Chapter Sixty-Five: Read First

“How is that possible?” Gary couldn’t help but exclaim when he saw Arcanine hit squarely by Sleep Powder and instantly fall asleep. How could Exeggutor be so fast?

From their earlier exchanges, it was clear that Exeggutor was only around level 30, perhaps one or two levels below Arcanine, and Arcanine’s base stats were almost double those of Exeggutor. Suddenly, Gary’s eyes narrowed, and he said in a low voice, “Sitrus Serum?”

Although Amu didn’t answer, his expression made it clear he had guessed right—Sitrus Serum, made from the Sitrus Berry, worked much like the “Sitrus Berry” in the games. In the games, most berries activate automatically when HP drops below a quarter, but here in the real world of Pokémon, you have to drink the serum beforehand for it to trigger in times of severe injury.

In the games, the Sitrus Berry is often called the “Priority Berry,” granting the next move priority, allowing it to act before others regardless of speed. Here, in this non-turn-based world, the Sitrus Serum had a similar effect, letting a Pokémon overdraw on one move—much like other priority skills!

So, when Exeggutor suffered a heavy blow from Arcanine, the preemptively consumed Sitrus Serum activated, and it countered immediately with Sleep Powder, catching the unguarded Arcanine square in the face.

Even though Arcanine was now asleep, neither Exeggutor nor Ivysaur attacked it right away, and Gary didn’t rush to switch it out either… Even if he wanted to, he’d have to wait until a move was ready.

The two Grass-types turned their attention on Wartortle instead. Exeggutor’s psychic powers shifted from harassment to restricting movement, making it much harder for Wartortle to dodge Ivysaur’s whipping vines!

Wartortle let out repeated cries of pain, but ultimately, its slight level advantage let it finish preparing its move first. Sensitive to such shifts, Gary immediately commanded, “Wartortle, use Water Pulse—just a little… Wake up Arcanine!”

Wartortle spun in its shell, dodging attacks for the moment, then spat out a stream of water—though calling it Water Pulse was generous; it was more like Water Gun.

With controlled power, a move’s intensity could be reduced.

In the games, Water Pulse or Water Gun don’t wake sleeping Pokémon, but in this real world, any attack might rouse a sleeper—especially Water-type, Ice-type, or startling moves.

But just then, Ivysaur, only a moment behind, was ready to attack as well…

Gary had even prepared himself for Ivysaur to unleash a Leaf Storm and instantly take out Wartortle, reasoning that as long as Arcanine woke up, it would be worth it. But…

Without waiting for Amu’s command, Ivysaur let out a sharp cry, its flower bud flashing. Suddenly, the sunlight on the battlefield grew intense!

Because Amu could achieve a near-telepathic rapport with his Pokémon during training, they could rehearse tactics much more directly. In battle, he only needed to give simple commands or reminders when the situation changed.

The already-weak stream of water from Wartortle was instantly invaded by the sunlight, its Water-type power cut by half again, so that when it struck Arcanine, the sleeping Pokémon only twitched its nose and didn’t wake up!

Seeing Arcanine remain asleep, Amu silently cheered.

With the sun blazing, Fire-type moves received a 50% boost, while Water-type moves were weakened by 50%. If he hadn’t put Arcanine to sleep first, Amu wouldn’t have dared let Ivysaur set the weather.

As for finishing off Wartortle…

It clearly wasn’t as important as establishing the weather!

Now that the sun was out, Wartortle was virtually neutralized, so there was no hurry to deal with it.

Under the intense sunlight, the leaves on Ivysaur’s back and Exeggutor’s heads shimmered faintly, soaking up the doubled solar energy. Chlorophyll began to take effect, speeding up move preparation, and Harvest’s efficiency increased as well.

Chlorophyll’s “speed” boost here referred to the speed of move preparation. Normally, Ivysaur wasn’t remarkable in this area, but once its speed doubled, it became a clear advantage.

And—

To Gary’s surprise, Exeggutor was the first to unleash a second round of attacks!

Although Exeggutor’s invisible energy reserves weren’t full, under the effects of Harvest, it absorbed the sun’s energy, regenerating the Sitrus Berry’s power, and the Sitrus Serum activated again—even though it was already in “debt” from the last use, it could owe another!

In this state, Exeggutor’s actual “speed” hardly mattered; the frequency of its moves depended mainly on how quickly Harvest could regenerate the Sitrus Berry’s effect.

“Exeggutor, use Leaf Storm!” Amu called out.

Under normal tactics, Amu might not have needed to speak, but going by his previous training, if he didn’t command Exeggutor now, it would likely wait for Ivysaur, then double up on Arcanine with Sludge Bomb and Psychic, hoping to take it out in one go.

But when Amu called for Leaf Storm, Exeggutor immediately understood—this was an order to instantly take out Wartortle!

After all, Grass-type moves weren’t effective against Arcanine…

“Wartortle, dodge!” Gary realized Amu’s plan and gave a hurried command, but it was too late.

Exeggutor swung its heads, unleashing a surge of grass energy that became countless blade-like leaves, storming toward Wartortle!

Though Wartortle leapt aside, it was still caught by the brunt of the attack. Already weakened by fighting two-on-one, Wartortle collapsed on the spot.

After all, Leaf Storm was a powerful move with a base power of 130!

It was Exeggutor’s signature Grass move and super effective against Wartortle…

Of course, such overwhelming power came with a side effect—a massive drop in Special Attack after overexertion.

“Wartortle is unable to battle. Gary, please send out a new Pokémon!” Misty immediately declared.

“Tch.” Gary gritted his teeth in frustration.

At the same time, Misty looked anxiously at Amu, unable to understand why he didn’t wait for Ivysaur and team up to take out the greater threat, Arcanine, first. Why risk Exeggutor’s overexertion just to remove the less-threatening Wartortle?

Was he being reckless?

Beside her, Gardenia noticed Misty’s concern and said, “Don’t worry. Look at his expression—he’s not just acting on impulse.”

Indeed, Amu prioritized removing Wartortle because he noticed Gary’s confidence—he wasn’t in any rush to recall Arcanine. By now, Arcanine should have been ready to attack again.

So Amu made a read—Gary’s Wartortle was likely about to use Rain Dance!

If Rain Dance succeeded and brought on rainy weather, the chance of Arcanine waking from sleep would greatly increase, and Sleep Powder would become much harder to land, essentially nullifying it…

But now that Gary saw Wartortle defeated, he obediently made a double switch, recalling both the fallen Wartortle and the sleeping Arcanine, and sent out Kingler—and Nidoking!