"Alright, let's head inside first. No point standing around out here."
After learning the general situation, Icarus opened the door and gestured for the two to come in.
"Aren't we supposed to go do a mission?" Airi asked in confusion.
"I checked the time. It's probably too late now. We'd still need to pick up a mission at the Pokémon Center, and it's already past two in the afternoon. We might as well use the time to get familiar with each other and have a sparring match instead!"
After opening the door, Icarus pointed at the clock in the room as he explained.
"It's already two?!" Airi looked surprised, feeling like barely any time had passed.
"Icarus, did you just say 'sparring'? You mean we're going to… battle?" Stone's attention immediately locked onto the last sentence as he asked uncertainly.
"That's right. Perfect timing too. My Houndour already evolved into Houndoom, and it's reached the Ordinary Level as well. Battling is the best way for teammates to understand each other."
Icarus looked at the nervous Stone and answered with a smile.
"Oh! We're battling each other? Great, great! I'm definitely taking first place. After all, my Staryu is a Water-type, hehe~"
Airi finally reacted, and after glancing at her Staryu, she immediately became excited, clearly convinced she had the advantage.
"That's not necessarily true, Airi.
Anyway, both of us have Super Potions, so we'll battle seriously and stop only when one side loses. We'll follow official League battle rules: a Trainer loses when their Pokémon can no longer battle, or if the Trainer chooses to surrender."
Icarus first replied to the overconfident Airi before calmly explaining the rules.
"Mhm, no objections here."
"Same."
The two quickly nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, let's clear out the open space in the backyard and set up the battlefield boundaries."
Once both agreed, Icarus led the excited pair outside.
Soon, a fairly large battleground was prepared.
The first match would be Icarus versus Airi.
Since Airi was extremely eager and convinced she would win, she volunteered immediately.
At the same time, Icarus was also curious about Staryu's combat ability. As for Houndoom losing? He didn't think that was likely.
Airi was blinded by the Water-type advantage, but he wasn't.
At the same level, Staryu's Psychic-type moves were practically useless against Houndoom. After all, Houndoom was also a Dark-type Pokémon.
As for Fire being weak to Water, that was relative. Water could extinguish fire, but overwhelming flames could evaporate water as well.
Of course, under equal conditions, Water-types generally still held the advantage.
"On my left is Ordinary Level Trainer Airi from Aoki Town!
On my right is Ordinary Level Trainer Icarus from Aoki Town!
This battle will be a one-on-one match. Victory will be decided when one side's Pokémon loses the ability to battle or when a Trainer surrenders.
Trainers, are you ready?!"
Stone, acting as the temporary referee, struggled a little while delivering the long speech in one breath.
Still, because the League heavily promoted the Trainer profession, almost everyone was familiar with official battle procedures.
With the League's support, battle recordings from various competitions were extremely cheap, and nearly every household owned some.
As a result, everyone knew the referee's standard opening lines by heart.
"Ready! Go, Staryu!"
Even without spectators, Airi, battling another Trainer for the first time, was bursting with fighting spirit—especially since her opponent was Icarus.
"Houndoom, you're up too."
Icarus looked helplessly at the impatient Airi as he sent out Houndoom.
Normally, Trainers were supposed to release their Pokémon only after the referee officially started the match.
"Uh… battle start!"
Stone was thrown off by Airi's false start but quickly recovered and announced the beginning of the battle.
"Staryu, take the initiative! Use Psywave!"
The instant the battle began, Airi ordered Staryu to use her signature opening move.
"Hee ya!"
Staryu immediately obeyed, the ruby at the center of its body flashing brightly.
"Buzz buzz buzz~"
A pale blue ripple rapidly shot toward Houndoom through the air.
"Houndoom, use Nasty Plot!"
Airi panicked for a moment, but Icarus remained calm. Since Psywave wouldn't deal real damage anyway, he immediately used the opportunity to let Houndoom boost its stats.
"Swish!"
The Psywave hit Houndoom before it could dodge.
"…."
But when Houndoom opened its eyes again, it was completely unharmed. In fact, it looked even more energized than before.
"Smog! Hide yourself, Houndoom!"
Icarus continued giving commands.
"Huh?! Why didn't it work?!"
Airi stared in shock for a second before suddenly realizing her mistake.
"How did I forget? Psychic-type moves don't affect Dark-types!"
By the time she reacted, Houndoom had already completed its stat boost and disappeared into the thickening Smog, causing her to lose the initiative completely.
"Staryu, use Harden!"
Since she wasn't confident in landing Water-type attacks through the fog, Airi chose to strengthen Staryu's defenses instead.
"Swish~"
A glow spread across Staryu's body as Harden activated successfully.
At the same time, Houndoom vanished entirely into the smoke.
Seeing Staryu remain motionless while waiting for the enemy to move, Icarus silently nodded in approval. Blindly attacking right now would only waste energy.
"Houndoom, Small Flame Barrage!"
Of course, to test Staryu's strength, Icarus still ordered an attack.
"Woof woof Whoosh whoosh"
Three compressed fireballs burst from the fog toward Staryu.
"Staryu, Water Gun barrage! Block them, and use Confusion to sense the surroundings!"
Understanding this was a probing attack, Airi responded immediately.
"Pffft Sizzle sizzle"
Three Water Guns collided directly with the three Small Flames in midair.
The resulting steam made visibility even worse.
"Buzz buzz~"
Staryu's ruby began glowing again.
Because members of the Staryu line naturally lacked facial features, they often relied on Psychic power to perceive their surroundings.
"Hee ya~"
Even though the fog interfered with its senses, Staryu eventually managed to detect footsteps and heartbeats.
"Good! Aim at what you sense and use Water Pulse barrage!"
Through their bond, Airi realized Staryu had located the target and immediately ordered an attack.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"
One Water Pulse after another flew into the fog in rapid succession.
(This move had been taught to Staryu by Poliwag.)
"Houndoom, run and dodge! If you can't dodge, counter with Small Flame!"
"Tap tap tap~"
Houndoom immediately began weaving left and right through the fog.
"Bang!"
"Woof!"
Unfortunately, the Smog obscured Houndoom's own vision as well, and one of the Water Pulses struck it directly.
"Hehe~ Icarus! Looks like I'm going to win!
Staryu, Water Gun barrage at the sound's location!"
Although Airi couldn't clearly see the battlefield, Staryu's Psychic senses could still locate Houndoom.
After successfully landing a hit with Water Pulse, she immediately switched to the more powerful Water Gun.
"Then we'll stop holding back too! Houndoom, track it by scent and block the attacks with Small Flame!"
Icarus remained completely calm.
You had Psychic sensing?
Then Houndoom had scent tracking.
"Pffft! Sizzle sizzle~"
The Small Flames neutralized two Water Guns, while Houndoom dodged the third.
"Small Flame barrage!"
After blocking the attacks, Icarus immediately ordered another assault.
The new wave of steam further disrupted Staryu's Psychic detection, while Houndoom's sense of smell remained mostly unaffected.
"Woof woof~ WHOOSH!"
Two large fireballs shot straight toward Staryu.
"Hee ya!"
Caught off guard, Staryu only managed to dodge one.
The second came too fast.
Airi knew Water Gun wouldn't fully block it and might even leave Staryu vulnerable during the clash.
If Staryu became immobilized, Houndoom could rush in with Thunder Fang immediately.
And Airi knew very well that Houndoom could use Thunder Fang. She had personally seen it use the move back when it was still a Houndour.
So she gritted her teeth and decided to endure the hit.
"Staryu, use Rapid Spin! Tank the attack while repositioning!"
"Swish swish swish~"
Staryu spun rapidly.
"BOOM!"
The flames slammed directly into its body.
Although Rapid Spin dispersed part of the attack, the intense heat and Fire-type energy still made Staryu cry out in pain.
"Now! Houndoom, Fire Spin!"
Icarus had already predicted Airi's decision. If things dragged out, Staryu would inevitably lose the war of attrition anyway.
"Woof woof~ WHOOSH!"
Houndoom immediately manipulated the scattered flames, forming them into a ring of fire around Staryu.
This technique was inspired by Airi's Poliwag.
Back then, Icarus had watched Poliwag gather scattered water into Whirlpool, so he specifically trained Houndoom to apply the same principle to Fire Spin.
"How is that possible?! Staryu, Recover!"
Seeing the familiar technique, Airi gasped in shock.
She never expected Houndoom to know Fire Spin, much less shape it using the same principle as Poliwag's Whirlpool.
"It's too late, Airi! Burst it apart, Houndoom! Then follow up with Thunder Fang!"
As soon as Airi hesitated, Icarus immediately gave the decisive command.
"SWISH!"
Houndoom lunged forward.
At the same time, the Fire Spin surrounding Staryu suddenly exploded inward.
"Hee ya!!"
Staryu had just begun activating Recover when the surrounding flames erupted violently and engulfed its entire body.
This burst of firepower was no weaker than the previous attack—and because Staryu was completely unprepared, the damage was even worse.
"Buzz buzz~"
The flames vanished as quickly as they appeared.
When the smoke cleared, large scorch marks covered Staryu's body.
Although it hadn't fainted yet, it collapsed weakly onto the ground, temporarily unable to move.
"Woof!"
At that exact moment, Houndoom rushed in with its jaws crackling with electricity and bit toward the helpless Staryu.
"I surrender!"
Seeing the situation was hopeless, Airi immediately forfeited.
She knew Staryu couldn't withstand Thunder Fang, so there was no point forcing it further.
"Houndoom, stop!"
Hearing the surrender, Icarus quickly called Houndoom back.
"Woof!"
Houndoom immediately dispersed the electricity around its fangs before barking proudly in victory.
"Staryu, you did great. Use Recover first."
Airi quickly ran over, gently touching Staryu's core gem as she comforted it softly.
"Buzz buzz Hee ya"
Staryu nodded weakly as white light began to spread across its body.
"Swish~"
Recover rapidly healed the burns covering Staryu's surface, restoring its appearance to normal.
"Hee ya~"
After resting briefly, Staryu managed to stand back up on its own.
"Here, eat these two Energy Cubes first. I'll apply medicine afterward."
Although its external injuries had healed, Airi knew Staryu's internal energy was still heavily depleted.
So she took out two low-grade Energy Cubes from her backpack while holding a Super Potion in the other hand.
"Oh? Those are Psychic-type Energy Cubes, right? Airi, you really are a rich girl."
Looking closer, Icarus noticed that one of the cubes was pale pink and immediately recognized it as a Psychic-type Energy Cube.
"Aww, stop teasing me, Icarus. I can't believe I still lost even with a Water-type advantage…"
Airi looked depressed as she carefully treated Staryu's wounds.
"Airi, your Staryu is already very strong. Its strength is definitely on the same level as Houndoom's."
Seeing her disappointment, Icarus first reassured her.
When he sensed her mood improve slightly, his expression gradually became more serious.
"But do you know why you lost?
Because from the very beginning, you underestimated your opponent. You subconsciously forgot the basic rule that Psychic-type attacks don't affect Dark-types. That mistake gave Houndoom the perfect chance to use Nasty Plot and boost itself.
Otherwise, Houndoom wouldn't have been able to spam Small Flame like that."
As he spoke, his tone unconsciously became stricter.
"Mhm… I understand, Icarus. I won't make that mistake again."
Looking at Icarus's serious expression, Airi nodded solemnly.
-------------Author---------------
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