Chapter 135: The Battle Begins

"Then, Dr. Chen Ou, let this young lady see what you are truly capable of!"

In the center of the battlefield, Erika gave Chen Ou a slight bow before walking toward her side of the arena.

Chen Ou's face remained somewhat pale, but he smiled and replied, "I will give it my all!" With that, he walked to his own position.

Chen Ou had regained consciousness sooner than expected. Before anyone could take him to a resting area, he had already come to. Though he looked pale and listless, he insisted on rising and issued a challenge to Erika.

Erika had initially intended to refuse. After all, there was no need to take advantage of a trainer who was clearly in such poor condition. However, when she saw the seriousness and determination in Chen Ou’s eyes, she set aside the thought of delaying the match until he had recovered.

When the eyes of two trainers meet, the battle begins. And the fighting spirit in Chen Ou's eyes could no longer be ignored.

Right now, Chen Ou felt that the excitement in his heart could only be resolved by a hearty, spirited battle!

...Just kidding. He was simply too exhausted, but he refused to alter his original plans.

As for the possibility of losing... Chen Ou truly hadn't considered it. After all, he wasn't Ash Ketchum, who could recite the type-effectiveness chart backward; he could only recite it forward. He honestly didn't believe that his Fire-type team—Entei, Growlithe, or Charmeleon—would lose to Erika. And if they really did lose? Then so be it. Even Red didn't win every single battle.

Of course, Chen Ou didn't dwell on the prospect of defeat. He remained quite confident in his own strength.

"The Celadon Gym battle between Gym Leader Erika and the challenger, Chen Ou from Pallet Town, with the Rainbow Badge as the stake... Begin!"

At the edge of the arena, a young but sharp-voiced female referee called out. Most of these referees were trained by the Gym itself, though their work was rarely taxing. In most cases, battles between Gym Leaders and challengers rarely resulted in ambiguous outcomes; it was quite uncommon for both sides to lose their ability to battle at the exact same moment.

The reason every Gym trained its own referees was mainly because some matches were of a sensitive nature and required trusted personnel to oversee them. In formal battles, however, the role of the referee was crucial. Trainers, driven by their offensive instincts, often tended to make biased judgments in their own favor. The referee’s job was to step back from the fray and make decisions based solely on the physical state of the Pokémon.

"Will both trainers please send out your Pokémon!"

No sooner had the referee finished speaking than Chen Ou and Erika’s voices rang out in unison, both carrying a similar sense of strength and resolve.

"Go!" x2

Two Poké Balls flew from their hands to the center of the field and opened simultaneously, releasing their respective Pokémon onto the ground.

Growlithe sat on the ground, tongue lolling out, tilting its head as it stared at the Vileplume opposite it with a look of utter confusion.

"What a lovely Growlithe. Its fur is so vibrant. Chen Ou, you truly have a unique insight into raising Fire-type Pokémon," Erika remarked, observing Growlithe with genuine admiration.

Chen Ou smiled at her words. "I wouldn't call it a unique insight, just a bit of experience. But Erika, your Vileplume is truly exceptionally well-raised!"

Chen Ou wasn't just being polite. The Vileplume before him was about fifty percent larger than a normal one, and the colors on its flower were far more vivid—a clear indication of high toxicity. Unlike the somewhat dull gaze of a wild Vileplume, Erika’s Vileplume’s eyes were filled with combat intent and alertness.

It had to be said that the Celadon Gym had a unique knack for raising Grass-type Pokémon. While there were many ways to raise powerful Grass-types, most of them were naturally more peaceful and less aggressive than Water-types. The greatest challenge for any Grass-type trainer was instilling a fierce fighting spirit so that their Pokémon could perform at two hundred percent capacity.

It seemed Erika had found the secret.

Erika, as if reading his thoughts, smiled and said, "You flatter me. This child's fighting spirit is innate."

Chen Ou feigned a look of sudden realization, though internally, he didn't believe a word of it. If Erika said it was innate, then it was innate? He could just as easily claim the crimson flames of Entei were innate too. It would be strange if a family of their stature didn't have a few hidden trump cards they kept tucked away.

Erika offered no further explanation; she knew that such claims were rarely believed, and a shrewd person like Chen Ou certainly wouldn't buy it. Yet, whether one believed it or not, this was the official line of the entire Celadon Gym.

Thinking this, Chen Ou decided he should adjust his assessment of Erika’s true strength upward. It was hard to say if the power she was currently displaying was the full extent of her capabilities or if she was still holding back. If it were the latter, the Celadon Gym’s ranking in the Kanto region might be even higher than he thought.

But that didn't matter. Whether Erika was hiding her strength or not, Chen Ou was confident. He didn't need to look to the future; he could defeat her right now.

"Growlithe, start with a Flame Wheel."

Chen Ou commanded calmly. Growlithe complied, lunging forward in a spinning blaze toward Vileplume.

"Bullet Seed!"

Vileplume responded by firing thumb-sized seeds from its petals. As the seeds rained down, Growlithe nimbly adjusted its trajectory.

Erika watched the crimson flames burning on Growlithe’s body, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. The flames of Chen Ou’s Growlithe seemed unusual. She looked from the Pokémon to the trainer, unable to discern whether this was due to some special ability of Chen Ou’s or a rare innate talent of the Growlithe itself. She subconsciously covered the lower half of her face with her kimono sleeve.

A thousand thoughts crossed her mind, but she remained silent.

Chen Ou watched the seeds embed themselves into the ground, observing the wisps of smoke rising from them, and his expression grew even more stunned.

Those seeds were poisonous!

If one were hit directly by them, it wouldn't just be a matter of raw damage; the chance of being poisoned was quite high.

*The hell? Is this a Grass-type Gym or a Poison-type Gym?*

Chen Ou felt he had underestimated Erika—and perhaps underestimated himself. It was clear that in this battle, Erika had no intention of holding back.

*In that case... even better!*

A smile spread across Chen Ou’s pale face, and a flame flickered deep within his eyes.