Training Was So Much Fun

Xia Chen was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly—after only two days, Eevee could already sense the Fairy-type energy circulating within her body.

Could my Eevee really have Elite Four-level potential?

"Very good. Next, try directing the Fairy-type energy inside your body toward your eyes."

Never satisfied with what he had, Xia Chen tried to guide Eevee further.

Baby-Doll Eyes was a Pokémon move that released energy waves through the eyes to lower an opponent's Attack. Combining energy with the eyes was the key to learning it.

But after several attempts, Eevee shook her head "frustratedly."

Xia Chen smiled and stroked her head. "It's okay. You've already done amazingly well. We'll take it slow."

Eevee being able to sense the existence of Fairy-type energy within two days had already far exceeded his expectations. Xia Chen had never expected her to learn Baby-Doll Eyes right away.

Rather, if Eevee could so easily accomplish in days what others hadn't managed in half a year, that would have been terrifying.

That concluded the guidance for Fairy-type moves. Next, Xia Chen trained Eevee in several of the easiest Normal-type moves to learn.

He had currently chosen three: the special attack move Swift, the stat-boosting move Work Up, and a relatively uncommon move, Echoed Voice.

Swift was a useful offensive move for Eevee in the early stages and was basically a must-learn skill. There was no need to say more.

Besides, if Eevee's Ability turned out to be the Hidden Ability [Anticipation], then after evolving into Sylveon, it would become [Pixilate]—

Normal-type moves would become Fairy-type moves, and their power would increase by twenty percent.

That would make Swift an unavoidable move with damage roughly comparable to [Aura Sphere].

No matter how he looked at it, it was worth training thoroughly.

But whether Eevee's Ability was the rather useless [Run Away] or the Hidden Ability [Anticipation] still required further research from Xia Chen.

The second move, Work Up, was one of the few boosting moves Eevee could learn.

In Pokémon Battles, boosting moves were equally important.

Beyond their most obvious purpose, they could also serve as bait to lure an opponent into taking the hook when the battle reached a stalemate.

On the other hand, it would also lay the groundwork for learning Calm Mind after evolving into Sylveon.

The final move, Echoed Voice, was preparation for learning a move that would be extremely important to Sylveon in the future—[Hyper Voice].

Eevee's talent was quite remarkable. In just one morning, she could already mobilize the most active Normal-type energy in her body and apply it to different parts of herself.

At this pace, she should be able to initially master one of them in less than a week.

For an Eevee who had only just begun training, this was an astonishing speed.

By then, Eevee would have developed some initial combat ability as well.

At present, aside from the inherited moves Yawn and Fake Tears, the only moves Eevee knew were Growl, Tackle, and Tail Whip.

No one but a complete beginner would bother training those.

Thinking of this, Xia Chen looked at Eevee with even greater satisfaction.

He had never expected the Eevee he had casually picked up to be such a treasure. With this kind of talent, if she wasn't SSR-tier, then she was definitely a solid SR.

Eevee blinked at Xia Chen's smile. Is this enough to satisfy him?

If Xia Chen knew I'd already mastered more than a dozen moves, I wonder what he'd think.

Forget it. My Trainer's easily scared, so I'd better not shock him.

Busy days always passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, another three days had gone by, and Eevee had been living with Xia Chen for exactly one week.

Over the past few days, this homebody man and homebody Eevee had barely left the house except to buy groceries and Eevee food.

There was no other reason. Being immersed in training simply felt incredible!

More precisely, seeing their efforts receive matching rewards—the positive feedback from steadily improving bit by bit—was deeply satisfying.

Xia Chen finally understood why so many people in his previous life had enjoyed working out.

Three days was not a long time, but Eevee had given Xia Chen an enormous surprise. Not only had she mastered Swift, she had also learned Quick Attack, which worked on a similar principle.

She had also gained some understanding of Work Up and Echoed Voice. With Eevee's talent, she would probably learn them before long.

The only imperfection was that the two Fairy-type moves, Baby-Doll Eyes and Charm, had made no progress. It was probably still because she lacked enough energy within her body.

Xia Chen wasn't in a hurry. He steadily led Eevee through the training plan they had set.

Still, he kept feeling as though he had forgotten something.

"Good afternoon! I'm here to mooch another meal!"

Mei's voice came from outside the courtyard, and only then did Xia Chen remember that today was filming day again.

However, he had been so absorbed in training these past few days that he had completely forgotten about it. He hadn't even gone out to buy groceries today.

The channel's recent momentum had been good, and he couldn't stop updating while things were on the rise.

Fortunately, they still had unused footage from last time, so they could make do with that for now. But he couldn't slack off like this next time. He and Eevee were relying entirely on it to make a living.

As Xia Chen thought of ways to salvage the situation, Marnie had already entered the courtyard with Snivy.

Having grown up together, she showed no trace of reserve in Xia Chen's home.

"Wow, the latest training machines from Silph Co.! When did you buy these, Xia Chen? Are you that rich?"

The moment she entered, Marnie spotted the two enormous training machines occupying most of the courtyard.

With the goal of becoming the Donghuang Region Champion, she was naturally very familiar with these machines and immediately voiced her admiration.

Xia Chen stood while holding Eevee. "A few days ago. I saved up the money I would've spent on buying Eevee and used it to get them. They practically emptied my wallet."

"You get what you pay for. Unlike the two at my place—they're antiques my dad used back in the day. They're so loud the neighbors complain every day. When my dad gets back, I'm definitely making him replace them!" Marnie grumbled.

"Sure. Get the stamina and special attack models, and we can take turns using them?" Xia Chen casually suggested, not treating Marnie like an outsider.

Marnie nodded. "No problem. By the way, what are we having for lunch?"

The conversation had barely begun before she revealed her true purpose.

Judging by her eager expression, she had clearly been looking forward to lunch at Xia Chen's house.

Xia Chen coughed twice. "I was planning to make a special episode today, comparing the food I make with dishes from restaurants outside. So we're eating out today."

Marnie's face instantly fell. She narrowed her eyes at Xia Chen. "Looks like you got so obsessed with training that you forgot we were supposed to film today, huh?"

Xia Chen shot back without giving ground. "Weren't you even worse when you first started raising Snivy? I remember not seeing you for a whole week."

"Oh? If I didn't keep coming over, I'm afraid I wouldn't see you at all this month, right? I'm always the one taking the initiative to find you. Can't you be a little more proactive?"

Snivy watched the two start their usual bickering again, sighed helplessly, and extended her vines to pull them both toward the door.

She knew that if she didn't step in, they could argue all the way back to the embarrassing stories from when they were still wearing split-crotch pants.

Eevee shut the door and watched Snivy lead Xia Chen and Marnie away. A smile curved across her lips.

It was nice. Nothing had changed.