When he looked at the data for Ice Vulpix a second time, another line of text appeared below.
Traits: Vast fairy-type energy, highly sensitive to fairy-type energy. However, due to the immense amount of fairy-type energy, the Vulpix cannot fully contain it. Evolution into Ninetales will resolve this.
Lu Ze smiled and reached out to pat Vulpix on the head, but stopped halfway—his hands were still covered in flour.
"No big deal. Once I finish with all this, we'll have a battle."
Tang Yunqin tilted her head, puzzled by the connection to battle.
Lu Ze just smiled, offering no explanation.
He thought that since the Vulpix's lethargy stemmed from an overwhelming amount of fairy-type energy, perhaps releasing some of that energy through battle might help.
Besides, Electabuzz needed a battle too.
"Alright then, I'll wait for you."
Tang Yunqin pouted but asked no further questions, merely cradling Vulpix as she watched Lu Ze become busy again.
Time passed slowly as the two chatted idly.
In the meantime, Sui Yan and Su Tinxi arrived one after another, joining Lu Ze to learn how to prepare Pokémon food.
"Done! Finally finished."
Around five in the afternoon, Lu Ze couldn't help but cheer, stretching his arms.
It was lucky Sui Yan's group had come. By afternoon, they were already helping to sort the ingredients.
If it had just been Lu Ze on his own, he probably wouldn't have finished today.
"Finally done."
Sui Yan sighed in relief as well, staggering out of the kitchen to collapse onto the sofa.
Lu Ze smiled and activated his Aura.
"Crobat, can you find Electabuzz? Tell him to come back."
In the forest, Crobat, who had been training Charizard, nodded. Then he quickly flew deep into the woods.
Lu Ze's Aura didn't reach that far—Electabuzz was out of range.
Fortunately, Crobat and Charizard weren't too far away, so he had to ask Crobat to relay the message.
After resting briefly, Electabuzz was brought back by Crobat.
Then Crobat turned and flew off, resuming Charizard's training session, leaving Electabuzz standing dazedly in the doorway.
"C'mon, Electabuzz, you said yesterday you needed a battle—now's your chance!"
Electabuzz perked up instantly. Finally, a battle!
"Let's go, to the battlefield?"
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
Everyone grew excited, following Lu Ze as they headed toward the school's battle arena.
Earlier in casual conversation, when they'd heard Lu Ze would battle Tang Yunqin, they'd quickly gained interest.
So they'd made plans of their own.
Yu Yu You and Yin Hanlin would have their own battle—a duel of Ghost-type users.
Sui Yan and Su Tinxi would battle too, pitting Dratini against Bulbasaur—a 'baby' showdown.
As for Lu Jun, Larvitar and Bagon no longer qualified as 'babies,' and Kadabra wouldn't be of any use—half the time, he could barely stay awake. So he'd just have to sit this one out as a spectator.
Soon, they all reached the academy's battle arena.
"Quite lively, huh."
Sui Yan looked around at the many battle zones and the crowd of onlookers not joining in.
Unlike their freshman tournament, which had used a temporary field on the school's main grounds, this was a professional arena.
Second and third-year students often held their gambling matches here.
Battles that wagered school points were called "point duels."
With the school overseeing them, no one dared cheat or renege.
"Hello, senior, can you reserve three battle zones for me?"
"Sure, junior."
The senior at the counter gave Lu Ze a warm smile and handed him three tokens.
"Here you go, junior—it's your first time here, right? Take these three tokens. You can use them to access the corresponding battle zones."
"Yeah, thanks, senior."
Lu Ze nodded and passed a token each to Sui Yan and Yu Yu You.
Soon, everyone had found their assigned battle zones.
Lu Jun went to the main hall to watch the matches.
The hall had live broadcasts of the ongoing battles, so the audience seating area wasn't empty.
However, with so many battle zones, Lu Ze's group's battles might not make it onto the broadcast.
After all, there are second and third-year students fighting for points—surely their matches are more interesting than a few freshmen's 'baby battle'.
"Electabuzz, ready for your first battle?"
Lu Ze crouched down and gently patted Electabuzz on the head.
"Ele!"
Electabuzz clenched his fists, nodding with solemn determination.
"OK, then let's go!"
"Ele!"
WHOOSH!
As Electabuzz and Vulpix took their positions on the field, the referee's flag shot down with a sharp swish.
"Vulpix, use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Electabuzz, use Quick Attack to create distance!"
Earlier that morning, in their casual chat, Lu Ze had explained to Tang Yunqin why they needed this battle.
He wanted to test whether reducing the amount of fairy-type energy stored in Ice Vulpix might help its condition.
Tang Yunqin understood and mentioned that Vulpix had already learned Dazzling Gleam and Draining Kiss from its mother.
On the field, Electabuzz used Quick Attack to rapidly retreat, stopping and sharply stomping the ground only after escaping the range of Dazzling Gleam.
"Earthquake!"
"Jump to dodge!"
Since the distance had opened up, judging the earthquake waves was easier.
But the instant Earthquake ended, Electabuzz used Quick Attack again, dashing toward the Ice Vulpix.
"Electabuzz is... fast."
Lu Ze watched, a bit perplexed by Electabuzz's speed.
"Fire Punch!"
After dashing in, Vulpix had only just landed. At this point, using Hypnosis wasn't viable—Electabuzz was already in its face.
Vulpix had no choice but to counter with Dazzling Gleam, trading damage.
Unfortunately, Tang Yunqin misjudged Electabuzz's speed. Before Vulpix could release Dazzling Gleam, it was struck by Electabuzz's fist and sent flying.
"Ice Vulpix!"
Tang Yunqin gasped in alarm, while Lu Ze grinned in delight.
He hadn't expected Electabuzz to turn out this well—not only fast, but also highly skilled in its techniques.
Hearing the order, Electabuzz dashed once again toward the flying Vulpix, hoping to land an extra blow before it landed, knocking it out.
(End of Chapter)