Chapter 49: Zuo Hang: The Road To Becoming A Trainer Is Still Far Away, Xingye
“Pikachu~~Pikachu~~Pi~~ka~~chu~~”
“Ji~ji~~ji~~ji”
“Mao Mao!! Mao Mao!!!”
Electric Mouse ran in front, Fletchling flew in the middle, Caterpillar crawled in the back.
But
Caterpillar couldn’t crawl.
After shouting “Mao Mao” loudly, in extreme rage, it bit the grass turf beneath it.
But
The sports field’s grass turf was fake, and Caterpillar bit a mouthful of plastic.
Xingye covered his face.
This kid was too dumb, maybe let it go?
Xingye glanced at the old wutong tree by his side.
Autumn should be here soon, by then the old wutong tree’s leaves would fall off, and Caterpillar should evolve into Metapod.
He’d heard that Caterpillars could evolve on their own when the season came, even without battle experience. It would become a Metapod that could only use Harden, and in another week, it would evolve into Butterfree on its own.
Summer was almost over now, Caterpillar should have become a Metapod long ago, but this kid was born when summer was already nearly over, maybe its evolution time would be delayed too.
Xingye watched Caterpillar, who had bitten the grass turf and was still struggling hard on the ground.
“This guy would probably be really sad if it evolved into Metapod, huh?” Xingye thought.
*
Fletchling flapped its wings and unintentionally sliced a falling wutong leaf from the tree.
Zuo Hang seemed to just be sitting under the tree flipping through a textbook, but he had actually been intentionally observing Fletchling’s training movements.
There was no skill light on the wings, it purely used its new feathers to slice the leaf; compared to before, the feathers’ toughness had definitely improved.
Zuo Hang smiled knowingly and suddenly said, “Pikachu, use Quick Attack!”
Pikachu running in front turned back sharply; though it didn’t know who to hit, it blindly guessed Fletchling.
Golden electric light wrapped around it, and in the blink of an eye, Pikachu bounced from the ground into mid-air. Fletchling, who had been chasing Pikachu, realized Pikachu had vanished; its mind had reacted, but its body couldn’t keep up.
“Pika~” Electric Mouse lightly patted Fletchling’s back in the sky, then landed.
Zuo Hang from afar said: “Reaction speed and speed are equally important. I could have Pikachu attack at any time, don’t always stare ahead—attacks might come from any direction.”
Fletchling nodded; it seemed to understand a little.
Getting hit by Draco Meteor wasn’t just about losing in experience and speed, but also reaction speed.
*
Class was almost over.
Pikachu could run more, but Fletchling should be tired.
Zuo Hang thought for a moment, twisted a can of moo moo milk from the vending machine, and another can of happy water.
“—Ding~~~ding~~”
The bell rang, and Zuo Hang said to both Pokémon at the same time: “Rest for a bit first.”
Fletchling immediately flew over from afar and landed beside that can of moo moo milk.
Pikachu trotted over too, and upon seeing the blue can, Pikachu froze.
Hands on hips, it shot Zuo Hang a glare, tilted its head, and kicked the can.
“Pika!”
“Not drinking? Perfect. I bought it for myself anyway.”
“Pika??（You don’t love me anymore??）”
“You’re ten years old now, I’ve spoiled you for ten years. By Pokémon standards, you’re long past being a kid, heh. What’s that look? No way a ten-year-old Pikachu still wants to be a little princess, right?”
*
On the other side.
“No way a Caterpillar not even half a year old wants to act like a big shot, right? Move a bit! Crawl! Weren’t you full of energy at first? This is only the first class! You have two more to train! Two!!”
“Maoji!! Maoji!!”
Xingye rode on Caterpillar’s back, gripping its pink antennae and shaking hard.
“Move! Move! Don’t sleep! If you sleep, you eat! If you eat, you sleep! You wanna be a Rayquaza bug? Keep this up and you’ll turn into Snorlax!”
Caterpillar lifted an eyelid.
Indicating it was very tired.
Didn’t want to move. You move yourself.
Xingye’s voice was loud; half the sports field could hear it.
Zuo Hang touched his chin.
Hadn’t seen this Caterpillar for a few days—how did it seem even bigger? “Battle? Xingye?” Zuo Hang suddenly said.
“Battle who? Snowy Child? You think Caterpillar can battle like this?”
“It can, why not? Doesn’t it like grabbing birds? Fletchling! Quick Attack!”
Fletchling, who had chugged the milk, immediately flapped its wings and took off upon hearing the command, faint electric arcs lighting up on its wings!
“Woc! You’re serious?” Xingye hurriedly got off Caterpillar. “Caterpillar! Turn around! Turn around! String Shot!!”
Caterpillar, eyes closed and utterly listless, heard Xingye’s command.
Turn around?
String Shot??
“—Pa~”
Before it could react, its head took a hit.
No wound or swelling; Fletchling plunged in like into a trampoline and bounced right back.
“Don’t make it run all day, see your Pokémon’s talent, Xingye!” Zuo Hang said. “Fletchling, Flame!”
A cluster of burning flames shot from Fletchling’s mouth; Caterpillar’s body was so big, no aiming needed.
“Don’t daze! String Shot!” Xingye said super fast.
Mysteriously hit, Caterpillar realized it was under attack.
Turned around, saw Fletchling flitting in the sky, then a cluster of flames flew at it.
Fire hits Bug, super effective! In panic, Caterpillar heard Xingye’s command and instinctively spat thick, sturdy silk thread from its mouth!
—String Shot volume completely different from other Bugs!
Massive white silk instantly engulfed the flames; without oxygen, the fire couldn’t burn. This String Shot was far from over.
White silk threads shot toward Fletchling; Slap flowing light lit up on Fletchling’s wings. It banked, slashing vertically!
“—Bwoing~~~~~”
Like plucking a guzheng string with a finger.
Feathers sharp enough to slice leaves unintentionally couldn’t cut the silk even boosted by Slap.
First strike failed; Fletchling veered sideways. Caterpillar’s body too big, hard to turn—as long as it circled to its blind spot, String Shot was useless.
Seeing this, Xingye gained confidence instantly; if it couldn’t cut the silk, the spar could continue! “Caterpillar! Remember chasing Taillow everywhere when you were born? Don’t lie there! Stand up! Fletchling’s right behind your head!”
Zuo Hang smiled. “Remember how fast you could fly in practice earlier? Accelerate! Turn and slash again!”
Fletchling flapped into the air; electric light lit its wings, and on top, the white Slap flowing light on red feathers shifted to sky blue.
Electric Mouse sitting on the grass lawn hesitated a long time before opening the can. He knew that sky-blue flowing light—Aerial Ace. Hang Hang’s several Flying-type kids all used it.
“Gulp~gulp~~” Electric Mouse tilted its head back and chugged happy water as the sky-blue flowing light passed overhead.
“—Whoosh~”
Aerial Ace’s speed beat Caterpillar standing up; it left a wound on its back, out of sight.
（ps: Some tickets, brothers~~）
