Terrifying Poison Type Move Trait!

Mu Yun led Xiao Du out of the pavilion and onto a nearby stone-paved path, then took out several empty milk bottles he had prepared in advance and set them down a short distance away.

"Xiao Du, your target is still these milk bottles, but this time, the move you need to use is Poison Sting. Remember, it's fine if the Poison Sting takes a little longer to condense, but you absolutely have to ensure its stability."

"If you notice any signs that the Poison Sting is dispersing or that you're losing control of it, spit it out immediately without hesitation. It doesn't matter if you miss the milk bottles. That's normal when you're just starting to practice."

Mu Yun secured the empty milk bottles while explaining the precautions to Xiao Du.

This was the troublesome part about practicing Poison Type moves. If one failed to master them properly in the beginning, it was very easy to repeatedly become poisoned.

Fortunately, most Pokémon capable of using Poison Type moves also possessed the Poison Type themselves, so Poison Type moves dealt only half their normal damage to them. Even if they were accidentally poisoned, there would be no lasting consequences as long as they took an Antidote in time.

"Mm-oh!!"

Xiao Du heard the seriousness in Mu Yun's voice and nodded very earnestly.

"All right. From here on, you'll control the pace of your Poison Sting training yourself."

Seeing that Xiao Du had taken his words to heart, Mu Yun said no more. After giving him one last reminder, he stepped aside, holding the Antidote he had prepared beforehand.

Although he trusted Xiao Du's self-control, the necessary emergency measures still had to be in place.

"Pi-bo?"

Seeing that Xiao Du was about to practice a new move, Namikaze flew curiously out of the pavilion. After flying a few meters, he seemed to notice something and began circling above Mu Yun's head.

After a while, he gradually edged closer to Mu Yun's shoulder as if unintentionally.

Seeing that Mu Yun had no intention of chasing him away, Namikaze folded his wings and landed lightly on his shoulder. He held his head high and stood perfectly still.

After Namikaze landed, Mu Yun did not feel particularly uncomfortable. His Constitution was still inferior to that of that idiot, but Namikaze was not as heavy as the Electric Type brat.

(The official Pokédex listed the Electric Type brat at 6 kg, while Pidgey weighed only 1.8 kg.)

For Mu Yun, whose Constitution had reached Level 13, having a Pokémon weighing only a few kilograms stand on his shoulder was no problem at all.

Mu Yun merely raised a hand and smoothed Namikaze's feathers, signaling that he should not approach Xiao Du later.

Namikaze: Yay! I finally get to stand on his shoulder!

Meanwhile.

Xiao Du was now concentrating fully on his body, slowly converting some of his internal energy into the Poison Type energy required for the move.

Normally, the energy within a Pokémon's body had no specific attribute. Only when using a move would it convert that energy into a specific attribute.

This process took up almost half the time required to release a move.

The only way to shorten that time was through repeated practice.

Since this was Xiao Du's first time releasing a Poison Type move, he was somewhat unfamiliar with the process of converting Poison Type energy.

Fortunately, he already had a foundation of proficiency from converting Bug Type energy. After adapting for a moment, Xiao Du found the rhythm and converted the energy into Poison Type energy.

Once the Poison Type energy was ready, Xiao Du began recalling how to use Poison Sting from his memories. Then, little by little, he condensed the pale purple energy into shape.

Soon, thin pale purple Poison Stings as fine as ox hair formed in his mouth.

"Mm-oh!!"

Almost the instant he sensed the Poison Stings take shape, Xiao Du suddenly opened his mouth and spat them toward the empty milk bottles in the distance.

The tiny Poison Stings flew extremely fast, almost impossible to notice amid the dappled shadows.

Only when one of the milk bottles was knocked over and faint traces of pale purple appeared on the stone path a little farther away did Mu Yun realize that Xiao Du had successfully used Poison Sting.

[Ping! Weedle used Poison Sting. Proficiency +1!]

[Ping! Weedle's first Poison Sting attack successfully hit an empty milk bottle. He was extremely excited and gained further insight into the move Poison Sting. Proficiency additionally +1!]

[Poison Sting (Beginner, 0/10) → Poison Sting (Beginner, 2/10)]

It worked on the first try!

Hearing the system notification, Mu Yun knew that Xiao Du had succeeded.

For training a Poison Type move, the most difficult hurdle had already been cleared. From then on, as long as his luck was not too bad, there would basically be no more instances of poisoning himself.

"Well done, Xiao Du! You succeeded on your first try. You're a genius!"

Mu Yun stepped forward and rubbed Xiao Du's little head, praising him without holding back.

"Mm-oh~~"

Xiao Du shook his little head and chuckled, then turned toward Namikaze, who was standing on Mu Yun's shoulder, and bobbed his head smugly, as if showing off his talent.

"Pi-bo~"

Namikaze did not care in the slightest. He even stood on Mu Yun's shoulder and smiled happily at Xiao Du.

Mu Yun did not notice the friendly exchange between the two Pokémon. He was striding toward the milk bottles, carefully examining the pale purple traces left on the stone path.

Poison Sting's power was low, and since it was Xiao Du's first attempt, the Poison Stings he condensed were thin and short. As a result, they did not leave much of a mark on the stone path.

After roughly thirty seconds, the patch of pale purple traces transformed into invisible energy and slowly disappeared.

Seeing that the traces left by Poison Sting did not last long, Mu Yun breathed a sigh of relief.

Poison Sting did not persist for long, and since hardly anyone usually came to this old pavilion, he did not have to worry about leaving behind a hidden danger while training here.

"Xiao Du, carefully recall how you felt just now, then use Poison Sting again!"

"Mm-oh!"

[Ping! Through persistent effort, Weedle's move—Poison Sting—broke through to the Beginner level!]

[Poison Sting (Beginner, 0/30): Poison Sting's toxicity increased by 50%.]

A few minutes later, the fifth Poison Sting successfully hit the "full-of-holes" empty milk bottle.

With that, Poison Sting successfully reached the Beginner level.

" its toxicity increased by 50%..."

Looking at the new Trait added upon Poison Sting reaching the Beginner level, Mu Yun immediately sucked in a sharp breath.

The main source of damage from Poison Type moves was not the direct impact of the move itself.

After all, whether it was tiny Poison Stings or a large cloud of poisonous mist, their damage was not particularly great apart from their toxicity.

What truly made Poison Type Pokémon frightening was precisely the terrifying toxin that could rapidly corrode large areas of muscle and nerves from even the slightest contact.

Originally, non-Poison Type Pokémon of the same level could barely resist the invasion of toxins when facing Poison Type Pokémon of the same level. Now that the toxicity had increased by 50%, Mu Yun did not even dare imagine how powerful it would become.

If the poison was not treated in time, it might genuinely lead to an accident.

"After Poison Sting levels up a few more times, I'll have to find an opportunity to test its exact toxicity..."

Mu Yun stroked his chin, thinking to himself.

Poison Sting gained a 50% increase in toxicity at merely the Beginner level. If it reached the Perfected level, that would mean a 200% toxicity bonus. Without knowing exactly how powerful that was, Mu Yun would not dare use it recklessly in a competition.

If an accidental death occurred, his reputation would be ruined. Never mind a short-term suspension—the online abuse and compensation alone would be enough to break him.

That raised the question: how was he supposed to test its toxicity?

He could not randomly find another unlucky pair of "Pidgey spouses," could he?

Under an assault of toxins with triple the toxicity, an ordinary Pidgey would probably die on the spot, saving everyone the trouble of trying to rescue it.

"Forget it. There's no rush. Once Xiao Du evolves into Beedrill, Twineedle will be enough for him. He probably won't have much use for Poison Sting under ordinary circumstances."

Before long, Mu Yun pushed the matter to the back of his mind and stopped thinking about it.

It was still too early to worry about such things. For now, the priority was to grind up his move proficiency and help Xiao Du complete his evolution.

For common beginner Pokémon such as Weedle, Caterpie, and Wurmple, the normal evolution cycle usually took around twenty days to a month after birth to reach their final forms.

This normal evolution cycle referred to eating the most ordinary Berries—Oran Berries—without undergoing any training.

Xiao Du was currently training at full capacity every day and could eat four Energy Cubes a day, so his evolution cycle would probably be shortened considerably.

He estimated that in a few more days, when Xiao Du reached roughly Level 8, he would be able to evolve into Kakuna.

As for evolving from Kakuna into Beedrill, there was no need to worry about that at all.

It was just like hatching a Pokémon Egg. After roughly five to seven days, the evolution would occur naturally.

This was also why many Trainers from ordinary families chose a beginner Pokémon as their starter.

They required few resources, evolved quickly, developed their battle strength quickly, and could both fly and fight. They were highly adaptable all-purpose Pokémon.