Trainers returning from the Kingdom of Roc

Chapter 15: Cultivation Direction

The next morning, Luo Yan yawned as she came out of the guest room and saw Hou Hao and Lu Feng having breakfast in the living room.

Last night, after dinner, Luo Yan was kept behind by Hou Zhi. They talked until very late, their purpose being to determine the breeding methods for Iris and mosquito coil tadpoles.

The mosquito coil tadpoles were easy to handle. Hou Zhi easily determined their personality and, like Luo Yan, suggested breeding them as fast-moving frogs with a focus on physical attacks.

However, things weren't so simple for Iris.

In the eyes of the Hou family father and son, Iris is a small Ponyta from the Caribbean region, a Psychic-type Pokémon, while its evolved form Rapidash is a Pokémon that is both Psychic and Fairy-type.

But in reality, Iris is a little unicorn, a light-type spirit.

That's a big difference.

Putting aside the fact that their characteristics are completely different, even from the simplest perspective of their development direction, they are completely different entities.

Ponyta's talents are characterized by attack. Although it is a Psychic-type, it focuses on Psychic physical attacks, such as [Psychic Headbutt].

From this perspective, the little pony from the Caribbean region has been nerfed, because the ultimate moves of superpower-type characters are basically magical attacks.

And it is precisely because of this that the difference between the two lies – Iris's talent is based on special attack, and if he were to go down the physical attack route, he would be tying his own hands.

Therefore, when faced with Hou Zhiyu's proposed training plans, Luo Yan could only casually mention Iris's special circumstances to the two of them.

Hou Zhi was surprised to learn that Iris could actually pursue the Special Attack path, but then he was overjoyed. As a Gym Leader, he knew very well what this talent meant.

If a race whose natural talents prevent it from unleashing its full potential can change that, then it means that this "little pony" will have an exceptionally high potential in the future—a potential that is terrifyingly high!

Adding to the opponent's evolved fairy attribute, Hou Zhi could already imagine that a future nemesis of dragon-type characters was rising.

Luo Yan had no idea what Hou Zhi was thinking. If he did know, he would probably feel quite helpless, since this was not an elf from the same world.

However, for now, the training path for Irist has been set.

Raising elves is not as simple as feeding them a few experience fruits. Unlike the Kingdom of Rock, where one's own magic power is the standard of evaluation, this world requires real learning and training.

Battles are just one aspect of improvement. Just look at those Fighting-type trainers who spend their days at the gym with annual memberships, and those Pokémon who use moves repeatedly just to increase their power.

Luo Yan knew very well that he was no longer the little Locke in the Locke Kingdom. Those idealistic ways of suddenly unleashing his power to defeat powerful enemies probably wouldn't work here.

If you really want to become stronger, you have to improve yourself step by step.

The only advantage is that, with the help of the compass, you can see your Pokémon's attribute panel at any time. This intuitive effect makes it easier for you and Iris to improve together.

As for the unique characteristics exhibited by Iris, Hou Zhi, being a non-researcher, was not entirely clear about them either. He could only ultimately categorize them as the unique characteristics of a "Shiny Shiny Pokémon".

Hou Hao's direction for breeding mosquito coil tadpoles has been temporarily set. Since they are only in the first stage of juvenile stage, they cannot learn many skills yet. However, since the direction to be taken has been determined, the foundation must be laid in advance.

Currently, the only skills the mosquito tadpole has are [Slap], [Water Gun], and [Tail Wag], all of which are very basic skills. If you want to achieve good results in future competitions, you need to learn some useful new skills.

Poliwag is too powerful and difficult to learn, and it can't learn them. For example, the three most famous "Farmer's Three Punches" – Freeze Punch, Flame Punch, and Lightning Punch – are currently beyond Poliwag's ability to master because it doesn't have hands.

So in the end, Hou Zhi still suggested that it would be better to start by learning the "Chain Slaps" technique.

Unlike the Farmer's Three Punches, the [Chain Slap] skill can be used without hands; the mosquito tadpole's tail can also be used in place of a hand to perform this skill.

As for why not try [Steel Tail], which can be learned as long as you have a tail, the reason is simple: firstly, Poliwag's move pool is too small to accommodate this move; secondly, Poliwag will lose its tail after evolving.

"Brother Luo is awake! I was just about to wake you up." Hou Hao saw Luo Yan and excitedly called him down. "Hurry up and eat something. Let me tell you, my housekeeper's cooking is amazing."

Luo Yan arrived at the dining table, greeted Lu Feng, and then accepted the steamed buns Hou Hao offered. "Where are your aunt and uncle?"

"Those two went out early this morning. They said some city leaders were coming to visit the aquarium. This happens all the time lately, I'm used to it," Hou Hao said casually.

Then he continued, "My dad said that we don't have to go to evening self-study for a while. He's arranged a gaming club for us so that we can improve our gaming skills."

Battle clubs are facilities found in every city. They were initially built by nations and leagues, but later some were established by private individuals. Simply put, they are facilities specifically designed to provide battle arenas for trainers to spar and practice.

There will be no fishing with explosives there. There are dedicated referees and judges, and every battle will match you with an equally matched opponent, which will help trainers with their practical training.

It seems that Hou Zhi's support is not just lip service. After seeing the great potential of his son and his son's classmate's starter Pokémon, he is really prepared to lend a helping hand.

"A battle club must cost a lot of money, right?" Battle clubs aren't charity projects; they have to pay for repairs if the battle arena gets damaged, so you can't go in empty-handed.

"Money is a small matter. My dad has shares in the esports club in Jiangcheng, so we don't have to pay to go. It's also fine if we go to other cities in the future, my dad has already gotten us membership cards."

"Then I guess I'm benefiting from this too." Luo Yan smiled. With such a good place to level up, he no longer needed to take Iris to the wilderness to level up.

Compared to wild Pokémon, trained Pokémon obviously provide more experience.

Lu Feng, who had finished eating, also picked up his plate. "You guys eat first, I'll go get the car. After you're done eating, I'll take you to school."

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