Walking at the front of the team, Torchic's small black eyes carefully scanned its surroundings, burning with fierce battle intent.
As a Fire-type Pokémon, and having grown up watching Machamp and the others fight, Torchic, like them, developed a relentless desire to grow stronger and a battle-hardened personality.
Back on that small island during special training, Torchic had fought against several Bug-type Pokémon like Weedle and Caterpie. Now, believing itself to have become much stronger, it yearned for an even more formidable opponent.
However, as if intimidated by Torchic's presence, despite searching for a long time, it couldn't find a suitable rival.
With no other choice, Torchic resorted to its last tactic—looking up at Persian and Gardevoir with an adorable pleading expression.
A flash of white light streaked by—Ron, appearing out of nowhere, pulled out a camera and snapped a picture of the scene. This moment was destined to be an embarrassing memory once Torchic grew up.
Frozen in place like a statue, Torchic remained motionless, completely stunned.
Even at such a young age, it had already begun to understand the harsh realities of society.
Seeing this, Persian and Gardevoir didn't hesitate and started searching for a suitable wild Pokémon for Torchic to battle.
As seasoned battlers, their expertise quickly came into play.
It wasn't long before Ron and his team found themselves facing a Rattata.
Noticing Machamp and the others, Rattata was so startled that it dropped its food, its mind racing—would playing dead help it escape this predicament?
"Torchic, use Ember!"
To prevent Rattata from overthinking its situation, Ron commanded Torchic to take the initiative.
A cluster of scorching flames shot forward, forcing Rattata to react.
Realizing that Machamp and the others weren't the ones attacking, Rattata gathered its courage and used Quick Attack to dart away from its original position.
With its nimble body, Rattata skillfully dodged the Ember attack before rapidly charging at Torchic.
"Torchic, use Counter!"
A red glow enveloped Torchic as it stood its ground, allowing Rattata's Quick Attack to land.
As the impact forced Torchic to stagger back, the red energy surrounding it transformed into a powerful shockwave, sending Rattata flying.
"Now's your chance—Ember!"
Torchic was already familiar with this strategy. Gritting its beak, it endured the hit and quickly launched another Ember attack.
Crashing onto the ground, Rattata struggled to stand up, only to see the Ember attack already upon it. With no time to evade, it took the full brunt of the flames.
"Torchic, rush in and use Sand Attack!"
Thanks to its Speed Boost ability, after three moves, Torchic's speed had already increased significantly.
Unlike Shave, this ability not only enhanced Torchic's movement speed but also boosted its reaction time in battle.
Moving like a blur, Torchic rapidly closed the distance between itself and Rattata.
Struggling to stand, Rattata was met with a faceful of sand. As the gritty particles got into its eyes, it instinctively squinted shut.
Taking full advantage, Torchic unleashed Scratch, leaving fresh wounds on Rattata while knocking it back once again. Without giving it a chance to recover, another Ember attack sealed the battle.
With its Speed Boost ability, as long as Torchic successfully activated it, its combat potential became terrifying.
If, in the future, it combined this ability with techniques like Shave and Moonwalk from the Six Powers, its speed would reach an even more fearsome level.
After defeating Rattata, Torchic only grew more unstoppable—facing fast opponents, it relied on Speed Boost and Counter to increase its own speed. Against slower opponents, its advantage became even more overwhelming, leaving them no room to retaliate.
Having grown up drinking Miltank's nutritious milk, later consuming top-tier Pokéblocks, and enjoying a level of treatment that even Machamp never had, Torchic's growth rate was astonishingly fast.
As resources were gradually depleted, Ron started to understand why powerful families were able to raise such strong Pokémon at such a young age.
Even without considering the skill of the trainers, their Pokémon's natural talents and access to resources already gave them an overwhelming advantage.
Torchic was a prime example.
In just one day, its level had risen by three, reaching level 15—only a step away from evolving—and it had even learned Peck as a new move.
Just as Ron was about to push forward and help Torchic reach level 16 for its first evolution, his backpack suddenly stirred with movement.
Judging by the timeline, it was impossible for the Larvitar egg to be hatching. Instead, it was the Gastly egg.
Recalling the weakest member, Torchic, into its Poké Ball, Ron carefully retrieved the Gastly egg from his bag.
Unlike the previous hatching of Nidoran and Torchic, this time, Machamp and the others not only remained vigilant of their surroundings but also kept a close eye on the egg itself.
Gardevoir, in particular, stood right beside Ron, ready to use Teleport to evacuate him at the first sign of danger. Meanwhile, Machamp and the others were prepared to attack immediately, eliminating any potential threat before it could arise.
With their significantly improved strength, they no longer saw a Mid Elite-tier Gengar as a major threat.
As soon as the egg was brought out of the backpack, it seemed to recognize that it was time to hatch and began trembling.
Unlike the usual white glow that accompanied Pokémon hatching, this egg emitted a pure black radiance.
Within the eerie darkness, Ron sensed no trace of the usual vibrant life energy—only an ominous, chilling aura.
From this alone, there was a high probability that the Pokémon inside was an exceptionally malevolent Ghost-type. However, Ron didn't act rashly. He decided to wait and see what form Gastly would take once it hatched.
As the black light gradually faded, a Gastly appeared where the egg once was. Just looking at it, Ron could feel the creeping coldness in the air.
Surprisingly, neither Gardevoir nor Ron's own Fighting Aura detected any malice from the Gastly.
In particular, Gardevoir's heightened perception confirmed that, aside from its chilling presence and eerie appearance, Gastly's mind was as blank as a sheet of paper—exactly what one would expect from a freshly hatched Pokémon.
While Ron and the others cautiously observed the Gastly, it too was watching them.
The newborn Gastly was surrounded by a purple, mist-like aura, with a black, gaseous core at its center. Its large white eyes and exposed fangs made it a textbook example of a Ghost-type Pokémon.
Then, without warning, Gastly's eyes curved into crescent-shaped smiles, and it suddenly launched itself toward Ron's embrace.
Ron quickly signaled Machamp and the others to stand down. Since he still hadn't sensed any hostility from the Gastly, he decided to wait and see—curious about what it intended to do.
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