Behind the research facility.
After leaving the research facility, the two followed the staff's directions to the northwest side of the mountain behind it.
"Xiaoyun, where are we going to look? This mountain is so big, and those researchers only gave us a direction. When will we find a Pokemon?"
"We're almost there, let's stop here." Xiaoyun looked around, feeling they were roughly in the right area.
Then, he pulled out a Poké Ball from his waist and tossed it into an open space.
"Come out, Sceptile!"
"Cha bei!"
From the red flash of the Poké Ball, a tall green figure appeared in the open space. It was Sceptile, which Xiaoyun had obtained as a Treecko from his dad years ago and later evolved.
At this time, Sceptile was about 1.9m tall, far exceeding the average Sceptile in development. It dragged its branch-like tail, and the leaves on its wrists were as sharp as blades, glinting coldly under the sunlight.
Over the years, as Xiaoyun trained Treecko by challenging various Pokémon in the mountain and his dad's partners from his youth, the experience gained had evolved the former Treecko into the current Sceptile.
Even if he were to battle Ash's Sceptile now, he was confident he could defeat it.
"I'm counting on you, Sceptile. Could you please look for Chimchar and Piplup nearby and let me know if you see them?" Xiaoyun looked up and said to Sceptile.
"Cha bei!"
Sceptile crossed its arms. Upon hearing Xiaoyun's command, it transformed into a green streak of light, darting back and forth through the forest, disappearing in moments.
"Sceptile is so cool! Such a big body, yet so fast. It just vanished in a flash."
Xiaoguang exclaimed in surprise. Although she had seen Sceptile many times before, she was still deeply impressed every time.
"That's a given! But I also believe our Xiaoguang will train her Pokemon to be incredibly powerful, standing at the peak."
Xiaoyun felt a hint of pride at Xiaoguang's praise, but while proud, he didn't forget to encourage her in return.
"Xiaoyun, you don't need to comfort me anymore. It was supposed to be my first day, happily receiving my Pokemon, but who knew something like this would happen? It's really unlucky!"
Thinking about today's events, a hint of frustration rose on Xiaoguang's little face.
First, she was late in the morning. After a long walk, she finally reached the research facility, only to encounter the loss of new Pokemon...
"Eh? So even the usually optimistic Xiaoguang has moments of dejection."
Xiaoyun reached out and ruffled Xiaoguang's blue hair, teasingly saying.
"Well! While it certainly looks unlucky on the surface, there might be some opportunity hidden within? Like a mysterious legendary Pokemon or something."
"That's what traveling is like. Besides the beautiful scenery along the way, sometimes you'll encounter setbacks and difficulties."
"But in my opinion, every setback is a gift life gives us, allowing us to face it with courage, wisdom, and confidence, to overcome difficulties, and only then can we embrace a bright future."
Perhaps Xiaoyun's continuous comfort lifted Xiaoguang's spirits, or perhaps she thought of something, as a faint blush appeared on her cute cheeks.
"That's right, Xiaoguang, you are a future top Coordinator Trainer! How could a little bit of bad luck possibly trouble you? No problem, absolutely no problem."
Perhaps the life motto (inspirational speech) from earlier had an effect.
Or perhaps Xiaoguang was naturally an optimist, and her brief moment of wilting quickly turned back into full energy.
"Xiaoyun, let's go now, charge, charge, charge!"
"Wait for me, Xiaoguang...." Looking at Xiaoguang heading deeper into the forest, Xiaoyun wondered if that 'chicken soup for the soul' was a bit too much!
..........
As they went deeper, the fog in the forest grew thicker, and the atmosphere became more serious.
"Hold my hand and don't let go."
The fog, which at first allowed them to see the path, now only allowed them to see their immediate surroundings. Because the fog was so heavy, Xiaoyun instinctively gripped Xiaoguang's hand tightly, afraid she would get lost.
Rustle~
Just then, a rustling sound from the forest bushes made Xiaoyun look over vigilantly.
At that moment, countless thin purple lights suddenly shot out from the bushes.
Xiaoyun recognized the move; it was Poison Sting, a common move for Poison-type Pokemon.
"Oh no, Xiaoguang, let's go!"
Realizing things were bad, Xiaoyun quickly pulled Xiaoguang and began to dodge.
"Ari, Ari!"
As Xiaoyun dodged the Poison Sting, he finally saw the Pokemon attacking from the bushes: it was purple and looked like a large spider.
It was Ariados, one of the notorious Pokemon in the forest.
"Ari,"
"Ari,"
"Ari,"
Following the appearance of the leading Ariados, countless purplish-red eyes immediately appeared in the bushes and on the tree branches.
The next second, roughly a dozen Ariados slowly emerged from the corners, their eyes glowing with bloodthirsty light as they looked at Xiaoyun and Xiaoguang.
"Damn it, what rotten luck, we've walked into an Ariados nest!" Xiaoyun cursed under his breath.
"Xiaoyun, what should we do now!" Xiaoguang nervously clutched Xiaoyun's arm, looking at the Ariados swarm surrounding them.
After all, as a girl encountering this scene on her first day of travel, fear was a natural reaction.
"Go, let's run first!" Xiaoyun didn't hesitate, grabbing Xiaoguang and starting to run.
With Sceptile not by his side, if they were really caught by the Ariados swarm, they would truly be in serious trouble.
"Ari!"
However, the Ariados clearly didn't want to let go of their prey.
At the command of the Ariados leader, many Ariados simultaneously sprang into action. Some chased on the ground, while others used String Shot to swing through the trees and leap towards them.
A tense and exciting chase officially began. Driven by the desire for life, Xiaoyun and Xiaoguang unleashed their potential, successfully dodging the Ariados that lunged at them repeatedly.
But because of the heavy fog, the two were practically running blind, finally stopping in front of a lake.
"Xiaoyun, what do we do? There's no way forward!" She said, a little panicked, looking at the lake in front of them.
Xiaoyun stood before the lake, looking at it, then at the Ariados still pursuing them from behind. He hardened his heart, just as he was about to jump into the lake with Xiaoguang.
Bang!
"Ari!"
What was that? A green figure blocked their way. A flash of a blade directly sent an attacking Ariados flying, which crashed heavily to the ground.
"Cha bei!"
It was Sceptile, who had arrived just in time, cradling an injured Chimchar.
"That's great, Sceptile, you're finally here."
"If you hadn't come, your Trainer would have had no choice but to throw himself into the lake with tears in his eyes..." Xiaoyun pretended to have tears in his eyes, instantly turning into a whiny monster.
"Cha bei!" (It had to be me, didn't it? What would you do without me!)
Sceptile gave Xiaoyun a reassuring look, then put down the Chimchar it was holding and adopted a battle stance towards the Ariados swarm.
"Ari!" (Twelve against one, the advantage is mine!)
The Ariados leader looked disdainfully at the large green lizard blocking its way.
Are you kidding? We're a team of spiders. What can you, a single lizard, do against us?
This is a sure victory; you can't possibly take on all of us spiders!
"Ari!" (All spiders, attack!)
At the command of the Ariados leader, all the Ariados behind it simultaneously opened their mouths.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Countless purple Poison Sting then spewed from their mouths, like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, striking towards Sceptile.
"Sceptile, use Detect!"
Xiaoyun entered battle mode, commanding Sceptile.
Sceptile is a typical high-speed, high-attack contender. A wide-range Poison Sting is very unfriendly to Sceptile, so it's better to dodge this wave and wait for an opportunity.
"Cha!" As Xiaoyun spoke, Sceptile's eyes filled with blue light, and its figure transformed into a streak of light. The small area did not restrict Sceptile's speed at all.
Only streaks of green light could be seen darting back and forth through the forest, perfectly dodging all the Poison Sting.
Looking at the thick fog around them, Xiaoyun frowned and continued to shout.
"Sceptile, find your moment, use Sunny Day."
"Cha!"
Sceptile steadied itself and spat a red orb of light into the sky from its mouth.
Immediately after, the sunlight was instantly intensified, shining through the forest and successfully dispersing the surrounding thick fog.
"Ari?" "Ari?"
The Ariados were somewhat flustered. With the dispersal of the thick fog, their advantageous terrain was gone, and they could only look to their leader.
"Now's your chance, Sceptile, Solar Beam!"
Xiaoyun didn't waste the Sunny Day's boost, unleashing a powerful attack the moment the Ariados were flustered.
"Cha!" Under the Sunny Day's boost, the orb on Sceptile's back quickly charged up.
Then, a white energy wave blasted towards the Ariados leader's position.
Boom!!
It was clear that this group of Ariados were not high-level.
Under Sceptile's Solar Beam bombardment, not only was their leader blasted away, but five or six Ariados close to the leader were also sent flying, and the remaining few were all swept to the side by the aftershock.
"Sceptile, press the attack! Use Leaf Blade on the remaining Ariados nearby." Xiaoyun quickly shouted to Sceptile.
Today, he was determined to wipe out these large flower spiders that almost made him 'reborn' again. Not even Jesus could stop him, he said it!
"Cha! Cha!" Sceptile's arm leaves transformed into sharp blades, and its body became a blur, like a grim reaper, harvesting all the remaining low-health Ariados.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!!!
Total annihilation!
.....