A gentle breeze drifted over lush fields, blending with the fragrance of wildflowers.
Up ahead, a Rapidash grazed quietly, its muscular form rippling beneath a blazing mane.
Suddenly, a Squirtle wearing sunglasses swaggered forward, releasing a provocative "Squirtle!" in challenge.
Rapidash glanced disdainfully at the tiny creature that barely reached its knees, snorted dismissively, and returned to eating grass.
Irritated by the snub, Squirtle puffed its cheeks and spat a Water Gun at Rapidash, briefly dimming the flames on its coat. The horse Pokémon neighed angrily, crimson eyes flaring, hoof pawing at the earth in warning.
The Sunglasses Squirtle gulped nervously and glanced back. Spotting its boss giving an encouraging gesture, it steeled itself to face the imposing foe.
In an instant, Rapidash burst forward, horn gleaming red as it charged like lightning toward Squirtle.
"Squirtle!" Yelping in panic, Squirtle hurled itself aside, barely dodging as scorching heat blasted past, tumbling the tiny turtle into the grass.
Before it could recover, the pounding of hooves resumed, and Squirtle fearfully withdrew head and limbs into its shell.
Rapidash's hoof sent Squirtle's shell spinning through the air—but mid-spin, Squirtle skillfully curved back, slamming into Rapidash and eliciting a pained whinny.
After its defeat by Ivysaur's Leech Seed, Squirtle had bitterly trained, developing a combo of Withdraw plus Rapid Spin. Evidently, this cowardly turtle-style tactic worked brilliantly.
Yet, Rapidash's massive level advantage allowed it to quickly shake off the attack. Galloping with renewed focus, it danced effortlessly around the spinning Squirtle until the dizzy turtle lost momentum and wobbled to a stop.
Taking advantage of the pause, Rapidash unleashed a fiery vortex that enveloped Squirtle's shell.
Water-types might counter Fire-types normally, but when level gaps were this huge, even elemental advantages could be reversed—exactly what was happening now.
Inside its shell, Squirtle felt the burning heat and cried out. Am I really going down like this?
Losing to a mere Rapidash… Though it had the evolution and level disadvantage, Squirtle remembered vividly how its boss, an electric mouse, had boldly challenged Lugia, Guardian of the Sea. As Ray Chu's underling, it burned with pride and aspiration—
Even Sunglasses Squirtle held a blazing determination to grow stronger!
I refuse to lose!
Intense emotion surged, enveloping Squirtle's body in brilliant white evolutionary light. Within the glow, Squirtle's form swiftly expanded. A Wartortle emerged, ears fluffy like wings, its tail shaped like blue waves.
"Wartortle, Wart!"
Now cooler and more confident than ever, Sunglasses Wartortle adjusted its shades, firing a chilling blast that completely extinguished Rapidash's flames.
Facing the panicked Rapidash, Wartortle pressed the advantage, icy air rapidly enveloping the horse Pokémon's legs, freezing it solid.
"Well done, Wartortle." Ray Chu emerged from the bushes with the others. Initially intending only a simple exercise for Squirtle, he hadn't anticipated its sudden evolution mid-fight.
Rapidash neighed fearfully, clearly inexperienced in battle. Looking at its broad back, Ray Chu suddenly had an idea.
Moments later, Rapidash dashed across the plains, Pokémon passengers astride its back. Ray Chu stood atop its head, adjusting their path repeatedly.
He held a Pokédex obtained recently from the glasses-wearing woman at the company. It was an older model, but core functions like maps still worked perfectly.
"Our next stop… Vermilion City."
Ray Chu tapped through the Pokédex, opening and closing numerous entries. Due to his prolonged travels, much common knowledge had slipped from memory. Although he could adapt from the Turtle School and Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts training methods, he really didn't want to end up raising a bunch of Fighting-type Pokémon.
He glanced at Ivysaur and Wartortle jogging alongside Rapidash, lips curling slightly in disdain. Those two were developing suspiciously muscular physiques…
"Alright, take a break." Ray Chu patted Rapidash's head to halt it, but the fiery steed shot a defiant glance at the little electric mouse and sped up instead.
A vein bulged on Ray Chu's forehead. "I said—stop!" He slammed a paw downward, unleashing an overwhelming force atop Rapidash's head. The startled horse stumbled, pitching face-first into the grass, while Ray Chu and the others floated safely down, wrapped in psychic energy.
Shaking itself off, Rapidash stood unharmed but dizzy—mere bumps meant little to such resilient Pokémon.
Moments later, Ivysaur and Sunglasses Wartortle hurried over breathlessly. The boss had instructed them to keep pace with Rapidash, but when the horse had suddenly bolted, they'd almost panicked, fearing abandonment.
Seeing Rapidash wobbling dazedly, the pair exchanged smirks of smug satisfaction. Serves you right for running wild!
"Pika, pika? Pika!—(Who said you two could rest? Up and jog in place!)" Ray Chu barked, making the two jump in surprise.
Boss, weren't you stopping to let us rest?
"Basic stamina training is done for now. It's time to improve your elemental attacks. Now! Launch your moves into the air ahead," commanded Ray Chu, his voice full of unquestionable authority.
Boss, are you a devil?! Trying to murder a poor turtle and a frog?!
Their expressions spelled out those thoughts plainly. But obedient Ivysaur steadied itself, dutifully whipping the ground repeatedly with Vine Whip. Sunglasses Wartortle, however, cunningly rolled its eyes and complained weakly, "Wartortle, wart…" explaining it had just evolved and had already exhausted its energy.
Ray Chu nodded understandingly—then fired an energy orb at Wartortle's feet, causing it to leap three feet in the air with a terrified yelp, staring in horror at the smoking crater left behind.
Ivysaur shook its head. Some Pokémon never learned that the boss hated deceit most of all!
A shadow suddenly rose from Ray Chu's own, chuckling wickedly—a purple Gengar materialized.
"Gengar, you'll spar with Wartortle. And remember—no mercy."
Gengar nodded, its crescent-shaped eyes glittering with eager malice. Being cunning, it knew exactly how to curry favor.
In the next instant, it lunged eagerly toward the horrified Sunglasses Wartortle…
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T/N: so sadge....... heh stupid wart oh yeah sunglasses wart