The Ursaring's level reached an intimidating 33, making it a formidable opponent.
The highest level Pokémon on Ryan's side was his Scyther, only at level 28. Though level alone doesn't fully determine a Pokémon's combat prowess, a gap of five levels is not easily overcome.
Therefore, careful preparation before the battle was essential.
"The players can't be relied on, Uncle White and Beedrill need to stay and guard the territory, so it looks like it's all up to me," Ryan said helplessly. He had summoned the players too recently, and they hadn't grown strong enough yet. For now, he still had to handle matters personally.
"Things will get better once the players grow stronger," he consoled himself. "Let's draw some prizes and see if there's anything useful."
He had earned three chances to draw rewards from a previous achievement but hadn't had the time to claim them yet.
"No ceremonies, I believe in my luck. Let's do this!" Ryan said confidently.
Congratulations, you've won Poké Ball x3, Poké Ball x3, Poké Ball x3.
"???"
"Am I seeing double from overuse of my eyes?"
Ryan rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the text on the screen remained the same.
Staring at the nine Poké Balls on the panel, he decided he would pray to Arceus before drawing prizes next time; his luck couldn't be trusted at all!
"Still, getting Poké Balls isn't too bad. They might come in handy against Ursaring."
Ryan recalled the scene from earlier that morning when he helped free Aron from a trap, and thought he could use the Poké Balls to disrupt Ursaring's attacks.
While he was pondering strategies, Aron ran over.
"Clang, clang!" It gestured toward Ryan.
"You want to join the battle?"
"Clang!" Aron nodded eagerly.
It was already grateful to Ryan for taking it in, and when it heard he was going to fight Ursaring, it rushed over to volunteer.
"You're still young. Let's—wait, you're level 18?!"
Ryan had never checked Aron's level, assuming it was newly born, but it was already level 18.
Aron's appearance was truly deceiving; most Pokémon would have reached their second evolution stage by level 18, yet it remained in its basic form.
"Looks can really be deceiving. Alright, you can come with me, and we'll fight together."
"Clang clang!"
Aron cried out excitedly; it had a natural love for adventure and combat, which was why it had snuck out in the first place.
Back in its group, it would often play-fight with its companions, which explained its relatively high level.
But those scuffles didn't count as real battles; it longed for an actual fight.
"Get plenty of rest, and once you're fully recovered by tomorrow, we'll go face Ursaring."
Though Ryan wanted to resolve the Ursaring issue and complete the side quest as soon as possible, his Scyther had been hit by a Rock Throw earlier that day and needed some time to recover. They would have to challenge Ursaring tomorrow.
After Aron left, hopping Bounsweet came bounding up to Ryan, the Grass Gem on its head bouncing along.
"Boun!"
"No way!"
Before Bounsweet could even speak, Ryan had already rejected it.
He could tell just by looking that the little one was also here to volunteer.
"The battle is between level 20s and 30s. What's an eight-level Pokémon like you going to do? Aren't you afraid Ursaring will gobble you up in one bite?"
"Boun!" Bounsweet puffed up its cheeks angrily.
"Don't give me that look. Besides, you don't even know enough moves to fight. If you had a useful move, I'd consider bringing you along."
"Boun?" (Really?)
Ryan hesitated for a moment. Could this little one have a hidden ability?
But then he thought, what kind of skills could an eight-level Bounsweet know? Rapid Spin? What good would that do?
The only use for it would be to make it easier for Ursaring to eat it. Ursaring could bite down, and Bounsweet could spin right out of its shell, basically serving itself on a platter.
No matter how he considered it, Ryan didn't think Bounsweet had any useful moves, so he confidently said:
"Really, if you have a skill that's useful, I'll bring you along."
"Boun boun~"
Bounsweet flashed a confident smile, then closed its eyes and began to gather energy, the Grass Gem on its head glowing faintly.
At first, Ryan thought it was just putting on a show, but as time passed, a few blades of grass started growing around Bounsweet.
"This can't be…"
Ryan cautiously reached out to touch the grass and sensed a special energy.
"It's actually Grassy Terrain!"
Ryan looked at the panting Bounsweet in shock.
Grassy Terrain was a minor but valuable skill. It could increase the power of Grass-type moves and restore the health of Pokémon standing on it. Unlike in games, there were no turn limitations in reality; as long as Bounsweet had enough energy, it could maintain the field.
The skill was indeed useful, but how had Bounsweet learned it?
Ryan's gaze shifted to the Grass Gem on Bounsweet's head.
Could it be because of the gem?
In the games, the Grass Gem's effect was to boost Grass-type moves once, but there was no mention of it teaching moves.
It seemed that items from the games could undergo some changes in the real world.
"Boun boun~"
Bounsweet beamed with joy, proud of having successfully used Grassy Terrain. It looked up at Ryan expectantly, clearly wanting praise.
"The startup time is way too long, and just a few blades of grass aren't going to help much."
Hearing this, Bounsweet immediately pouted. How dare he dismiss the skill it had worked so hard to master!
"But! I must admit, it's still a useful skill. Alright, you can join the battle, but you need to stay back and follow my commands."
"Boun boun~" Bounsweet's mood quickly shifted, and it happily leaped into Ryan's arms.
Ryan hugged it and gently patted the top of its flower bud.
The earlier comments were just to tease Bounsweet; in truth, he felt proud of it.
Learning Grassy Terrain at level eight was impressive, even with the gem's help. It showed Bounsweet's talent.
Moreover, Bounsweet had worked hard to learn the move to support him, and he didn't want to disappoint its efforts.
"With this, we'll have three combatants tomorrow: a level 28 Scyther, level 18 Aron, and level 8 Bounsweet."
"Scyther will be the main attacker, Aron can harass, and Bounsweet will assist from the back. Along with my items, we should be able to handle Ursaring."
Ryan calculated their chances and felt confident they had a 70% chance of winning. Even if they couldn't defeat Ursaring, they could still escape safely.
This reassured him a lot, but he still made a few backup plans just in case. After all, unlike players, he couldn't just revive if he failed.
While Ryan continued to prepare for tomorrow's battle, the players completed their daily quests and logged out early.
They couldn't wait to ask Leaf what dying in the game felt like and learn about the punishment system.