"Mankey, use Fury Swipes!"
At the command, Mankey rushed forward.
Fury Swipes struck, leaving several scratches on Bulbasaur, and once again, the fight ended with Mankey's victory.
The battle was over. Compared to its first match, Mankey was far steadier now, but it still could not hide the smile on its face.
"Well done, Mankey. You did great."
Gu Yuan walked quickly to its side, crouched down, and stroked its small head while speaking gently.
The next moment, Mankey could not hold back its feelings. It leapt into Gu Yuan's arms to share its joy.
Gu Yuan had already grown used to Mankey's stubborn and proud nature over the past two days, so he wasn't surprised.
He scratched its head, letting it celebrate to its heart's content.
After saying goodbye to the other Trainer, Gu Yuan left the battlefield with Mankey.
"All right, Mankey, you should rest for a while. Next, we will go to the Cerulean Cave, and I'll help you find suitable opponents there."
"This time, you'll be facing wild Pokémon, so it should give you a different kind of experience."
Hearing this, Mankey, who had wanted to keep battling, suddenly looked excited.
That morning, Gu Yuan had already checked out of his lodging.
Coming to the battlefield had only been to let Mankey enjoy a few more matches before leaving.
Since Gu Yuan had prepared ahead of time, he found the road to the Cerulean Cave as soon as he left Cerulean City.
On the way, he saw many Trainers passing by.
Some were returning from training inside the Cerulean Cave, and some, like Gu Yuan, were heading there to train.
As he got closer to the cave, Gu Yuan saw many Rangers stationed there. This reminded him of his experience at Mt. Moon.
"I wonder if Pokémon Hunters will attack again this time. I really hope to trigger another hunting mission."
Even before entering, Gu Yuan was already looking forward to the training inside.
Walking into the cave, he could tell it was spacious, with many branching tunnels.
In a place like this, a map was essential. Otherwise, it was easy to get lost.
Like in the game, the cave was divided into several floors.
On the first floor, Pokémon such as Zubat, Golbat, and Geodude appeared, just like at Mt. Moon.
But unlike Mt. Moon, this cave also had Psyduck, Rhyhorn, Lickitung, and Ditto.
One of Gu Yuan's goals this time was to see if he could catch a Ditto.
It didn't need to be trained as a main Pokémon. Instead, it could serve as a mascot, trained only for stamina and its transformation ability, which could help hide his identity at times.
Further inside, there were also Poliwag and Goldeen, both Water-types.
Despite being underground, the Cerulean Cave was not dark. It glowed with a faint blue light, giving it a dreamy atmosphere.
Here, Geodude's camouflage would normally be flawless, but Gu Yuan could still spot it with ease.
Looking at a tunnel ahead, he released Kadabra to use its psychic power to locate the path with the fewest people.
Kadabra spread its psychic senses, quickly found the best route, and led Gu Yuan forward.
What Gu Yuan didn't notice was that when he released Kadabra, several people nearby looked at it with greed in their eyes.
"Good timing, Mankey. The rock to the left ahead, charge in with Covet!"
Soon after entering the tunnel, Gu Yuan's system detected a Geodude hiding nearby.
At times like this, Kadabra often wondered if Gu Yuan had psychic powers stronger than its own.
That would explain why Gu Yuan could detect even the smallest hidden Geodude without Kadabra noticing.
But then Kadabra thought about how Gu Yuan helped it improve its power and skill mastery so quickly. In that case, maybe it wasn't strange after all.
Following the order, Mankey grew excited and charged forward.
Even though the Geodude woke up, it failed to attack in time under the effect of Covet.
The move landed, and pain jolted the Geodude awake.
"Mankey, use Leer, then follow with Fury Swipes!"
Against a Pokémon like Geodude, whose defense was naturally high, Mankey was at a disadvantage, but Leer could greatly make up for that.
Fury Swipes hit, leaving fresh wounds across Geodude's rocky body before it could fight back.
"Mankey, use Low Kick, then finish with Fury Swipes!"
Low Kick was stronger the heavier the target was.
With Geodude's weight of about 20 kilograms, Low Kick's power was only 40BP. But combined with the last Fury Swipes, it was enough to knock Geodude out.
With its first victory secured, Mankey became even more eager for the next battle.
Meanwhile, Charizard and the others were growing uninterested in Rookie Rank opponents.
But Gu Yuan was thrifty, and he didn't want to waste any chance to earn points.
Now that Mankey could fight on its own, Gu Yuan would not let this opportunity slip away.
So that morning, Mankey indulged in battle after battle.
Even with its stamina, by noon it was exhausted.
In the afternoon, the one facing Rookie Rank Pokémon became Eevee.
The reason Gu Yuan gave was simple: Eevee had just broken through to the Intermediate Rank, so it needed to polish its strength.
When he said this, Eevee's excitement and joy over reaching Intermediate Rank dropped by half.
During the battles that followed, Eevee vented its frustration on the poor wild Pokémon.
With its Intermediate Rank strength, defeating Rookie Rank opponents was too easy.
Often, a single Swift was enough to knock them out.
"Finally, after walking this far, we've found water. Now you'll have something new to enjoy."
"Mankey, Eevee, you two rest first. Recover your strength quickly."
"Kadabra, get ready. Once Mankey and Eevee recover, use your psychic power to draw out the Water-types inside. Then the three of you will fight together."
Gu Yuan wasn't in a hurry to act. He wanted to use the Pokémon here to improve the teamwork between his partners.
Hearing this, Kadabra began to meditate, preparing to strengthen itself.
Mankey ate several Pokéblocks in a row to recover faster.
Eevee had wanted to refuse, but Gu Yuan had brought out its favorite flavor.
Just smelling it, Eevee couldn't resist.
As for its annoyance, it could wait until after it had eaten.
Soon, with the help of the Pokéblocks, Eevee and Mankey were ready to battle again.