The morning sun, having shed the coolness of dawn, became warm and gentle, like a thin golden veil softly enveloping the entire world.
The hospital courtyard was filled with the faint scent of flowers and grass, as if nature was softly whispering about the beauty of life.
Chen Kai carefully held Exeggcute and slowly walked to an open space in the courtyard to bask in the sun.
After a night's rest, Exeggcute's condition had significantly improved.
It was no longer weakly curled up as before, but was now spiritedly struggling in Chen Kai's arms, its several small eyes darting around curiously, observing everything around it.
Chen Kai gently placed Exeggcute on the grass, and Exeggcute happily hopped a few times before comfortably lying down on the grass, fully enjoying the sun's caress.
The sunlight bathed Exeggcute's body, making its previously dull shell gleam with golden light.
Following the answer to deduce the steps, the doctor in the small town also managed it.
He held a test report and said to Chen Kai, "The test report shows that this Exeggcute originally has Alolan blood!"
Chen Kai remembered that Ya'an used to live on an island, and she had drifted all the way across the Pacific Ocean... That's too fierce.
The doctor adjusted his glasses and patiently explained, "The environment in the Alola region is very different from other places; the island is surrounded by the sea, and the sunlight is also more abundant.
Although the Exeggcute there look similar to mainland Exeggcute on the surface, their internal structures are very different.
This Exeggcute has Alolan blood, so its physical needs may differ from ordinary Exeggcute; it will need more calcium and salt.
Also, the sunlight in Sichuan Province definitely can't compare to an island, so let Exeggcute out of its Poké Ball to bask in the sun more often when you have time."
Then the doctor gave Chen Kai a dietary suggestion sheet, indicating that Exeggcute could be discharged.
So Chen Kai took Exeggcute out of the hospital at noon, and in the afternoon, he could take Exeggcute to the playground to get more sun during his Pokémon training class.
The afternoon was also the selection competition for Class 2-1, to select ten contestants for the Qu County High School Pokémon Competition.
Teacher Xu's selection method was quite simple: all students in the class would draw lots and compete randomly.
There were originally 38 students in the class, plus Yelena who transferred in, making it 39.
Yesterday, Chen Kai took a leave of absence, and a round of matches had already taken place, eliminating most students, leaving only 19.
Today, with Chen Kai's return, there were exactly 20 people, and the 10 winning students would go on to participate in the competition.
At the time, to prevent any student from being dissatisfied, even students who lost in the first two rounds could choose to challenge one of the top ten students, and if they won, they would qualify to participate in the competition.
It was relatively fair and reasonable; the only problem was that Chen Kai's presence in today's competition felt like he was an insider with a predetermined spot.
However, his Pokémon's strength was somewhat known to his classmates, so there wasn't much objection.
Written on the blackboard was: The next round to compete is Huang Mao versus Su Yuexi.
The Pokémon battle arena was surrounded by spectators, and sunlight streamed onto the center of the field, where an intense showdown was about to unfold.
Huang Mao stood to one side, arms crossed, a smug expression on his face, his Dwebble eager to move beside him.
Across from him, Su Yuexi nervously rubbed her hands; yesterday, she felt she had won by sheer luck.
Although she hadn't battled him before, she remembered that Wang Tianxiang's Pokémon seemed very strong.
Her Gloom, however, was quite relaxed, unlike Su Yuexi.
Huang Mao had been on a roll recently, winning several matches and acquiring a formidable new ally in Larvitar, making him quite smug and overconfident.
At this moment, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he said to Su Yuexi with a mocking tone:
"Yo, Su Yuexi, how about I go easy on you, so you don't lose too badly later."
As he spoke, he deliberately tossed his dyed golden hair, looking as arrogant as could be.
Teacher Xu, acting as the referee, glanced at Huang Mao: "Less talk, let the match begin."
"Alright, alright, Dwebble, use Bug Bite!"
Huang Mao naturally assumed that the Grass-type Gloom would be afraid of Bug-type moves.
Dwebble received the command, hoisted its large stone shell, and charged towards Gloom at a relatively fast speed.
Its mouth glowed with a faint dark green light, as if containing powerful energy.
Su Yuexi hesitated for a moment before commanding, "Gloom, use Sleep Powder!"
However, her command was a beat too slow.
Dwebble had already rushed in front of Gloom and bit down hard.
Gloom winced in pain, its body trembling slightly, but fortunately, Bug-type moves did not have increased power against the Grass/Poison-type Gloom.
At that very moment, Gloom still used all its strength to spray Sleep Powder from the flower on its head, creating a circle of powder around it, making it impossible for Dwebble, which was biting it, to avoid.
Then Dwebble's eyes gradually became hazy, and its body began to sway.
Within a few seconds, Dwebble flopped onto the ground with a "thud" and fell into a deep sleep.
Huang Mao was dumbfounded; he had never encountered such a situation!
He frantically yelled at the sleeping Dwebble:
"Dwebble! Wake up!!!"
His voice became hoarse with anxiety, and his hands flailed wildly in the air, trying to wake Dwebble from its sleep with his voice.
However, Dwebble only stirred slightly on the ground, its brow furrowed, but there was still no sign of waking up.
Su Yuexi was also stunned for a moment; it had never been so easy to put Chen Kai's or Teacher Xu's Pokémon to sleep in previous battles.
Then she calmly commanded Gloom:
"Gloom, use Ultimate Drain!"
Gloom heard the command, and a soft green light emanated from its body, striking Dwebble.
It gathered the energy from Dwebble's body and slowly absorbed it into itself.
As the energy was absorbed, the wound Gloom had just sustained from Dwebble's bite gradually healed, and its stamina was restored; its petals became more vibrant, and its spirit more full.
With its stamina recovered, Gloom immediately received a new command from Su Yuexi: "Gloom, use Acid attack!"
Gloom turned its head, and the flower on its head spat out streams of purple Acid, shooting towards the sleeping Dwebble.
The Acid carried a pungent smell and hit Dwebble and its shell with a sizzling sound.
Dwebble painfully furrowed its brow in its sleep, its body twitching slightly, but it was unable to offer any resistance, only allowing the Acid to corrode its shell.
Huang Mao watched Dwebble being hit in its sleep, anxious as an ant on a hot pan, large beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
He stomped his feet repeatedly, muttering, "How could this happen, how could this happen..."
The surrounding classmates were all stunned by this scene; they had always thought Huang Mao's Pokémon was strong and never expected such a one-sided battle.
Classmates who were close to Huang Mao couldn't help but sigh in regret, feeling sorry for Dwebble's plight; while most female classmates cheered and applauded Su Yuexi and Gloom's brilliant performance.
Teacher Xu shook his head helplessly.
Huang Mao could have commanded Dwebble to use Rock Slide, Knock Off, and other moves for long-range output, and Sleep Powder's accuracy wasn't that high.
It seems I'll have to give this kid more tutoring in the future...
Afterward, Su Yuexi continuously commanded Gloom to alternate between using Ultimate Drain and Acid.
Each time Gloom used Ultimate Drain, it drew energy from Dwebble's body, keeping its own condition at its best; and each stream of Acid, like a deadly arrow, continuously damaged Dwebble and corroded its defense.
After some time, Dwebble, under the painful erosion, finally slowly awoke from its deep sleep.
It groggily opened its eyes, and before it could fully comprehend its surroundings, it found Gloom right in front of it.
At this moment, Gloom, following Su Yuexi's instructions, once again sprayed Sleep Powder.
Due to the close proximity, Dwebble had no time to dodge, and the white powder instantly enveloped it.
It only managed to let out a faint whimper before falling back into a deep sleep.
Thus, under repeated attacks, Dwebble endured immense pain but remained unable to escape the shackles of sleep.
It trembled and struggled repeatedly in its sleep, but ultimately could not withstand Gloom's onslaught.
Finally, Dwebble could no longer hold on and lost its ability to battle in its sleep.
Upon seeing this, Teacher Xu immediately raised his hand and loudly announced:
"Dwebble is unable to battle! Su Yuexi and Gloom win!"
The next few matches had no suspense.
Yelena's Dewott's combat power was unquestionable, Wang Yi's Dubwool also won easily, and Qin Ying's Mankey, with its considerable strength, also defeated its opponent.
Bai Jin's Dratini, not yet evolved, had a somewhat low base stat, and fell into a tough battle with the opponent's Furret.
Fortunately, Dratini was of a higher level and had many moves, so it barely managed to win.
Chen Kai's opponent drew a Butterfree, and when Chen Kai sent out Grovyle, he was overjoyed.
He thought Chen Kai was like Huang Mao, trying to show off, not knowing that Butterfree is a Bug/Flying type, which completely counters Grovyle!
Chen Kai truly had no choice; Xiao Mei and Hydrapple were still at home, and he couldn't use them in the subsequent competition, so he could only send out Grovyle.
But even with Grovyle, Chen Kai wasn't Huang Mao; he naturally knew that the opponent's type completely countered his own.
Chen Kai couldn't help but complain: "I already have several Pokémon, so why is it still like this?"
It felt like the helplessness of choosing Chikorita as a starter in the Gold/Silver version when I was a kid....
"Match start!" As Teacher Xu gave the command.
Chen Kai was the first to give instructions: "Grovyle, Quick Attack!"
Before the opponent could react, a green figure had already approached Butterfree.
The opponent could only say in a panic, "Be careful, Butterfree, use Use Wind to push it back!"
Butterfree rapidly flapped its wings, and a strong whirlwind swept forward, attempting to stop Grovyle.
Wherever the whirlwind passed, dust flew, and the surrounding air was stirred with a whooshing sound.
Grovyle, without any need for Chen Kai's command, used the extreme speed of Quick Attack to nimbly leap to the side, dodging the whirlwind's attack.
It then continued to charge swiftly towards Butterfree.
Butterfree instinctively tried to flap its wings, attempting to dodge.
But with a "boom," Grovyle still slammed into Butterfree.
Butterfree's body shook violently in the air, its white wings fluttering somewhat chaotically.
Before Butterfree could regain its balance, Chen Kai immediately shouted:
"Grovyle, Malicious Pursuit!"
A sharp glint flashed in Grovyle's eyes.
It seized the moment of Butterfree's imbalance and attacked again.
Its body crouched slightly, then quickly leaped up, its claws striking fiercely at Butterfree with a sharp momentum.
Although Malicious Pursuit did not trigger its effect, Butterfree, under this series of attacks, was completely unable to resist and could only constantly struggle in the air.
The opponent looked at the disheveled Butterfree, his face turning very ugly; this was somewhat different from what he had expected.
He frantically yelled, "Butterfree, dodge!"
But at this moment, Butterfree was already suppressed by Grovyle's attacks and had no power to fight back, only passively enduring hit after hit.
The opponent looked at the precarious Butterfree, anxious, and roared frantically:
"Butterfree, pull yourself together! Use Bug Bite, fight back!!"
Butterfree seemed to sense its trainer's urgency; it endured the pain on its body, flapped its wings forcefully, and stabilized itself.
Its two small fangs instantly glowed faintly, and it lunged fiercely to bite Grovyle.
This bite was precise and vicious, landing squarely on Grovyle's shoulder.
Grovyle winced in pain, its body shrinking slightly, letting out a low growl.
Chen Kai loudly encouraged, "Grovyle, don't let it beat you, fight back! Quick Attack!"
Grovyle quickly adjusted its state, and the white light on its body lit up again.
It charged towards Butterfree like a streaking meteor.
Grovyle was too fast, and the distance was too close, so Butterfree was hit squarely by Grovyle.
Butterfree's body tumbled several times in the air, almost losing its balance.
Having created some distance, the opponent decided to change his attack method.
He shouted, "Butterfree, Confusion! Seize the opportunity!"
Butterfree's eyes instantly burst forth with a mysterious purple light, and an invisible force, like a giant, unseen hand, quickly squeezed Grovyle tightly.
Grovyle felt as if the air around its body had solidified, every inch of its skin enduring immense pressure.
Its body was gradually compressed, and its movements became difficult.
Immediately after, Butterfree manipulated Confusion, violently flinging Grovyle high into the air, then slamming it hard onto the ground.
With a loud "boom," a small pit was created in the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Grovyle fell heavily to the ground, sliding a distance before stopping.
But Grovyle did not give up; it struggled to prop itself up, blood seeping from the wound caused by Bug Bite, but its eyes remained resolute.
Chen Kai shouted with full trust: "Grovyle, we cannot lose, stand up and continue fighting!"
Grovyle heard Chen Kai's voice and nodded:
"Cha!" (That's natural!)
Seeing that Confusion was effective, the opponent continued to command: "Butterfree, Confusion!"
Chen Kai simultaneously ordered loudly: "Grovyle, use Quick Attack again!"
Butterfree's eyes once again burst forth with a mysterious purple light, intending to control Grovyle with Psychic power.
However, to its surprise, it found Grovyle had disappeared.
Only flying dust remained in the arena, and Butterfree flapped its wings, frantically searching in the air.
Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from above its head.
Butterfree looked up in terror, only to see that Grovyle had somehow leaped into mid-air.
Its entire body glowed with dazzling white light, and aided by gravity, it descended rapidly like a meteor.
At this moment, Butterfree's Confusion was too late to Lock-On to it, and the white light instantly enveloped Butterfree.
Butterfree didn't even have time to react before it was struck by this powerful attack.
Its body was slammed hard onto the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
Butterfree struggled to fly again, but Chen Kai's command: "Grovyle, Malicious Pursuit," finally ended the match.