What It Means to Be a Pokémon Trainer

"Woo, woo."

Weedle lay on Xia Yan's shoulder, looking at him with a mixture of grievance and heartache.

It seemed saddened that Xia Yan had spent so much money on it, yet had only bought himself a cheap set of clothes.

It knew full well how hard it had been to earn that money.

How much ridicule Xia Yan had endured to find a job, and how many times he had been rejected.

For its sake, he could be said to have given everything he possibly could.

"Don't feel sorry for me. Working hard to grow stronger will be your greatest repayment." Xia Yan smiled as he took a glistening Energy Cube from its exquisitely packaged box.

"Woo, woo!!" Weedle nodded firmly, staring at the Energy Cube in his palm as it secretly swallowed its saliva.

Feeling its cravings, Xia Yan smiled even more happily.

He deliberately raised the Energy Cube toward the sun.

Sunlight passed through the transparent, dark-green Energy Cube. There were no impurities visible to the naked eye within it, while the Intermediate Energy Cube gave off a faint fragrance mixed with a barely perceptible fishy stench.

"Tsk, so this is an Energy Cube made by combining Bug-type and Poison-type Infinity Energy?"

He deliberately dragged out his words, glancing at Weedle from the corner of his eye.

Its eyes were fixed squarely on the Energy Cube. It clearly could not wait, yet it did not dare show it.

It was actually rather cute.

The tiny, mung-bean-sized eyes reflected nothing but the Energy Cube.

"Enough teasing. Here, eat."

With a soft laugh, he held the Energy Cube out before Weedle.

"Woo!" Weedle cried happily.

It curled its tail to hurriedly take the Energy Cube, then immediately began nibbling at it atop his shoulder.

Every few bites, it could not help letting out a satisfied moan.

Seeing how content it looked, Xia Yan felt relieved. Still, he reminded it somewhat inappropriately, "Since you've eaten an Energy Cube, you need to fully digest and absorb all the energy you consumed, or it'll be wasted. So starting today, we're increasing the intensity of our training. Prepare yourself."

He had always held back during their previous training, worried that excessive exercise would overdraw Weedle's already weak body.

Now, he could intensify Weedle's training.

"Woo, woo!"

Weedle lowered its head and hurriedly responded several times. Xia Yan had no idea whether it had actually listened to a word he said.

He shook his head helplessly.

They returned to the club.

Anna, who was filing her nails at the front desk, saw him carrying bags of all sizes and teased, "Xia Yan, you got such a large salary advance yesterday, and today you went on a shopping spree?"

"Yeah." Xia Yan nodded in greeting.

"Then you should restrain yourself a little. After all..." Her gaze flicked toward Weedle on his shoulder.

"Mm."

He did not react to her implication about Weedle.

Other people's understanding and perceptions were not necessarily correct. Only by ignoring others' gazes and holding fast to one's own convictions and resolve could one accomplish what others could not.

He returned to his room.

After neatly putting everything away, he packed several Energy Cubes and brought Weedle to the training room.

They had just run several laps around the training room and finished warming up, preparing to begin their real training.

When Anna came looking for him again.

The chuunibyou teenager Kenji from yesterday, who had clamored about booking Xia Yan for the entire day, came with her.

Seeing Xia Yan persist in training even when he had no sparring assignment, with a thin sheen of sweat already on his forehead, Anna genuinely admired him somewhat.

Hardworking people always left a good impression on others.

"0451 is here. I won't disturb you." After saying that, Anna shut the door and left directly.

"Xia Yan, I'm back. Are you getting ready to train?" Kenji asked familiarly.

"Mm." Xia Yan responded softly. "What kind of sparring do you need today? A battle or training?"

"Hehe, we just came to train alongside you."

Following Xia Yan's lead, Kenji summoned Bulbasaur, looking eager to get started.

"Bulba~~"

The moment Bulbasaur came out, it spotted Weedle. It immediately waddled over, its slightly plump little rear swaying as it ran to Weedle and called softly.

"Woo!" Weedle greeted it as well.

After yesterday's battle and training, Weedle and Bulbasaur could be considered acquainted.

Just as Kenji admired Xia Yan for personally joining the training and leading by example, Bulbasaur also admired Weedle, whose training was several times harder than its own.

"Then we'll begin. You can try following along, or train according to what I taught you yesterday."

After saying that, Xia Yan ignored Kenji and called Weedle over to continue training.

"Sure, sure, do whatever you like."

Kenji showed none of the airs of a club member and casually waved his hand.

Yet his eyes rolled around as he looked a little sneaky, as though he were plotting something.

Xia Yan did not pay it any mind.

After finishing their running warm-up, the first stage of the first round of training was still move accuracy training.

Improving mastery over existing moves had always been Xia Yan's highest training priority.

Pokémon could learn many moves. Some were naturally comprehended as they grew, some could only be learned through specialized training, while others came from a Pokémon's inheritance and were also known as Egg Moves.

No matter what.

Comprehending a move was difficult.

Mastering a move one had already learned was even harder.

But the hardest thing was still developing existing moves to their limits.

Within limited time, he did not pursue having Pokémon learn countless moves. Moves were about quality, not quantity. Thorough mastery of a move, one suited to a Pokémon's own fighting style and conditions, could often produce the effects of two, three, or even more unpracticed moves.

As for the number of moves, Weedle did not have that concern. What mattered more was its mastery of the moves it had already learned.

This was a process of gradual accumulation that could not be achieved overnight.

Training thus became a necessary part of that accumulation.

The second stage involved developing moves it could learn. Xia Yan had set his first target on Bug Bite, a move Weedle could learn.

As a Bug-type and Poison-type Pokémon, with Bug-type as its primary type, it would be difficult for Weedle to display greater strength and usefulness without a Bug-type move.

Now that it had eaten Energy Cubes, it should theoretically be able to sense Bug-type Infinity Energy more quickly and learn it.

The first round of training ended.

Xia Yan and Kenji leaned against the walls of the training room, breathing heavily as they watched the still-energetic Weedle and Bulbasaur playing in the field.

"Xia Yan, why do you train alongside your Pokémon? Don't Pokémon Trainers only need to command them in battle?" Kenji voiced his confusion.

Hoo—

Xia Yan let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and glanced at the lively Weedle, inwardly nodding.

The effects of the Energy Cubes had already begun to show. Weedle had more energy and could adapt to higher-intensity training.

At the same time, he answered, "Pokémon Trainers are called Pokémon Trainers because they are a group of people who possess Pokémon and can command them. The title 'Pokémon Trainer' does not refer to a person alone, but to a person with a Pokémon. Pokémon and people are one whole. If you separate Pokémon from people, then the title 'Pokémon Trainer' becomes somewhat inappropriate.

"Training alongside Pokémon is not only to gain greater recognition from them. It is also to allow Pokémon Trainers to gain a deeper understanding of their Pokémon's condition, habits, and personality. Only by considering every aspect of a Pokémon can you approach battles from its perspective and make the right judgments and decisions at the right time.

"Do you understand?"

Kenji nodded thoughtfully. "Is it like what teachers often say? Put yourself in a Pokémon's position to think through and solve problems, and the compatibility between Pokémon and Pokémon Trainer will become higher."

"That's an excellent summary." Xia Yan agreed.

This was the benefit of knowledge.

Someone like Kenji had actually already acquired a great deal of knowledge.

But acquiring knowledge and being able to use it were two completely different things.

It was like the subjects he had studied in his previous life—language, math, and English. He had acquired the knowledge, but did not know how to apply it.

Kenji looked as though he had been taught something. His eyes rolled again, and just as he was about to say something else, he suddenly heard—

"Bulba!!"

Bulbasaur's pained cry rang out.

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