After seeing all of Roy's Pokémon, Agatha was quite satisfied with the other three Ghost type Pokémon besides Primeape.
She couldn't help but marvel at how powerful the unique abilities of the Mt. Pyre Clan were for training Ghost type Pokémon.
Now let's talk about Roy's shortcomings.
Instead of pointing out exactly what was wrong with Roy's Pokémon, Agatha asked Roy if he had any problems with Pokémon training recently.
"Teacher, my Litwick learned to Flamethrower a few days ago, but I haven't been able to use it fully yet."
Roy first asked about the problem of the Litwick's Flamethrower being interrupted in duration. He and the Litwick had been experimenting with it in the back mountains for a week, and they had failed almost every time.
"Wait, you mean your Litwick has learned to Flamethrower?"
After hearing Roy's words, Agatha's expression turned strange, and her tone was full of doubt and distrust.
Seeing that Agatha didn't believe him, Roy had Litwick demonstrate it again on the spot.
The Ghostly Purple Ember on the Litwick's head began to Stockpile, but just as it was about to Spit Up flame, it suddenly went out.
Even when it had just begun to Stockpile, the flames that were burning fiercely were in a worse state than they had been a few days earlier.
Agatha watched the whole process, and it was indeed Flamethrower during Stockpile. Roy hadn't lied to her; his Litwick had really learned to Flamethrower.
Agatha calmed her complicated feelings and asked the next question:
"Roy, do you consider yourself lucky? Whether it was during the Rookie Cup the week before last, or now."
Are you lucky?
"Seems pretty lucky... right?"
Roy's answer was uncertain; he didn't quite understand what Agatha was referring to—was it the elderly couple from Mt. Pyre initially saved him?
Was it that my opponent in the Rookie Cup advanced directly to the finals because their Pokémon was injured, or was it that I encountered a Pokémon Trainer using Linoone?
Or perhaps they've now found an Elite Four teacher.
"If you remove the 'seems like' part, you could say you're the luckiest person I've ever met."
You managed to teach Litwick to Flamethrower even when it had very little Fire type energy in its body. Aren't you lucky enough?
Now place your hand on the Ember above the Litwick's head.
Although Roy didn't understand, Agatha wouldn't hurt him, so she placed her hand on the Ember of the Litwick.
Seeing Roy's hand reach out, the Litwick worried that Roy might get burned, so it quickly reduced the size of the Ghostly Purple Ember above its head.
"Let your Litwick relinquish control of the flame above its head."
S~
Roy was puzzled. What was the difference between that and directly burning your hand with fire?
Seeing that Agatha's expression didn't seem like a joke, Roy instructed the Litwick to loosen its control over the flame's temperature.
Just as Roy was about to pull his hand away at the last second before it got burned, he suddenly realized that the Ghostly Purple Ember above the Litwick's head wasn't hot at all.
????
Roy refused to believe it and pulled his hand out, then placed it back on the Ember of the Litwick, but the result was the same; Roy even felt a slight chill.
"Litwick, release your control of the flame, don't be afraid of burning me."
"Candle!"
Litwick indicated that she had relinquished control over the flame's temperature.
Do you understand now?
After listening to Litwick's words, and considering Agatha's earlier boast that she could teach Litwick to use Flamethrower even with little Fire type energy, Roy roughly understood.
"Teacher, do you mean that the Fire type energy within the Litwick is insufficient?"
Agatha nodded; she had seen the problem the moment Roy summoned the Duskull.
That's why she put her hand on the Litwick's head when she first saw it.
The flame atop Litwick's head is strong but not hot, indicating that what's burning on Litwick's head is Ghost-type energy, not flame.
If Litwick actually Spit Up out the Ghostly Purple flames from its head, that would be truly bizarre; Roy might have already invented a new skill for it.
This is the main point Agatha wanted to make; she began to answer Roy's question:
When Pokémon uses a move, it consumes energy from its body, but Pokémon energy doesn't appear out of thin air.
Just like how, even though you don't need to feed Litwick Pokéblock, the Ghost-type energy within Litwick currently comes from your Ghost Power.
Why do Fire-type Pokémon like to live in hot, dry places like volcanoes?
Why do Ghost type Pokémon in the Hoenn like to be near Mt. Pyre?
Because that's where they find the energy they need.
Agatha wasn't a talkative person, but what was happening to Roy now left her in disbelief.
"It's fine for you to use the Ghost Power to train Duskull and Misdreavus, since these two Pokémon are simply Ghost type Pokémon."
But your Litwick is different. Although it has also been absorbing your Ghost Power and has grown very well, you forgot that it also possesses the Fire type.
If you don't replenish the Fire type energy within him, it definitely won't generate itself.
Roy remained silent, having spent the previous week preoccupied with whether Litwick had misused its skill.
It now seems to be his fault as the Pokémon Trainer. He had been feeding his Litwick, Duskull, and Misdreavus with Ghost Power, forgetting to add that they were Ghost type / Fire type Pokémon.
"I have one more question for you."
Do you think it would be a scenario where an Arbok of Elite Four rank and a Newborn Stage Weedle both use Poison Sting on a Charizard that has also reached Elite Four rank?
So, who deals more damage, and who gets Poison? And after Poison, who deals more damage over time?
"Of course it is..."
Roy was about to give his answer when he stopped himself.
He wanted to say that Arbok definitely had higher damage, but the issues of Poison and Poison continuous damage made him hesitate.
In the game, the Poison Sting Poison has a 30% chance of causing poisoning, and the continuous damage after Poison deducts one-eighth of the player's total stamina each turn.
But this isn't a game; can the Weedle's Poison Sting really Poison an Elite Four- level Charizard?
Roy felt a sense of clarity, realizing his problem lay in viewing Pokémon through the lens of the game and its numerical values, while neglecting real-world issues.
I should have thought of this earlier. No wonder Litwick's Fire Spin barely did any damage to Umbreon in the Rookie Cup.
It turns out that it wasn't just because the opponent had high Special Defense, but also because Litwick itself lacked Fire type energy.
It's the same principle as how Misdreavus in a game evolves into Flutter Mane.
Seeing Roy deep in thought, Agatha didn't interrupt him; it seemed her apprentice had also realized the problem.