"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"
At Itsuki's command, two vines suddenly shot out from the bulb on Bulbasaur's back, lashing fiercely toward Eevee.
However, this Eevee was clearly a Pokémon that specialized in speed.
Its four legs moved rapidly, allowing it to dodge the incoming Vine Whips with ease.
Once it had safely avoided the attack, it even glanced back at Bulbasaur and let out a provocative cry!
Naturally, that only made Bulbasaur furious!
"Bulba! Bulbasaur!"
Bulbasaur's eyes sharpened, and it almost instinctively prepared to charge straight at its opponent!
However, just as it was about to move, Itsuki stopped it in time.
"Bulbasaur, don't let its taunts get to you! Keep attacking with Vine Whip!"
This was precisely the biggest difference between a wild Pokémon and one that belonged to a Trainer!
Before being caught, Bulbasaur would have immediately charged forward in response to such provocation.
But now, things were clearly a little different...
Following Itsuki's orders, Bulbasaur unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks with its two vines, seemingly without any sign of exhaustion.
Seeing this, Itsuki nodded in satisfaction before calmly instructing it.
"Good! Keep up that attack frequency and wear down its stamina!"
At first, Eevee still seemed to have plenty of energy to spare.
It appeared confident that it could continue relying on its speed to dodge the incoming vines.
However, as its stamina gradually drained away, Bulbasaur finally seized an opportunity and struck it hard with one of its vines!
Smack!
Eevee cried out in pain.
Then, suddenly gathering its strength, it charged straight toward Bulbasaur with its entire body!
"Oh? Switching to a head-on confrontation now?"
"Bulbasaur, don't be afraid! Use Tackle!"
Following Itsuki's instructions, Bulbasaur began running on all fours, rapidly charging toward Eevee as well.
The next second, the two Pokémon collided!
BANG!
With a tremendous impact, both Pokémon were sent tumbling in opposite directions.
The collision seemed to have dealt considerable damage to both of them.
They staggered backward several steps before collapsing onto the ground.
Fortunately, neither had completely lost the ability to battle.
After struggling for a few moments, both managed to stand up again.
However, thanks to its remaining stamina, Bulbasaur was the first to recover its senses and shake off the dizziness clouding its head.
Seeing Eevee still standing there, Bulbasaur didn't even wait for another command from Itsuki.
It immediately extended its vines and launched another attack!
Eevee no longer had the strength to dodge.
After taking several direct hits from Vine Whip, it finally collapsed, completely unable to battle.
Seeing this, Itsuki decisively threw a Poké Ball.
The weakened Eevee was drawn inside and captured without difficulty.
'Excellent.'
Looking at the Poké Ball lying quietly on the grass, Itsuki felt extremely satisfied with the battle.
This fight meant that Bulbasaur had truly begun its transformation from a wild Pokémon into a Trainer's Pokémon!
Of course, the most important thing was...
He had successfully caught his third Pokémon!
Cerulean City Pokémon Center.
After two days of traveling, Itsuki had finally arrived at his destination.
Following a good night's rest and a free breakfast at the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, Itsuki took his three Pokémon and headed straight for the Cerulean Gym!
After spending so much time together on the road, both Bulbasaur and Eevee had gradually adapted to their new identities.
Through playing and training together, their relationships with Itsuki had also grown much closer.
At the very least, they now fully acknowledged Itsuki as their Trainer and were willing to follow his instructions without hesitation!
After leaving the Pokémon Center, Itsuki had barely stepped onto the street when he noticed something posted on a nearby bulletin board.
Curious, he approached for a closer look.
To his surprise, it was actually a wanted poster!
And judging from the somewhat blurry photographs on it...
'Wait, aren't those Jessie and James from Team Rocket?!'
Itsuki lowered his gaze.
Beneath their photographs was a large warning written in bold letters.
"WARNING! Pokémon thieves have been spotted in the area! Please remain vigilant!"
Seeing those words, Itsuki couldn't help shaking his head with an amused smile.
Regardless of everything Team Rocket had done in the anime, or what kind of backgrounds they came from...
In the eyes of the police, they were ultimately nothing more than Pokémon thieves.
Still...
For some reason, Itsuki actually found himself looking forward to meeting them!
'Hopefully, I'll run into those guys sooner rather than later!'