Practical Battle Training

"That's enough practice for today. You worked hard."

Hu Yang placed a cup of orange juice he had brought with him in front of Budew. "Take a break first!"

He glanced down at the timer: 1.6 seconds. That was already the fastest move speed Budew could currently achieve.

For a weak Budew, that was already a near-perfect result.

This move, Paralysis Bomb, would become Budew's crucial trump card for winning battles.

Next came training for its third move, Absorb.

In the games, Absorb was described like this.

[Absorb, Grass-type move. Attacks by draining nutrients from the opponent, restoring HP equal to half the damage dealt.]

As a move that most Grass-type Pokémon could learn, Absorb held great strategic value for Pokémon skilled at prolonged battles.

Reality was not like the games, where Trainers could use Super Potions to restore the stamina of Pokémon in battle.

In drawn-out battles where victory was difficult to determine, Pokémon battles came down to who could hold on longer and who would fall first.

At times like that, if one side had mastered Absorb, it could gain a major advantage during battle.

Absorb was divided into three stages.

The first stage was ordinary Absorb, with limited power and draining ability.

The second stage was named Mega Drain by the Pokémon League. Compared to the first stage, both its power and its ability to drain stamina underwent a qualitative leap.

The third stage was also known as Giga Drain. Just as its name implied, both its power and draining ability reached the highest level.

However, unlike in the games, where Pokémon could automatically learn moves by leveling up, real-world Absorb required constant practice and mastery before it could become Mega Drain.

It was like playing basketball. At first, someone might struggle even to dribble, but after long-term practice and fully mastering every technique, they could eventually make a three-pointer with their eyes closed.

I wonder when Budew will be able to undergo Evolution... Hu Yang mused.

After Budew underwent Evolution, it would become Roserade. Only then would it truly begin to possess some combat ability.

Budew's Evolution method... In the games, it seemed that its friendship with its Trainer had to reach 220, and then it had to level up during the day to undergo Evolution into Roserade.

But what about in the real world?

There was not even a concept of "leveling up" here.

There was still a long road ahead!

Hu Yang sighed, got up, and recalled Budew into its Poké Ball, preparing to teach his students.

"Training without actual combat experience won't do either." On the way, Hu Yang considered the current situation. Should he spar with the school's teachers or students?

No, that would not work. Aside from him, an ecology teacher whose role was rather similar to that of a PE teacher, everyone else was quite busy.

In that case, he could only go outside the school to find people to battle.

If one asked where the most wild Trainers could be found, the answer was naturally the Pokémon Center.

It was not uncommon for two unfamiliar Trainers to catch each other's eye on the road, hold hands, and dash into the tall grass for a Pokémon battle.

For that reason, the Pokémon Center had even set aside a temporary battle arena in its backyard for Trainers staying there.

Thus, as soon as class ended, Hu Yang went to the Pokémon Center and entered the battle matchmaking queue.

Before long, he was matched with his first opponent—a Rookie Trainer from Littleroot Town.

"Then, let's go! Torchic!" said a boy named Xiaomeng. "Torchic, use Ember!"

A flash of white light passed, and a Pokémon with orange feathers appeared in Hu Yang's field of vision.

Slow. Far too slow. Both his verbal command and his throwing motion were slow.

If this had been a battle in the wild, an enemy could have subdued him before he even had the chance to throw his Poké Ball.

Hu Yang did not forget that this was a battle. He threw Budew's Poké Ball.

Xiaomeng said, "Budew is a Grass-type Pokémon. My Torchic has the type advantage over it. Torchic, use Ember!"

Hu Yang kept it brief. "...Budew, dodge to the front left."

"Bude!"

Budew and Torchic moved at the same time.

Just as Hu Yang had expected, the untrained Torchic straightforwardly fired Ember at the spot where Budew had just been standing.

But Budew had already been prepared and left its original position before Ember arrived.

Hu Yang said, "Stun Spore."

Xiaomeng said, "Torchic, use Ember again!"

This time, Budew moved before Torchic.

Pale yellow powder spread out from the flower bud atop its head.

Torchic had originally been outside the range covered by Stun Spore.

But Budew's current position allowed the edge of the Stun Spore to reach Torchic.

Ember was interrupted. Torchic nearly blew itself up, its small body suddenly stiffening before it fell into a paralyzed state.

Hu Yang said, "Seed Bomb."

A rookie Pokémon belonging to a Rookie Trainer had barely experienced any battles, so its tolerance for paralysis was nowhere near sufficient.

Thus, Budew's Stun Spore, combined with the successive Seed Bomb attacks, directly locked Torchic down until it lost its ability to battle.

Everything had happened too quickly. The boy seemed not to have processed what had happened and simply stood there, blankly watching the scene.

Hu Yang reminded him, "You should take your Pokémon to the Pokémon Center for treatment."

Only then did the boy come back to his senses. He scooped up his Torchic and rushed into the Pokémon Center.

After his first victory, Hu Yang began matchmaking again.

Soon, a Trainer who appeared somewhat older challenged him to a battle.

Three minutes later, the Trainer stared blankly at his Pokémon lying unconscious on the ground.

"What an incredible Budew!" Quite a few Trainers had watched both battles from start to finish. When they looked at Budew again, their expressions had completely changed.

In their impression, Budew had always been an extremely weak Pokémon before undergoing Evolution.

Yet this very weak little fellow had consecutively defeated two opponents stronger than itself, one of whom even had the type advantage.

What did that mean?

It meant the Trainer capable of raising this Budew was no ordinary Trainer either!

The crowd's gazes toward Hu Yang changed as well.

Battling powerful Trainers was an immensely enjoyable experience.

So afterward, Hu Yang received several more battle requests in succession.

As expected, he won every single one.

Not even one opponent managed to force Budew to reveal its trump card, Paralysis Bomb.

"No, most of them are Trainers who have only just set out on their journeys. Their battle concepts and command ability are far behind mine."

Hu Yang recalled the panting Budew into its Poké Ball and thought to himself, I need to find stronger Trainers to battle.

The Trainers at the Pokémon Center were clearly not on the same level as him. Their current strength could no longer meet his needs.