Chapter 22: Rapid Treecko

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Taillow's speed was indeed swift, but its other abilities were merely average. Lian remained confident.

Perfectly timed, this battle could serve as today's combat evaluation.

However, Lian was curious whether the system would calculate only his and Taillow's battle data or include Treecko and Sandshrew as well.

Regardless, he prepared to give his best performance, aiming for the highest possible score. He anticipated leveling up today, and accumulating more Combat Points would further enhance his Special Attack stat.

Seeing Charmander enter the field, Hirasawa Ichiro felt somewhat uncertain. His Taillow had sustained injuries earlier, not severe but certainly at a disadvantage against Charmander now.

Ichiro quickly issued a command, "Taillow, use Peck." Knowing that Taillow's speed surpassed even Treecko's, it must be significantly faster than Charmander's. Their victory relied on exploiting this speed advantage.

With wings spread wide, Taillow dove from the sky, its sharp beak emitting a white glow, directly targeting Lian.

"Charmander, dodge the attack, then use Ember," Kalia instructed.

Lian rolled his eyes; with Taillow's incredible speed, evading wouldn't be easy. After all, he wasn't as agile as Treecko.

However, witnessing Treecko effortlessly dodge various attacks earlier, Lian felt Kalia's training had indeed been effective.

If he hadn't already decided to focus on extreme Special Attack, he might have considered enhancing his speed abilities. If his combat value were sufficient, it would be worth exploring that option.

Unfortunately, acquiring Combat Points required engaging in battles, and despite Lian maximizing every opportunity daily, the accumulation process was still too slow.

Facing Taillow's attack, Lian could only do his best to evade; he certainly didn't want injuries, as they not only caused pain but also lowered his combat rating.

As Taillow approached, Lian realized he couldn't avoid it due to its incredible speed. Moreover, Taillow adjusted its trajectory with each of his movements.

Since Peck is not a ranged move but rather a close-quarters attack, it allowed for slight adjustments following Taillow's maneuvers.

After a quick assessment, Lian decided to directly unleash Ember. Although unsure how much Stamina Treecko had depleted from Taillow, considering Treecko started at full strength, he believed one Ember blast should take out Taillow instantly.

With no time to waste, Lian opened his mouth, releasing a burst of flames straight towards the airborne Taillow.

Despite Taillow's speed, evading the head-on Ember under these circumstances was impossible.

The Taillow collided directly with the Ember, causing dazzling flames to scatter and instantly heating up the surrounding air.

This Ember seemed to drain Taillow's last bit of strength. Its beak, previously glowing white, returned to normal as it helplessly plummeted to the ground.

The battle ended swiftly, catching everyone by surprise. No one anticipated that Charmander's single Ember attack would conclude the fight; they had expected a more thrilling showdown between Taillow and Charmander.

Lian observed the defeated Taillow, relieved he acted decisively at the end. Otherwise, he would have lost at least a hundred Combat Points from the battle score rewards.

However, considering how quickly his Ember took down Taillow, did it mean the damage output was actually quite low? With this thought, Lian felt somewhat disappointed again.

Well, at least the battle was effortless for him.

Kalia was also taken aback by Taillow's defeat. Since her Charmander often slacked off and slept, rarely engaging in battles, she initially anticipated that it would need at least two successful Ember hits to secure victory.

To her surprise, just one Ember move brought down Taillow. Although Taillow was already injured from its previous encounter with Treecko, it became evident that Charmander was stronger than she had imagined.

If Charmander possessed such strength while constantly slacking off, how powerful could it become with dedicated training and growth?

"I lost."

Hirasawa Ichiro lowered his head, feeling somewhat disheartened but mostly overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness. The gap was too vast; every time Sandshrew attempted to attack Treecko, it felt like guessing a riddle, with the chances of hitting being practically zero.

Throughout the battle, Sandshrew never managed to touch Treecko once, ultimately losing decisively.

Although Taillow defeated Treecko, restoring some of Ichiro's confidence, Charmy swiftly took down Taillow upon entering the field, instantly highlighting the immense skill disparity between him and Kalia.

After her victory, Kalia remained silent. Such wins were commonplace for her, as a former Gym Leader who had consistently triumphed over Trainers far stronger than Hirasawa Ichiro.

Despite starting anew, her pride endured unchanged, leaving her unfazed.

The battles continued on the battlefield, while Hirasawa Ichiro quietly departed. Whether this defeat would shatter his confidence or motivate him further, only time would tell.

Lian accompanied Kalia to the healing room, where they tended to Treecko's injuries before returning to Kana Forest for more training.

***

In the evening, after enjoying a delicious dinner, Lian followed his usual routine with Kalia, watching several Trainer battles before heading back to their room for sleep.

Midnight arrived.

Lian entered the system space and skillfully checked the combat data, reviewing today's battle ratings.

Charmander

Gender: ♂

Level: Lv.8

Type: Fire

Ability: Blaze

Moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen

Stats: 240, 133, 119, 251, 130, 154

Treecko

Gender: ♀

Level: Lv.10

Ability: Overgrow

Moves: Pound, Absorb, Leer, Quick Attack, Mega Drain (Faintly)

Stats: 280, 140, 120, 180, 160, 195

Sandshrew (Hirasawa Ichiro)

Gender: ♂

Level: Lv.12

Ability: Sand Veil

Type: Ground

Moves: Scratch, Defense Curl, Poison Sting, Sand Rush, Rollout, Rapid Spin, Fury Cutter

Stats: 340, 230, 254, 98, 122, 146

Taillow (Hirasawa Ichiro)

Gender: ♂

Level: Lv11

Ability: Keen Eye

Type: Flying, Normal

Moves: Peck, Charm, Focus Energy, Quick Attack

Stats: 298, 171, 116, 116, 116, 237

Combat Rating: C+

Level Difference Bonus: +6

Racial Difference Penalty: -7

Stat Difference Bonus: +23

Output Difference Bonus: +358

Outputs: Charmander (142), Treecko (496), Sandshrew (0), Taillow (280)

Outcome: Kalia wins

Combat Reward Settlement: 383

Total Combat Points: 902

Lian was stunned. What's happening today? In addition to Taillow and Sandshrew's battle data, there were also statistics for Treecko, with its output included by the system. This directly boosted the combat rating to a C+.

Seeing his own contribution of only 142 points, it matched his expectations. However, Treecko's output was terrifyingly close to five hundred.

As a result, Lian earned 383 Combat Points, bringing his total to over nine hundred.

At this moment, Lian felt truly grateful for the system's thoughtful feature.

He surmised that the system considered Treecko and himself as a team, which meant that whenever Kalia battles other Trainers, he could potentially earn combat ratings based on their performance.

A sudden idea struck Lian: Since the system treats him and Treecko as partners and displays Treecko's stats alongside his own, could he use Combat Points to enhance Treecko's abilities?

Envisioning a scenario where he enjoys snacks outside the battlefield while Kalia commands Treecko to continuously defeat opponents' Pokemon, effortlessly earning Combat Points without directly engaging in battle, seemed too good to be true.

Excited by this possibility, Lian quickly checked Treecko's data, noticing links indeed present after each ability value.

It worked!

Overjoyed, Lian clicked on the link next to Special Attack, revealing a plus sign (+).

Treecko's speed was undoubtedly exceptional, effortlessly outmaneuvering Sandshrew and securing victory without sustaining any damage.

Therefore, enhancing Treecko's speed seemed to be the most cost-effective choice. With its high agility, Treecko could easily outmaneuver and dominate other Pokemon during future battles with Kalia.

In martial arts, speed is unbeatable.

Although this would likely consume a significant amount of Combat Points, for Lian, effortlessly earning them while relaxing was the ultimate thrill.

Becoming stronger without actual combat - who else could achieve that like him?

Kalia would undoubtedly encounter numerous Trainers along her journey, some bound to challenge her. During their few days together, he also learned that Kana City has a Ground-type gym.

To secure victories, Kalia wouldn't send him first into battle; thus, Treecko would inevitably be her primary force.

With his plan set, Lian focused on Treecko's Speed ability value. Currently, Treecko's speed wasn't exceptionally fast at only 195. He decided to boost it to the maximum before stopping.

Lian wasn't foolish; the early stages of upgrading abilities consumed minimal points, typically five Combat Points per one-point increase, but later increments jumped to fifteen points each.

Without hesitation, he started clicking the plus sign, but cautiously, not wanting to repeat his mistake from last time by accidentally wasting Combat Points through rapid clicks.

195... 205... 215... 225...

Treecko's Speed ability value steadily increased, with Combat Points deducted by five points at a time. To Lian's surprise, even when Treecko's Speed ability reached two hundred fifty, the consumption of Combat Points remained at five points per increment.

Keep going!

With less than six hundred Combat Points remaining, Lian continued to enhance Treecko's Speed ability.

Huh?

Finally, as he raised Treecko's Speed ability to 284 points, Lian noticed the plus sign disappeared.

"The plus sign vanished?" Lian was taken aback.

The disappearance of the plus sign clearly indicated that Treecko could no longer increase its Speed ability further. However, Lian was still highly satisfied.

A Speed ability of 284 points represented an impressive increase of 86 points, consuming only 445 Combat Points. This expenditure felt minimal to him, making it a very favorable deal.

Since Treecko's Speed ability had reached its limit, Lian glanced at the remaining four hundred-plus Combat Points and decided it was time to boost his own Special Attack next.

Meanwhile, within the room, subtle changes were occurring to the sleeping Treecko. Its body became slightly more slender, its head smaller, while its limbs grew stronger and more robust, and its tail seemed to shrink as well.