Tetsuya's masterpiece was complete!
The entire industrial wastewater pond had been filled with large amounts of Koffing's Toxic. Only Muk capable of surviving in such highly poisonous water would meet his standards.
Of course, it was impossible for such an experiment to be conducted in only one location. Perhaps by the next day, every Muk in the pond would already be dead from the poison. Therefore, he would continue conducting similar experiments in other industrial ponds inhabited by Muk.
Tetsuya had studied poison for half his life in his previous life and had extensive experience judging the potency of toxins. This Koffing's toxicity surpassed even that of his [Badly Poisonous Drapion]
and [Badly Poisonous Ariados] from his previous life.
To withstand the poison of this Koffing, a Pokémon's own toxicity would have to be at least no weaker than that of his two former Poison-type mainstays.
He had already obtained a tyrannical poison overlord in Koffing. If he could also obtain a [Badly Poisonous Muk] variant capable of resisting Koffing's toxicity, together with his Drapion and Ariados, then the core of his Poison-type team would be completed ahead of schedule!
However, such a Muk could not possibly be obtained so easily. There might not even be a single one in all of Johto. All he could do was wish himself good luck.
---◓---
Tetsuya and Catherine left the forest without stopping and finally arrived at a large city before sunset.
Unfortunately, neither he nor Catherine could stay in the legitimate hotels of a major city. They could only stay at a shady inn in the suburbs.
Having gone almost an entire day and night without sleep, Tetsuya and Catherine returned to their respective rooms after dinner and went to sleep.
At night, Tetsuya would always allow Gengar to go out alone to feed. With its current strength, there was basically nothing to worry about. Moreover, Tetsuya had instructed it to absorb only Pokémon vitality and not take too much from any single Pokémon. At most, the affected Pokémon would experience a brief moment of discomfort, without suffering any serious consequences.
Naturally, when there was no training planned, Tetsuya would not let the Pokémon drink Miltank milk. Although Miltank was very happy for them to drink its milk, such a highly nutritious food needed to be converted into energy in a timely manner.
They drank Miltank milk the next morning, so Tetsuya could only take the Pokémon out to the outskirts for training. The Pokémon's special training continued under Miltank's assistance, and the efficiency was extremely high.
Catherine also continued her physical training.
By now, Catherine had already grown accustomed to Tetsuya's routine. Sitting cross-legged beneath a tree, he trained his psychic abilities. What Catherine did not know was that there was also a Gengar hidden within his shadow, cooperating with him in psychic powers training.
His abilities were far more than simple psychic powers…
"Mate, your Pokémon look strong! How about we have a Pokémon battle!?"
A very chuunibyou voice entered Tetsuya's ears. Tetsuya slowly opened his eyes and saw a boy who looked to be twelve or thirteen years old, carrying a light-blue backpack and wearing a bright smile.
"…You're a Pokémon Trainer?" Tetsuya asked.
"You got it! I'm a Pokémon Trainer currently training through Gym challenges with the goal of the Johto League! The next Gym I'm preparing to challenge is the Olivine Gym. Not long ago, I caught a very strong Pokémon, and it hasn't lost a single battle yet! Would you like to test its strength?" The boy said proudly.
"How many Badges do you have?" Tetsuya asked, seemingly answering with an unrelated question.
"Well... six." After speaking, the boy took out his Badge case. Inside were six neatly arranged Badges. What immediately caught Tetsuya's attention were the Fog Badge from Ecruteak City and the Ice Badge from the Mahogany Gym.
"…You've battled Matsuba of the Ecruteak Gym and Pryce of the Mahogany Gym?" Tetsuya asked with a hint of skepticism.
The boy seemed somewhat at a loss from Tetsuya's expression. "Y-yes!"
"Come on then, let's battle. How many-on-how many?" Tetsuya said. Although someone at his level defeating Matsuba or Pryce was absolutely impossible, issuing Badges only required the Gym Leader's approval.
Since this boy had obtained the Fog Badge and the Ice Badge, he had at least earned the recognition of Matsuba and Pryce. On that basis alone, Tetsuya felt he could have a battle with him.
"Then let's do a Triple Battle! But fight it as three separate matches," The boy said.
"Works for me. Koffing, you're up first."
Without the slightest hesitation, Tetsuya sent out Koffing. He did not spend even a moment thinking about it. Such confidence made his opponent feel somewhat uneasy. At this moment, Catherine also walked over. It had been a long time since she had watched a battle, so watching one now would be enjoyable.
Before Koffing entered the battlefield, Miltank squeezed out two cups of milk for it as encouragement.
After drinking the milk, Koffing became even more energetic!
"Come out, Kecleon!"
A green lizard-like Pokémon appeared, constantly flicking its tongue.
The boy then said, "This is the Pokémon I was talking about, the one that's never lost a battle. It's really strong. No matter what move it uses, the power is always excellent!"
"Why… are you telling me your Pokémon's Ability?" Tetsuya said helplessly. This kind of person really was a chuunibyou. Keeping some mystery during a battle would naturally increase your chances of victory. Especially in League tournaments, many people met and battled each other for the first time. To win, it was necessary to hide information about your main Pokémon, especially their Abilities.
Of course, at higher levels of competition, such things gradually became insignificant, because everyone already knew each other's main Pokémon well, leaving little worth hiding.
"Eh? Ability? Umm… doesn't Kecleon only have the Ability Color Change?"
The boy wore an innocent expression.
From what the boy had said, Tetsuya could already guess this Kecleon's Ability. It was Protean.
It was normal for the boy not to know about this Ability. After all, among all Pokémon, only four¹[1] possessed it. The other three were Greninja and its two pre-evolved forms.
The Protean Ability could change the user's type, turning its type into the type of the move it used…
Ugh, in simple words, its type would change along with the moves it used.
When the boy had just said that this Kecleon had excellent power with any move, Tetsuya had already guessed its Ability.
There were many weeds in the outskirts. With a whoosh, Kecleon darted into the grass and immediately vanished without a trace.
"Kecleon, Psybeam!"
A multicolored beam shot out from the grass, yet Kecleon's figure remained unseen. It seemed this Pokémon was quite fast.
"Counter it with Sludge Bomb."
Tetsuya spoke calmly. By now, he was already using his psychic powers to track Kecleon's position and predict its movements.
Bang!
Psybeam and Sludge Bomb collided. Sludge Bomb possessed tremendous power. If Kecleon had not STAB its move, Sludge Bomb would have blasted straight through it already.
Even so…
•.
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¹. Before Gen IX
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+50 Chapters -🅿️🅰️✝️🆁 🅴🅾️🅽/Romeloff :*
[1] Before Gen IX.