Now that Chu Xin had caught Farfetch'd, he began planning its training.
In truth, Chu Xin had caught Farfetch'd because he wanted Xiao Wu to have a training partner. Perhaps that would spark Xiao Wu's motivation to train.
But he had underestimated Xiao Wu. A few days of comfortable living had thoroughly spoiled Xiao Wu, whose days consisted of eating and sleeping, then sleeping and eating. Xiao Wu no longer even wanted to walk and had become a complete slacker.
Fortunately, the Dynamax Energy in the Dragonite's reverse scale on Xiao Wu's body could continuously strengthen Xiao Wu's physique. Even while lazing around every day, Xiao Wu's strength still grew slowly. Otherwise, Chu Xin would have dragged Xiao Wu up for intensive training long ago.
Chu Xin looked at Xiao Wu nearby, basking in the sun with sunglasses on and munching on Pokéblocks, and shook his head helplessly. Even if Xiao Wu had no intention of training, Farfetch'd's training still had to continue.
Farfetch'd were relatively weak Pokémon, but they were aggressive and fiercely competitive. The plant stalks they held were their weapons, which they could wield like blades in battle.
Farfetch'd had a base stat total of only 377, which was not particularly high, so survival was difficult for them. They were also among the few Pokémon that were edible and exceptionally delicious. As a result, Farfetch'd were exceedingly rare in the real world.
That base stat total of 377 limited Farfetch'd's growth. As far as Chu Xin remembered, only Farfetch'd from the Galar Region could evolve, so ordinary Farfetch'd generally ended up as collectibles sitting in storage.
But the Farfetch'd he had caught was truly special. Not only did he possess remarkable willpower, but he also had an extremely powerful psychic talent. This talent allowed him to see his opponents' most vulnerable spots and strike faster and harder.
Chu Xin had never expected a weak little Farfetch'd to possess such a powerful talent. Without training, however, this Farfetch'd would never unlock its true power.
Chu Xin took out his Poké Ball and released Farfetch'd, officially beginning his training.
"First, now that you're my Pokémon, I need to give you a name. What should I call you?"
Farfetch'd waited eagerly for Chu Xin to name him, but even after a long while, Chu Xin's mind remained completely blank.
Oh no! I really am terrible at naming things. I barely put any thought into Xiao Wu's name back then, and now I have no idea what to call Farfetch'd.
"Let me think. How about Kaka?"
"Quack?"
Chu Xin knew what that meant even without a translation. But he really could not think of another name, so this would have to do.
Xiao Wu glanced at Farfetch'd from nearby. What good name could someone as hopeless at naming things as Chu Xin possibly come up with? Clearly, though, Xiao Wu had not realized that Chu Xin had chosen Xiao Wu's own name just as casually.
"All right, none of that matters. Training is what matters next."
With that, Chu Xin began Kaka's training.
Chu Xin's plan for Kaka was simple: two hours of Calm Mind each day to develop his psychic talent, followed by physical training.
He had learned the method for developing that talent through Calm Mind from Chen Huan's notes. Calm Mind could help Pokémon strengthen their psychic powers and was a very practical move. Most Psychic-type Pokémon had their own ways of practicing it.
But as a Normal-type Pokémon, Kaka could not possibly have an innate method of his own like a Psychic-type Pokémon such as Abra. Chu Xin could only teach him the move Calm Mind.
Beyond that came physical conditioning. Kaka was still far too weak. Even before Xiao Wu had started training, Xiao Wu's stamina had been better than Kaka's. After all, Xiao Wu was a Dragon-type Pokémon.
Without sufficient stamina, a Pokémon would fall behind others in both combat and speed. Chu Xin therefore arranged a complete exercise regimen to improve Kaka's fitness.
Kaka's physical training was also simple. Aside from running, he practiced combat by swinging his leek every day until he was utterly exhausted.
Although the training was simple, this kind of conditioning could quickly improve Kaka's stamina. At the very least, he would not be as exhausted as before the next time he battled Squirtle.
While training Kaka, Chu Xin spotted a familiar figure.
"Aier? What's she doing here too?"
Leaving Kaka to train on his own, Chu Xin quietly sneaked over toward Aier.
Chu Xin saw that Aier was training Squirtle. Had she felt humiliated by losing to Farfetch'd and started special training because of it?
Chu Xin could not tell what was different about Aier's training methods. Apparently, this was her special way of raising Pokémon.
Naturally, Chu Xin's secret observation did not escape Aier's notice. She had spotted him watching her training long ago. Although Chu Xin thought he had hidden himself well, Aier was a highly experienced Monster Handler. How could he possibly slip past her vigilance?
Aier certainly had no intention of letting Chu Xin keep watching. Every Monster Handler valued their own training methods, and she had no desire to let Chu Xin steal hers, even if he was her young master.
"Garchomp, Earthquake. Go easy."
"Roar!"
Garchomp looked toward Chu Xin's hiding place with a mischievous grin. Ground energy stirred quietly beneath its feet, and Chu Xin instantly fell out of the tree where he had been hiding. Fortunately, Garchomp caught him in time.
The moment Chu Xin saw Garchomp, he knew he had been discovered. He awkwardly climbed off Garchomp and looked helplessly at Aier.
"When did you realize I was watching?"
"I knew the moment you arrived."
Aier looked helplessly at Chu Xin. There was little she could do about her young master. It was not as though she could give him a beating.
"Young master, what are you doing here? Don't you know it's very rude to spy on someone else's training? If it had been anyone else, you wouldn't have gotten off so easily."
Chu Xin scratched his head awkwardly and smiled at Aier.
"I was just curious when I saw you go out, so I came to have a look."
But Chu Xin soon grew excited.
"Aier, you're training Squirtle, right? Could you have a battle with Kaka once you're done?"
"Kaka?"
"That's the name I gave Farfetch'd. Would that be all right?"
Seeing the anticipation on Chu Xin's face, Aier did not know whether she should refuse. Still, the very reason she was training Squirtle was that losing to Farfetch'd had left her frustrated. She knew how strong that Farfetch'd was. As long as she was a little more careful, he had no chance of winning.
"All right. Once we're done training, we'll have a battle with Farfetch'd. That last loss was nothing more than a fluke."
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