"Your turn, Steelix!"
Red threw the Poké Ball in his hand. As the white light faded, the enormous Steelix appeared in front of Snorlax. Seeing the sunlight above suddenly blocked by some massive creature, Snorlax, who had been doing push-ups, looked up in confusion at the gigantic Steelix.
"Snorlax, battle me in a Pokémon match. If you lose, you'll become my partner!"
Red explained his intention to Snorlax, taking out the Poké Ball at his waist to show why he had come.
Snorlax first looked at the old man in confusion. After noticing the approval in the old man's eyes, it stood up and prepared to battle the gigantic Steelix.
"Not bad growth. Your height looks to have reached around 2.6 meters," Red praised.
Although Snorlax understood it was being praised, it somehow felt a hint of sarcasm. After all, the gigantic Steelix in front of it was far taller than itself, making it feel like a short figure standing before a towering giant.
"Snorlax, since you're ready, I'm going on the offensive," Red shouted. "Steelix, use Heavy Slam!"
The enormous Steelix's heavy body violently slammed toward Snorlax. Seeing this, Snorlax stretched out its arms to block the attack, straining with effort as its legs carved a deep trench into the ground.
Seeing the attack had not produced obvious results, the gigantic Steelix simply pulled back and waited for Red's next command.
After taking a few heavy breaths, Snorlax quickly recovered. Its raised right arm emitted a white glow as it swung a powerful and heavy hammering strike toward the gigantic Steelix.
"Use Iron Defense!" Red ordered.
Silver light spread across the entire body of the gigantic Steelix, greatly increasing its defense as it forcibly withstood Snorlax's Hammer Arm attack.
"Bind it, then use Thunder Fang!"
The gigantic Steelix swiftly coiled around Snorlax, tightly restraining its entire body. Baring its fangs, it bit down on Snorlax while releasing electric currents that continuously drained Snorlax's stamina.
"As expected, my judgment wasn't wrong. Snorlax… perhaps your future achievements will surpass what I imagined…" the old man murmured, staring at Red in shock. He had never expected Red to raise such a powerful Pokémon like this gigantic Steelix.
Snorlax struggled to break free from the Bind. Its right fist ignited with blazing flames as it fiercely struck the gigantic Steelix's body.
"Roar—!"
The gigantic Steelix groaned in pain and released its restraint on Snorlax, glancing back at Red with an apologetic look.
"It's alright, Steelix. You've already done very well," Red comforted softly, telling Steelix not to blame itself.
Seeing Steelix regain its composure, Red immediately ordered, "Let's get serious, Steelix. Use Body Press!"
The Fighting-type move Body Press seemed tailor-made for the gigantic Steelix. This move is especially suited for Pokémon with extremely high defense, and Steelix's physical defense stat had already reached an astonishing 200 points.
The gigantic Steelix slammed its entire body toward Snorlax. Snorlax struggled to use Mega Punch to block it. The sheer impact even forced the muscle lines beneath Snorlax's fat to emerge.
The veins on Snorlax's arms bulged violently, yet it still could not withstand the Body Press. It was knocked to the ground, struggling to stand up.
"Steelix, give Snorlax the final blow. Use Drill Run!"
The nail-like tail at the end of the gigantic Steelix spun sharply as it swiftly pierced into Snorlax's body, striking a vital point.
"Go! Poké Ball!"
Seeing Snorlax's eyes spinning, Red threw the Poké Ball he had prepared earlier.
Perhaps recognizing Red's strength, or perhaps being knocked unconscious by the Drill Run, Snorlax made no struggle and was perfectly captured by the Poké Ball.
"I'll send it back to Professor Oak's Laboratory first so Professor Oak can research what kind of Pokéblocks suit Snorlax's taste," Red muttered. He took out his Pokédex and pressed a button, leaving a message for Professor Oak while the Pokémon was being transferred.
Although Red's wealth allowed him to buy plenty of canned Pokémon food for Snorlax to eat freely, doing so would be extremely troublesome. It would require frequent large purchases and waste valuable training time, making it completely inefficient.
One reason Pokéblocks were created was precisely to deal with big-eater Pokémon like Snorlax. Pokéblocks are easy to carry and filling; just a few pieces can satisfy gluttonous Pokémon, making them very convenient for trainers traveling with such Pokémon.
...
After several days of traveling, Red arrived at a severely dilapidated town. The town was called Dark City. Although it had once been poor, it had never been as miserable as it was now. The reason for its current condition was that two illegal private Gyms in the area were constantly fighting each other.
Linking Red's arm with her ribbon-like feelers, Sylveon walked slowly with him toward Dark City. Although the ruined scenery before them displeased her, simply holding the arm of her beloved Red made Sylveon occasionally reveal a joyful smile.
The arrival of Red and Sylveon also caught the attention of three boys. Because of the constant destructive conflicts between the two Gyms in Dark City, the boys had developed a strong rejection toward the identity of Pokémon trainers. Red and Sylveon had clearly become enemies in their eyes.
"You hateful Pokémon trainers! Leave Dark City immediately!"
Three stones were thrown down from the roof above. Seeing this, Sylveon shattered the stones with her ribbon-like feelers and then used Fairy Wind, knocking the three boys hiding on the roof down to the ground.
The angry Sylveon was about to step forward and teach the three boys a proper lesson when a middle-aged man ran out of a shop, looking nervously at the furious Sylveon and the calm Red standing behind her.
"I'm terribly sorry! Please be merciful and forgive my children. They mean you no harm," the middle-aged man hurriedly apologized. He pressed his children down with his hands and bowed to Red and Sylveon, hoping they wouldn't take it to heart.
"Dad! Why should we apologize to these hateful Pokémon trainers? If they never came here, our town wouldn't have ended up like this!" one boy shouted angrily.
"You kids are too ignorant!"
The middle-aged man covered his children's mouths, stopping them from saying anything else that might anger Red. Their family were just ordinary civilians—they had no strength to oppose powerful Pokémon trainers.
Red followed the middle-aged man into a shabby restaurant. Although the decorations were simple, the egg fried rice had a unique flavor. It was the middle-aged man's way of expressing his apology to Red.
Seeing Sylveon gradually calm down, the middle-aged man finally dared to explain the situation to Red.
"In this city, there are two Pokémon Gyms called the Yas Gym and the Kaz Gym. Sometimes they hire traveling trainers as hired fighters. Whenever they have any conflict, they settle it with Pokémon battles regardless of the location."
"I see. No wonder those three kids are so hostile toward trainers who come here," Red said with a frown.
In Red's eyes, those trainers who acted as hired thugs for the two Gyms because of money were simply tarnishing the reputation of Pokémon trainers. It had also caused children like those three boys to develop hostility toward the very identity of being a Pokémon trainer.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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