Training in the Secret Realm

Jiang Cheng had already woken up. To avoid disturbing the others, he had moved his lounge chair farther away and continued fishing.

Popplio lay belly-up on the sea, fast asleep. Clearly, it felt perfectly comfortable here. Xiao Ran considered spending the entire summer vacation in this Secret Realm. Finding an environment in Nancheng that suited Popplio's growth was simply too difficult.

"Hey! Over here!" Seeing Xiao Ran get up, Jiang Cheng waved from a distance and called softly. Xiao Ran smiled and walked over.

"Come look at my haul! I only got up less than half an hour before you!" Jiang Cheng pulled Xiao Ran over, his face full of excitement.

Xiao Ran took a look. They were merely some of the same fish Pokémon they had caught before, but Jiang Cheng's results over that half hour were indeed impressive, almost matching what they had caught in two hours earlier.

After chatting with Jiang Cheng for a while, Xiao Ran checked the time. It was already past eight in the morning, and Ye Ling had woken up nearby. She had already missed her usual morning workout. It seemed the Secret Realm's environment had affected her after all.

Moreover, there had been no sign of nightfall in this Secret Realm so far. Only after finding a Probationary Investigator who had interrogated the Hall's captured members did he learn that day and night alternated once a week here. There were still four days left until nightfall.

After he shared what he had learned about the day-night cycle, all four agreed to remain in the Secret Realm for four days to give their Pokémon special training. Whether it was Shen Yue's Charmander, Xiao Ran's Popplio, or Ye Ling's Froakie, all of them could find excellent training environments here, so none of them wanted to waste those four days.

Once Jiang Cheng learned they were staying, he actually had his butler find people to build a temporary house for them. He said they would be visiting often anyway, so keeping the house for their vacations would be perfect. Then he picked out what he called a prime spot with excellent feng shui and had a villa built beside the temporary house, leaving the others with quite a headache...

"Popplio, dodge with Aqua Jet, then use Disarming Voice!" Xiao Ran shouted from the shore. With so many wild Pokémon here, he could find opponents for Popplio to his heart's content and speed up its understanding of moves. In just three days, Popplio had not only fully mastered its original moves but also learned Aqua Jet and Baby-Doll Eyes.

Popplio's current opponent was a Wingull. These common coastal Pokémon had been its main opponents over the past few days. Their ability to fly and their high mobility posed Popplio's biggest problem. Water Balloon alone did not give it enough mobility to effectively dodge Wingull's attacks. Fortunately, learning Aqua Jet had made up for that weakness. This physical Water-type move could be used not only to attack but also to reposition.

"Awoo~~~" An enchanting song rang out from Popplio's mouth. The intense psychic impact assaulted Wingull's nerves. After repeated exchanges, it finally could no longer withstand the sound and plunged toward the beach.

"Sorry about that, Wingull. Thanks for your hard work. This is for you." Xiao Ran ran over, treated Wingull's injuries, and placed a Pokéblock in front of it. Popplio and the others did not eat these ordinary Pokéblocks, but they were still very popular with wild Pokémon.

"Kaa~~~" Wingull gave a cheerful cry, all its anger over being attacked out of nowhere vanishing without a trace. Pokémon really were simple at heart. They could truly sense the goodwill in someone's heart, Xiao Ran thought.

"Thanks for your hard work too. Next up is Whirlpool practice. It'll improve your control over Water-type energy. Do you still remember how to use it?" After soothing Wingull, Xiao Ran fed Popplio as he spoke.

Whirlpool was a move that could only be learned through instruction. It trapped opponents in fierce currents and required extremely precise control over Water-type energy. Xiao Ran had even found Su Zheng's Blastoise and had it teach Popplio for half a day, hoping this move would strengthen Popplio's control over Water-type energy. Unfortunately, so far it could only remember how to execute Whirlpool and had never actually managed to use it.

"Awoo~~~" Popplio nodded with a cry, then lowered its head and continued eating.

Splash~~~ Just then, a small whirlpool suddenly formed on the sea. Looking closely, Xiao Ran could even make out a yellowish-brown figure spinning inside it.

"That much talent for Water-type energy?" Xiao Ran stared at the sea, stunned.

It was the Feebas he and Jiang Cheng had caught while fishing earlier. Because the Pokémon looked so awful and smelled unpleasant, Xiao Ran had originally had no intention of raising it. Yet the little creature had kept biting Jiang Cheng's hook without giving up, even allowing the hooks to leave cuts all over its body.

This was nothing like the peaceful world of his previous life. Water-type Pokémon here possessed tremendous destructive power, so fishing hooks were naturally made exceptionally sturdy and sharp. Once a Water-type Pokémon bit down, it could not easily break free. Some high-end hooks could even suppress elemental energy, preventing weaker Pokémon from using moves.

In the end, Xiao Ran had reluctantly taken Feebas into a Poké Ball. After spending several days together, he had more or less figured out why it kept biting the hook. Ultimately, his good looks were to blame.

Feebas were Pokémon with an extreme inferiority complex, yet they also yearned intensely for beautiful things. Xiao Ran's good looks were universally acknowledged, and naturally they had caught Feebas's attention. Its wish to follow Xiao Ran and become beautiful had grown uncontrollable, so it kept biting Xiao Ran's hook, hoping he would take it away.

Since he had caught it, Xiao Ran had not neglected Feebas's training while training Popplio over the past few days. Both Pokémon could learn Whirlpool anyway. Teaching two was no more trouble than teaching one, so he had simply let them learn together. He had never expected Feebas to master the move before Popplio.

"Awoo~~" Seemingly spurred on by Feebas, Popplio let out an indignant cry, quickly gulped down the food in front of it, then plunged headfirst into the sea to practice Whirlpool.

"I didn't expect that little bonus!" Watching Popplio practice diligently, Xiao Ran smiled and shook his head. That was the advantage of highly competitive Pokémon. As long as they had enough outside motivation, there was no need to worry about them not working hard enough.

Leaving Popplio to its practice, Xiao Ran turned his attention to Feebas. Having grasped Whirlpool so quickly, its talent for Water-type energy was clearly exceptional. In that case, he could devise some other training plans for it as well. Although he did not expect it to battle with such low base stats, learning more about controlling energy could never hurt.

Come to think of it, the toxic spots on Feebas seem to have faded a little, Xiao Ran thought as he watched it resting on the surface.

Since he had taken this Pokémon in, he would naturally try to help it evolve. The most crucial factor in evolving Feebas into Milotic was beauty. That was an abstract value, and Xiao Ran had no idea how to increase it in real life.

However, while giving Feebas a physical examination, he had discovered that the large patches covering its body were actually toxic spots. In other words, its skin contained a great deal of toxins.

"The training these past few days must have strengthened Feebas's body, and controlling Water-type energy can also help flush toxins out of its system. It looks like the first step toward increasing its beauty should be finding a way to remove those toxins. At least then I won't have to put up with that smell when I keep it around," Xiao Ran said softly after some thought, taking out the notebook he carried and jotting it down.

"I already prepared its food using a detoxifying formula, so that doesn't need much adjustment. Next comes training. Improving its physical strength should help it expel the toxins on its own. It's already mastered Whirlpool, but what other moves can Feebas learn next?"

"I've got it: Waterfall and Iron Tail. Although Milotic focuses more on special attacks after evolving, these two moves should be excellent for improving Feebas's physical fitness. That's a good direction for its training."

"And I remember Popplio can learn both moves too, so they'll have competition again. The biggest problem now is finding a waterfall where they can practice Waterfall. Next time I come, I'll also need to find a Pokémon that knows those two moves to teach them."

Before long, Xiao Ran had worked out the next stage of training for both Pokémon. As newly hatched Pokémon, their main priority was still improving their physical fitness. After all, a strong body was the foundation for everything else.

"Awoo~~~" Four days passed in a flash, and Popplio finally mastered Whirlpool on the afternoon of the last day. All that remained was to keep practicing.

The others had made considerable gains as well. Jiang Cheng had successfully won over the Onix recovered from the Hall. It had indeed been a stolen Pokémon, and it had quickly surrendered to Jiang Cheng's lavish spending. After all, only someone as filthy rich as Jiang Cheng could provide an unlimited supply of all kinds of rare ores.

Shen Yue's Charmander had mastered three moves: Dragon Claw, Fire Fang, and Fire Spin. Its strength had consistently ranked among the best of the group's Pokémon.

They had also finally identified the Pokémon Egg. It was actually a Larvesta Egg, a Pokémon that could evolve into Volcarona. Bearing the name of a fire god, Volcarona clearly possessed extraordinary control over flames. Shen Yue's good fortune left Jiang Cheng green with envy.

As for Ye Ling, no one knew how she had done, but she presumably had not fared badly either. Moreover, the extremely unstable energy fluctuations coming from Sneasel made it clear that it was already on the threshold of Entry Class and could break through at any moment.