Seeing this, the opposing Trainer reacted quickly and shouted, "Change direction!"
The Flame Wheel carved a curved scorch mark across the ground, twisting as it tried to swing back toward Buneary—but Power-Up Punch had already been thrown!
Boom—!
The flames scattered instantly. Chimchar flipped backward in midair, landing steadily on its feet. Buneary did the same—and at the same time, a glow flared around its body, signaling an Attack increase.
"Tch…"
The opponent let out an annoyed click of the tongue, clearly dissatisfied with Chimchar's performance.
Flame Wheel had a base power of 60, boosted to 90 with same-type attack bonus.
Power-Up Punch, on the other hand, had only 40 power, its main effect being a one-stage Attack boost.
And yet—even with a level advantage, the opponent still failed to suppress Buneary.
The only explanation was that in just a few short days, Peter and Buneary had developed remarkable coordination. Combined with the improvised speed-control techniques gained during training for the Speed Boost Ability, they had found a clever opening.
"Now…" Peter smiled faintly,
"The momentum has shifted. Quick Attack!"
The little rabbit flashed forward, trailing a comet-like tail of white light as it slammed toward Chimchar.
"Flame Wheel!"
The opponent stubbornly stuck to the same tactic, apparently betting everything on raw level and stamina.
But this time, the Flame Wheel had only just formed before it was blown apart by Quick Attack!
With its Attack raised and STAB in play, Buneary could now win head-on trades—unless Chimchar had something stronger up its sleeve.
"Again—Quick Attack!"
"..."
This time, Chimchar didn't receive any command.
"Ee-yah!"
It was struck hard and sent flying, crashing to the ground. It struggled for a long while before finally pushing itself back up, then turned around in confusion, glancing behind it.
Peter frowned.
That familiar feeling…
Could it be—
His thoughts went to Paul, Ash's old rival.
But then he dismissed it as absurd. This was the system's simulated space—how could Paul possibly appear here?
"Finish it, Buneary. Quick Attack!"
The rabbit charged once more.
"Ee-yah!"
Battered and bruised, Chimchar looked back again and cried out—
But once again, no command came.
It was sent flying high into the air, slammed down hard, and finally lost the ability to battle.
[Ding! Over-level battle victory! You have obtained 5 Universal Talent Points! These may be freely allocated to any of the six attributes.]
"Hmph… Come back. Useless thing."
The shadowy Trainer recalled Chimchar into a Poké Ball, then turned and vanished.
Peter stood there, completely stunned.
That—
That was literally Paul's catchphrase.
Lose a fight, blame the Pokémon.
Win a fight, offer no praise at all.
"So… was that just now the future 'senior brother'?" Peter muttered to himself.
In the original story, Chimchar's Blaze Ability held terrifying power. When it accidentally triggered in the wild against a Zangoose, Paul took interest and captured it.
But because that power was so extreme, Blaze—which normally activated near exhaustion—was incredibly hard for Chimchar to trigger again. After countless brutal battles and merciless training sessions, Paul never once saw that blazing form return.
Eventually, during a doubles battle against Ash, Chimchar finally awakened Blaze again—but by then, Paul had completely given up on it and chose to abandon it.
Out of compassion and affection, Ash took in the discarded Pokémon. After evolving into Infernape, it finally mastered that terrifying flame.
At the Lily of the Valley Conference in Sinnoh, it achieved redemption with a legendary one-versus-three comeback, etching its name into the memories of countless fans forever. That blazing Flare Blitz charge became its defining moment.
Unfortunately, Ash himself was later stopped in the semifinals by the Mythical-Pokémon user Tobias, finishing only in the Top Four.
Recalling the Diamond & Pearl arc, Peter felt a spark of anticipation.
Given the current timeline, maybe he could even challenge this era's Ash.
Then another thought struck him.
"Could it be… the system can somehow pull Trainers from around the world into simulated battles?"
His eyes lit up.
"Does that mean I might eventually face future Masters of the Eight?"
If so, he could rapidly accumulate combat experience—arming himself through real battles!
"Mi-kyu~"
Buneary hopped over, blinking its eyes and acting cute.
"Alright, alright… MooMoo Milk, right? I'll reward you once we're back outside."
Peter rubbed Buneary's head.
The little one was great in every way—except for its obsession with acting spoiled and its near-religious devotion to milk.
Opening the system panel, Peter allocated all 5 Talent Points into Buneary's Attack.
Since he'd decided to pursue training for the Speed Boost Ability, Buneary's offensive power needed to keep up.
Next, he opened the mission panel—the reward for capturing Smoliv hadn't been claimed yet.
[Ding! Main Quest 'Second Member' completed! You have obtained Power Anklet!]
[Power Anklet: A foundational training item. When held, it lowers the Pokémon's Speed, but maximizes leg and foot strength training. Long-term use effectively increases Speed.]
Peter paused, surprised.
This was a Generation IX base-stat training item. In games, it boosted effort values.
For Buneary—who Peter planned to build as a max Attack, max Speed physical sweeper—this item was perfect. It even synergized with training the Speed Boost Ability.
The only downside was that a Pokémon could hold only one item at a time.
So Peter threaded a cord through the Soothe Bell and hung it around Buneary's neck instead. As long as they were careful, it wouldn't fall off—though it would need to be removed during battle.
[Ding! A large number of main quests have been issued. Please check the mission panel.]
Peter blinked and looked over the list:
Main Quest 1: Third Partner
Requirement: Capture a third Pokémon.
Reward: Random held item ×2.
Main Quest 2: First Gym Challenge
Requirement: Obtain your first Gym Badge in any region.
Reward: Random TM ×1, Gacha Draw ×1.
Main Quest 3: Raise Competitive Rank
Requirement: Become a Bronze-rank Trainer in the arena.
Reward: Random held item ×1, Gacha Draw ×1.
…
"…That's a lot of quests all at once."
Peter grinned instead of complaining.
More quests meant richer system rewards.
The first two were self-explanatory. As for the arena ranking, he'd have to register as a Trainer first to learn the rules.
He queued up a few more random matches. Most opponents weren't particularly strong, so he even let Smoliv get some practice.
Against a Totodile, Strength Sap was downright broken at low levels—after two uses, the opponent couldn't deal damage at all.
Two Weather Balls later, the battle was over.
The Defense Talent gained from that fight was added directly to Smoliv.
Peter exhaled slowly.
His team… was finally starting to take shape.