A Little Slow-Witted

In an unnamed forest somewhere, after assigning Haunter to keep watch, Sato began his daily routine as a stay-at-home dad.

There was no need to worry about Larvitar's food. Hard Black Stone was currently the most suitable food for it. Of course, rocks did not taste great, so Sato had specifically opened a can of Spicy Sauce made from Spicy Eggplant Fruits for it.

Black Stone dipped in chili sauce—a dark cuisine beyond imagination, yet Larvitar ate it with great relish.

"Kuso!"

Zorua was hopping around and playing with the somewhat delicate Spinarak. As the only Female in the team, Spinarak's status was somewhat "inflated."

Zorua caught the scent of his own special meal: a bowl packed entirely with meat, followed by a Lemon Fruit cake so sour it made him roll his eyes.

Ever since Haunter had been won over by West's "premium goods," he had lost all interest in ordinary food.

After shamelessly asking West about it, Sato learned that it was a secret Ghost-type food recipe from West's family—a kind of Solidified Smoke containing Life Energy.

Fortunately, after the friendship discount, Sato could barely satisfy Haunter's expectation of one meal a day. As long as he did not expend too much energy at other times, what did a ghost need to eat for?

Spinarak was the most troublesome one. Its talent had greatly delighted Sato, but it had also caused him no small amount of trouble.

West's words—"fully develop a Pokémon's innate potential"—still rang in his ears. Even Pokémon of the same species could have vastly different Training Plans depending on their talents.

So, as a newly minted stay-at-home dad, Sato could only rely on his past experience and the detailed data from the Talent Analysis Machine to gradually modify the original Training Plan.

To fully awaken Spinarak's Poison-type talent, Sato even used his familiarity with Ghost Ship to hack into the Ghost Ship Organization's database. Unfortunately, the best material inside was only training methods for a Pseudo-Elite Four level Ariados.

Among Bug-type Pokémon, powerful ones were scarce to begin with. Ordinary Ariados could only secure a place through their relatively well-rounded move talents.

Thus, not many people trained them, and those who trained them to Elite Four level were rarer still. Sato was already quite satisfied that a modest assassin organization possessed a Pseudo-Elite Four Level training dossier.

Naturally, Sato also copied the training methods for other Bug/Poison Dual-type Pokémon. By comparing them against one another, he should be able to Gain Something.

"Chirp chirp!"

Spinarak crawled onto Sato's arm and hung upside down. Its weight barely affected his movements, and it loved the sensation of swaying back and forth. At the same time, it was telling Sato through its actions.

It was hungry—it could not wait any longer!

Catching the scent of its own meal, Spinarak obediently waited beside Zorua. Its two round Little Eyes stared unblinkingly at the Food Bowl In Hand.

As a poisonous bug, Spinarak was not picky about meat or vegetables. Compared with Larvitar and Haunter, who needed special food, it was much easier to feed.

After lunch, Sato let Larvitar and Haunter rest on their own while he took Zorua and Spinarak to look for opponents nearby.

Spinarak had left the Infant Stage after just two days. As expected of a Bug-type Pokémon that grew Extremely Fast, it could now begin trying battles.

"Buzz~"

After searching for a while, a Ledyba suddenly flew out from the bushes. Sato immediately had Spinarak Rush Up.

"Spinarak, String Shot!"

"...Chirp!"

Spinarak stood blankly in place, taking a second before realizing Sato was speaking to it.

It hurriedly spat out String Shot. Fortunately, the thread accurately struck one of Ledyba's right legs, making it stumble. The unprovoked attack successfully Caused its anger.

"Ledy!"

A string of Swifts rapidly sprayed out. Spinarak stared blankly at them, seeming to think they were beautiful, completely unaware that they hurt when they hit!

"Spinarak, counter it with Poison Sting!"

"Chirp!"

Spinarak instinctively used Poison Sting. The two moves collided in midair, and yellow and purple powder mixed together as they drifted through the air.

"Chirp chirp!"

Spinarak happily Lifted Up its front claws, seemingly wanting to gather up the beautiful powder.

"Spinarak, run left!"

"Chirp?"

Having forgotten about the battle, Spinarak was knocked onto the ground by Ledyba's Tackle. Spinarak froze instantly. The pain made its eyes brim with tears, and it felt terribly wronged.

"Spinarak, another attack is coming! Charge forward!"

Hearing that it was about to be hit Again, Spinarak had no time to cry. It immediately waved its spider claws and Ran Over with all its might, dodging Ledyba's Tackle.

"Spinarak, use String Shot to wrap it up!"

"Chirp!"

Realizing it had not been hit, Spinarak cried out happily. After hearing Sato's command, it reacted much faster than From The Beginning and frantically sprayed out String Shot, directly wrapping Ledyba into a Zongzi.

"Now, use Poison Sting!"

The purple Poison Sting pierced through the String Shot and stabbed into Ledyba's body. With just one hit, Ledyba was Incapacitated.

After the Mutual Pecking of Novices between the flying bug and the poison bug ended, Sato quietly Sighed in relief. Spinarak's talent was extremely high; one could tell from the power of its Poison Sting.

But when it came to battling, it was still a blank slate. If he wanted it not to be Repelled by battle, it absolutely could not lose its First Match. Yet Sato, who had played too many High-end Matches, had nearly capsized in a ditch.

"Your physical reactions are fine. You're just a little slow-witted." Sato said, rubbing the delighted Spinarak.

"Chirp chirp!"

Spinarak protested, but it seemed to Think Of its earlier performance and timidly dropped the matter.

"What do you think? Want to do another match?" Sato said to Spinarak as he freed Ledyba and fed it a bottle of Antidote.

Spinarak thought blankly for a moment. That Tackle had hurt a lot, but winning a battle had felt really wonderful.

"Chirp!"

Spinarak nodded and eagerly waved its front claws. It wanted to do it again and prove it was not slow-witted!

"Then how about we find one that's a little stronger than Ledyba?"

"Chirp chirp!"

Just a little stronger—I, Spinarak, am not afraid! Soon, Sato led Spinarak to find a Rattata. After a difficult battle, Spinarak successfully poisoned it into collapse. Sato was a little surprised; Poison Sting's poisoning chance was rather high.

Both Ledyba and Rattata had been poisoned in a single hit! To verify his suspicion, Sato repeatedly used Poison Sting in Spinarak's following Mutual Pecking of Novices. The poisoning chance truly Wasn't Low—nearly fifty-fifty! What a terrifying Poison-type talent!

Still, this made Sato look forward even more to Toxic Spikes. Spinarak was still too young and Has Not Yet developed the ability to use inherited moves.

But if Toxic Spikes' poison effect received a boost, Spinarak would definitely be a devastating weapon in team battles! "Kuso."

Zorua yawned boredly. Spinarak's current battles were simply too amateurish; after watching two more, he felt sleepy.

"You should go look around too. See if there are any suitable opponents. It's about time you made a breakthrough as well."

"Kuso!"

Zorua nodded happily and Slipped Away into the forest.

Thank you to reader Xiayu for the support of 500 Book Coins, thank you!! Thank you all for your Recommendation Tickets!!