For the next month, Yushu had originally planned to train his Pokémon properly and prepare for the trip to Iron Island.
After all, they were going to run a dungeon. It was best to improve their strength a little more.
The Wild Pokémon on Iron Island were no pushovers. One careless move could spell disaster.
But he soon discovered that the Pokémon did not need his guidance at all.
They seemed to have training plans of their own.
Staraptor was the first to start training independently, practicing Tailwind.
The reason was that he had heard Yushu say how nice it would be to have express delivery-a "tailwind." Shopping would be much more convenient, and anything he bought could arrive within a day.
Tailwind? So mastering Tailwind would make me really fast?
Staraptor remembered knowing that move, but had hardly ever used it.
After all, it focused on brute-force damage and had little interest in support moves like that.
But things were different now.
If it mastered Tailwind, would Yushu think of it whenever he bought something? Would he praise it? Would he give it extra food?
Staraptor's eyes lit up.
Train! I have to train!
And so, from that day on, Staraptor began training Tailwind like mad.
Every day, it flew back and forth above the ranch, constantly practicing how quickly it could deploy Tailwind.
At first, it needed several seconds to deploy Tailwind, its range was only a dozen or so meters, and its duration was pitifully short.
A few days later, it could already deploy Tailwind rapidly, covering several dozen meters around itself.
Luxray gave a cold snort when it saw Staraptor practicing Tailwind.
Seriously? That big dumb bird thinks practicing Tailwind will let it dodge my electricity?
Dream on!
While patrolling the ranch's perimeter, it began practicing the precision of Discharge.
Rather than scattering electricity over a wide area, it concentrated the current into beams as much as possible, delivering precise strikes at tremendous speed, like lasers.
Seeing the results of Luxray's training, Yushu could not help drawing a sharp breath.
"This cat's trying to grind Staraptor into the ground."
Miltank continued its Rollout training and even developed a new move.
In the middle of rolling, it would suddenly leap up and use Body Slam to pin down its opponent.
Yushu could only marvel. A living meat tank.
It had even developed a combination move on its own.
Every last one of them was a damn genius.
"Let's check on Torterra."
Yushu figured Torterra was an earnest kid. Surely it would not come up with any crazy tricks.
Then he saw Torterra standing motionless on the ground, its body glowing green.
"What's it doing?"
Yushu was a little lost.
What's this? Practicing Synthesis?
Uxie floated over to him. "Wasn't this what you said before? Something about how a turtle should act like a turtle, standing immovable as a mountain, and how being a tank was the path to invincibility."
"Honestly, I thought you made a lot of sense. Torterra is known for its defense to begin with. There's no need for it to learn all those flashy offensive moves."
"I think... I really did say that, huh."
Yushu recalled that he had simply been praising his own Torterra back then, telling it not to copy Ash and his fondness for Rock Climb.
Who knew? He had only said it in passing, but Torterra had really taken it to heart.
Torterra's Ingrain practice progressed quickly.
It could already extend its roots more than a dozen meters underground without moving, drawing nutrients and water from below.
That greatly improved its staying power!
As for Vespiquen?
Her command moves alone were unfair enough. She did not need his guidance at all and had already developed a complete tactical system.
Finally, there was Rotom. Honestly, Yushu was out of ideas.
He thought for ages without coming up with any suitable training method for Rotom, and then...
Uxie stepped in!
Uxie first had Rotom switch back and forth between five appliances: a lawn mower, a washing machine, an electric fan, a microwave, and a refrigerator.
"Rotom?" (Isn't this easy? I already know how to do all of this.)
Uxie shook its head.
"Don't just possess them. Remember how each form feels. Each one has its own unique energy structure, and you need to put your heart into sensing them."
Rotom tilted its head, not quite understanding what Uxie meant.
Uxie patiently explained, "Because you have the Psychic Plate, your psychic abilities are strong enough to remember those forms. Once you've fully adapted to them, you won't need physical machines anymore. You'll be able to transform directly into those forms yourself."
"Rotom!" (Really!)
Rotom's eyes lit up.
No need for physical machines? Transform directly on my own?
Wouldn't that mean I could turn into any of those forms, anytime and anywhere?
Without relying on external equipment anymore?
A Psychic-type Legendary Pokémon, all right. What an incredible idea.
Rotom was overjoyed and began studying the internal energy flows of each appliance in turn.
Watching Rotom's earnest efforts, Uxie nodded in satisfaction.
It was even starting to admire itself.
Listening from the side, Yushu was stunned.
This idea was far better than his. He had originally only wanted Rotom to practice its possession speed, but Uxie had proposed a much more advanced plan.
Freeing Rotom from the limits of physical machines and letting it assume different forms on its own.
This was practically developing new forms!
Uxie seemed to think of something. It turned to Yushu and asked, "Yushu, what do you think?"
It wanted to hear Yushu's opinion. After all, Yushu was Rotom's Trainer, and his ideas mattered too.
Yushu nodded expressionlessly.
"Not bad. Just what I had in mind."
What could he say? Surely he could not admit he had never thought of it at all?
That would be far too embarrassing. As a Trainer, he had to maintain his dignity.
Uxie was filled with respect.
Yushu really did know his stuff. He even understood matters involving psychic powers. A true expert.
Yushu was tired.
Forget it. I'll stick to logistics.
Following the Eye of Detection's suggestions, he devised a different food formula specifically for each Pokémon.
They could not eat nothing but Pokéblocks. Balanced nutrition was the way to go.
Miltank and Torterra received high-protein formulas to improve muscle strength and endurance.
Their food contained protein-rich Berries and grains, along with special nutritional supplements, such as powder made from Metapod's shed skin, which helped strengthen bones and shells.
Staraptor and Luxray received high-energy formulas to improve explosive power and speed.
Their food contained high-sugar Berries and energy supplements, along with ingredients that promoted metabolism and could stimulate muscle fiber activity.
Vespiquen received a high-sugar formula to improve her energy reserves and command abilities.
Her food contained Honey, along with Berries infused with Bellossom's fragrance, which could improve concentration and reaction speed.
Rotom received a special formula to improve possession stability and energy control.
Its food contained electrical energy boosters, along with Pokéblocks blended with magnet powder, which could improve electromagnetic field stability.
Looking at his formula sheet, Aili could not help exclaiming, "Boss, you're the real professional here, aren't you?"
Why did she feel that if Yushu took the exam with her, he would have a better chance of passing?
Compared with Yushu's individually customized formulas, the standard formulas in the textbooks she read every day seemed much less detailed.
"You could do it too if you read more," Yushu said calmly.
Aili pursed her lips.
Read? Like hell I believe you.
If reading books could teach her all this, she would have passed the Breeder exam long ago.