Chapter 39: The Samurai Boy's Challenge
(First update, new book seeking collection, flowers!)
Swoosh!!!
The boy who had been in a sorry state suddenly turned his eyes to the two of them, then drew a katana from his waist and slashed directly towards Xiao Zhi.
"Ah!!" Xiao Xia was startled by this.
Xiao Zhi, seeing this, subconsciously reached out to catch it. His left hand directly grabbed the blade as it swung back, further scaring Xiao Xia to the point where she didn't dare to look.
"Xiao...Xiao Zhi, are you alright?!"
Seeing Xiao Zhi directly grab the blade with his hand, Xiao Xia hurriedly grabbed his clothes, filled with worry, and also angry.
"What are you doing, you guy!!"
She was very angry right now. What was this guy up to? He didn't even thank him for saving him, and now he was attacking them! It made Xiao Xia's temper flare.
"To be able to block my attack without changing your expression, you're no ordinary person!" However, the samurai boy seemed to have no shame at all for "repaying kindness with betrayal". Instead, he looked quite pleased at Xiao Zhi holding his sword.
"You're attacking from behind!" Xiao Zhi said calmly, then let go of the sword.
Xiao Xia, seeing this, quickly grabbed Xiao Zhi's hand to check, only to find that he wasn't injured. At this moment, she saw the samurai boy put away his sword, using his other hand to bend the blade. The blade instantly curved.
After letting go, the blade wobbled, looking like it was made of plastic, not a real sword. Xiao Xia breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still a little annoyed. Xiao Zhi was right, it was a sneak attack.
"Ahem... that's not the point. The point is, are you trainers from Pallet Town?" The samurai boy coughed lightly, then asked.
"So what if we're trainers from Pallet Town?" Xiao Xia was still a little annoyed. Before Xiao Zhi could ask, she had already responded for him, but the tone wasn't friendly.
"If you're trainers from Pallet Town, then let's fight!" The samurai boy pointed his fake sword at Xiao Zhi.
"Fight? Why do trainers from Pallet Town have to fight you?"
"Because I've already met three trainers from Pallet Town. They were all ridiculously strong. After fighting them, I felt I learned a lot from every match. So I've made up my mind to challenge all the trainers from Pallet Town!"
The samurai boy didn't hide his purpose of challenging Pallet Town trainers.
"Uh... from the way you're talking, it seems like you lost to those other Pallet Town trainers, and you're not happy about it, right?" Xiao Xia said sarcastically.
"That... that's not the point. The point is, are you actually trainers from Pallet Town?" The samurai boy blushed a little at Xiao Xia's words and hurriedly tried to cover up his embarrassment.
"I'm Xiao Zhi from Pallet Town. Even though you attacked me from behind, trainers from Pallet Town aren't afraid of any challenge."
Xiao Zhi listened, slightly lowered his head, reached out to grab the brim of his cap and adjusted it, looking at the samurai boy in front of him, he accepted the challenge without hesitation.
"Good, worthy of being a trainer from Pallet Town. Let's go! The match will be a two-on-two battle. How does that sound?" The samurai was immediately excited when he heard Xiao Zhi accept the challenge.
"Okay!"
"Then I won't hold back. Go, Rhydon!" The samurai boy excitedly threw out his Poké Ball.
Pa!
Blue light flashed, and a figure appeared in the middle of the two of them. A Pokémon with a sturdy, brown shell appeared before their eyes.
It had a pair of horns on top of its head that were even longer than its body, looking like giant scissors. The horns were covered in sharp spikes. There was no doubt that if you were caught in those horns, you'd be unlikely to escape unharmed.
Xiao Zhi also took out his Poké Ball. "Go, Metapod!"
He didn't send out Pikachu, nor did he send out the type-advantageous Pidgeotto. Instead, it was the recently evolved Metapod.
Xiao Xia slightly frowned at this scene. Metapod couldn't move on its own, so trainers usually waited for it to evolve and become capable of fighting before sending it out.
She couldn't understand why Xiao Zhi would send out Metapod. She would've thought he'd send out Pikachu, or at least Pidgeotto with its type advantage.
If it had been before, she would have said so. But after seeing Xiao Zhi defeat Pidgeotto with Caterpie, she held back what she wanted to say and chose to believe Xiao Zhi.
"Hmm? It seems I praised you too highly. You're actually sending out a Metapod that can't move to face Rhydon? Isn't that just a sitting duck?" The samurai boy frowned at Xiao Zhi for a moment, then said mockingly.
"Hmph! Not being able to move has its own way of fighting. You wouldn't know until you've tried it." Xiao Zhi smiled lightly.
He knew how strong Rhydon's horns were, and Rhydon was a high-level Pokémon in the game among Bug-type Pokémon. But he had his own plan, of course.
"You're asking for it, then. I won't hold back. Rhydon, go! Use Horn Drill!" The samurai boy thought Xiao Zhi was being too arrogant and decided to give him a lesson, immediately giving orders to Rhydon.
Rhydon, hearing this, immediately charged forward. The large horns on its head instantly flashed with silver light, its feet pounded the ground with a constant thumping noise.
"Metapod, use Harden!"
Metapod didn't make a sound, but its eyes became sharp. Light shimmered around it, and after a moment, the light dissipated. On the green shell, it was as if a transparent glass cover had been coated.
"Harden again!" Seeing this, Xiao Zhi continued to give orders. Metapod used Harden again, light shimmered once more, and its defense was further strengthened.
Pa!!!
At this moment, Rhydon had charged over, using the horns on its head to clamp down on Metapod.
PS: Because Pokémon has changed its names over the years, actually, in Japan, they're called these names. But I've been playing since I was little and I'm used to the Chinese translation.
Like Rhydon, Lapras, etc., I'm already used to calling them that. If they changed the names well, I'd try to use the new names. But some of them just feel awkward.
Like Pidgeot is just called Pidgeotto, and Omanyte is directly followed by the Japanese pronunciation, so some names I'll try to write them as they are, but I'll also include the new names.