Pokémon Center.
"Mr. Shigeru, your Pokémon are all healed." Nurse Joy handed a tray to Shigeru. The tray had six indentations, five of which held Poké Balls, while one was empty.
But that empty slot wouldn't remain so for long.
"Thank you."
Shigeru retrieved his Pokémon and headed towards the police station.
Inside the police station lobby.
"May I help you?" A police officer in the lobby approached Shigeru, seeing a young boy enter.
"Hello, I'm Shigeru. I'm here to adopt a Growlithe from the Viridian City Police Station," Shigeru introduced himself.
"Do you have any identification?" The officer responsible for reception knew that a person named Shigeru would come to adopt a Growlithe, but couldn't confirm the identity of the person in front of him.
"This should prove my identity." Shigeru pulled out his Pokédex and handed it to the officer.
The officer recognized the Pokédex, took it, opened it, and pressed a button.
The Pokédex emitted Professor Oak's voice.
"This Pokédex belongs to Shigeru, a Trainer from Pallet Town."
While playing the announcement, the Pokédex screen also displayed a photo of Shigeru to verify his identity.
"No problem, please follow me." Having confirmed Shigeru's identity, the officer no longer had any doubts and led Shigeru to the breeding facility in the police station's backyard.
Every major city's police station has a breeding facility dedicated to raising canine Pokémon. In Kanto, police stations naturally raise Growlithe and Arcanine.
The Viridian City Police Station has a female Arcanine, hence the production of Growlithe.
"Ichiro, the Trainer who came to collect Growlithe is here. Bring the Growlithe out." Reaching the breeding facility, the officer called out to his colleague responsible for raising Growlithe.
Ichiro was also a police officer, specifically responsible for caring for the Pokémon in the station. He usually didn't go on missions.
Ichiro scrutinized Shigeru, his face calm. As the regular caretaker of the station's Pokémon, he had a deep affection for them.
He was also acutely aware that the Trainers who came to adopt Growlithe from the station were no ordinary individuals. Therefore, he was concerned that some spoiled brats might leverage their family connections to acquire a Growlithe.
"You're Shigeru, right?" Ichiro asked.
"Yes."
Shigeru could tell that Ichiro didn't seem to have a good impression of him, but he couldn't understand why. He didn't seem to have interacted with the police before.
"Although you're eligible to adopt a Growlithe, I, as the caretaker of Growlithe, need to assess your abilities." Ichiro stated.
Shigeru was taken aback.
This Ichiro wanted to have a Pokémon battle with him.
"Ichiro, what are you doing?" The police officer beside him was also baffled and immediately stopped him.
This officer had seen the Pokédex and knew Shigeru had a close relationship with Professor Oak. If they offended Shigeru, no one could protect Ichiro.
"Shigeru, Ichiro is simply too concerned about Growlithe. He believes that any Trainer who adopts Growlithe must have sufficient competence. He's not targeting you." The officer quickly explained.
"I understand." Shigeru nodded, unconcerned. "Since Mr. Ichiro wants to test my abilities, let's have a battle."
"As you wish. If you win, you can choose any Growlithe to take." Ichiro, being a man of principle, initially planned to just hand Shigeru a random Growlithe. Since Shigeru was so bold, he wouldn't mind giving him a backdoor opportunity.
Shigeru immediately understood Ichiro's meaning.
It seemed that Professor Oak's influence wasn't as powerful as he thought. They agreed to give him a Growlithe, but didn't consider giving him a Growlithe with great potential.
No wonder his Arcanine was instantly taken out by Snorlax's Hyper Beam. It seemed that the reason lay here.
This means that his Arcanine was also obtained through Professor Oak's connections.
After all, the number of wild Growlithe is too scarce. Any Growlithe that can survive in the wild wouldn't have poor potential.
"Alright, where should we battle?" Shigeru asked.
"There's a battle ground in the police station, just nearby." Ichiro pointed to a nearby empty area behind him.
The police officer was sweating. Although things hadn't developed in a bad way, no one knew Shigeru's temperament. What if he got angry after losing the battle?
......!
Shigeru and Ichiro arrived at the battle ground behind the station. The police officer had nothing else to do, so he acted as the referee.
"I see you're young. You must've just become a Trainer recently," Ichiro said.
"Yes."
Shigeru didn't deny it, after all, his age and appearance were evident.
"Then we'll have a 1v1 battle, alright?" Ichiro said.
It was clear that Ichiro was a straightforward person. Knowing Shigeru was a new Trainer, he didn't ask for a multi-Pokémon battle.
"Can we start?" Shigeru asked.
Although Ichiro looked quite old, Shigeru didn't think he was very strong. A Pokémon's level is based on its potential. If the potential is poor, even if you give it time to grow, the level won't increase much.
If Ichiro was truly strong, he wouldn't be just raising Growlithe at the police station.
"Battle commence. My Pokémon is this one!" Ichiro threw out a Poké Ball.
BONG!
A canine Pokémon resembling a K-9 unit appeared.
"Houndoom!"
Shigeru was a little surprised. Houndoom is a canine Pokémon exclusive to the Unova region, and it's also a Pokémon used by police officers in that region.
【LV26 Houndoom ♂/Normal】
As Shigeru had guessed, Ichiro's Pokémon was ordinary. This Houndoom was just a normal potential and could only reach a maximum level of 30.
Furthermore, Houndoom has a further evolution. At level 32, it can evolve into a Great Dane. However, this Houndoom was just ordinary and could only reach a maximum level of 30. Perhaps it might not even reach level 30.
"Golbat, it's your turn." Shigeru casually threw out his Poké Ball.
BONG!
"Da!"
Golbat appeared and followed Shigeru. Having already experienced a few battles against Trainers, it knew that a battle was about to start and immediately entered a state of alert upon seeing Houndoom.
Seeing that Shigeru chose Golbat, Ichiro's face immediately turned grim. Because his Houndoom didn't know any long-range attacks, it couldn't effectively attack an aerial target.
"Houndoom, use Bulk Up!" Ichiro commanded, choosing to boost Houndoom's attack first, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"Woof!"
Houndoom barked ferociously, and a red glow faintly emanated from its body, increasing its attack by one level.
It was clear that Ichiro had some skills, but his Pokémon wasn't very strong. Shigeru snapped his fingers and ordered, "Golbat, use Supersonic."
"Da!"
Golbat emitted a piercing sonic wave, which slammed into Houndoom.