There seems to be something wrong with these Pokémon

After both sides have assumed fighting positions, Psyduck takes the first step.

A thick column of water came towards him, a familiar force, the same skill used to knock Rada away.

"Ditto, get out of the way!"

Ditto jumped to the left to avoid the attack, but the moment its body left the ground, a circle of blue light appeared on its body.

Mind power!

Psyduck, standing opposite, concentrated on releasing its superpowers, slowing down Ditto's evasive speed.

"Transform into a vine snake!"

Xiaoye discovered that with this combination of water cannon + telekinesis, almost no Pokémon could escape unscathed.

So he chose to let Ditto transform into a grass-type Pokémon with higher water resistance to take the water cannon.

Although Ditto had left the center of the water cannon, it still hadn't gotten out of the water cannon's attack range. However, the water cannon, which only provided marginal damage, didn't cause much damage to it, which had already transformed into a vine snake.

Audience seats

Kitazawa Lingyou's eyes were full of confusion. He held his chin with his right hand and observed Psyduck's slightly stiff movements.

Jill, who was beside her, clenched his fists, drops of sweat dripped from his forehead, and his brows were full of worry.

Don't get hurt, Psyduck.

in the venue

"Ditto, the vine whip strikes back!"

Ditto stretched out its rustling vines and rushed straight towards Psyduck.

Psyduck, who was breathing slightly, saw the attacking vines with great force and immediately dodged to the right.

As it watched the vines pass by from the left and was about to use the same trick to attack again, Xiaoye gave another order.

"Sweep across!"

The end of the vine swung to the left, causing the entire vine to move a certain distance at the same time, just hitting the back of Psyduck's head, interrupting the attack that was already at its throat.

"Can reach duck!"

Jill, who was standing far away, exclaimed, and her right foot, which had just taken a step forward, stopped because of her remaining rationality.

She bit her lower lip and stepped back, raising her eyes to look reluctantly.

Then she was stunned, her eyes full of surprise.

Psyduck was knocked down.

But why is it... laughing?

The Psyduck, which was lying face up on the mud, quickly turned over and sat up. When it raised its hand, a wave of water emerged from under its buttocks.

"Ditto, Leaf Storm!"

Countless leaves came towards Psyduck along with the storm, but it did not panic at all. As it stood up suddenly and raised its hands, the waves under its feet quickly expanded and grew larger, becoming huge waves in the blink of an eye.

The huge wave was like a huge mouth of the abyss, accepting all the leaves sent by Ditto and putting them all into its stomach.

Xiao Ye sighed softly at the huge waves that were half a tree high, his eyes full of helplessness.

It is really hard to believe that this is Psyduck, who has never received professional combat training. It has managed to use "Surfing" in such a way that it can attack and defend and is difficult to break through.

But Aunt Xiaomi once told him that traditional surfing has a fatal weakness.

A flaw that could change the situation.

"Ditto, transform into a water spirit and use the water gun!"

Ditto quickly completed its transformation and, according to Xiaoye's instructions, sprayed a water gun directly at Psyduck, who was standing on the waves and unable to dodge like a living target.

Psyduck, who was standing on the huge wave, was successfully knocked down by the water gun, but the waves showed no signs of disappearing and still ran towards Ditto.

"Just in time!" Xiao Ye's eyes were full of excitement. The waves that had not disappeared just fulfilled his wish, leaving a perfect stepping stone for Ditto's next attack. "Ditto, jump onto the huge wave and approach Psyduck!"

After receiving the order, Ditto jumped high and landed steadily on the huge wave under the incredulous gaze of Jill outside the field.

He actually turned the huge waves released by Psyduck into his friend, and used the huge waves to get one foot closer to Psyduck!

However, Xiao Ye noticed that Ditto's four legs were a little panicked as they stepped on the waves, and a helpless smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Even though Aunt Xiaomi has taught it many times in person, Ditto still can't master "surfing" well.

Of course, it was also because 99% of its mind was filled with food. Whenever it was about to start practicing, it would dawdle and sneak to Xiaoye's backpack, stretching out its hands to look for snacks.

What a cool opportunity it was to show off, but Ditto missed this chance!

Ditto, who was teased by Xiao Ye in his heart, stepped on the huge waves a little awkwardly and jumped up again, hitting Psyduck heavily that was knocked down by the water gun, restricting its movement.

"Water cannons!"

Close-range attacks have always been difficult to dodge, not to mention that Psyduck is currently in a situation where he was knocked unconscious and then suppressed.

Therefore, it was no surprise that Psyduck was hit directly by the water cannon.

However, Ditto, having succeeded in his attack, did not seize the opportunity to continue attacking. Instead, it kicked hard with its four legs and retreated in front of Xiao Ye.

It turns out that it was a very correct choice.

Although the water cannon caused considerable damage to Psyduck, the cool water also cleared its head. The next second after Ditto pulled away, the water column attacked it.

"Ditto, let's use water cannons too!"

Two water cannons collided in the center of the venue, but the result was beyond Xiaoye's expectations.

The water cannon released by Psyduck overwhelmed Ditto's water cannon and defeated it.

The power of this attack caused Ditto to retreat several meters, leaving deep claw marks on the ground, which was enough to prove the power of Psyduck's water cannon.

Ditto shook his head and bent down again, assuming a fighting stance.

"Okay, next use the high pressure water gun!"

Xiao Ye was relieved to see that Ditto was fine and gave orders again.

Ditto was seen gathering a ball of water around his mouth, but he was not in a hurry to release it.

Instead, he compressed the water ball again and again until it reached its limit and then released it with a loud roar.

Faced with this high-pressure water gun that was as thin as a wrist, Psyduck chose to fight back with the same water gun. What it didn't expect was that the seemingly insignificant skill actually went straight through the water gun it released!

The Psyduck that was hit by the high-pressure water gun flew backwards several meters, fell to the ground with stars in his eyes, and was unable to get up for a long time.

As soon as the battle ended, Xiao Ye picked up Ditto, who had transformed back to his original form, and ran towards Psyduck, but was surprised to find that someone was one step faster than him who was closest to Psyduck.

Jill waved his arms vigorously and ran to Psyduck's side. He knelt on his knees and trembled, holding up Psyduck's head, his eyes full of fear.

"K-Psyduck...are you okay? Please, open your eyes and look at me, okay?"

Xiaoye took out the medicine and half-knelt down beside Pikachu, gently spraying it on the swollen wound of Pikachu.

Jill stared at the wound under the duck's down with red eyes, and stroked its forehead with trembling hands, hoping to relieve some of its pain.

"Okay, this should be fine." Xiao Ye poked Ditto, who was in a good mood because of his victory, and whispered to Jill, who lowered his head and whose expression could not be seen clearly.

"This is the most effective medicine I chose from the many wound medicines in the Cerulean Store. Psyduck should be able to wake up soon."

"Thank you, Sakuya."

Jill's voice was so cold that Xiao Ye felt particularly unfamiliar with it for a moment.

"Jill...?"

"I don't mean to blame you. Injuries are inevitable in battle. I know you tried your best to hold back at the last moment."

Jill's long eyelashes covered the emotions in her eyes, and she raised her arm to block Xiaoye's outstretched left hand.

"I'm just... a little hard on myself."

"Give me some time to think about it."

"Just a little time is enough, you guys go back first."

"Please."

----

Xiaoye and Kitazawa Lingyou were walking together on the way back to Qiyu Town.

The moisture in the forest did not wash away the guilt in his heart, but made his already uncomfortable heart even heavier.

The faint fragrance of the trees also became extremely bitter at this moment, as if every blade of grass and every tree around him was blaming the battle just now, making Xiaoye unable to restrain himself and fall into self-consumption.

The sound of gravel flying around my feet and Kitazawa Lingyou's cold voice rang out at the same time.

"Are you sad?"

Xiao Ye looked up and happened to meet Kitazawa Lingyou's pure black eyes, which were like the abyss, and she was unconsciously sucked into them.

"There's no need. You didn't do anything wrong." Kitazawa Lingyou's firm tone echoed in Xiaoye's heart. He continued, "She just figured out something through your battle with Psyduck, and she is trying to convince herself to admit this fact."

"Although it is difficult, once the idea has emerged in her mind, it will grow like bamboo shoots after rain, and she can no longer deceive herself and pretend that the gap between her and Psyduck does not exist."

"What...thought?"

"She will tell you in person." Seeing that Xiaoye's expression had finally eased a little, Kitazawa Lingyou stopped dwelling on the matter and instead talked about Psyduck.

"That Psyduck, you should have noticed its problem, right?"

"Well, it seems like it gets tired easily." Xiaoye's attention was successfully diverted by Kitazawa Lingyou, who continued speaking along his line of thought.

"Almost the same, but a little different." As a spectator of the battle, Kitazawa Lingyou naturally saw it more clearly than Xiaoye. "It is not very good at using psychic-related moves. During the fight with you, it barely used telekinesis to restrict Ditto's movements a little, and then it showed signs of fatigue."

"I see." With Kitazawa Lingyou's reminder, Xiaoye also recalled many details of the battle.

It seems that Psyduck could have avoided the attack several times, but it did not move and instead chose to use its skills to resist.

Then he remembered Psyduck's water cannon, which was comparable to that of Ditto, and asked.

"So that Psyduck's ability is 'Riptide'?"

Characteristics are abilities that every Pokémon possesses, and Riptide is unique to Water-type Pokémon, an ability that allows them to bounce back from the bottom.

Its specific manifestation is that when the Pokémon suffers extremely serious damage, the power of its water-based special moves will be greatly increased.

It often appears in the hot-blooded anime that makes people feel refreshed when they see the comeback against the odds. Therefore, Xiaoye is not too unfamiliar with it.

"I'm not sure, but it shouldn't be." But Kitazawa Lingyou connected all the strange behaviors of Psyduck together and pieced together a truth.

"Perhaps, it sacrificed its talent in supernatural powers in exchange for the power of its unique water-based moves."

Whenever Kitazawa Reiyuu enters into the realm of academic discussion, his expression becomes extremely serious, and it is hard for people not to believe that what he says is the truth.

Xiaoye was very familiar with this look. He had seen it many times on Professor Oak.

"Before I came here, I heard the townspeople discussing the strange disappearance of Psyduck."

Kitazawa Reiyu's thoughts went back to the sound echoing in his ears a few hours ago.

"Where did the Psyducks go?! I can't find them no matter how hard I try!"

"Hey, do you think there really is something unclean that has bewitched them? Otherwise, why are all our Psyducks running away like they were possessed by a ghost?"

"I think there is some truth to it, especially since my Psyduck's eyes were flashing a scary blue light before it left, just like it was possessed by a ghost!"

"Really? Is your Psyduck like this too?"

At that time, Kitazawa Lingyou had just paid for the unique mask at the stall, but turned around and saw a clay figure and Psyduck being pulled away by her.

It's strange. According to the people around here, all the Pikachus in the town are missing. So what happened to this Pikachu?

Kitazawa Lingyou, who discovered the abnormal incident, became interested unconsciously. As he slowly approached, he heard the clay man's mumbling.

"Fortunately, you didn't run away like those Psyducks, otherwise I would have had a headache..."

The clay man walked quickly and passed by him without stopping.

"I still have to go find Miss Junsha to save Shuoya. Can you please stop holding me back?! If not, if not for the fear that you will end up like the other Psyducks...!"

Back to the present

Kitazawa Lingyou narrowed his eyes slightly and generously shared the knowledge in his mind with Xiaoye.

"There was once a famous Pokémon doctor who published a famous paper describing the mechanism and reasons why Psyduck gets headaches from time to time."

"But the funny thing is, I've never seen it look like this since I saw the Psyduck."

After saying that, Kitazawa Lingyou raised his hands high, with his four slender fingers put together and placed on his temples.

This look is too funny, especially when the person making this action doesn't seem to realize it, and makes the cutest action with the most indifferent expression.

Xiao Ye couldn't help but chuckle, which earned her a puzzled look from the boy.

Kitazawa Reiyu suppressed the shame that suddenly arose in his heart and continued speaking.

"The powerful superpowers in Psyduck's brain will occasionally compress its nerves, causing it to always cover its head in order to relieve the pain."

"And the fact that Psyduck can't do this just proves that it doesn't have many super powers at all?"

Xiao Ye was completely convinced by such bold and well-reasoned inference. At this moment, the only thing he could hear was Kitazawa Lingyou's resounding conclusion.

"But this is just my speculation. The specific situation can only be known after inspection."