The Bellsprout took its place, its delicate limbs beginning to sway.
"Geodude! Use Rock Throw on the Bellsprout!"
"Bellsprout! Use Vine Whip!"
Geodude slammed its fists angrily into the ground, and a dozen rocks suddenly materialized out of thin air right above Bellsprout's head.
Swishing its vine whips while twisting its body, the Bellsprout dodged left and right, somehow managing to evade every single rock. In the end, however, it slipped up, and its slender waist took a heavy blow.
Its waist buckled completely under the impact, making Yellow's heart leap to her throat—that hit looked hard enough to fix a slipped disc.
At the same time, Geodude's body was marked with several fresh gashes, its rough, rocky surface looking as though it had been viciously sawed by tiny hands. Both sides were hammering away with their strongest finishing moves.
Thanks to its superior IVs and EVs, the Bellsprout emerged victorious in its very first battle, knocking out Geodude, though it was in terrible shape itself and collapsed straight to the ground.
Recalling it into its Poké Ball and plugging it into the Pokédex, Yellow used the opportunity to level Bellsprout up to seven, making it her third powerhouse, seeing as the Scyther was only level six.
Furthermore, during this battle, the Bellsprout had displayed an extraordinary level of independent will. Yellow hadn't given it much direction at all, yet its movements had been uncannily bizarre.
It easily sidestepped every single attack, as if it had practiced martial arts for two and a half years before being caught. No, this went far beyond martial arts—it was essentially the Ultra Instinct of the Pokémon World.
"Not bad at all! Time for you to step up, Onix!"
With a flash of red light, an Onix nearly ten meters tall appeared inside the Gym.
Yellow froze. It was simply massive! Every segment of its body looked unimaginably hard, and its tail dragged across the floor with a harsh, grating sound of stone scraping stone.
After a three-second silence, Yellow snapped back to reality: all this size was just for show. She absolutely could not let herself panic.
"Come on out! Spearow!"
Spearow appeared, took one look at the Onix, and immediately took a step back, glancing between Yellow and the giant snake.
Spearow: *Me? Take him down? You might as well just take me down instead.*
"Don't be scared, Spearow. This battle is up to you. It only looks terrifying—being big doesn't necessarily mean it's useful."
"Spearow, use Fury Attack!"
Plucking up its courage, Spearow charged straight at the Onix and began pecking furiously at its body.
*Clack-clack-clack*—it was just a bit hard on the beak.
"Onix! Use Bind!"
The Onix twisted its massive torso, wrapping around Spearow with blistering speed and squeezing it tight.
"Spearow! Try to dodge!"
Spearow took to the air, but the Onix was much too fast, trapping it in a relentless, crushing grip.
"Spearow! Use Fury Attack!"
*Clack-clack-clack...*
"Onix, use Harden! Harden! Harden!"
As the two locked in combat, Spearow was stuck and couldn't be recalled. Anxious and helpless, Yellow could only watch as Spearow lost consciousness and could no longer fight.
Recalling Spearow, she sent out Charmander.
Upon seeing the Onix, Charmander looked somewhat terrified and tried to hide behind Yellow, but she pressed it down with her hand. "Don't be afraid. It's only big, and Spearow's already worn it down almost to its limit. Attack with everything you've got!"
Charmander let out a cry and marched right back into position, its face brimming with confidence.
"Little one, pitting Charmander against Onix puts you at a disadvantage with type matchups, you know. It seems you still don't quite understand these things."
Without replying, Yellow issued the command: "Charmander, use Ember!"
The Onix chased Charmander around, but its first Bind missed completely. Taking advantage of this, Charmander spat out two fireballs in succession, beating the Onix down until it collapsed flat onto the floor. The towering stone pillars tumbled down with a thunderous crash, sending up a cloud of dust and debris.
Charmander leveled up to 14, just two levels away from evolving.
"How could this be..." Brock pulled out an octagonal Boulder Badge and walked slowly over to Yellow.
"You did an exceptional job. I hope you can keep this courage and perseverance and go far on the road ahead."
Taking the Boulder Badge, Yellow said, "Although Charmander's attacks were resisted by Onix, once it used Harden, only special attacks could make a dent. I just took a desperate gamble and won by sheer luck."
"Impressive. Congratulations on becoming an Intermediate Trainer."
Looking puzzled, Yellow asked, "Intermediate Trainer? What does that mean?"
Brock smiled and explained, "Without a badge, you're just a Novice Trainer. Earn one badge, and you're an Intermediate Trainer. Get four badges, and you're an Elite Trainer. Secure eight badges, and you qualify as a League Trainer, eligible to enter the League Conference."
"If you defeat one of the Elite Four at the League Conference, you become an extraordinarily powerful trainer known as a Master Trainer. And if you can win the League Championship, you're a Champion-tier Trainer. By that time, your bond and coordination with your Pokémon will undoubtedly have reached perfection—you'll be among the peak trainers in the world."
Brock gently patted Yellow on the shoulder.
"My Pokémon are in no condition to fight today. I'm going to take them to recover their stamina first. Young friend, you're welcome to come back this afternoon."
Baiyin nodded and left alongside Yellow.
When the two reached an open clearing, Yellow spoke up: "Baiyin, your Squirtle's level is too low. I'll go back to Viridian Forest with you to train. Once Squirtle has grown a bit, you can come back with me to battle. Oh, and I'll give you two Pokémon."
Yellow handed a Weedle and a Caterpie over to Baiyin. After all, she had already completed her Pokédex entries, and rather than sending the two Pokémon to the research lab, entrusting them to Baiyin gave her some peace of mind since she could still check on them.
"Both of these Bug-type Pokémon evolve very early. They can help you secure your first win at a Gym."
"Thank you, Yellow!" Baiyin flashed a brilliant smile, looking truly like a radiant little beauty.
The two split up to fight on their own in Viridian Forest, challenging various trainers they encountered.
By nightfall, all of Yellow's Pokémon had reached around level twelve, and Charmander had hit level 15, just a hair's breadth away from evolving.
Baiyin's Weedle had already evolved into a Beedrill, while her Caterpie had just transformed into a Kakuna.
"Shall we head back? It's already so late, I wonder if the Gym is still open." No sooner had Yellow spoken than she suddenly spotted a Caterpie wriggling its body as it crawled over.
"This Caterpie looks hurt." Baiyin crouched down, scooped the Caterpie up with both hands, but the creature suddenly split cleanly into two halves right down the middle! Its lower half dropped straight to the ground, and green bodily fluids poured out endlessly.
The gruesome sight terrified Baiyin, and she let out a shriek.
Then came more Bug-type Pokémon fleeing in panic. All of them were injured—some missing sections of their bodies, others with their heads split open.
"Could it be that perverted trainer?" Yellow guessed.
"This is too awful!" Baiyin scooped up a Caterpie, tears streaming down her face.
Yellow immediately pulled 99 Potions out of her cheat system, dumped them all in a pile on the ground, and instructed, "You treat them first, I'm going to go see what's happening."
"Where on earth did you get so many Potions, Yellow?"
Already on the move, Yellow tossed over her shoulder, "Filthy rich, wealthiest person in Pallet Town. I'll go check it out."
Running off in the opposite direction, Yellow hadn't gone far before she heard a woman's angry shouting: "Let that be a lesson for disgusting me! That'll teach you to disgust me!"
Slowing her pace, Yellow crept forward and crouched behind a clump of bushes to look. To her shock, she saw a woman dressed in a white suit gripping a Caterpie and toying with it. The woman had long black hair adorned with a white veil, and the fresh blood splattered across her face made her look all the more striking. With her bare hands, she was brutally tearing the Caterpie's body into two halves!
Afterward, she tossed the corpse away with a look of utter disgust, grinding it viciously into the dirt with her high heels. Surrounding her were eight figures in black robes holding bug-catching nets, who promptly handed her another Caterpie.
Yellow couldn't hold back any longer. Harming Pokémon like this was completely unacceptable!
Leaning out from her hiding spot, she released Charmander. Seeing the mutilated remains of the Caterpie scattered all over the ground, Charmander flew into a rage and roared furiously at the woman.
"What sort of thing are you?" The woman glanced over with utter disdain, and one of the black-robed figures immediately released a Nidoking.
[Nidoking, the Drill Pokémon. The sweep of its thick tail packs enough devastating power to snap sturdy iron towers in half. Once it flies into a frenzy, there is no stopping it.]
Though Nidoking stood only about 1.6 meters tall, its torso was as broad as a wall. The purple armor covering its body was as hard as steel, gleaming coldly in the moonlight. Its eyes bulged with fury, as if it wanted to tear Yellow to pieces and devour her alive.
Knowing she stood no chance in a fight, Yellow yelled at the top of her lungs, "Grandpa Yunliu! Grandpa Yunliu! The killer is right here!"
"Yunliu?" The woman clearly didn't take the warning seriously, stepping closer and closer toward Yellow.
*Whoosh!* In an instant, a gale whipped up, tearing through the air. Grass and small saplings swayed in unison as a deep green Scyther came flying in low across the ground.
"Your grandpa has arrived!"