A Newly Learned Move

"Bulbasaur!!"

Kenji rushed forward in three quick strides and ran to Bulbasaur's side.

Xia Yan immediately sprang up from the ground as well and jogged over to where Weedle and Bulbasaur had been playing.

Bulbasaur lay on the ground with its eyes closed, while Weedle looked utterly dazed, staring blankly at Bulbasaur without knowing what to do.

"What happened?" Xia Yan asked gravely.

"Wuu, wuu." Seeing Xia Yan was like finding its backbone. Weedle swayed as it tried to explain, but it simply could not make itself clear.

"Bulba."

Bulbasaur opened its eyes. Once the initial pain had passed, it had recovered. After all, it was a Pokémon. It was not so easily injured, and its constitution was still quite strong.

Seeing Bulbasaur recover so quickly, both Kenji and Xia Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

"What just happened?"

Weedle and Bulbasaur exchanged a look. The incident had not created any rift between the two Pokémon.

"Bulba!"

"Wuu!"

Then, the two Pokémon reenacted what had just happened for Xia Yan and Kenji.

A moment earlier.

While Weedle and Bulbasaur had been playing together, Bulbasaur wanted to show Weedle how tough its Vine Whip was, so it pulled out a vine, put it in its mouth, and bit down on it.

It did not budge at all.

Weedle was also very curious about the vine Bulbasaur could grow from its body.

So it indicated that it wanted to try biting it too.

Bulbasaur naturally did not mind. It was very confident in the toughness of its Vine Whip.

But who could have expected that, as Weedle gnawed on Bulbasaur's vine, it would suddenly recall Xia Yan training it to bite tree trunks. A strange power within its body was suddenly stirred.

Perhaps its accumulated training had finally paid off, or perhaps the Energy Cube it had eaten today had happened to awaken its potential.

It had suddenly comprehended the Bug-type move, Bug Bite.

The result was obvious.

Bulbasaur's vine suffered a devastating blow inside Weedle's mouth.

After watching the two Pokémon's demonstration and seeing the pale green glow shining around Weedle's open mouth, Xia Yan and Kenji both froze for a moment.

Bug Bite was a move Weedle could learn at level nine in the games. However, Weedle usually evolved into Kakuna at level seven. It could only learn it if its evolution was prevented, or by learning it through a Technical Machine in the games.

But that was in the games. In the real world, there was clearly no concept of leveling up and automatically learning moves, nor were there things like Technical Machines. To learn a move, a Pokémon could only comprehend it at a particular moment, or undergo targeted training until practice made perfect and it finally learned it.

Weedle had already trained under Xia Yan's arrangements for some time, but by his estimate, even with the help of Energy Cubes, it should have needed at least a week or even longer to learn it. Yet during a simple play session with Bulbasaur, it had suddenly comprehended it.

This showed that although Xia Yan's Weedle appeared ordinary in every way, its aptitude for comprehension was probably quite exceptional.

Of course, its earlier training and Xia Yan's repeated guidance had also played a crucial role.

Still, there was no denying that Weedle might truly possess talent in this area.

"Wuu..." Weedle looked at Xia Yan in confusion. It still had not figured out what had happened, and it even felt a little guilty for hurting Bulbasaur.

It was not until Xia Yan picked it up that it finally snapped out of its daze.

"So this is what the books call a Pokémon comprehending a move?" Kenji murmured.

He was not angry. It was perfectly normal for Pokémon playing together to accidentally get a little rough. Besides, Bulbasaur had only felt pain for a moment and was not injured.

But seeing Weedle comprehend a move while playing was somewhat beyond his understanding.

Just moments ago, he had watched Xia Yan train Weedle in Bug Bite.

How had it suddenly comprehended it?

"Don't be nervous. You learned a new move. It means our training has had good results, and your hard work has been rewarded." Xia Yan stroked Weedle's back reassuringly.

This was not only a reward for Weedle's hard work, but also an affirmation of his training methods.

It gave him even greater confidence in training and developing Weedle according to his own methods.

"Wuu!"

Weedle's tiny eyes sparkled.

So this was what comprehending a move felt like. It was strange and wonderful.

Overall, it felt pretty good.

"Alright, go apologize to Bulbasaur. Later, we'll do special training for Bug Bite so you can use it flexibly in battle as soon as possible." Xia Yan set Weedle back on the ground.

This breakthrough further strengthened his confidence.

There were no useless Pokémon, only useless Pokémon Trainers. If Weedle could maintain this state of comprehension, it might not show much while it was still a Weedle, but once it evolved into Beedrill, Xia Yan was confident he could raise it into a powerful finishing weapon capable of sweeping through battles.

"Wuu, wuu!!" Weedle obediently nodded, crawled over to Bulbasaur, and apologized in a clear little voice.

Bulbasaur was clearly not the type to hold a grudge, and it showed that it understood.

Seeing the two Pokémon happily resume playing together, Xia Yan smiled.

This comprehension carried great significance for him.

Only then did Kenji finally come back to his senses. He looked at Weedle playing with Bulbasaur, then at the more confident Xia Yan beside him.

"So this is a Pokémon Trainer..."

This time, he was truly convinced by Xia Yan.

It was his first time witnessing a Pokémon comprehend a move. It felt very different from the brief descriptions in books.

Xia Yan had confidently chosen a Pokémon that Trainers did not think highly of, like Weedle, as his starter Pokémon, then raised and trained it so effectively. The feeling Xia Yan gave him was completely different from those Trainers who started with powerful Pokémon and abundant resources.

"Weren't you about to say something?" Xia Yan asked.

Their conversation had been interrupted halfway by Bulbasaur's pained cry.

Hearing the question, Kenji suddenly remembered. His expression became somewhat complicated as he said, "Next week, our school is organizing an adventure in Densewood Forest outside Goldenrod City. For safety reasons, the school allows us to invite one Pokémon Trainer to accompany us, so I..."

"You want to invite me?" Xia Yan's eyes flickered.

The club did offer this service, but the price for an escort to accompany someone outside was higher.

"Yeah." Kenji nodded.

He had hesitated before, but after seeing Weedle comprehend Bug Bite, that hesitation vanished.

"Why not invite a stronger Pokémon Trainer? Wouldn't that be safer?" Xia Yan knew his own capabilities well.

"The school rules say that, so we can get more exposure to the wilderness and battles with wild Pokémon, we can't invite a Trainer who is too strong or who has more than two Pokémon," Kenji explained.

He quickly added, "Don't worry. The wild Pokémon in Densewood Forest aren't strong, and before the event begins, the school will conduct one final sweep of the area. The goal is just to help us second-years, who have only recently come into contact with Pokémon, understand them better. There might not even be any battles."

Wasn't that basically free money?

And there was still a week to prepare.

Xia Yan thought about it. Whether for the money or for Weedle's training, he had no reason to refuse.

"Alright. I accept."

What he lacked most right now was money.

He had spent all of his advance wages in one go today. And having seen how Energy Cubes helped Weedle, he needed more money.

Outdoor assignments happened to pay faster.

"Then I'll come find you when the time comes." Kenji was somewhat excited.

For students like them, nothing was more exciting than being able to go out on an adventure.

"Alright."