Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
In that life-or-death moment, Ace didn't know where the quick reflexes came from, but he ducked sharply, narrowly dodging the fatal attack.
The Acid landed on the tree behind Ace, immediately corroding more than half of it.
But in that instant, two slender vine whips lashed out like lightning. Before Ace could react, the vine whips instantly wrapped around his neck.
With a sudden squeeze, Ace felt a rush of suffocation. The bones in his neck groaned, feeling overwhelmed.
Only then did Zubat react, lunging towards the two vine whips. Its Steel Wing, like two exceptionally sharp blades, instantly severed the whips!
Bellsprout cried out in pain and stumbled back a few steps.
With the vine whips severed, Ace was finally able to breathe deeply.
While gasping for air, Ace observed Bellsprout.
This Bellsprout's attack speed was incredibly fast, but its movement speed was somewhat slow.
This was evident from Bellsprout's movements as Zubat circled it after severing the vine whips.
"Absorb!"
Facing a Bellsprout whose speed was no match for Zubat, Ace ultimately chose a close-quarters battle.
Bellsprout watched Zubat charge towards it, opening its mouth and spraying a shimmering powder towards Zubat.
"Dodge and blow it back!"
Zubat quickly changed tactics, making a quick turn and flapping its wings rapidly. The strong airflow instantly blew the powder back towards Bellsprout.
The shimmering powder landed on Bellsprout, which completely ignored it. At the same time, using the powder to obscure vision, its two already severed vine whips shot out quickly, wrapping around one of Zubat's wings with incredible speed.
Then, Bellsprout opened its mouth and spewed another stream of Acid towards Zubat.
"Block with Steel Wing!"
Zubat, with one wing bound, looked somewhat flustered, but instantly calmed down upon hearing Ace's command.
A metallic sheen appeared on its wings. Zubat used its remaining wing to shield itself. The Acid poured down, and even with the Steel-type move to deflect it, the Acid still corroded Zubat's wing with sizzling sounds.
Zubat cried out in pain, violently flapping its wing, shaking off the Acid while also drawing a streak of blood.
A piece of skin and flesh had been corroded from Zubat's wing.
Bellsprout, seeing its Acid take effect, revealed a hint of a smile on its normally blank face, then opened its mouth and spewed another stream of Acid.
It intended to wear Zubat down!
"Bite!"
Zubat was not going to be passively attacked this time. It charged forward aggressively, and the vine whips' grip on its wing immediately loosened.
Zubat opened its mouth and bit fiercely into the vine whip. The already severed vine whip was bitten through once more.
"Fast attack speed, but not much training in move intensity. That's the fundamental reason why its Vine Whip was bitten and severed."
Watching Zubat escape, a glint flashed in Ace's eyes as he looked at Bellsprout.
Although he was nearly killed by Bellsprout, after battling until now, Ace was extremely satisfied with this Bellsprout.
With Aerodactyl currently unable to be revived, Ace indeed needed to catch another Pokémon to increase his margin for error.
Otherwise, relying solely on Zubat would make him too easily targeted.
Moreover, Bellsprout generally mastered three status-inducing powders. If he could catch it, the safety of his wilderness travels would greatly increase.
Thinking this, Ace pulled an empty Poké Ball from his pocket.
It was decided: his second Pokémon would be this Bellsprout!
Zubat bit through Bellsprout's vine whip, but it also missed the optimal time to dodge the Acid.
Even though Zubat reacted incredibly quickly and dodged most of the Acid, a small portion of it still landed on Zubat.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
The Acid corroded its fur and flesh. Zubat trembled from the corrosion, but this also ignited its ferocity.
Ignoring the pain, it charged forward, biting fiercely into Bellsprout's head.
"Absorb!"
Accompanying Ace's voice, Zubat began to greedily absorb Bellsprout's vital fluids. Bellsprout trembled, gradually wilting.
"Now!"
Ace violently threw the Poké Ball, accurately hitting Bellsprout.
The weakened Bellsprout was instantly sucked into the Poké Ball. Zubat suddenly lost its target, looking around somewhat bewildered.
The Poké Ball landed and began to shake continuously.
However, perhaps Zubat had absorbed too much, as Bellsprout ultimately couldn't break free from the Poké Ball. The Poké Ball stopped shaking, resting quietly in place.
"Side Quest (Partner) completed. Quest evaluation: B. Reward: 500 gold coins, three task points."
"That was quite a struggle."
Ace walked over, picked up the Poké Ball containing Bellsprout, then recalled the heavily injured Zubat first, spending five task points to heal Zubat immediately.
After Zubat had recovered, Ace then checked Bellsprout's stats.
Pokémon: Bellsprout
Gender: Female
Level: 20
Ability: Chlorophyll
Nature: Modest
Potential: High-Grade
Egg Moves: Synthesis
Moves: Vine Whip, Acid, Ingrain, Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, Stun Spore.
Folded...
Opening the folded section and checking other details, he finally landed on the Friendship entry, discovering that Bellsprout's Friendship was surprisingly zero!
"Zero Friendship, what the heck?"
Ace frowned slightly. Good thing he hadn't chosen to heal Bellsprout so quickly. With zero Friendship, if he released Bellsprout, it might just betray him, right?
Thinking this, Ace opened the Poké Ball, and Bellsprout weakly landed on the ground again.
Bellsprout looked up at the boy who had caught it, its face filled with disdain.
"Um... From now on, I'm your trainer. Let's get along well."
Seeing that Bellsprout was no longer aggressive, Ace couldn't help but extend his hand, wanting to pet it.
But seeing Ace's outstretched hand, Bellsprout's leaf-like appendage slapped fiercely, knocking Ace's hand away.
It stumbled towards a sunny spot in the forest. Using Synthesis, a faint green glow emanated from Bellsprout's body, and its injuries rapidly healed at a visible rate.
"Bellsprout is on the verge of evolution. Its neural response speed is excellent, but its physique is weak. It is recommended that the host compensate for this aspect."
Soon, a line of text appeared above Bellsprout's head. Through the system's evaluation, this Bellsprout's strength was, as expected, formidable.
If it weren't for its small frame and slow movement, along with its frail physique, it would have been almost impossible for Zubat to defeat it so quickly.
After all, Zubat was only level 11, while Bellsprout was already level 20. A nine-level difference was indeed quite significant.