, everyone is a living, breathing human being.
Suddenly, a new thought popped into Xia Mu's mind.
Lately, he'd been grinding wild Pokémon to level up, and hadn't considered battling trainers' Pokémon for experience.
He'd previously thought the amount was too small to be satisfying, so he'd ignored it.
Now his thinking was different. If he could find some trainers of similar level, even those lower level, the experience points gained would definitely be more than from wild Pokémon, and it would have a better effect on the Pokémon's growth.
Perhaps, he really should set off on his journey earlier.
To find some high-level trainers, those gym trainers would be the best choice.
Although he didn't have much time, there were gyms on Cinnabar Island, weren't there?
Blaine, as the gym leader of Cinnabar Gym, was, in a sense, his grandfather.
...
"Sandslash, one more time! Quickly close in and use Slash on Nidoqueen!"
"Don't even think about it! Nidoqueen, head-on attack, Megaton Punch!"
'Boom!!!'
As the head-on collision occurred again, the two Pokémon once again created a huge impact.
Sandslash had the upper hand in terms of strength, and their fighting spirit was even stronger.
"This time I will definitely defeat you, Sandslash! Tear Claw, keep attacking!" The girl was obviously eager to win, but the rhythm of her commands was not disordered.
Such aggressive attacks can indeed be very effective under normal circumstances, but since both are Ground-type and their levels are similar, if a winner cannot be determined in a short time, continuing to use Normal-type attacks will only become less effective.
"You're too naive to think you can defeat my Nidoqueen! Your Sandslash is indeed stronger than before, but my Nidoqueen has also learned new moves! Nidoqueen, use Ice Punch!" the boy commanded.
Nidoqueen roared, and it withstood Sandslash's Rip Claw, even though its Defense was lowered by one stage, it still managed to unleash Ice Punch.
'Boom!'
A loud bang.
Sandslash took the hit from the Ice Punch and was sent flying backward in pain.
The advantage of type advantage in moves is absolutely outstanding in battles of the same level.
Clearly, Nidoqueen had mastered a move that was super effective against Ground-types, while Sandslash's female trainer hadn't truly realized how to win by using type advantage.
Even if Sandslash didn't have Ice, Grass, or Water moves that are super effective against Ground types,
Nidoqueen still has the Poison type.
Sandslash's Ground-type moves would still be very effective against Nidoqueen.
A classic case of being too clever for its own good, choosing the most foolish way to fight: a head-on clash.
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(End of Chapter)