Training Was Never All Smooth Sailing

Once Hoppip finished eating, Dian picked up a wet wipe and cleaned its mouth, then stroked its leaves, which had regained their sheen. "How have you been lately?"

"Na, na..."

Hoppip looked a little dejected at his question.

Lately, the top of its head had been feeling itchy, as though it could spray something out, but it still couldn't manage it.

"It's all right. Take your time. Today, we'll keep working on Fairy Wind and Synthesis."

Dian figured it was still a little short of being ready, so he wasn't in a hurry. He continued preparing to hone those two moves.

Fairy Wind wasn't particularly powerful, but if training could make it unpredictable, it would still be extremely useful, especially paired with Hoppip's speed after evolution.

Synthesis, meanwhile, would support its future growth and relieve the fatigue of training. It was an excellent move for building a solid foundation.

As for Splash, Tail Whip, and Tackle, Dian had set those aside, since they weren't particularly useful.

Hoppip slowly took its place in the sunlight. Faint points of white light began appearing around its two leaves, growing denser and gradually clinging to them.

Eventually, a faint layer of white light covered its pink body as well. As Synthesis wore off, the light slowly vanished.

"Na, na."

Hoppip ran around energetically. Every time it finished using Synthesis, it seemed brimming with energy.

Dian held a small stopwatch. He checked the time; it had improved again.

Synthesis was a move that restored stamina according to the weather.

In theory, though, a sufficiently proficient user should have been able to restore stamina anywhere there was light, with the intensity of that light simply determining how much stamina it recovered.

In practice, the move took quite a while. When Hoppip first began using it, the