I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

Chapter 728 - 728: Vs. Duraludon

"Duraludon, become my Pokémon. I'll make you stronger. You won't get any stronger if you just stay out here," Gary said."DURA!"

Duraludon turned to face Gary, unleashing a beam of silver light from its mouth.

"Hmph, stubborn, aren't you?" Gary snorted. "Eevee, Thunderbolt!"

"VEE!"

Eevee's body crackled with golden electricity, unleashing a powerful bolt of lightning that clashed head-on with Duraludon's Flash Cannon.

Boom!

The two attacks collided and detonated, resulting in a perfect stalemate.

"DURA!!"

Duraludon was taken aback that Eevee had blocked its Flash Cannon, but it also noticed a weakness.

Eevee's body was too small. To a wild Pokémon like Duraludon, a small stature was synonymous with weakness.

"I'm surprised you managed to tie with my Eevee, but it won't happen again," Gary declared. "Eevee, evolve into a Fire-type and use Fire Blast!"

"VEE!"

Eevee was enveloped in a brilliant, incandescent light. Its body rapidly shifted and reshaped, taking on the form of a Fire-type Pokémon.

"It evolved?!"

"What? How did it evolve?"

Garke and Nick were completely stunned. Having attended the Pokémon Academy, where Eevee was frequently used as a teaching model, they knew perfectly well that Eevee's evolution required Evolution Stones.

They couldn't fathom how Gary's Eevee had evolved on the spot without one.

"DURA!"

Duraludon was equally shocked, but it had no intention of waiting politely. Before Eevee's evolution was even complete, Duraludon fired another silver beam.

"FLAAARE!"

The evolutionary light faded, revealing Flareon. A massive ball of fire erupted from its body, surging forward as a devastating Fire Blast.

When the two attacks met, the overwhelming flames swallowed the silver beam whole and slammed into Duraludon. Because Duraludon's body was composed entirely of metal ore, it heated up incredibly fast. The intense temperature ravaged its frame, causing it immense discomfort.

"Du...ra...!"

Duraludon refused to fall. It tried to move, but the internal heat paralyzed it temporarily. It frantically opened the vents on its tail to vent the scorching heat from its body.

"Dig!" Gary ordered.

Even though Eevee had evolved into Flareon, it could still use Dig. Flareon was capable of mastering a wide variety of moves, so as long as Eevee knew a move, it could still use it after evolving.

"FLAAARE!"

Flareon burrowed straight into the earth.

Duraludon began to panic. Even as a wild Pokémon, it was acutely aware of its own weaknesses.

Bang!

The ground erupted, and Flareon burst out right in front of Duraludon, slamming into its body. However, Duraludon managed to use Iron Defense just in time, mitigating the damage.

"Smart move. You actually know to use Iron Defense to protect yourself. But I'm not letting up—Flareon, Fire Blast!"

At Gary's command, Flareon unleashed another torrent of fire. The red flames erupted and condensed into a massive Fire Blast, surging rapidly toward Duraludon.

Duraludon had no way to resist the scorching inferno and was completely engulfed by the flames.

Boom!!

The flames detonated, sending a thick plume of black smoke into the air.

Duraludon could no longer stand. Its body pitched forward uncontrollably and crashed to the ground.

"Go, Poké Ball!"

Gary pulled out a Poké Ball and hurled it at Duraludon.

Bang!!

The Poké Ball struck its target, drawing Duraludon inside.

Flareon watched as the Poké Ball wobbled and finally clicked shut. A moment later, a white light flashed over its body, and its form reverted back into Eevee.

"Hey! It turned back into Eevee?!"

"What... how is that possible?!"

Seeing Flareon revert to Eevee, Garke and Nick were left utterly speechless.

Since when could a Pokémon devolve?

Garke couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. He immediately jumped down into the rocky pit, ran over to Gary, and demanded, "Gary, what is going on with your Eevee?"

"It's nothing. I just have some special items that allow Eevee to evolve temporarily and then revert back to its original form," Gary explained casually.

"...!"

He calls that nothing?!

Garke was a researcher. Gary made it sound so simple, but achieving something like this was nothing short of miraculous. While some researchers had written theoretical papers on the subject, no one had ever actually accomplished it in practice.

Gary didn't elaborate further. He walked over, picked up the Poké Ball, and checked Duraludon's data.

[Pokémon: Duraludon]

[Type: Steel, Dragon]

[Level: 59]

[Potential: Quasi-Elite]

[Ability: Heavy Metal (The body's weight becomes twice that of normal.)]

[Moves: Leer, Metal Claw, Hone Claws, Metal Sound, Dragon Tail, Iron Defense, Dragon Claw, Flash Cannon]

[Friendship: 50 (max value 255)]

Looking at its move pool, it was clear that this Duraludon was a completely wild Pokémon. It hadn't been taught any moves by a Trainer, which indicated it had never faced a truly powerful opponent in its life.

After reviewing Duraludon's data, Gary released it from the Poké Ball.

Garke still wanted to press the issue about Eevee, but seeing Gary release Duraludon, he held his tongue.

Gary took a Full Restore from his System Storage, sprayed it over Duraludon, and taught it several new moves.

After treating Duraludon with the medicine, Gary said, "Let's wait for it to wake up."

Garke and Nick were stunned.

Nick didn't understand why Gary wanted to wait for Duraludon to wake up. He urged him, "Gary, we still need to investigate the situation here. I don't have time to help you tame a Pokémon right now. You can do that after we return to the observation station this evening."

"I am investigating the situation," Gary replied. "Do you think Duraludon doesn't know what's going on around here?"

Nick was taken aback for a moment, then retorted, "Even if Duraludon knows what's going on, do you really think it's going to cooperate with you after you just beat it up and caught it?"

"How will I know if I don't try? What if this Duraludon is impressed by my strength?" Gary asked.

Nick: "…!"

Nick was a Trainer himself. He knew that some Pokémon became very obedient after being defeated, but those were rare exceptions.

Duraludon definitely wasn't one of them. Wild Duraludon were incredibly strong and proud. They frequently clashed with Tyranitar over territory, and even when defeated, they rarely surrendered easily.

"Garke, what do you think?" Nick asked, placing his last hopes on Garke to talk some sense into Gary.

Garke didn't respond to Nick's question. His eyes were still glued to the Eevee sitting beside Gary.

"Hey! Garke!" Nick snapped, patting Garke on the shoulder.

"Oh!" Garke jolted back to reality. "What were you asking me?"

"I asked whether we should listen to Gary and wait for Duraludon to wake up, or just continue investigating," Nick repeated.

"Then let's listen to Gary," Garke said. "We don't have any solid clues anyway. Even if we keep investigating, we might not find the cause of the commotion."