Lin Fan watched this scene with a smile, unlike Su Ling who was already a bit bewildered, he had no hesitation whatsoever.
"Let's finish this battle in one go."
A faint voice sounded, and Weedle arched its body, with a greater amplitude and more powerful momentum than before, drawing a brilliant golden light in mid-air, and then suddenly appeared in front of Machop, striking with all its might!
Bang!
The same dull thud of flesh colliding sounded, but unlike last time, Weedle did not retreat a single step, while Machop stumbled back repeatedly, finally sitting down on the ground, a faint abnormal purple glow flashing across its face.
"Poisoned?"
Lin Fan raised an eyebrow, his gaze somewhat surprised.
Just two Poison Stings caused Machop to fall into a poisoned state. Although Poison Sting originally had a chance to poison the enemy it hit, Lin Fan was more inclined to believe it was due to Weedle's extremely potent venom rather than luck.
In the real world, causing an opponent to be poisoned or even badly poisoned doesn't rely on fixed probabilities like in games. Instead, the stronger the inherent toxicity, the higher the chance that Bug-type skills will poison the opponent.
Because of this, many people, in order to enhance the toxicity of their Bug-type Pokémon, often resorted to certain illegal special methods, which once caused quite a stir, until the country intervened and, with swift and decisive action, prohibited these practices, causing those special methods to almost disappear.
At least, they no longer appeared openly.
Just as Lin Fan thought the outcome was decided, in the center of the arena, the poisoned Machop suddenly roared and stood up again, its aura surging.
In contrast, the unassuming Weedle looked so small, as if it were the one that had been defeated.
"Guts ability?"
Lin Fan nodded, finally learning Machop's ability.
However, even with the Guts ability's boost, Machop's attack power was greatly increased, but...
As Lin Fan silently counted, Machop suddenly collapsed again, its eyes turning into swirls, completely losing its ability to battle.
"The Guts ability doesn't make you immune to damage from status conditions."
Shaking his head, Lin Fan looked at Su Ling, who was anxiously running to Machop's side, and suddenly felt Su Wu's meaningful gaze from the edge of the arena. He scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed.
His fighting style, to an expert, was a very stable and commendable one, but to a newcomer like Su Ling, it might not be perceived that way.
Especially in the final clash, Weedle displayed a powerful strength not inferior to Machop's.
Combining these two points, it was hard not to be seen as him toying with his opponent, much like a certain football superstar in his previous life.
Fortunately, although Su Ling was a complete novice in terms of being a Trainer, her years of practicing fighting made her very familiar with such stable tactics, so there wouldn't be any melodramatic scenes of her feeling wronged.
Or rather, for a violent person like Su Ling, who had been practicing fighting since childhood and was a goddess on the outside but a tomboy on the inside, it would be abnormal for her to feel wronged.
After spraying an antidote on Machop and asking someone to take Machop to the dojo's treatment room for healing, Su Ling walked towards Lin Fan, her gaze somewhat complex, and suddenly said, "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Lin Fan was bewildered.
"Although I really don't want to admit it, I did look down on Weedle a bit at first," Su Ling sighed, looking at Weedle, who was chasing its own tail nearby, a strange light flashing in her beautiful eyes. "When I started practicing fighting as a child, my father taught me not to look down on anyone. I thought I had achieved that, but when it came to Pokémon battles, I made that mistake again. Thankfully, you woke me up."
"You're absolutely right, there are no useless Pokémon, only useless Trainers. I still have a lot to learn."
Su Ling let out a long breath, her gaze resolute, and suddenly became fervent again.
"However, I won't give up. Just wait for my challenge!"
Lin Fan scratched his head again, not quite knowing how to respond, so he just gave Su Ling a dry smile.
Forget it, as long as she's happy. Anyway, he didn't think he would lose in the future.
As he thought this, Lin Fan's shoulder was suddenly slapped hard, with such force that he couldn't help but wince.
"There are no useless Pokémon, only useless Trainers." Su Wu repeated the sentence, his hands on Lin Fan's shoulders, his eyes fervent. "That's so true, it's hard to imagine someone your age having such insight, it's truly rare."
"Back then, my Machop was also abandoned and considered useless, but now it has become my ace. At least in all of Twilight City, who dares to say my Machamp is weak?"
As if he had found a kindred spirit, Su Wu excitedly patted Lin Fan's shoulder, making the latter gasp.
That really hurt...
"Um, I still need to go pick out suitable food for Weedle..."
Lin Fan spoke weakly, interrupting Su Wu, who was lost in thought.
The latter, snapping back to reality, coughed and released Lin Fan, smiling and nodding: "Since you have something else to do, you can go first. If you need anything, you can always come to the dojo to find me."
After speaking, Su Wu suddenly thought of something else and added, "Oh, by the way, I heard from a friend that Ling Yue Company in Xiyue City is planning to hold a competition for new Trainers in mid-August. The rewards are very generous, and with your strength, you might want to consider it."
Hearing this, Lin Fan, who was about to leave with Weedle, immediately stopped, his eyes sparkling as he asked, "Very generous rewards? How generous?"
Su Wu chuckled: "The Champion's reward is 200,000 in cash, and you can also freely choose one item from a list they provide, like a Black Belt, Quick Claw, Scope Lens, and also a VIP card, giving you a 40% discount when purchasing items at Ling Yue Company. How about it, isn't that very generous?"
Scope Lens?!
Lin Fan's eyes suddenly lit up.
Unlike items like the Black Belt, which boosts the power of Fighting-type moves and are quite popular and common, a more special item like the Scope Lens, which increases the critical hit rate when held, is not common. At least, Lin Fan had never seen a Scope Lens for sale in Twilight City.
The 200,000 cash was also very tempting to him.
For Trainers, various type-specific gems are common resources, such as Bug Gems and Fighting Gems, but their average price is around 10,000, with higher quality meaning higher prices.
While the Insect Plate can indeed accelerate the progress of Bug-type Pokémon, having these resources would naturally be even better.