Pokemon: With Title System

(Translating a new fic Naruto: Troublesome Ninja Haruta. You can support me by reading.)

Chapter 72: The Clown… Was Me All Along

"A friendly match? How about a one-on-one battle?" Asahi suggested.

"Sounds good!" Gary agreed, full of confidence.

After all, if he couldn't even beat an Eevee, what kind of Pokémon Trainer was he? He might as well go home and become a researcher like his grandfather.

Seeing Gary's unwavering confidence, Asahi smiled.

Hopefully, he could keep that expression after the battle.

Asahi patted Eevee, and with a nimble leap, it landed gracefully on the sand.

"In that case…"

Gary looked at Eevee—adorable, fluffy, and harmless-looking—before pulling out a Poké Ball.

"Go! My Pokémon!"

Boom!

A heavy thud echoed across the beach as Gary's Pokémon landed.

Sand flew everywhere.

A towering Nidoking, almost as tall as a person, appeared on the battlefield, exuding an imposing presence.

"Nidoking?"

Seeing the Pokémon in front of him, Asahi was momentarily surprised. But considering Gary's family background, it all made sense.

Obtaining a Moon Stone wouldn't be difficult for someone from Gary's family.

Come to think of it, if Moon Stones weren't so hard to acquire, Nidoking might actually be a better choice for new trainers than the traditional starter Pokémon.

Catch a Nidoran♂, train it a bit, evolve it into Nidorino, and with a single Moon Stone, you'd have a Nidoking—a Pokémon with a total base stat of 505 and a broad offensive movepool.

If he didn't have the system and hadn't met Gardevoir early on, he might have taken this path himself.

While Asahi was lost in thought, Green had been watching him closely after sending out Nidoking, waiting for his reaction.

In Gary's mind, Asahi should have looked shocked, then gone silent, and finally sighed in resignation, withdrawing Eevee before saying:

"I never expected you to have a Nidoking, Master Green. My Eevee is no match for it. I admit defeat!"

He'd then apologize for the psychological trauma he inflicted during the previous award ceremony.

And, being the magnanimous person he was, Gary would graciously forgive him.

At least, that was how Gary imagined it.

But reality was completely different from his expectations!

Asahi only looked slightly surprised when he saw Nidoking, but he quickly returned to normal, simply observing Nidoking as if contemplating something.

"Is he just pretending to be calm because he's actually scared?" Gary thought, then kindly reminded him, "If you surrender now, it's not too late!"

Asahi snapped out of his thoughts and gave Gary a puzzled look. "Surrender? What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I surrender?"

Sure, Nidoking looked quite big, but it was clearly at a low level—hardly a threat to Eevee.

"Eevee!"

On the battlefield, Eevee also voiced its agreement, tilting its head and looking at Gary curiously.

It's just a Nidoking. At this level, it could take on ten of them!

Gary hadn't expected Asahi to be this stubborn—he was just as hard-headed as Ash.

"In that case, I won't hold back! Nidoking!"

At Gary's command, Nidoking pounded its chest and let out a fierce roar toward Eevee.

If it were a typical Eevee, it might have been so intimidated that its Run Away ability would have activated, causing it to flee.

But...

"Eevee!"

Eevee defiantly roared back at Nidoking.

Nidoking was briefly stunned, then its expression turned furious. Since when did an Eevee dare roar back at it?

Nidoking planted its legs firmly and charged at Eevee.

Though the soft sand made it difficult to maintain speed—each step sinking slightly—it was still more than enough to deal with an Eevee.

As Nidoking rushed forward, Eevee blinked, turned around, and began rapidly kicking up sand with its four little legs.

A cloud of sand burst into the air, showering the charging Nidoking.

Sand Attack!

Charging at full speed, Nidoking hadn't expected Eevee to neither cower nor dodge but instead use Sand Attack.

On instinct, Nidoking shut its eyes.

Seeing this, Asahi smirked and said to Gary, "Your Nidoking still needs a lot of training."

"What?" Gary frowned, confused.

Wasn't Nidoking clearly dominating?

Just as Gary had this thought, Eevee suddenly dashed forward like a streak of lightning.

Quick Attack!

In the blink of an eye, Eevee appeared beneath Nidoking, slamming lightly into its leg.

Since Nidoking was already struggling to maintain balance on the sandy terrain, and had closed its eyes to avoid the sand, the slight impact from Eevee was enough to tip it over.

Its massive body, still carrying forward momentum, tumbled across the sand, kicking up a dust cloud.

"Nidoking!" Gary winced just from watching—he could almost feel the pain.

The cheer squad behind him gasped in concern for Nidoking.

Dizzy and disoriented from the fall, Nidoking barely managed to steady itself with its arms upon hearing Green's call.

But before it could fully rise—

Quick Attack!

Eevee dashed in again, dodging Nidoking's poisonous spikes and landing another hit, making it stumble once more.

Nidoking fell again!

Seizing the opportunity, Eevee leapt onto Nidoking's back and unleashed a barrage of Swift attacks.

The star-shaped energy projectiles rained down on Nidoking, eliciting pained cries.

Every time Nidoking tried to get up, Eevee blasted it back down with another Swift.

The scene was utterly brutal.

After several rounds of attacks, Nidoking stopped moving entirely.

Gary's face was frozen in shock.

What just happened?

How did my invincible Nidoking lose so fast?

Seeing Gary's confusion, Asahi, as a responsible mentor, decided to educate him on his mistakes:

"First, choosing a heavy Pokémon like Nidoking to battle on a sandy beach was already a bad decision. The soft sand clearly can't support Nidoking's weight properly."

"Second, using Double Kick against a Normal-type like Eevee was theoretically a good choice, but the same issue applies—charging in with a move like Double Kick on sand is incredibly impractical. I would've rated it much higher if you had used Earth Power or Earthquake instead—moves that take advantage of your long-range capabilities while minimizing your weaknesses."

Gary: "....."

But I don't have Earth Power yet!

Sure, Nidoking should be able to learn it, but he had just evolved it two days ago and hadn't had time to train those moves yet.

Besides, that wasn't even the biggest issue here—

"What's up with your Eevee…?" Gary asked, suspicious.

Something about Eevee felt off.

A normal Eevee shouldn't even be able to break through Nidoking's defenses, but look at Asahi's Eevee—every move from the Sand Attack to tripping Nidoking and the finishing blows were flawlessly executed.

And Asahi hadn't even given any commands the entire time.

There was no way this was a normal Eevee!

Hearing Gary's question, Asahi chuckled. "You finally noticed?"

Catching Eevee as it leapt into his arms, Asahi scratched its head affectionately and smiled.

"This little one is Elite Four-tier."

"...Elite Four-tier?"

Gary stared at the Eevee sprawled comfortably in Asahi's arms.

If Asahi had said it was "Elite-tier" in cuteness, Gary would have believed it.

But if he hadn't personally experienced it, there was no way he'd believe it was actually that strong!

"Using an Elite Four-tier Eevee against a rookie trainer like me—are you a demon?" Gary complained.

"I did warn you. You just didn't listen," Asahi shrugged.

...Wait. Now that he thought about it—

It was him who insisted on challenging Asahi.

In that case… never mind.

I played myself.

"But… aren't you a researcher?" Gary asked, puzzled.

Since when did Pokémon researchers need Elite Four-tier Pokémon?!

"Huh? Didn't Professor Oak tell you? I used to be a ranger," Asahi replied. "Back in my day, I'd walk around with my hands in my pockets, and every poacher in Kanto trembled at the mere mention of my name."

Gary: "....."

After realizing how vast the gap in strength between him and Asahi was, Gary felt a bit dejected but quickly accepted it.

An Elite Four-tier Eevee was still way too much for a rookie trainer like him.

Still, Gary was a little salty that his grandfather, Professor Oak, had never mentioned this to him.

Grandpa, why are you like this?

...

Standing to the side, Green finally announced the very obvious result:

"Nidoking is unable to battle! The winner is Asahi!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a notification rang in Asahi's mind.

[You have defeated the newly debuted Gary and left a lasting impression on him. You have earned the title: 'So You Call Yourself Gary?']

[Choose Your Reward:]

1. Paldea's Secret Spice Set

2. Outdoor Picnic Kit

3. Master-Class Fishing Rod

Huh? I can get a title just by defeating Gary?

The rewards weren't as great as defeating Lt. Surge, but the fight was way easier.

Wait—what about if I beat Ash?

Thinking of this, Asahi turned to Gary.

"By the way, I heard from Professor Oak that you left Pallet Town with a trainer named Ash. How come I haven't seen him?"

"Him? That idiot…" Gary's mood instantly improved at the mention of Red. "I ran into him back on Route 24."

"With his slowpoke pace, he's probably not even in Vermilion City yet."

"Honestly, he should be grateful to whoever took down Lt. Surge. Otherwise, if he lost to Surge, he'd probably be crying while hugging his Pikachu."

"....."

Asahi watched Gary ramble on about Ash, completely baffled.

I just asked where he was—why are you so excited?!

***

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