Normal or Mutated! Choosing a Trait Enhancement Path!

As usual, the first thing he did after heading out was stamina training.

It was only after finishing the 3.5-kilometer run that the man and his two Pokémon arrived at the old pavilion.

After a brief rest, it was time for simulated battle training between the bug and the bird.

It was called a battle, but in reality, Xiao Du kept using String Shot while Namikaze kept dodging.

Just as Mu Yun had expected, with the extra acceleration from Tackle, it became much harder for Xiao Du to hit Namikaze.

Even when Mu Yun allowed Xiao Du to mix in String Shot Net attacks midway through, the extra speed boost from Tackle still left him unable to achieve anything.

Unless Xiao Du evolved and learned new moves, defeating Namikaze would be difficult.

Of course, it would also be difficult for Namikaze to defeat Xiao Du.

After all, he only knew one close-range attacking move—Tackle. The moment he got too close, Xiao Du's String Shot Net would once again make him feel the constricting sensation of being tightly wrapped up.

Fortunately, whether he hit or not did not affect the experience gained.

Or rather, precisely because he kept failing, Xiao Du's fighting spirit remained high, allowing the fourfold experience buff to persist.

Finally, when he used String Shot for the tenth time, a new notification sounded in Mu Yun's mind.

[დინ! Weedle used String Shot in a simulated battle. Proficiency +2!]

[დინ!...]

[დინ! Through unremitting effort, Weedle's move—String Shot—has successfully broken through the Perfected proficiency level!]

[დინ! Weedle gained Limit-Breaking Points ×1!]

"Finally, a breakthrough!"

When Mu Yun heard the words "proficiency has successfully broken through the Perfected level" in the notification, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Immediately afterward, the Limit-Breaking Points entry at the bottom of Xiao Du's status panel also successfully went from zero to one.

After his excitement subsided, Mu Yun immediately checked the Trait information after String Shot's breakthrough.

[String Shot (Limit-Breaking +1, 0/2000): Thread toughness +200%, thread adhesiveness +200%, thread corrosion resistance +150%, power of all of the user's Bug Type moves +20%.]

"Limit-Breaking +1? It can still level up?"

Mu Yun was slightly surprised as he looked at String Shot's proficiency level.

He had thought a move's proficiency would reach its limit after breaking through Perfected, but there was actually more to come.

The only issue was that it required a lot of experience—two thousand points. That clearly was not something he could achieve anytime soon.

At Xiao Du's current training intensity, Namikaze would probably need to cooperate with him for an entire week.

Considering String Shot's effects, Mu Yun felt there was no need to obsess over this move for now.

Without dwelling on it any further, Mu Yun immediately shifted his attention to the changes in String Shot's Traits after Limit-Breaking.

The thread toughness had not changed and still had a 200% bonus. It seemed it had reached its cap. The thread adhesiveness and corrosion resistance, however, had each increased by another 50%.

But none of that was important. What mattered was that the Trait boosting the power of all Bug Type moves had risen by another 10%, reaching an astonishing 20%!

That alone delighted Mu Yun.

At this rate, after another eight Limit-Breakings, wouldn't the power of all Bug Type moves directly double?

And if there were several more Bug Type moves that had undergone Limit-Breaking, their power would be unimaginable!

In short, the future was promising. Invincible among those of the same rank!

After briefly imagining Xiao Du's invincible future, Mu Yun shifted his attention back to the Limit-Breaking Points.

Ever since the System awakened, Mu Yun had known that Limit-Breaking Points could enhance Traits and raise potential. He just did not know how much they cost.

Now that he had a Limit-Breaking Point, he could test it out.

"System, enhance Xiao Du's Trait."

[დინ! Weedle (Xiao Du)'s available Trait enhancement paths have been listed. Please choose one yourself!]

[1. Trait · Run Away +1: When attempting to leave battle, movement speed will double and the user will ignore the effects of restrictive moves. Limit-Breaking Point cost: 1.]

[2. Trait · Escape Artist: A Mutation Enhancement of the hidden Trait Run Away. At any time, the user may actively consume a certain amount of Stamina to ignore the effects of restrictive moves, leave battle and return to its Poké Ball, while curing its own abnormal conditions. Limit-Breaking Point cost: 5.]

[3. Trait · Shed Skin +1: Consume the user's own energy to complete an Energy Shed Skin, curing its own abnormal conditions. Limit-Breaking Point cost: 1.]

[4. Trait · Butterfly Emergence: A Mutation Enhancement of the Trait Shed Skin. After the protection mechanism preventing a near-fainting state is broken during battle, there is a 10% chance of undergoing a miraculous transformation, permanently increasing Base Stats by 100 points. Can only take effect once. Limit-Breaking Point cost: 5.]

[5. Trait · Sniper +1: When landing a critical hit, move power becomes 300%. Limit-Breaking Point cost: 1.]

[6. Trait · Critical Hit: A Mutation Enhancement of the hidden Trait Sniper. All attacks are treated as critical hits, and the critical damage multiplier is changed to 2x, or 300% of normal power. Limit-Breaking Point cost: 5.]

Three ordinary enhancements and three Mutation Enhancements—for a total of six choices. Mu Yun was momentarily dazzled by the options.

The first things Mu Yun eliminated were the three ordinary Trait +1 enhancements.

Although all three were quite useful and cost-effective, requiring only one Limit-Breaking Point—which he already had—their effects and long-term potential were far inferior to the other three Mutation Enhancement Traits.

The first Mutation Enhancement Trait was Escape Artist.

Many moves, such as Mean Look and Spider Web, could place Pokémon in a restricted state where they could not be recalled. Escape Artist, however, could ignore those effects and directly leave battle.

[Mean Look: Gaze at the opponent, preventing the target from being recalled into its Poké Ball for a short period.]

[Spider Web: Bind the target with webbing, preventing it from being recalled into its Poké Ball while restrained.]

In official battle competitions, the number of times Pokémon could be switched depended on how many Pokémon each side was allowed to use.

In a 3v3 battle, for example, unless moves such as Baton Pass or U-turn were used, there was only one opportunity to switch Pokémon during battle.

[Baton Pass: Switch with a reserve Pokémon and pass on the user's stat changes.]

[U-turn: Rapidly return after attacking and switch with a reserve Pokémon.]

The Escape Artist Trait was equivalent to Infinite switching, and it could also remove abnormal conditions.

In battle competitions, it would make it easier to send out a Pokémon that had a type advantage over the opponent.

But after thinking for a moment, Mu Yun still gave up on this choice.

In his plans, Xiao Du's future was to become someone who could stand on his own, not a support Pokémon that could only assist others.

Escape Artist clearly did not suit Xiao Du.

The second Mutation Enhancement Trait, Butterfly Emergence, was also quite good. If it triggered successfully, it could permanently increase Base Stats by 100 points, equivalent to a Mega Evolution with Infinite duration.

If Xiao Du then completed Mega Evolution as well, his Base Stats could soar directly to 595, rivaling a Pseudo-Legendary!

But after thinking for a moment, Mu Yun still gave up on this choice.

There was no helping it. Reality was not a game. A 10% chance was simply too low, and it could only trigger after the near-fainting protection mechanism had been broken.

Once that mechanism was broken, every second a Pokémon spent was a desperate struggle with the King of Hell. One mistake, and before Butterfly Emergence could occur, it would die before it ever had the chance.

Mu Yun had only ever been a gambler when playing Teamfight Tactics and Golden Spatula in his previous life. Asking him to gamble Xiao Du's life on that 10% chance was something he could not do.

Finally, Mu Yun looked toward the last Mutation Enhancement Trait—Critical Hit.

Its effect was simple, but extremely practical.

Treating every move as a critical hit was simply heaven for the unlucky!

Not to mention that the critical damage multiplier had been adjusted from the usual 1.5 times to twice.

At 300% move power, even the most ordinary Twineedle attack would rival Hyper Beam in power.

Of course, that was according to the calculations from the games in his previous life. In this world, Hyper Beam, as the ultimate move of the Normal Type, could genuinely shatter mountains and split rocks.

Still, even if it could not compare to Hyper Beam, a boosted move would have no problem instantly defeating a Pokémon of the same rank!

That was the beauty of raw numbers!

"Five Limit-Breaking Points... Looks like I'll have to wait until Xiao Du evolves into Beedrill before considering it."

Even if Xiao Du evolved into Kakuna, he would only have three usable moves.

Unless Mu Yun had Xiao Du grind out the two thousand experience needed just to start Limit-Breaking String Shot, he probably would not be able to gather five Limit-Breaking Points anytime soon.

Pulling his thoughts back, Mu Yun looked at the potential entry on Xiao Du's status panel.

"System, raise Xiao Du's potential."