Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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"Hahaha! How about my secret move? I've been practicing it for ages, and I finally pulled it off!"

Lin Feng couldn't stop laughing. Whenever he battled against Li Xiang, this guy was always unusually out of sync.

"Not bad!"

Li Xiang didn't hold back his praise. He wasn't so arrogant as to believe he was the only smart person in this world who could figure out strategies and techniques.

With Lin Feng's creativity, something like this was a piece of cake.

The real key was execution. Imagination alone couldn't bring strategies to life—you had to make them happen.

The Litten on the battlefield glared at the Porygon zooming across the field, visibly annoyed.

Wheels were undeniably faster than four legs. Even with the speed boost from Flame Charge, Litten couldn't catch up to the Porygon, which was moving like a high-powered remote-controlled car.

Luckily...

Its two-wheel drive didn't handle sharp turns well. At high speeds, it had to take wide arcs to change direction.

If it got impatient—

BAM!

A loud crash echoed through the field.

The Porygon, having made too sharp a turn and failing to brake in time, slammed into the iron fence and knocked itself out.

Over-speeding led to a sudden crash.

"Wow, terrible driving skills, buddy."

Li Xiang raised an eyebrow, throwing a jab at Lin Feng, who stood there dumbfounded.

The Litten approached the unconscious Porygon, now back in its original shape, and poked it with its paw. Then it turned to Li Xiang and let out a loud meow.

This thing's done for. Cremate it?

"...Driving needs work, but don't worry," Lin Feng grumbled, refusing to admit defeat. "I'll make it watch a few more episodes of Let's & Go!!. Its skills will improve for sure!"

Future Porygon, Drift King? 

Li Xiang couldn't help but imagine the Porygon drifting across a race track, speeding like a pro. He also began pondering how to counter such a scenario if it ever became reality.

Aura Sphere? Trick Room?

Perhaps wide-area moves like Earthquake or Stomp would be viable too.

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After immediate treatment and a 30-minute break, the battle resumed.

Litten, for its part, had been holding back during the earlier battles. It didn't beat Charmander to a bloody pulp or push it to complete exhaustion before knocking it out. Instead, it made quick, efficient strikes to achieve victory.

As for Porygon, it knocked itself out with that crash. Driving too fast into a fence? Classic.

Scenes this absurd only happened when Pokémon were at lower levels, their bodies too frail to withstand much impact.

After a brief rest, both Pokémon were back in top shape.

It was Riolu's turn now.

"Try not to drag this out. If you can end the fight quickly, do it. This is half training, half battling. Take it seriously, but don't overexert yourself or your opponent."

Li Xiang gave Riolu a word of advice. It wasn't that he doubted it—he just wanted to remind it to stay focused.

"Ri!"

Riolu blinked and responded softly.

This was its first proper battle against someone else's Pokémon under official rules.

It wasn't nervous—just a bit excited.

Earlier, while watching from the sidelines, it had tried to place itself in Litten's shoes several times, thinking about how to counter Charmander's moves.

If it were in Litten's position, Riolu realized, it might not have been as agile, as durable, or as completely trusting of Li Xiang's commands.

Take the Smokescreen moment, for example. Litten bit through the smoke and went straight for the attack. But if it were Riolu, its vision would've been obscured, leaving it vulnerable to Charmander's tail strikes.

If that bite hadn't incapacitated Charmander, Riolu, blinded by the smokescreen, might have lost.

It needed to stay sharp.

Riolu's eyes burned with determination as it stared at its two opponents. The intensity of its gaze made both Pokémon start to feel self-conscious.

Litten sprawled out at the edge of the field, watching.

During the earlier battle, Riolu hadn't cheered it on, but the kind and generous Litten didn't care about such trivial things.

Cheering?

Of course, it would do it! That way, it could stand in stark contrast to a certain disobedient, aloof dog.

Then Li Xiang would surely love it more!

Hahaha! That'll show you, you ungrateful mutt! Let's see how you feel when Li Xiang starts ignoring you!

Litten's heart was brimming with vengeful delight. Its childish thoughts were simple and naive, showing none of the sly cunning of a certain portly translator.

Before long, the battle officially began.

The first opponent was still Charmander.

This little guy, as Lin Feng's first Pokémon, shared many traits with its Trainer: brimming with confidence, never giving up easily, and always taking battles seriously no matter how tired or casual it might otherwise seem.

For this reason, no matter how many times he defeated it, Li Xiang never underestimated Lin Feng and his Charmander. He always gave his all in every battle against them.

"Use Agility!"

"Dragon Dance!"

Both sides opened with setup moves.

With Prankster boosting its priority, Riolu finished its move in an instant. Then, without any lag, it charged straight toward Charmander!

Charmander, meanwhile, had only just started moving into the posture for Dragon Dance.

"So fast!"

Lin Feng stared in shock as Riolu closed the distance in a flash.

If not for the clear signs of a move just being used, he might've thought Li Xiang had faked it.

"There's more to come! Quick Attack!"

Li Xiang grinned as he gave the next command.

The moment he spoke—

The sprinting Riolu surged forward even faster, a radiant white glow shimmering around it, trailing a brilliant streak of light like a comet's tail.

Still in the aftermath of Dragon Dance, caught in the move's ending lag, Charmander barely registered a blur before Riolu seemed to teleport right in front of it!

BAM!

A dull thud echoed as Charmander was sent flying!

"Whoa! You're telling me this thing's as fast as Porygon zooming around?!" Lin Feng couldn't help but exclaim. "Smokescreen!"

Charmander rolled twice before quickly regaining its footing. Swinging its tail forward, it unleashed a thick black haze from its throat, employing the same tactic as before.

However, with Riolu keeping its distance and refraining from pressing its advantage, the resulting blast had limited effect.

Smart as ever, Riolu wouldn't recklessly close the gap without orders from Li Xiang.

After a loud explosion, the dense, suffocating smoke engulfed the battlefield once more.

"Dragon Dance!" Lin Feng shouted.

Greedy, greedy, greedy!

"It's trying to find a chance to keep boosting! Don't let it! Use Foresight!" Li Xiang commanded sharply.

Foresight, a Normal-type utility move, could bypass the immunity Ghost-types have against Normal-type moves. In this situation, however, it was perfect for revealing hidden opponents.

While Riolu could also rely on aura sensing for similar results, aura required closed eyes and a degree of focus—less practical given the high start-up time.

Instead, Foresight was the quicker, more tactical choice, especially with Prankster granting it priority.

"Riolu!"

At the command, Riolu unleashed an invisible, intangible wave of energy, expanding in a semicircle outward.

In mere moments, Charmander, which had stealthily repositioned itself behind Riolu, was fully exposed.

"Vacuum Wave!"

Lin Feng couldn't see through the smoke, but he wasn't deaf. Realizing the attack was incoming, he let out a resigned sigh.

Damn it!

How was every little tactic of his being countered so easily?

"Watch out! Use Dragon Claw!"

Charmander, unable to complete Dragon Dance, focused intently, scanning its surroundings with heightened vigilance. Its tiny claws suddenly glowed with a sharp emerald light.

Abruptly, a slicing sound tore through the air on its left side!

"Rrgh!"

Charmander let out a strained cry as it swung its glowing claws, shattering the incoming silver shockwave.

BOOM!

The impact generated a burst of wind, rapidly dissipating the lingering smoke and clearing the field.

With its surroundings now visible, Charmander stood exposed in the middle of the arena, while Riolu remained concealed in the lingering darkness of the dissipating Smokescreen.

"Talk about shooting yourself in the foot…" Lin Feng muttered, using a recently learned idiom as he bitterly scanned the battlefield with Charmander.

Attempting Dragon Dance again would only create more opportunities for Riolu. The current situation—enemy hidden, ally exposed—left him and Charmander entirely on the defensive.

Or perhaps… they could use this against their opponent?

While Lin Feng mulled over his options, a shadow suddenly darted out from behind his legs, hurtling straight at Charmander!

"What the heck?!"

Lin Feng's eyes widened in shock. He had never expected Riolu to hide right by his feet. In his earlier nervous glance behind, he had looked too quickly and completely missed it!

Even Charmander's view had been conveniently blocked by Lin Feng himself!

Using the Trainer as cover?!

"Fire Fang!" Lin Feng called out hastily.

Too late!

Riolu, with a fist glowing in a reddish-brown hue, landed a devastating uppercut directly on Charmander's chin, launching it high into the air!

An uppercut—Sky Uppercut!

Charmander let out a pained cry as it soared upward. While its chin wasn't exactly a weak spot for the lizard, the impact was excruciating nonetheless.

"Vacuum Wave!"

Li Xiang's calm command followed immediately.

Riolu's eyes narrowed as it quickly extended its arm, firing off another silver shockwave.

Vacuum Wave, a Fighting-type special move, also had priority, ensuring it struck with blinding speed.

BANG!

The airborne Charmander collided with the silver projectile, which detonated into a smoky burst, leaving the lizard to crash helplessly to the ground.

"You really didn't think to reposition when you lost sight of the enemy? Standing still like that was just asking for it."

Li Xiang patted Lin Feng on the shoulder, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

Lin Feng's lips twitched, but he said nothing.

He thought… Well, it didn't matter what he thought now, did it?

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Hey guys, thanks for reading the story. This is to let you guys know that I'll try to release 2 chapters a day from now on. 

Happy Reading!