"Your performance was not only outstanding but also shocking. You truly deserve this Cascade Badge."
Placing the Cascade Badge in Gu Yuan's hand, Daisy spoke with sincerity.
There was no doubt. Just the Expert mastery of Flamethrower was enough to justify that praise.
"You flatter me. I am no different from other Trainers; it's just that my Pokémon work harder."
Gu Yuan stayed humble in the face of Daisy's compliment.
With his handsome looks and impressive performance, Daisy did not mind chatting with Gu Yuan for a little while.
Whether it was Gu Yuan's training method or Charizard's natural talent, both were exceptional.
Even without the Expert mastery of Flamethrower, Gu Yuan's performance could still be called genius.
Daisy naturally would not refuse to befriend such a promising Trainer.
She also had another reason to talk with Gu Yuan: Procrastinating. If she stalled for long enough, her two younger sisters would have to work more while she rested.
At last, after exchanging numbers, Gu Yuan left under Daisy's reluctant gaze.
If at first Gu Yuan might have thought something else, their chat made it clear. She only wanted more time to rest.
"Let's go, Mankey. Next, I'll fulfill my promise to you. We'll find a proper opponent for you to battle."
Leaving the Cerulean Gym, Gu Yuan smiled as he spoke to Mankey.
Hearing this, Mankey's eyes lit up with excitement.
Eevee, watching its companion's reaction, could not understand what was so fun or magical about battling that it could make the others so obsessed with it.
Shaking its head, Eevee stopped thinking about it and instead found a comfortable position to lie in Gu Yuan's arms.
It did not know the reason, but it knew it now had the whole afternoon to rest, and that made it happy.
Back at the Pokémon Center, Gu Yuan first healed Charizard and the others from their earlier battle. Then he went to the battle arena inside.
As an official facility of the League, the Pokémon Center had excellent infrastructure.
It provided lodging, healing, Pokémon transfer, delivery services, and even battle arenas.
Since most people staying there were Trainers, the arenas were usually busy.
After all, if injured, Pokémon could be healed immediately. That made it easy to find opponents at the Rookie Rank and Junior Rank.
Soon, Gu Yuan spotted a suitable opponent.
"Hello, my name is Gu Yuan. Could you let your Squirtle battle against my Mankey?"
Hearing the voice, Dazai turned his head and saw Gu Yuan holding Eevee and Mankey.
Although Eevee looked calm in Gu Yuan's arms, as an Intermediate Rank Trainer, Dazai could sense its strength.
Looking at Mankey's eager expression, he realized Gu Yuan, like him, was training a new Pokémon.
"No problem. My Squirtle will be glad."
"Squirtle, squirt!"
As Dazai spoke, his Squirtle agreed from beside him.
Mankey jumped down from Gu Yuan's arms, staring at its opponent.
"Squirtle, squirtle!" Hello, nice to meet you. We'll be opponents soon.
"Mankey, mankey!" This is my first battle. I'll do my best, so please take care of me.
"Squirtle, squirtle!" No problem. I haven't battled much either.
"Mankey, mankey!" Then let's do our best together.
"Squirtle!"
While the two got acquainted, Gu Yuan and Dazai moved to the arena.
Soon, Mankey and Squirtle stood ready to fight.
"Squirtle, use Water Gun!"
Thanks to the coin toss, Dazai attacked first.
Squirtle puffed up its cheeks, then shot a stream of water straight at Mankey.
"Remember how I taught you. Dodge the Water Gun and get close to Squirtle!"
As the attack came, Mankey grew nervous.
No matter how much it had looked forward to this, it was still its first real battle.
But Gu Yuan's voice quickly calmed it down.
Thinking of all its training with weighted runs and dodges, Mankey no longer feared the Water Gun.
It leapt and rolled aside, dodging the strike, then rushed toward Squirtle.
As a Fighting-type Pokémon, Mankey's natural physical talent showed. It's running speed far exceeded Squirtle's expectations.
"Squirtle, spin while using Water Gun to stop it from getting close!"
"Mankey, use Covet!"
Mankey adapted to battle quickly.
Hearing Gu Yuan's order, it used Covet right away.
When it had practiced the move, Eevee had even taught it directly. Mankey's control was high.
Covet did not normally cancel an opponent's move. But the sudden cuteness still caught Squirtle off guard, especially since it was inexperienced.
Distracted, Squirtle's Water Gun slowed down. Mankey seized the chance, dashed forward, and punched Squirtle in the face.
Against a Pokémon with a hard shell, attacking the body was useless. So Gu Yuan had taught Mankey to always go for the face.
Now it paid off.
"Squirtle, withdraw into your shell!"
"Mankey, use Leer!"
Dazai reacted quickly, but Gu Yuan reacted even faster.
Since he knew all of Mankey's moves, he could counter with ease.
Under Leer, Squirtle was interrupted again, and its defense dropped.
"Mankey, use Fury Swipes, then finish with Covet!"
Mankey swung its fists fast, leaving several marks on Squirtle's face.
Nervous from its first real battle, Mankey only managed two swipes, but that was enough.
Dizzy and staggering, Squirtle could not hold on.
Mankey struck with one last Covet, landing another punch on Squirtle's face.
Squirtle stumbled, then collapsed unconscious.
Mankey froze, then broke into a wide smile.
It leapt into Gu Yuan's arms, sharing its joy.
"You did great, Mankey. I never expected you to fight so well your first time. You'll become even stronger."
Gu Yuan stroked its head and praised it without holding back.
Mankey's first battle had ended in perfection.