Poliwag's driving force for wanting to become stronger was its wish to evolve, though it seemed to have other emotions as well.
Lucas had some guesses about this, but he couldn't be entirely sure yet.
Still, that didn't stop Lucas from putting Growlithe and Poliwag on opposite sides, then crouching down to say, "I won't give any commands. You two spar with each other."
Poliwag glanced over at Growlithe, who was meeting its gaze with eyes full of fighting spirit. Although Poliwag hesitated, when it thought of its three little brothers, a determined glint flashed in its eyes.
Since hatching, Poliwag knew it was smarter than most of its kin. So, after the three little brothers joined it, Poliwag took on this responsibility.
No matter what, it had to prove it could contribute to the farm just like those Eldegoss, to secure its place in this idyllic farm.
"Three, two, one—begin!"
As soon as Lucas finished speaking, Growlithe let out an excited howl and immediately spat out a few scorching sparks toward Poliwag.
Poliwag, caught up in its thoughts, was a beat slow to react even though Lucas had counted down. It could only instinctively avoid having its fragile belly get hit, so it took the blow on its back instead.
Poliwag felt steam rise from the moisture on its back as the water evaporated, followed by the sting of being burned. Not good, it thought.
Careless!
Poliwag often fought in the wild, and with its limited experience, it first sprayed a stream of water upward to douse itself and ease the burning sensation.
Then, using its legs, it stirred up the mud moistened by its Water Gun, flinging chunks of mud at the charging Growlithe.
Growlithe couldn't stop in time and got covered in mud, which not only made its fur dirty but also partially blocked its vision.
Seeing this, Lucas was pleasantly surprised. This Poliwag seemed to have an unusual level of awareness!
Although Growlithe quickly shook its head to clear the mud, some clumps still stuck stubbornly to its fur.
With its vision impaired, Growlithe relied on its sense of smell to track Poliwag and charged with Flame Wheel.
Seeing this, and knowing the power of Growlithe's Flame Wheel, Poliwag put its wits to use again.
A torrent of bubbles gushed from its thick lips, covering the ground in froth. Poliwag kept moving, eyes fixed on the incoming Flame Wheel, waiting for the perfect moment—then leaped high!
Growlithe's Flame Wheel blazed toward Poliwag, seemingly undeterred by the thick foam, but its speed and power were greatly reduced.
Not to mention, Poliwag's powerful leap caused Growlithe to miss entirely.
Dropping out of Flame Wheel mode, Growlithe shook off the foam and suddenly realized it could see again.
The foam had washed away the mud!
Before Growlithe could rejoice at being able to see, Poliwag landed right in front of it.
Growlithe flexed its muscles, preparing to use Double-Edge for a finishing blow, but as the move was charging, it caught sight of the swirling pattern on Poliwag's belly.
Staring at the swirl, Growlithe's fighting spirit drained away, and its eyes grew blank beneath its fur. Finally, its body slumped over, and it fell fast asleep.
Poliwag's final move—Hypnosis!
"Excellent!" Lucas walked over, clapping his hands.
Today, Poliwag had shown how intelligence could overcome stronger force. Every move had built up to that decisive Hypnosis—its battle IQ was beyond promising, it was astonishing!
Poliwag's combat intelligence had surpassed some rookie trainers. Lucas hadn't expected the Poliwag he'd brought back on a whim to have such potential.
Faced with Lucas's praise, Poliwag shyly lowered its head, but inside, it was overjoyed.
Great! It really could do it!
Lucas picked up the sleeping Growlithe and checked it over. There were no injuries, and its fur was even clean from the foam.
Then he took out a bottle of burn medicine from the shop and went to Poliwag's side, smiling gently. "You need to treat the burns on your back too."
He sprayed the special burn medicine on the reddened area of Poliwag's back.
Poliwag felt a cool sensation and was amazed to find the burning and pain were much less.
"Poli~"
Poliwag squinted in comfort.
"See? The medicine works great." Seeing Poliwag enjoy it, Lucas smiled even more and started chatting, "When I caught Charcadet—oh, you probably don't know, that's the pre-evolved form of Ceruledge, the cool-looking one with shadow armor and dual flaming swords."
Poliwag recalled and instantly pictured that Pokémon.
It remembered that although Ceruledge always looked distant and cold, whenever it saw its grilled skewers eaten, its body temperature would rise a little.
It looked happy.
Seeing Poliwag remembered, Lucas continued, "Back then, Charcadet had a very proud personality."
"It had a previous trainer, but for various reasons… well, mostly because it wasn't strong enough, it was abandoned."
"Poli!"
Poliwag jumped up in anger, indignant at Charcadet's treatment.
"I met Charcadet in the wild near Zapapico Town. It was hostile to all humans, and it took me a lot of effort to win it over."
Lucas rolled up his sleeve, revealing a patch of skin that didn't match the rest.