Chapter 30: Seviper

"Counterattack! Astonish!"

Swablu flew with a high-pitched cry, causing Lotad to straighten up and take a step back, looking uncomfortable. However, it was clear that the Astonish move was not very effective. At this moment, Lotad was clearly using a strong willpower to overcome its fear, and the effect of Astonish only existed for a moment. Moreover, Swablu himself would cancel the move first because his throat couldn't bear it.

"Now's the time, Natural Gift!"

With a "buzz," a silver ripple emerged from the scream and turned directly into a silver blade, flying towards Lotad. This was the Flying-type move Natural Gift, which was enhanced by the special effect of the processed Grepa berry. Swablu was using his scream as a medium to release this move in the form of sound waves.

The silver light wave was fast, and the sudden attack from Swablu startled Lotad. Facing the threat in front of it, Lotad didn't hesitate to call upon the power of nature around it. A shiny green light instantly condensed into a small green ball of light and struck back.

The move of the Nature Power was similar to Natural Gift but even simpler, faster, and more efficient. It was a shame that Swablu couldn't learn this move.

The battle took place in a grassy area with lush trees and scattered bushes. In this environment, it was easy for Lotad to call upon the energy of plants. Although it was weak, it could still cause damage.

The collision between the small green ball of light and the silver blade caused a weak explosion and directly knocked the two small creatures away.

Swablu couldn't stabilize himself in the air and was blown into the sky, looking very embarrassed. As for Lotad, it wasn't as lucky. It was already late to use the move, and the energy released from the collision of the moves mostly dissipated around it, causing Lotad to be pushed back by the force of the recoil.

Seeing this scene, Darren was readying some healing medicine. The battle had reached this point, and now it was his job to help the little creatures deal with the aftermath of the fight.

"Swablu, Lotad, are you okay?" Darren quickly went up to check on the two small creatures. Neither of them was seriously injured.

Fortunately, the battle ended in time, and the strength of the two small creatures was not too strong. The aftermath of the battle did not cause too much damage. After Swablu helped them deal with it, the two little creatures became lively again.

"How do you feel about this battle?" Swablu landed on Darren's head, listening to his question. He didn't know how to answer and seemed very dissatisfied with his performance.

"Ha ha... just keep trying, and let's first thank Lotad." Swablu laughed and gently stroked Swablu, then thanked Lotad and fulfilled his promise to help Lotad find a water source.

Darren knew of three lakes nearby that were suitable for Lotad to temporarily stay. They chose the closest one, and the lake was not far away. After walking for a short time, they arrived near the lake. However, at this moment, Swablu suddenly caught sight of a burst of red light in the corner of his eye, and his heart skipped a beat as he realized it was not good.

He quickly stopped Lotad and hesitated for a moment. Just as they stopped, they saw a figure crawl out of the grass on the other side, staring at them menacingly.

"Seviper!" Darren exclaimed. Seviper was not a kind Pokemon and often had a strong attack stat, which was not a good encounter for the current Swablu.

"Run!" Darren shouted directly at the still stunned Swablu and Lotad.

At the same time, the two small creatures also reacted and saw the malicious Seviper with a sharp tail and an open mouth crawling towards them. They turned their heads and ran.

Meanwhile, Lotad didn't forget to stop Seviper and shoot a bubble beam at it. Swablu saw Lotad's move and also wanted to help scare off Seviper with his Astonish. However, their efforts did not evoke any reaction from Seviper.

Seviper simply waved its poisoned tail, and the Bubbles were easily dispersed without any effect. The Astonish move was also meaningless against Seviper.

Just when Seviper was staring at the two small creatures like it was mocking them, a stone suddenly hit its head hard, causing Seviper to be stunned for a moment.

"Run, don't provoke it..." Darren patted the dust off his hands and shouted.

The level difference was probably too great. The two small creatures and Darren hurriedly fled while Darren scattered Snake Repellent Powder, all the while laughing wryly. The sharp and venomous tail of Seviper made Darren give up the idea of fighting with the two small Pokemon against Seviper.

Darren didn't want to be touched by the venom of a Seviper in the wilderness, even a little bit, so running away was the best choice for now.

While running, Darren thought, "Maybe I should prepare some traps for situations like this?"

Although Seviper was definitely stronger than Swablu, if they dug a big hole for it to fall into and then bombarded it with rocks and Swablu's natural gift move, they should be able to take care of it, right?

Thinking about how to deal with Seviper, Darren suddenly remembered a scene from the anime that he watched in his past life.

To be honest, for Darren, who had traveled to another world, the anime "Pokemon" was just something they had watched like an assembly line when he was a child, a childhood memory that he hadn't studied deeply. They only remembered a few important characters, and forgot or ignored the others. As for the plot, his impression was only of a few classic scenes and some special performances.

Many flaws existed in the anime.

After experiencing the real world and integrating himself into it, in the end, Darren chose not to believe in the illogical things that were portrayed in the anime, that were created for the sake of creating entertainment, but rather to treat this world as a stranger and learn little by little. In fact, after his own exploration, Darren discovered many things that could not be explained in the anime.

Only after gaining a deeper understanding, did Darren realize that this world was not just a small story based on the original work.

Everyone has their own way of life and their own dreams. The stories told in anime are still too monotonous for a real world.

"Did we loose it?"

Gasping for breath, Darren and their two little Pokemon stopped their footsteps and looked back.

As expected, the snake repellent powder they had prepared specifically had worked. It seemed that Seviper had turned back on its tracks after smelling this annoying powder.

"bluu~" Swablu called out unwillingly, feeling a bit low.

"It's okay. You will become stronger too. Before this month end, you will definitely be able to defeat it." Darren comforted the emotional little guy and gave a helpless smile.

At this time, Lotad also called out, comforting Swablu. In it's view, running away was not out of fear, but not engaging in meaningless battles. Swablu had just been born and didn't have the experience of surviving in the wild like Lotad.

To avoid encountering Seviper again, Darren applied some snake repellent powder to their clothes and led Lotad to search for another lake in a new direction. And so, the sound of stepping on grass and rustling through the forest echoed once again.