Debut

Yuga's Pokémon was a Snivy, and this was the first time Snivy had made an appearance in front of outsiders.

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Type: Grass

Ability: Contrary

Gender: Female

Potential: Indigo

Level: 30

Moves: Leer, Vine Whip, Leaf Tornado, Grassy Terrain, Grass Pledge, Glare, Mean Look.

...

Snivy had been brought to Mauville City by Yuga shortly after it was born and received training from Mr. Kuni'o. With its exceptional potential and guidance from Mr. Kuni'o, its level had increased rapidly.

Under Mr. Kuni'o's tutelage, Snivy had even learned Grass Pledge, a special move exclusive to the Grass-type starter Pokémon.

Training methods for special moves like Grass Pledge, Water Pledge, and Fire Pledge were typically monopolized by the League, and they were hard to acquire without connections. Snivy's level had actually reached the point where it could evolve, but it hadn't had the opportunity yet due to its limited battle experience.

Snivy wasn't the only one in this situation; Yuga's Turtwig and Deerling had slightly higher levels.

When Yuga released Snivy, it stood there with its arms crossed, half-opening its large eyes to gaze at Glenn's Pokémon.

Snivy naturally had an arrogant personality, often showing dissatisfaction with its trainers and abandoning them.

However, Yuga's Snivy was somewhat different. Despite its current appearance of arrogance, it was actually quite fond of being spoiled, often acting shamelessly when alone.

In Yuga's Ecopark, there were several Serperiors, all of them having a haughty demeanor. After spending some time with them, Snivy had learned to mimic their aloofness.

So, for its debut in front of outsiders, Snivy unintentionally put on airs to maintain its image. However, its true personality remained unchanged in private.

It believed that carrying itself with dignity was quite impressive, but Yuga found it rather amusing, especially when it often acted childishly.

Of course, the Serperiors did indeed look very majestic while acting aloof.

Seeing Yuga release Snivy, Glenn had an expression that seemed to say, "Just as I expected, a Grass-type Pokémon. Good thing I came prepared."

Saying this, he took out a Poké Ball and released his own Pokémon.

Yuga was surprised to see that Glenn's Pokémon was also a starter Pokémon, specifically a Hoenn region native Fire-type starter, Combusken.

Glenn's family owned a restaurant and had some wealth, so whether they had connections in the League or not was unknown to Yuga. Still, obtaining a starter Pokémon wasn't too difficult, even outside the League. Some Pokémon Day Cares also bred a limited number of starter Pokémon, although they were usually quite expensive and had limited availability.

Similarly, some starter Pokémon could be encountered in the wild. For example, Yuga's Charizard had been captured in the wild (on the Illuma Island).

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Type: Fire/Fighting

Ability: Blaze

Gender: Male

Potential: Green

Level: 35

Moves: Double Kick, Tackle, Quick Attack, Ember, Flamethrower, Crush Claw.

...

In Yuga's discerning eyes, Combusken's strength was clear at a glance. Although its level was higher than Snivy's, its overall strength might not necessarily surpass Snivy's.

Combusken adopted a combat stance as soon as it entered the battlefield, wearing a serious expression as if it were about to face a life-or-death situation.

The reason for Combusken's nervousness was mainly due to Glenn's influence. Before coming here, Glenn had repeatedly told Combusken that Yuga was very strong, urging it to give its all. Unknowingly, Combusken had become excessively anxious.

This was an unexpected consequence.

"The challenger will make the first move," bellowed Beidou when both sides were ready.

"Combusken, use Quick Attack!"

At Glenn's command, Combusken's body emitted a white light as it dashed swiftly towards Snivy.

Snivy appeared calm on the surface but was quite anxious. After all, it was still just a child!

"Snivy, use Leer!"

Yuga's voice, like heavenly music, reached Snivy's ears, prompting it to use the move as commanded. Snivy suddenly widened its half-open eyes, which, combined with its pretended composure, looked rather comical.

However, despite the comical appearance, Leer did have an effect. In that moment, Combusken's charge was interrupted, affecting both its speed and momentum.

Leer lowered the opponent's defense, but it also had a psychological effect, making the opponent uneasy. In Snivy's case, though, Yuga suspected that Combusken might have been startled by its amusing gaze.

Yuga rarely used such minor techniques in battles before, but after a month under Mr. Kuni'o's guidance, he had come to understand the value of these small moves.

While evading the attacks, Snivy also lashed out with two Vine Whip, crackling and hitting Combusken's face, forcing Combusken to retreat from Snivy.

It must be acknowledged that Snivy, despite her limited battle experience, received comprehensive training, and her timing and decision-making in battle were on point.

"Combusken, use Flamethrower!" Seeing that close-quarters combat wasn't working, Glenn immediately issued another command, a move he had specifically learned for challenging the Verdanturf Gym. However, Flamethrower, being a relatively unfamiliar move, lacked the penetration and impact needed to hit Snivy, who easily dodged it.

Using unfamiliar moves in battle was generally not advisable, as it could backfire, as it did here.

Meanwhile, Yuga's Snivy also had access to two disruptive moves, Glare and Mean Look, but Yuga chose to use Leer because she wasn't proficient with the others. While not as effective as Glare and Mean Look, it was still better than risking a failed move.

Yuga thought that with Snivy's adorable eyes, mastering Glare and Mean Look in a short time would be challenging.

The key to using these two moves is that the eye expression needs to be sharp, fierce, and imposing. Snivy may pull it off casually, but when it needs to be truly menacing, it struggles.

Having dodged the Flamethrower, Snivy promptly showered Combusken's face with numerous green leaves, she used the basic form of Leaf Storm, Leaf Tornado.

The Leaf Storm is the signature move of the Contrary Ability Serperior (Snivy). She has already mastered its basic form, Leaf Tornado. Mastering this core move was her goal for the future.

Combusken, covered in a face full of leaves, had just opened its eyes when it was engulfed by a pillar of green flame. Once the green flames dissipated, Combusken lay unconscious on the ground.

The move that defeated Combusken was Snivy's Grass Pledge, its most powerful move to she had mastered.

As he recalled Combusken, Glenn sighed, "As expected from my idol, taking advantage of type matchups, but I still couldn't win."

He then released his second Pokémon, which, like Combusken, had a type advantage against Grass types – Dodrio.

Yuga wasn't aware of all of Glenn's Pokémon, but he did remember the Spoink Glenn showed him when they first met. He wasn't sure if it had evolved into Grumpig by now.

But having two Pokémon with type advantages against Grass types showed Glenn had put considerable effort into preparing for this challenge.

Dodrio's power was comparable to Combusken's, and its Speed, thanks to its ability, Ran Away, was remarkable.

Dodrio started with its signature move, Tri Attack.

Similar to the Hydreigon, Dodrio excelled in using Tri Attack. However, unlike the Hydregion, which excelled in Special Attack, Dodrio's natural talent lay in physical attacks.

Even though Dodrio put its best effort into using Tri Attack, it couldn't match Snivy's speed. Snivy swiftly countered by using Vine Whip, ensnaring Dodrio's head in its vines and slamming it to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Dodrio's three heads symbolized happiness, anger, and sadness. The head representing anger, enraged by the rough treatment, "growled" and launched another attack at Serperior.

Driven by its fury, Dodrio unleashed its ultimate move, Sky Attack.

This move was Dodrio's inherited ability, and Snivy couldn't evade it. Snivy was sent flying by the blue-flamed impact.

This hit left Snivy incapacitated; No matter how you say it, Snivy is still in its primary form, its abilities are not strong, and it is restrained by the Flying-type move of Sky Attack.

Yuga's second Pokémon was Dodrio's opponent, Breloom.

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Type: Grass/Fighting

Ability: Poison Heal

Gender: Male

Potential: Blue

Level: 45

Moves: Headbutt, Stun Spore, Hammer Arm, Leech Seed, Bullet Seed, Drain Punch, Counter, Brick Break, Marc Punch

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Compared to Snivy, Breloom was significantly stronger in both level and battle experience. Upon its entry, Breloom promptly approached Dodrio, showing its submission almost shockingly.

Under the astonished gazes of Dodrio and Glenn, Breloom used its powerful move, Hammer Arm, directly striking Dodrio's neck. With a resounding "thud," Dodrio fell to the ground, incapacitated.

That's the difference in strength.

Breloom had improved significantly after the special training in Mauville City, and its potential was upgraded to blue thanks to the gift from Virizion. Training efficiently under the guidance of a Grass-type Master Trainer allowed it to progress rapidly.

Glenn went from being happy about Dodrio defeating Snivy to feeling frustrated.

Lastly, there was Glenn's starter Pokémon, Spoink that now is already evolved into Grumpig.

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Type: Psychic

Ability: Thick Fat

Gender: Male

Potential: Green

Level: 44

Moves: Psywave, Confuse Ray, Power Gem, Rest, Psyshock, Calm Mind, Shadow Ball

...

With this Psychic-type Grumpig in the lineup, all three Pokémon used by Guangquan were perfectly suited to counter Yuga's Pokémon.

Unfortunately, Grumpig's defeat was swift and decisive.

Being a Psychic-type Pokémon, Grumpig's major issue was its inability to grasp the rhythm of the battle.

For a close combat Pokémon like Breloom, maintaining a high-paced battle rhythm was crucial for executing Yuga's commands effectively, increasing attack frequency, and reacting promptly. However, Grumpig couldn't keep up with the rapid onslaught from Breloom. In fact, it struggled to even respond to Guangquan's commands under Breloom's relentless attack.

Failing to earn the Verdanturf Gym badge was a source of deep frustration for Glen. Yuga tried to console him while also pointing out areas where he could improve.

Firstly, Combusken had shown clear signs of nervousness during the match, likely influenced by its Trainer. Additionally, using an unfamiliar move in battle was unwise.

Secondly, regarding Dodrio, Glenn needed to pay attention to managing its three independent heads. Dodrio's anger had taken control easily. While it had ultimately defeated Snivy due to Snivy's type disadvantage, in different circumstances, Dodrio might have gone berserk.

This was why Yuga had Breloom swiftly defeat Dodrio with impeccable timing, capitalizing on Dodrio's inability to keep up with the fast-paced battle rhythm.

Finally, there is Grumpig.

Although its level is very high, it obviously lacks enough training. I am afraid that as an initial Pokémon, it has received too much favor.

As a trainer, it is very undesirable to pamper your Pokémon too much.

Taking Yuga's advice into account, Glenn decided to stay in Verdanturf Town for further training before challenging the Verdanturf Gym again.