Training and Battles

Early the next morning, when Lu Ze arrived at the Battle Center with his two Pokémon, he saw Sui Yan scratching his head and fidgeting restlessly outside the Battle Center.

"What's with you? Got lice?"

Lu Ze walked over and teased Sui Yan.

"Couldn't you be any faster? I'm always the one waiting for you."

Sui Yan complained to Lu Ze.

"Hey, let's go already. Who told you to come so early?"

"Wasn't it because you told me about the Sunny Team lineup yesterday? I thought about it all night after I got back, and I really think it'll work."

Sui Yan spoke excitedly to Lu Ze.

"Of course it will. Who do you think I am?"

"Tch!"

The two booked a private training room at the front desk. Private training rooms in the Battle Center were not cheap, so most people trained in the main training hall instead.

But as soon as they entered the private room, they could not help exclaiming in surprise. It had every training facility available outside, and it was huge. There was more than enough room for four Pokémon to train.

"Come out, Munchlax, Zubat."

"Come out, Growlithe, Torkoal."

The two released their Pokémon at the same time, and Lu Ze asked Sui Yan.

"Do you have a training plan?"

"Huh? Didn't you make one for me?" Sui Yan asked in confusion.

Lu Ze laughed. "Why?"

"Because you've always been the one making plans, ever since we were kids."

"...Fine, but you're covering lunch today."

"No problem!"

Lu Ze shook his head with a laugh, then began directing the four Pokémon.

"Zubat, go over to the Skill Target and get familiar with training Air Slash. Listen, if you start feeling tired, stop and rest. You were only just born, after all. That goes for all of you, understand?"

Lu Ze first assigned Zubat a training task, then reminded all four Pokémon not to overexert themselves and get hurt.

"Munchlax, there are Dumbbells over there. Go work on your upper-body strength. Same as Zubat, okay? I'll prepare Energy Cubes for you."

"Growlithe, what you need to train now is speed and impact force. Run laps around the field first. Rest when you're tired, and don't push yourself too hard."

"Growlithe!"

Growlithe gave an energetic response and immediately began sprinting around the field. Seeing this, Zubat and Munchlax headed to their respective training areas as well.

"As for Torkoal, go practice Ember on the Skill Target too."

Torkoal nodded and slowly made his way toward the area beside Zubat.

"Not bad, Lu Ze. Just like I'd expect from you."

After seeing Lu Ze's arrangements, Sui Yan came over to praise him.

"Don't just praise me. Learn how I train them. What are you going to do if I'm not around someday?"

"Wow, Lu Ze, seriously? You want to split up with me?"

"Don't make it sound so ambiguous. You're making it sound like we have some kind of special relationship."

Lu Ze said with black lines all over his face.

"Did you forget when you moved to Chang'an City as a kid? I cried and made a fuss about coming with you, so my dad transferred his job, and that's how I ended up coming too. Otherwise, look at you—you'd be missing such a handsome brother. Could you really bear to abandon me?"

"Bro, shut up. I only meant what would you do if I happened to be away for a few days."

"Oh, then that's fine."

Lu Ze was utterly helpless against the shameless Sui Yan. What could he do? He was his brother. He could only put up with him. It was not like he could beat him up, right?

"Now shut your mouth and listen. Forget future Pokémon for now. What matters most for Growlithe is stamina, speed, and bite force. There's no need to talk much about stamina. Speed determines impact force, and stronger bite force benefits moves like Fire Fang and Crunch. Growlithe's moves are related to these two aspects, so focus on training them."

"As for Torkoal, it's simpler: Defense and Special Attack. You'll need more TMs to expand his move pool as much as possible. Got it? Very simple."

"Mm, okay. I understand."

"Mm, you're teachable."

"Get lost!"

"Alright, watch them train. I suggest you run with Growlithe—jog, and lead him along."

"Fine. Want to have a battle after lunch?"

Sui Yan made the suggestion to Lu Ze.

"Sure. It'll be a good chance to teach you how to command." Lu Ze said smugly.

"Tch, don't forget, I'm a top student!"

After saying that, Sui Yan ran off to exercise with Growlithe before Lu Ze could reply.

"Tch!"

Lu Ze went to check on his two Pokémon's training.

Zubat was firing Air Slashes at the Skill Target. Gradually, his Air Slash became faster and faster. At first, he had needed to Stockpile for a while, but now that he had grown familiar with it, the charging time had been greatly reduced. Before long, he would surely be able to instantly fire Air Slash without charging.

After watching Zubat, Lu Ze looked toward Munchlax. Munchlax was holding two Dumbbells and rapidly lifting them up and down, looking extremely hardworking.

After watching Munchlax for a while, Lu Ze could not help laughing. Every so often, Munchlax would grab an Energy Cube from the box beside him, stuff it into his mouth, and then continue working out.

"Here, Munchlax. Don't just eat those. Have some of this too."

Lu Ze took a fresh box of Energy Cubes from his Backpack. They were the Energy Cubes he had previously made to activate bodily energy. They could replenish a Pokémon's internal energy, allowing Pokémon in training to improve their physical condition faster and with better results.

Moreover, the formula Lu Ze used for his own Pokémon and for Sui Yan's was for A-grade Energy Cubes. If the Berries needed for S-grade Energy Cubes had not been so rare, Lu Ze would definitely have given his Pokémon the best.

"Munchlax~"

Munchlax happily narrowed his eyes, picked one up, and tossed it into his mouth. After tasting it, he became even happier.

"Train hard, okay? These are all yours."

After saying that, Lu Ze picked up two Dumbbells for himself and started working out beside him.

Time always flew by when you were focused.

At noon, Sui Yan ordered Pokémon Takeout. The two of them and their four Pokémon ate lunch in the training room.

"Rest for a bit, then I'll teach you how to battle and command. How about it?"

"Sure, no problem."

After resting for a while, the two decided to begin their battle.

"Who are you bringing this time?"

"Munchlax. Zubat fought last time, so it's his turn to give it a try."

"Alright, then I'll bring Torkoal."

"Are you sure?"

Lu Ze looked at Sui Yan suspiciously, but Sui Yan answered casually.

"My other Pokémon needs to experience battling too."

"Alright, then."

"Zubat, Growlithe, you two keep following this morning's training routine. We're going out for a battle and will be right back."

"Growlithe!"

It was the same battle arena as last time, but not the same referee.

"Both sides, please release your battling Pokémon."

Munchlax and Torkoal entered the battle arena from behind their Trainers.

"The flag falls. The battle begins."

"Whoosh—"

The moment the flag fell, Sui Yan shouted at Torkoal.

"Torkoal—Smog!"

Seeing Torkoal spray out a cloud of purple mist from across the field, Lu Ze clutched his forehead in frustration.

"Munchlax, blow on it!"

After waiting a while, the purple mist finally drifted close to Munchlax. But Munchlax's single breath completely dispersed the Smog, which had already thinned after drifting for so long.

"Are you an idiot? Smog from that far away?"

Lu Ze shouted at Sui Yan. Combined with the referee's snort of laughter, it made Sui Yan blush furiously.

"Damn it, Torkoal, use Ember!"

"Haah... Munchlax, rush in and use Lick."

Munchlax ignored Torkoal's Ember, allowing it to strike his belly before licking Torkoal right on the head.

"Bzz... bzz..."

Two crackling sounds came from Torkoal's body as golden sparks flickered across his shell. Unfortunately for him, a single Lick had triggered Lick's Paralysis effect.

Munchlax was pressed atop Torkoal's shell in the arena. Lu Ze sighed and walked over to Sui Yan.

"Do you still want to keep fighting?"

Sui Yan sighed too, then dejectedly sat on the ground.

"Do I just have no talent for battling at all?"

"What can one battle prove?"

"But I lost to you yesterday too."

"So what if you lost to me? I once commanded my dad's Kommo-o and beat his Umbreon."

"Really? Your commanding is even better than Uncle Lu's?"

"It's not better. It's about the rhythm of the battle. Besides, I always felt like he was going easy on me."

Lu Ze patted Sui Yan on the shoulder to comfort him, then said seriously.

"Come on, get up. I'll teach you how to battle. You're just a Rookie Trainer. What can one or two losses prove?"

"But aren't you a Rookie Trainer too?" Sui Yan looked up at Lu Ze.

"But ever since I can remember, I've loved watching Pokémon battles—every kind of championship match, commercial match, and league match. I understand them better."

"Mm, then what should I do?"

Sui Yan felt that Lu Ze made sense. He stood up, dusted off his pants, and asked Lu Ze.

"In yesterday's battle, you didn't understand Pokémon moves or individual differences. You were already better today."

"Of course. After I got home, I thoroughly tested the moves my two Pokémon had mastered. And I definitely won't make the same mistake as yesterday, using a Pokémon with no anti-air capability against a Flying type."

Sui Yan returned to his usual self and began bragging shamelessly again.

"Fine, you pass on yesterday's issue. But what about today's?"

"First, it's still the issue of moves. Release speed, timing, distance—you paid attention to none of them."

Sui Yan scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

"And Pokémon Abilities. Don't tell me a top student like you doesn't know about Munchlax's Thick Fat Ability?"

"I know, but Torkoal only has these two moves. He isn't proficient with the others. Forget getting interrupted—I'm even afraid he might hurt himself if he gets nervous."

"Right, you weren't wrong there. But you didn't consider Munchlax's Ability. No matter what Ability Munchlax has now, when he charged over, you should have used Smog. As long as you Poisoned Munchlax, Torkoal's Defense would have been enough to hold out until Munchlax lost the ability to battle."

"And you didn't even need to think about it. Munchlax currently has no long-range attacks, so he was bound to rush in. You should have used Smog. If he wasn't Poisoned once, then use it twice. If twice didn't work, use it three times. As long as he got Poisoned, you would have won this match."

"Alright, you're right. It was my mistake. After using Smog so badly the first time, I was really too embarrassed to use it again."

"It's fine, it's not a big problem. Come on, take Torkoal to get treated. I'll tell you more about what to pay attention to in battle. You can't just be all theory and no practice."

"Mm, let's go."

Sui Yan recalled Torkoal into his Poké Ball, while Munchlax followed behind Lu Ze. The two walked shoulder to shoulder toward the Pokémon Treatment Center.

Referee: Did you two forget something??