Damn it!
An eighteen-level monster!
Its power and defense were both absurdly high!
Asher shot Silver a glare.
Showing up to negotiate with him while bringing along nothing but a level-twelve Grass-type scrub—what was this, venture capitalism?
Silver laughed awkwardly and shushed him, then pointed toward the short tree behind Pinsir.
Pinsir stood there in all its mighty, imposing glory, the powerful life aura pouring off its body intimidating the nearby Bug-types so thoroughly that none of them dared approach the tree behind it.
Asher looked carefully. Hanging from the branches of that short tree was a string of clear, jade-green fruit.
The cluster looked like three little berries skewered together, glistening and giving off an enticing fragrance.
[One-look Rotom! Confirmed as: Rindo Berry!]
[A fruit containing rich Grass-element energy]
It was a Berry, and not some common one like an Oran Berry either. This was rare, premium stuff!
Staring straight at that Berry, Asher knew he was about to strike it rich today!
Seeing that Asher still wasn't moving, Silver laid out his plan.
"Don't worry. Your Charmander will engage it head-on, and Wildbloom will finish it from the flank. If the two of us work together, there's no way we can lose!"
Wildbloom?
Asher glanced at the four-legged radish and internally mocked the embarrassingly edgy nickname. If it were him, he'd have gone with something cleaner, like Leafgreen...
He rubbed Flare's head and said in a low voice, "Old buddy, do you think you can do this?"
Flare felt the aura coming off Pinsir in the distance.
Even though she wasn't completely confident, she still nodded at Asher.
Because she absolutely did not want to let him down.
The moment Asher sensed Flare's resolve, he exchanged a look with Silver.
They were doing this.
Fwoosh—
Bright red fire-element energy rapidly gathered inside Flare's mouth.
She furiously rubbed her belly, trying to recall and build up that feeling from before!
Friction...
Creates heat...
Build it up...
Fire!!!
The Secret Art appeared once again!
A long serpent of flame shot out across more than ten meters!
That fierce, powerful stream of fire made Silver's heart jolt.
What insane firepower!
Pinsir was caught completely off guard and struck head-on by the flames, its hard brown shell sizzling under the heat!
Its outer armor was tough enough to withstand most physical attacks from the Bug Pokémon in the forest, but against the scorching heat of Fire energy, it had almost no resistance!
Still, this Pinsir was a level-eighteen powerhouse, and unlike fragile Beedrill, it had tremendous vitality. There was no way Flare was taking it down in one hit!
Even while enduring the fiery blast, it kicked up dirt with its thick, powerful legs and charged straight at Flare with terrifying momentum, driving its massive horns forward!
It was way faster than Flare's two little legs could ever be.
But speed in battle wasn't just raw physical speed!
Thanks to Asher's mind-linked predictions, Flare dodged ahead of time and easily evaded Pinsir's charge!
Then Pinsir's oversized horns clamped shut on empty air, and the thick tree trunk behind Flare—easily as wide as a barrel—was cut clean through!
Its attack had missed, and the burned Pinsir was furious. It kept lunging at Flare with its massive horns in a relentless series of crushing clamps.
Asher focused with everything he had, constantly directing Flare's evasive movements through their shared intent.
Pinsir completely outclassed Flare physically, but with Asher's help, Flare still managed to narrowly avoid each attack, and every so often she slipped in with her little claws and left a scratch beneath the enemy's hard shell.
While Flare and Pinsir were locked in combat, Chikorita—Wildbloom—lashed out from its concealed position nearby, whipping the leaf on its head with all its strength!
A green blade of light sliced through the air like a thrown knife and struck Pinsir with pinpoint accuracy!
The shot was excellent. It was obvious Silver had put real work into training this Chikorita.
After taking that Razor Leaf, Pinsir immediately felt a sharp Grass-element force invade its body!
But...
It wasn't very effective. Pinsir didn't even bother turning around to look at the attacker.
The moment he sensed Flare was in danger, Asher flew into a rage.
"Damn it! And you expected us to tank for that kind of damage output?! We're about to get crushed here!"
Silver clearly hadn't expected his Chikorita's attack to hit that pathetically, and his expression tightened.
"Changing tactics! I'll hold it in place. You two get ready for a heavy strike!"
While Flare and Pinsir were still tangled up, Wildbloom suddenly accelerated and slammed into Pinsir with a hard Tackle!
Pinsir staggered, and Flare hurriedly pulled back to open some distance!
As it drew aggro, an invisible force spread from Wildbloom's body and wrapped around it.
It was...
[Psychic Power: Reflect]!
The moment the move activated, Pinsir felt as if its body had sunk into an invisible swamp of air, all its movements suddenly dragging under the weight of resistance.
A transparent wall blocked the worst of its attacks!
But that didn't stop it from beating the hell out of the little runt in front of it.
Its giant horned clamps battered Wildbloom over and over, leaving it covered in wounds!
Yet a faint green glow kept appearing across its body, allowing it to stay standing no matter what!
It was Viridian Power!
From a distance, Silver was spam-healing his Chikorita with Viridian Power!
The combination of Reflect and Viridian Power made Wildbloom stand as firm as a mountain!
Fwoosh—
At that very moment, a scorching serpent of flame burst out for the second time and bit down hard on Pinsir!
Thanks to the opening created by Chikorita drawing its fire, Flare had enough breathing room to gather elemental power again and unleash Ember Jet once more!
After getting blasted twice, Pinsir finally started to smell the scorched scent of its own body!
Realizing that if it kept fighting it might actually die, its primal instincts took over, and it abandoned the tree and fled into the distance!
Watching Pinsir retreat in defeat, Silver stared at the Rindo Berry and burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahaha! We're rich! We're rich!"
This was a Berry packed with pure Grass-type energy. Whether eaten directly or made into energy cubes, it had all kinds of benefits for Grass-type Pokémon!
"..."
Asher said nothing. He just stared at Silver in silence.
Silver coughed awkwardly, reined in his excited laughter, and put his cool, overbearing expression back on.
"Ahem. See? This is what total victory under my command looks like when our tactics come together!"
[Rotom! You fought side by side with Silver! Silver has felt the joy of victory! Favorability +10!]
Even if those numbers were basically being shouted out on a whim, there was no doubt that Asher's help had genuinely made Silver like him a lot more.
Now, staring at the lone Rindo Berry hanging from the tree, Silver said in a composed voice, "Ahem, little Ash, how about you let me take this Berry? I've got a specialized channel that can maximize its value, and I guarantee we'll both come out ahead. Of course, if you're worried, you can come along too..."
Anyone who had played even a few character-route games knew that choosing whether to trust someone here was a major turning point.
The app didn't even need to remind him. Asher's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Hah. What are you talking about? We're friends. Of course I trust you."
Silver jolted in shock, his pupils trembling.
As a lonely drifter, he had just been given unconditional trust by someone else.
That feeling...
Damn it, this guy...
Silver grabbed Asher's shoulder and slapped it hard, speaking with rare seriousness.
"Brother, if you think that highly of me, then I definitely won't let you down!! Tomorrow, meet me at the same place where we first ran into each other!"
[Rotom! Your trust landed a critical hit on Silver! Favorability +66! Your relationship has risen to: someone I can trust!]
Asher laughed inwardly.
It wasn't like he'd never played dating sims before...
Suddenly, the app sent out another message!
[You and Silver have formed an initial Bond!]
[Friends share each other's abilities!]
[Ability unlocked: Viridian Power I]
[Viridian Power I: By using your own mental power, you can help Pokémon quickly recover stamina outside of battle]
It was only bargain-bin Viridian Power, but Asher instantly understood...
Now he was really going to strike it rich!
Just as Asher was basking in the moment, he suddenly felt an extremely unfriendly stare.
He turned and saw Wildbloom glaring at him in a huff!
[Rotom! Wildbloom seems jealous! Favorability -33! Your relationship has dropped to: that annoying red-cap!]
"Huh?!"
Asher was completely baffled.
Was interspecies jealousy really a thing too?
Watching Wildbloom sway away at Silver's side, he muttered to himself:
"Jealous little radish..."