A sharp feminine scream pierced the silence of the woods, causing Shinji and Chimchar to pause abruptly, a faint trace of surprise flashing in his dark purple eyes.
This voice... sounds somewhat familiar?
Immediately after, a rustling sound came from the nearby slope as a girl holding a blue penguin Pokémon slid down in a slightly disheveled state, landing right at the edge of the clearing.
The white knit hat on her head was slightly askew, and a few blades of grass were stuck in her deep blue hair; it was Dawn, whom he had met briefly near Rowans Laboratory earlier.
The Piplup in her arms was flapping its wings anxiously.
Shinji took a quick glance and, seeing that she had no obvious external injuries other than being startled, he withdrew his gaze.
He had no interest in this; a stranger's trouble had nothing to do with him.
"Alright, continue." Shinji's voice returned to its usual coldness, as if the interlude just now had never happened.
He refocused his attention on the Chimchar in front of him, signaling it to continue its fire practice.
Upon hearing the command, Chimchar immediately snapped out of its alert state, took a deep breath, aimed at the rock again, and worked hard to control its energy, trying to make the emitted Ember more consistent.
"Ah! It's you!" Just as Dawn steadied herself, she looked up and saw the purple-haired boy in the clearing. A surprised smile instantly bloomed on her face, and her previous panic vanished.
Holding Piplup, she ran over with light steps and greeted him excitedly, "What a coincidence, we meet again! I'm Dawn, a Rookie Trainer who came to collect my starter Pokémon today. What about you? What's your name?"
Her voice was clear and melodic, carrying the unique vitality of a young girl, as she attempted to break through the barrier of indifference created by the cold boy before her.
However, Shinji turned a deaf ear to this, not even giving her a single glance.
He remained focused on Chimchar's movements, his dark purple eyes sharp and intent, as if the entire world consisted only of him and his Pokémon.
Being so completely ignored, the smile on Dawn's face instantly froze, and she then puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
No one had ever ignored her so thoroughly before!
This guy had been cold since earlier, and now he was treating her like air!
This coldness didn't make her back down; instead, it stirred up her innate stubbornness.
Hmph, you're ignoring me? Then I'll just pester you and see how long you can stay so cold! Just as she took a step forward to continue the conversation—
"Ari—!"
A dense and hair-raising series of hisses suddenly erupted from the woods behind her!
Following that, several dark shadows quickly darted out—it was a large swarm of sizable Ariados!
Their red compound eyes gleamed with malice, and their sharp mouthparts opened as they unhesitatingly aimed at Dawn and Piplup, firing a dense barrage of purple Poison Stings!
"Ah!" Dawn screamed in terror, instinctively hugging Piplup tightly. Facing this sudden attack, her mind went blank, and she couldn't react in time.
At the critical moment, Shinji acted swiftly, reaching out to grab Dawn's wrist and pulling her forcefully behind him.
The movement was crisp and decisive.
Almost simultaneously, a cold command escaped his lips: "Flame Wheel!"
"Zhi!"
The chemistry between Chimchar and Shinji had deepened over the days of training; the moment it heard the command, scorching flames erupted around its body. It curled up, transforming into a giant burning wheel that whistled toward the barrage of poison needles!
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."
The scorching flames collided with the poison needles, instantly evaporating them with a series of faint sounds.
Dawn, who had been pulled behind Shinji, only now realized what had happened.
She looked at the back of the figure standing in front of her, upright and firm, like a great tree shielding her from the wind and rain.
An indescribable sense of security welled up within her, causing her pounding heart to gradually calm down.
For the first time, she felt that this cold guy was "very reliable."
With their attack blocked, the Ariados became even more irritable. They opened their mouths again, and strands of sticky white silk sprayed out like spiderwebs, aimed directly at the position of Shinji and Chimchar!
"Flamethrower." Shinji commanded calmly, without a hint of panic.
Chimchar immediately adjusted its posture and opened its mouth, spraying a concentrated line of fire.
Compared to the previous intermittent attempts, this line of fire could now form a continuous thin stream, showing significant progress, though it was still a far cry from a truly mature Flamethrower.
The fire line swept across accurately, instantly neutralizing a portion of the webs.
However, the Ariados were numerous, and the remaining String Shot acted like an inescapable net, instantly entangling Chimchar's limbs and body, binding it firmly in place!
"Ah!" Seeing Chimchar entangled by the webs and unable to move, Dawn's heart tightened, and she couldn't help but nervously tug at the corner of Shinji's clothes.
Shinji paid no mind to her action, his face remaining calm as he kept his gaze Lock-On the battlefield, his voice devoid of any fluctuation: "Flame Wheel."
The command was given, and the restrained Chimchar once again erupted with even more intense flames. The webs entangling it quickly charred, snapped, and turned to ash under the high temperature.
The moment it broke free, Flame Wheel was launched again, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it slammed hard into the nearest Ariados!
"Bang! Bang! Bang...!"
A series of dull impacts rang out one after another. The Ariados couldn't resist at all and were sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground with pained hisses.
A moment later, the recovering Ariados didn't dare to stay any longer. Dragging their injured bodies, they quickly darted into the bushes and vanished without a trace.
Chimchar extinguished its flames and landed steadily; though its breathing was somewhat hurried, its gaze remained sharp.
"You're so amazing!" Once the crisis was resolved, Dawn immediately breathed a sigh of relief. A bright smile bloomed on her face again as she ran to Shinji's side with Piplup, her tone full of wonder and admiration. "Your commanding is so decisive! Chimchar is also so strong! You're definitely not a Rookie Trainer, right?"
Shinji was not at all surprised by this result.
Through the system panel, he had already seen that the average level of that group of Ariados was only around Level 18.
For a Chimchar that had undergone his rigorous training, leveled up, and initially mastered Blaze, they were indeed just experience fodder for practice.
At that moment, the Piplup in Dawn's arms suddenly let out a "Hoothoot" sound, and Piplup sheepishly covered its stomach with its small wings.
"Ah! Piplup, are you hungry?" Only then did Dawn remember. She hurriedly rummaged through her backpack, only to find to her dismay, "Oh no! It looks like I used up all the Pokemon food just now..."
Watching her frantic state, Shinji silently took out some high-quality pokémon food exchanged from the system shop and held it out to Piplup.
Piplup's nose twitched slightly, its eyes lit up, and it immediately leaned forward to peck at the food happily.
"Failing to pay attention to your Pokémon's condition, you really are a failure as a trainer." Looking at the way Piplup was devouring the food, Shinji's voice remained cold, without a trace of warmth.
Hearing this, the little bit of gratitude and goodwill Dawn had just felt for Shinji was instantly dispelled.
She pouted crossly, her deep blue eyes full of indignation, and she couldn't help but complain wildly in her mind:
What's that supposed to mean! Today is my first day as a trainer; it's normal not to have experience, right?
Setting such high standards right from the start, honestly!
All he knows how to do is lecture with that grumpy face; he's not cute at all! Hmph!
She stood to the side, looking at the cold lines of Shinji's profile and his meticulous movements while feeding Piplup. That awkward display of concern made it impossible for her to truly stay angry.
Though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she had to acknowledge in her heart that in that moment of danger, it was this cold boy who had saved her and Piplup.
This guy really is quite a contradiction!