A bright red, cheerful little chick darted out of the tall grass.
It was a Torchic—one of the starter Pokémon of the Hoenn region.
As soon as it emerged, Torchic froze in place upon seeing Ryan Harlan and his two Pokémon waiting in ambush.
A moment later, a girl sprang out of the grass, quickly hugging Torchic tightly while complaining, "Hey, Torchic, stop being so naughty…"
The girl was wearing a tracksuit with a cute hair clip, and her bangs cascaded gently down her cheeks. She had two small fangs that gave her an especially charming and adorable look.
Ryan recognized her immediately from her distinctive appearance.
It was **Sapphire Birch**, the daughter of the renowned Professor Birch of the Hoenn region.
Realizing it wasn't a wild Pokémon attack, Ryan relaxed his guard.
"Sorry about that. Torchic is on his first trip outside and is curious about everything, so he keeps running off," Sapphire said apologetically while holding Torchic firmly, afraid he might dash away again. "I'm really sorry for bothering you."
"It's alright," Ryan replied, gesturing to Riolu and Ralts to stand down.
"My name is Sapphire," she introduced herself with a bright smile.
"Ryan," he replied succinctly.
Just as he had expected, the girl in front of him was indeed Professor Birch's daughter.
After transmigrating to this world, Ryan had immediately looked up relevant information. He discovered he had arrived in a special version of the Pokémon world—not the anime continuity. There was no Ash or Gary here. Only Red and Blue existed in this timeline.
"Ryan, are you a trainer too?" Sapphire asked curiously when she noticed his two Pokémon.
"Yes."
The moment Ryan answered, a gentle, mechanical female voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
**[Mission Objective]: Battle Sapphire and defeat her.**
**[Mission Reward]: 1000 reward points.**
**[Mission Failure Penalty]: None.**
*Oh my god! Finally, a mission!*
As a transmigrator, Ryan did have a system, but this damn thing had only issued one mission since he arrived. This would be the second time he faced Sapphire.
"Do you want to battle?" Ryan asked proactively.
"Of course!" Sapphire replied happily.
"Let's begin," Ryan said casually, stepping back a few paces to create enough space for a makeshift battleground.
"Okay!" Sapphire didn't waste any words and immediately got into position.
In the Pokémon world, battles between trainers were extremely common. It was perfectly normal to spar and exchange ideas. Most battles were decided in a 1v1 format until one side's Pokémon ran out of stamina.
"My first Pokémon is Aron!" Sapphire released her Pokémon.
Automatically, Aron's detailed stats appeared in Ryan's mind thanks to his system.
**[Pokémon]: Aron**
**[Type]: Steel / Rock**
**[Level]: 10**
**[Ability]: Sturdy** (Even when using moves that would cause recoil damage, its HP will not decrease.)
**[Description]: Aron has a thick layer of armor, making it difficult to break through.**
This was one of the useful functions provided by Ryan's transmigration system—it allowed him to instantly see the exact levels and stats of any Pokémon he encountered. In this world, a Pokémon's level directly reflected its overall strength. The higher the level, the stronger the Pokémon.
Ryan silently shook his head. Sapphire knew he had a Fighting-type Riolu, yet she still sent out Aron, which was four times weak to Fighting-type moves.
*That's a bit reckless.*
"Oriolu, you're up."
Riolu stepped forward silently from beside Ryan and stood ready in front of Aron, fists raised in a battle stance.
Ryan nodded to himself. His Riolu had both a type advantage and a significant level advantage. Even so, he remained cautious.
"Aron, use Metal Claw!" Sapphire commanded right as the battle began.
Aron charged toward Riolu. Despite being only 0.4 meters tall, the Steel/Rock-type Pokémon weighed a hefty 60 kilograms, making its charge look quite imposing.
However, its speed was noticeably slow compared to Riolu, which held clear advantages in both level and agility.
"Oriolu, wait until Aron gets close, then dodge," Ryan instructed through their Aura link. "Its body is clumsy and it can't change direction quickly at short range. After dodging, follow up with Rock Smash."
At the start of the battle, Riolu had already activated its Aura, creating a silent connection with Ryan. This allowed them to communicate without voice commands, completely hiding their strategy from the opponent.
Riolu remained perfectly still on the surface, but it had already calculated Aron's approach. Its right fist was tucked at its waist, ready to strike.
Just as Aron rushed in and raised its claws to attack, Riolu simply sidestepped with perfect timing, easily dodging the Metal Claw.
Then, the fist that had been waiting at its waist shot forward like a bullet, landing a powerful blow on Aron's armored body.
Rock Smash—a Fighting-type move that concentrated energy into the fist before unleashing a devastating strike.
Although the move was only rated at 40 power by League standards, Aron, being Steel/Rock-type, took four times the damage.
The effect was overwhelming.
Riolu's full-powered punch sent Aron flying several meters backward. The little Steel-type's eyes spun in circles before it collapsed to the ground, completely drained of strength.
Sapphire's mouth fell open, her cute little fangs clearly visible, her face frozen in utter disbelief.