Chapter 16: The Beginning of the Anomaly
After defeating Pidgeotto and achieving the first victory in his Pokémon career, Rio gained a more profound understanding of battle.
On this day, the weather was clear and the temperature was pleasant.
On the valley's training ground, a Riolu and a Geodude were engaged in battle.
"Thwack, pap."
Rio sidestepped a rock thrown by Geodude and, with his left claw balled into a fist, delivered a powerful horizontal swing that hammered Geodude's round body.
"Hiss," since Rio didn't use energy for this strike, his flesh-and-blood fist smashing against Geodude's incomparably hard rock shell made him suck in a sharp breath of cold air from the pain.
Geodude was knocked sideways but took the opportunity to pick up sand and stones from the ground and fling them out.
Pokémon battles naturally didn't adhere to any martial ethics; every blade of grass, every tree, every grain of sand, and every stone around them was a weapon they could utilize.
Rio rolled on the ground and executed a leg sweep.
"Oops, I forgot Geodude doesn't have legs!"
As soon as he extended his leg, Rio realized his mistake. Geodude's body structure was unique; besides its round, rock-like body (or head?), it only had two powerful arms and no legs, relying solely on rolling to move.
Geodude supported itself with both hands on the ground, dodging Rio's sweeping kick, then brought its hands together and slammed them down forcefully.
Seeing the hard rock fists about to crash down, energy surged through Rio's body. His claws popped out and became coated with a metallic sheen.
"[Metal Claw]!"
However, this Metal Claw was not used for a direct attack. Instead, Rio crossed his claws in front of his head, using the hardness of the steel energy to counter Geodude's stone fists.
"Screech!" Metal and rock collided, striking sparks.
Geodude, its attack blocked, couldn't find purchase in the air and tumbled to the side.
Battles were about pressing the advantage. Seeing Geodude lose its balance, Rio seized the opportunity to take a step forward, brownish-red energy surging from his body.
"Take this, [Quick Attack]!"
Like a streak of lightning across the sky, Rio, filled with abundant Fighting energy, charged towards Geodude.
Geodude watched Rio rush towards it, quickly brought its arms up in front, and curled its whole body together. At the same time, a coffee-colored energy surged from it, enveloping its entire body and forming a round shell.
Move: [Harden], curling the body to become round, thereby increasing one's defense.
On one side was an imposing lightning charge; on the other, an unyielding, hard defense.
"Boom—"
Rio and Geodude crashed violently into each other. Dust flew, and the massive impact sent gravel scattering across the training ground. The recoil from the impact sent both Pokémon tumbling backward.
"Cough, cough," Rio climbed up from the ground, looked at the Geodude opposite him, which had swirly eyes, and said with a triumphant smile, "Geodude, I won this round."
Battling, sparring, frolicking with Oddish and Poliwag during leisure time, occasionally being asked by Vileplume to help collect Flower Nectar (and sneak a taste)—Rio lived a peaceful yet interesting life like this.
The only slight regret was that, apart from gaining a large amount of experience and leveling up directly after repelling Pidgeotto, his leveling speed had slowed down again. He could only polish his fighting skills through friendly spars with the Pokémon of Sunrise Valley, trying to integrate his various fighting techniques from his previous life with Pokémon moves. This, in turn, allowed him to better understand how to utilize every bit of energy. Even without looking at the specific information displayed on the light screen, he could sense his own strength.
(Side note: Pokémon themselves can also sense their own energy strength, and this energy strength determines their quantified level. However, a high level doesn't necessarily represent strong combat ability; victory in battle also depends on various factors. Therefore, examples of lower-level Pokémon defeating higher-level ones are common in the Pokémon world.)
Geodude propped itself up with its hands and said to Rio with some resignation, "You kid, you're improving way too fast. I'm not fighting anymore; I can't beat you now."
This Geodude was considered a fairly strong Pokémon among the Geodude population in Sunrise Valley. In its initial spars with Rio, it could still suppress Rio with its higher move proficiency and rich combat experience. However, Rio was originally a fighting expert in his previous life. After familiarizing himself with the execution of moves and his Pokémon body, he could already skillfully integrate his various fighting techniques into battles. Coupled with the stat increase from leveling up, in subsequent spars, Rio could already dominate the younger Pokémon in the valley.
Rio shook his fur, soaked with sweat, and said with a playful grin, "Done fighting. Shall we go for a dip in the water pool together?"
Geodude showed a disdainful expression and gave him the middle finger with its right hand. "Get lost! You want me to soak in water? Are you trying to kill me?"
Right, Geodude's type is Ground + Rock, making it 4x weak to Water.
"If you want to soak, go soak yourself. But be careful the little Pokémon don't get disgusted with you." With that, Geodude, wearing a gloating smile, rolled away towards its dwelling using its hands.
Rio didn't mind much, ruffled the fur on his head, and hummed a tune as he walked towards the water pool in the center of the valley: "Bath time, bath time, gotta have my bath bubbles..."
"Hehe, don't mind if I pluck a couple of your leaves."
Arriving at a tree by the water pool, Rio brazenly pretended not to see the glaring eyes of the Metapod, casually plucked a few large leaves, and threw them by the edge of the pool, intending to use them to dry himself after swimming.
Looking at the sparkling water surface, Rio couldn't hold back any longer.
"Plop."
He dived into the clear water pool with a doggy paddle.
"So refreshing!"
It was currently noon. After a sweaty battle, jumping into the cold, refreshing water for a nice soak was more than just "refreshing." Moreover, a Pokémon's body was much stronger than a human's, so there was even less need to worry about catching a cold or fever.
If one ignored the Poliwag and Goldeen angrily spitting water nearby.
"Ptui, ptui, ptui, you smelly little dog, jumping in all sweaty again!" Poliwag glared with its big round eyes, continuously blowing bubbles from its mouth.
A Goldeen nearby kept poking Rio with the horn on its head.
Riolu's evolved form, Lucario, has the Steel type, and Riolu's body itself was naturally quite sturdy and tough. Goldeen's horn was just a light tickle to Rio. Besides, everyone was just acting a bit indignant and actually playing around, so a bloody scene with puncture wounds all over his body naturally wouldn't occur.
Looking at Poliwag's round body, Rio's playful mood surged. He grabbed a Poliwag and used it like a swimming buoy, joyfully swimming around in the pool.
"Ahhhhhh!" The Poliwag was so angry that not only did the spiral pattern on its belly spin, but spiral patterns also appeared on its head.
They were frolicking happily in the water pool, while the other Pokémon in the valley were busy with their own affairs.
The valley was peaceful.
Suddenly.
"Boom, boom, boom—"
The earth trembled violently, as if some heavy object was碾 (rolling/crushing) over it.
"Boom—"
Another strong tremor. The water pool also churned with waves due to this violent shaking. Watching the surging waves in the pool, Rio quickly ran ashore.
"Don't be afraid. You all stay here. I'll go see what's happening."
Seeing the terrified looks on the young Poliwag and other Pokémon, Rio, consciously feeling like an adult Pokémon (in spirit), put on a calm expression to reassure them.
Once the young Pokémon had quieted down and gathered together, Rio turned and ran towards the valley entrance. Along the way, the older or stronger Pokémon in the valley were also rushing towards the entrance.
"What's going on?"
Rio asked as he ran.
Unfortunately, no Pokémon could give him an answer.
"Boom, boom—"
"Whoa, again!"
A strong tremor came again. Rio stumbled but managed to stabilize his steps with his good balance and continued running towards the valley entrance.
"Gurgle, gurgle," some Pokémon around him didn't have such good balance. They rolled into balls, and a few even rolled together with some Gloom, their faces contorted with eye-watering expressions.
Just then, a Machop with an agile figure leaped out from the Pokémon crowd; it was the Elite Machop who had previously taught Rio about energy theory.
He frowned and said, "What's all the panic? Calm down."
"All Pokémon below level 15, do not go over. Older Pokémon, lead your groups and take your clan members to the shelter to hide."
"Level 15 and above Pokémon, follow me. Form up in battle formation."
The Pokémon, who had been in a chaotic state, quickly calmed down after hearing the Elite Machop's command. The Machop and Mankey carried the Geodude, who had difficulty moving, and ran at the forefront of the group behind the Elite Machop. The Squirtle stayed in the middle of the formation. Bringing up the rear were Vileplume leading the Oddish, Gloom, Paras, and other Grass and Bug-type Pokémon. Finally, Butterfree and Beedrill flew above the group.
Rio glanced at his own level, lv13, displayed on his light screen. Seeing that the Elite Machop didn't chase him away, and being genuinely unable to suppress his curiosity, he sneakily mixed into the Squirtle group in the middle of the formation and ran towards the valley entrance with them.
After some adjustments, the group of Pokémon finally arrived at the valley entrance.
The scene before them sent a chill down their spines.