Ways to Use Whirlpool

After school, Cheng Tian called his mother and told her he would be home late because he was going to train. Then he picked up the package he had ordered from the Parcel Supermarket and headed to the Pokémon Center.

At the Pokémon Center, Cheng Tian walked over to a Technical Machine device and released Froakie. "Froakie, I'm going to use this machine to help you learn a new move. While it's working, make sure you focus on feeling it and committing it to memory. Don't resist it. If you learn it, great. If you don't, that's fine too. We can buy another one."

Froakie nodded in understanding, and Cheng Tian recalled Froakie into the Great Ball. He placed the Great Ball in a semicircular recess, took out the Whirlpool TM he had bought earlier, and set it in the disc reader beside it. After he pressed the button to begin learning, both the Great Ball and the disc reader were drawn into the machine.

A progress bar appeared on the screen, currently at 5%. About a minute later, a message popped up: "Learning complete!" At the same time, Froakie's Great Ball was ejected.

Cheng Tian hurriedly released Froakie again. "How did it go, Froakie?" Froakie found it incredible. It had felt as though a memory that wasn't originally Froakie's had just been uploaded into Froakie's head.

Cheng Tian looked at the panel. A move sat quietly in the taught moves section.

Whirlpool (lv0)

It had worked! For once, Cheng Tian had gotten lucky. Froakie had actually learned Whirlpool on the very first try.

Cheng Tian hurried to the front desk, rented a Training Room, and went inside. Standing before a machine filled with tennis balls, he said to Froakie, "Froakie, try using Whirlpool now."

"Froak, froak." Water-type energy rippled around Froakie, and a small, spinning vortex slowly appeared in front of Froakie.

But the little vortex was unstable and tiny, and it collapsed before long. "Don't rush. Take your time controlling the vortex and make it stabilize."

After several failures in a row, Froakie finally managed to form a vortex about Froakie's own size. Although it was still a little small, Froakie had now mastered Whirlpool.

Whirlpool (lv1)

Froakie gazed excitedly at the vortex, then hurled it at a punching bag nearby. The vortex trapped the bag, continuously battering it.

"Nicely done, Froakie. Now let's develop some ways to use Whirlpool," Cheng Tian said with a smile. "Didn't you want to learn Water Formation Wall from Naruto?"

"Froak, froak!" "Then use another Whirlpool." At his words, Froakie released another Whirlpool. Cheng Tian took a tennis ball from the machine beside him and dropped it through the top of the Whirlpool. The ball was instantly swept into the vortex and battered without pause.

"Froakie, Water Formation Wall creates a wall of water in front of you to block all incoming attacks, right?" Cheng Tian said, watching the tennis ball being battered. "Look, this tennis ball is being battered by Whirlpool, and it can't get out. But it's also hard for someone outside to touch it, isn't it? Because they'd have to suffer an attack to reach it."

Cheng Tian looked at Froakie. "Froakie, Whirlpool doesn't just trap an opponent and deal continuous damage. It can also protect you. Have you ever considered using a Whirlpool to trap yourself?"

"Froak..." Something seemed to stir in Froakie's mind. Froakie seemed to have an inkling, but couldn't quite put it into words.

"You need to try learning how to change Whirlpool so that it hurts others while only protecting you. If you don't believe me, try wrapping yourself in a Whirlpool."

At his words, Froakie released a Whirlpool around Froakie's own body. Cheng Tian switched on the nearby tennis ball machine, which rapidly fired out a barrage of balls. Yet just as the balls were about to make contact with the vortex, their momentum was dissipated by its spinning currents. They could only remain trapped in the outer vortex, continuously battered, unable to touch Froakie at all.

"Froak, froak!" Froakie was astonished at the sight. Whirlpool could be used like this?! Cheng Tian smiled and stopped the machine. "Froakie, right now, you can't actually use a move like Water Formation Wall. For one thing, you're limited by your moves. For another, with your current strength, you can't control that much water. So I settled for the next best thing and bought you the Whirlpool TM. As long as you use it this way, you can learn another Water Release Ninjutsu: Water Release: Water Prison Technique."

"Not only that, there's actually a martial art in China called Tai Chi, which also emphasizes dissipating and redirecting force. When you feel that your Whirlpool can barely withstand the force being applied to it, you can leave the Whirlpool and launch it at your opponent, can't you?" (For a specific reference, see a certain Zhao's ultimate in that game nicknamed "Pesticide.")

"Froak!" By now, Froakie admired Cheng Tian enough to prostrate in awe. This way of using the move had far more ingenious applications than simply defending with Water Formation Wall.

Just imagine: when someone tried to attack Froakie at close range, Froakie could not only imprison the opponent with Whirlpool, but also wrap it around Froakie's own body for protection before charging at the opponent to deal damage. This meant Froakie's close-combat and defensive capabilities had both improved by leaps and bounds!

Froakie looked at Cheng Tian with gratitude. Froakie's trainer had gone to such lengths to buy a disc and help Froakie learn a move, and had even taught Froakie so many ways to use it. Sure enough, Cheng Tian treated Froakie just as well as Master did!

Cheng Tian patted Froakie's little head. "For now, though, your task is still to work hard at getting used to Whirlpool and controlling it. Let's use this tennis ball machine to help you practice for the rest of our time." "Froak, froak!"

"Sir, your time is up. Please... holy sh*t!" Seeing that the allotted time was up but Cheng Tian still hadn't come out, the attendant had decided to go in and remind him. But at the sight of the Training Room's floor strewn with chaos, even the attendant's solid professional composure couldn't prevent an outburst.

One Training Room, ten tennis ball machines, five hundred tennis balls in each machine-ten machines meant five thousand balls. And now all five thousand tennis balls were on the floor.

"Hm? Sorry, sorry, I lost track of time. We'll head out now." Seeing the dumbstruck attendant, Cheng Tian hurriedly recalled Froakie and walked outside.

Looking at all those tennis balls, the attendant offered a smile uglier than a crying face and said in a trembling voice, "W-we hope to see you again..."

Cheng Tian heartily patted the attendant on the shoulder. "Of course, of course!"

Today's first update is ready! Please recommend and bookmark!

Only one more chapter until the debut. Although I'm really worried it'll flop, after all this time, I owe it to myself to see it through. Keep going, keep going!

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