"Be careful, this Charizard hasn't been going all out yet."

  Zhang Yun's expression was grave. He had already subconsciously cast the Charizard in the role of an adversary, and his instincts as a Gym-level trainer were now focused on analyzing its weaknesses.

  Though Su Chuan was equally serious, his face still carried a nonchant smirk as he teased, "It only used Dragon Cw and Protect the whole time, of course it wasn't going all out. Old Zhang, your vanguard is really unreliable."

  Zhang Yun was left speechless, rolling his eyes before retreating to the "spectator seats."

  "Hey, Chief, do you need a break?"

  Though Su Chuan was eager to press the advantage and take down the Charizard chief after its recent battle, he couldn't bring himself to be so shameless, especially since they were on its turf.

  The Charizard chief considered for a moment, then closed its eyes. Around it, the shimmering illusion of feathers began to appear.

  "Roost, huh? So the Charizard chief has a pretty diverse move pool," Su Wen remarked, feeling a bit tired from standing. He found a clean rock and sat down, motioning for Zhang Qian to join him.

  Zhang Qian thought for a moment before obediently sitting beside Su Wen.

  "Old Zhu, give me the lowdown. What exactly is going on here?"

  While the Charizard chief was recovering its strength, Zhang Yun seized the moment to vent his frustration. The situation was utterly baffling to him.

  They had come here to help the kids catch Pokémon, but now he found himself in a battle. And not just any battle—he had lost miserably, which was bound to tarnish his image in his daughter's eyes.

  "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure either, but the chief must have its reasons for arranging things this way," Zhu Tianxing replied with a wry smile, though he had his own suspicions.

  The real issue, Zhu Tianxing suspected, y with the Charizard chief's mate. Normally, three months after hatching, a Charmander's vital signs would stabilize. Though still in its infancy, it would be time for the parents to take it out for training or to find a suitable trainer.

  But this "crown prince" Charmander had been hatched for over a year and was still living a leisurely life. Every time the Charizard chief tried to take it out for training, its mate would intervene. When it did manage to train, it couldn't handle any hardship or exhaustion.

  The Charizard chief, being a bit of a henpecked husband, had watched helplessly as its offspring was being spoiled into uselessness. This had eventually led the chief to change its stance on entrusting the Charmander to a trainer.

  With its mate away for a few days, the Charizard chief had seized the opportunity to find a trainer for its child. Though it was reluctant to part with its offspring, it was better than letting it become completely incompetent.

  As for choosing a trainer, the Charizard chief had a simple criterion: the stronger the parent, the more suitable they were to become its child's trainer.

  But the intricacies of this situation were too complex to expin, and if the Charizard chief found out, it might make things difficult for Zhu Tianxing.

  "Roar~~"

  After a few dozen seconds, the Charizard chief opened its eyes and let out a soft roar, signaling that it was ready to continue.

  "Sking."

  Su Chuan naturally brought out his Sking!

  Normally, when summoned, Sking would lie on its side, propping its head up with one hand like a sleeping Buddha. But now, it was completely different. Its body leaned slightly forward, its energy gradually becoming active, and the dormant power within it was like a volcano ready to erupt. Its eyes were fixed intently on the Charizard chief.

  Sking clearly felt an unprecedented pressure from the Charizard chief.

  "Battle start," Zhu Tianxing announced with great interest, watching as Su Chuan and Sking burned with fighting spirit. It had been a while since he'd seen his old friend this serious.

  "Rock Tomb!"

  With a quadruple type advantage against Charizard, how could it not be afraid?

  The ground suddenly shook as if an earthquake had struck, and countless stone spikes erupted from the earth, rushing toward the Charizard like dragons.

  But the Charizard chief stomped the ground, and stone pilrs rose in front of it, blocking the incoming Rock Tomb.

  A direct counter—Rock Tomb versus Rock Tomb.

  In the next moment, the yers of stone pilrs were shattered as Sking swung its Hammer Arm and charged at the Charizard.

  Relentless assault was Sking's forte, overwhelming its opponent with a torrent of attacks.

  Sensing the ferocious power in those arms, the Charizard chief chose not to engage directly. Instead, it fpped its wings and took to the air, creating distance from Sking.

  Seeing the Charizard firmly controlling the skies, Su Chuan remained calm and unflustered. "Use Aerial Ace to catch up, then Body Sm."

  Sking leapt from one stone pilr to another, its seemingly heavy body moving with surprising agility. With a final leap, it unched itself into the air, using Aerial Ace to glide temporarily.

  In theory, Flying-type Pokémon had a natural advantage over most others in battle. But where there's a will, there's a way, and Sking had a well-developed strategy for dealing with airborne opponents.

  Using Aerial Ace, the only Flying-type move it could learn, Sking could briefly harness Flying-type energy to maneuver in the air and close in on its target. Then, with Body Sm or another move, it could force the opponent back to the ground. This was Sking's aerial combat tactic.

  Seeing Sking charging toward it, the Charizard chief unleashed a torrent of searing fmes from its mouth. The intense heat made Su Wen feel as if the air itself was distorting.

  But Sking raised its left arm to shield itself, enduring the Fmethrower, and then burst through the fmes, grabbing the Charizard chief by the ankle and dragging it down to the ground.

  "Su Chuan's still got the details down. Aerial Ace into Body Sm—if Sking can pull the Charizard chief into close combat, even an Elite-level Charizard would struggle to gain the upper hand," Zhang Yun commented to Zhu Tianxing, as such an intense battle was a rare sight.

  "Su Wen, why didn't the Charizard just fly away?" Zhang Qian tugged at Su Wen's sleeve, feeling that the Charizard had been too easily caught by Sking.

  Su Wen, who had been engrossed in the battle, was momentarily interrupted. After a moment's thought, he replied, "Aerial Ace locks onto the target. Escaping it isn't that simple. Plus, the speed at which Sking leapt up was clearly faster than the Charizard's movement speed. If it had tried to fly away, it might not only have failed to escape but also left itself wide open."

  He then added with a sigh, "Wild Pokémon may not have the same level of move coordination as trained ones, but their combat instincts are truly formidable."

  Zhang Qian asked, puzzled, "Then how did my dad beat Uncle Su?"

  Su Wen nearly ughed out loud, thinking to himself, "How did he win? Protect, Protect, Protect, Sleep, Sleep, Sleep, hahaha..."

  Every time Zhang Yun won, it was by using Snorx's Protect to stall, Sleep to recover, then Protect again, Sleep again, combined with moves like Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Yawn, and Sleep Talk. It was a strategy that wore down Sking's stamina.

  No wonder Su Chuan found Zhang Yun so annoying. Even Su Wen, in his past life when pying games, found such pyers utterly frustrating.

  But to avoid offending Zhang Yun, who was clearly eavesdropping on his daughter's question, Su Wen coughed lightly and expined, "Pokémon battles aren't just about who has the stronger attacks. Strategy pys a big part too."

  Meanwhile, the Charizard chief, having been dragged back to the ground, was furious. Its sapphire-blue eyes were instantly suffused with a blood-red hue.

  "Outrage? Old Zhu, this..."

  The signs of Outrage were unmistakable—the blood-red eyes and the sudden surge in energy. Zhang Yun recognized it immediately.

  But Charizard naturally didn't learn Outrage. Was it a breeding move or taught via TM?

  Zhu Tianxing took a step back, shielding Su Wen from the potential fallout, and expined, "The chief's mother is a Dragonite from the Dragon's Den."

  Zhang Yun nodded in understanding. A breeding move, then. That made sense. But if the Charizard chief knew Outrage, could its offspring have inherited it as well?

  As Zhang Yun pondered this, the Charizard chief and Sking were locked in close combat.

  Normally, the Charizard chief would avoid close-quarters fighting, but in the throes of Outrage, a Pokémon is consumed by rage, and its judgment is severely impaired.

  Yet, even now, with Dragon Cw carving arcs of emerald light, the Charizard chief was actually gaining the upper hand against Sking.

  This was the terror of Outrage. Though Charizard itself wasn't a Dragon-type, Outrage could significantly amplify its energy levels.

  However, most Pokémon using Outrage could only fight on instinct, unable to precisely control their energy or moves.

  The fact that the Charizard chief could channel the energy of Outrage into its Dragon Cw showed a high level of mastery.

  Su Chuan narrowed his eyes, biding his time with Sking, waiting for the moment the Charizard chief's Outrage would end.

  Suddenly, the Charizard chief's onsught faltered slightly, and the blood-red hue in its eyes began to fade. In that instant, Su Chuan seized the opportunity—the downside of Outrage had kicked in!

  The impaired judgment caused by rage was just a minor aspect. The true drawback of Outrage was the confusion that followed once it ended.

  "Counter!"

  Counter was a move that could return double the damage taken over a period of time.

  Sking's right fist glowed with a faint aura as it swung with thunderous force, the punch generating sonic booms as it connected with the Charizard chief's abdomen. The impact sent the Charizard chief flying like a shooting star, crashing into the stone wall.

  Su Chuan was about to press his advantage, but the Charizard chief let out a roar, and Zhu Tianxing immediately raised his hand. "Battle over!"

  Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Zhu Tianxing smiled. "The chief has recognized your strength. It must have agreed to entrust the Charmander to you and Su Wen."

  Su Wen's eyes lit up. Was it really that simple? It had been easier than he expected.

  Su Chuan, however, seemed a bit disappointed that the battle was over. After all, such a fight was truly exhirating. But he quickly recalled Sking, still wary of the Charizard chief.

  "After that st hit from Sking, the Charizard chief was still able to call the battle off immediately. It clearly wasn't seriously injured."

  In Su Chuan's view, Charizard wasn't exactly a tank. Even at the peak of the Gym level, three Hammer Arms would probably be enough to take one down. But this was an Elite-level Charizard chief, after all.

  Having decided on a trainer for its offspring, the Charizard chief began working on convincing the Charmander. At first, the Charmander was reluctant to go with Su Wen, but after two swift knocks on the head from the chief, it finally saw reason and tearfully stood before Su Wen.

  Taking out a Poké Ball he had prepared earlier, Su Wen gently tapped the Charmander's head, and it was drawn into the ball in a fsh of red light.

  After three fshes, the Poké Ball stabilized, signaling that Su Wen had successfully caught his first Pokémon.

  "Whew!"

  Seeing Su Wen's success, both Su Chuan and the Charizard chief let out a sigh of relief. They exchanged a gnce, both feeling the weight of parental concern.

  Zhang Yun patted Su Chuan on the back sincerely. "Congratutions, Su Wen."

  Zhang Qian was also happy for Su Wen, though she hadn't managed to catch the Charmander herself. At least now she could try to catch a Ralts.

  Su Wen's face was beaming with joy. There was something uniquely satisfying about catching a Pokémon himself.

  Pressing the button on the Poké Ball, he released the Charmander, which emerged with a shake of its head, still a bit disoriented.

  "Roar roar~~" The Charizard chief let out a couple of urgent roars, signaling Zhu Tianxing to escort Zhang Yun and Zhang Qian out. The next step was for the chief to give its offspring a crash course in power-leveling.