Chapter 412: Special Training Tailored to Individual Needs

He said special training was needed, but Luo Mu had already formed his own ideas on how to conduct it.

Luo Mu called over the Combee, who had been undergoing special training with his Milotic on what constitutes the aura of a queen.

He then ran to the orchard to fetch the Applin, who was disguising itself as the fruit hanging beneath a Tropius's neck, as well as the Tropius, who was disguising itself as the branch bearing the Applin-fruit.

Adding in the Vulpix, a special training squad of four Pokémon was formed.

For this, Luo Mu had also prepared a special potion to enhance absorption, mixed with spicy herb sauce, and a "Fatigue Recovery Potion" mixed with sour herb sauce.

Perhaps using potions made directly from Herba Mystica as training resources seemed slightly extravagant, but looking at it from another angle, on these "baby Pokémon" who had almost no training marks, the effect of even a moderate amount of the potion would be far easier to identify.

After all, whether the current Vulpix, Applin, Tropius, or Combee improved in any aspect, the results displayed were immediately evident.

The location for the special training remained the open ground of the farm, a patch of land that had now become barren of even a single blade of grass due to the ravages of various Pokémon moves.

Although if they let the Mudsdale and Lei Guan Wang try, there should still be some hope of salvaging it.

But this place had already become the fixed area for the farm Pokémon to arrange battles, spar, or train; even the patrolling Corviknight would occasionally land to act as a sparring partner, so Luo Mu felt it might as well be kept this way, allowing the Pokémon to appropriately vent their exuberant energy.

Just like how Luo Mu had Feng Su Gou run laps in the wild every day led by the Luxray; as long as this kid's stamina was exhausted first, he wouldn't have the energy to wreck the house.

When Luo Mu brought the four Pokémon here, dazzling move effects were flashing across the open ground.

The Luxray dashed at high speed like a swift streak of Lei Guang, and wherever it passed, the air was filled with a certain odor brought by electric current.

The Dragonite, wrapped in air currents and shrouded in Bai Guang, was like a white meteor streaking across the sky, closely following behind the Luxray, whose explosive power was extraordinary.

Their injuries had actually healed on the very day Rayquaza was thrown away by Lei Guan Wang, yet the two Pokémon, holding back a surge of determination, had not rested long before actively adding extra training to their routine.

As a Trainer, Luo Mu could best understand their feelings.

In that past period, nothing went smoothly, yet they had broken through even the most difficult barriers; from the choices made by the Luxray and Dragonite, one could see they harbored no thoughts of self-pity, launching straight into special training and extra practice.

Based on Luo Mu's current knowledge, that black Rayquaza was indeed a rare powerhouse among Legendary Pokémon.

Rayquaza's battle experience also seemed extremely rich; at the very least, it could fight fiercely against Lei Guan Wang, who possessed the power of its prime, for such a long time.

If Luo Mu hadn't let Lei Guan Wang use the move "Trick Room," which Rayquaza had never seen before, the battle might have continued in a stalemate indefinitely, with no end in sight.

The reversal of the speed order caused Rayquaza, having not fully adapted to this rule, to directly give Lei Guan Wang the opportunity to unleash a full-power strike and defeat it.

Fortunately, the shiny Rayquaza seemed to have not yet mastered or been unable to use Mega Evolution; otherwise, matters would likely have been several times more difficult.

Unlike Luo Mu, who was deep in thought, the Vulpix and the others knew nothing about how the Luxray and company had recently confronted Rayquaza head-on and ultimately suffered a heavy loss.

They only felt that the Luxray and Dragonite were so fast and so cool; their eyes sparkled as they fantasized about whether, after mastering their skills, they too could be surrounded by a flurry of special effects like the Luxray and Dragonite, elegantly defeating opponents with every gesture.

For a moment, the cries of the four little ones, including the Tropius who was already taller than Luo Mu, rose and fell continuously around Luo Mu's ears.

Seemingly noticing Luo Mu's arrival, the Luxray and Dragonite stopped their training movements, took a few breaths, and then walked over to him.

Luo Mu smiled and explained to the two Pokémon: "I plan to take them for some special training."

"Meow-ao!" "Bo-wu~"

Hearing this, the Luxray and Dragonite turned their gaze toward the Vulpix and the others, letting out cries filled with greetings and encouragement.

The four Pokémon eagerly gathered around the Luxray and company, chattering away like hundreds of Chatot gathered together.

Only after the Luxray and Dragonite patiently dealt with the four little ones did they indicate that they intended to change their training location.

Since the little ones were coming to train, they wouldn't occupy the venue and affect them; it was better to go to Thunder Drum Lake to train with the Swampert, where the Politoed and others could also set up rain for them.

With the venue now cleared, before formally beginning the training, Luo Mu took out a small notebook.

The small notebook contained detailed records of the Pokémon move pools he had organized and collected, which included the Vulpix and the other four.

But since some time had passed since the last record, and in the early stages, Pokémon growth speed is very fast, Luo Mu decided to reconfirm everything to avoid any omissions.

The moves the Combee had learned were: Gust, Bug Bite.

The moves the Applin had learned were: Astonish, Protect, Struggle Bug, and Recycle.

The moves the Vulpix had learned were:

Tail Whip, Powder Snow, Icy Wind, Charm, Encore, and Swift.

The moves the Tropius had learned were: Gust, Leer, Growth, Razor Leaf, Sweet Scent, and Dragon Dance.

Basically, regardless of quality, the number of moves learned by the Vulpix and the Tropius was equal.

The Applin had slightly fewer, which was also somewhat related to the fact that it had not yet completed its evolution.

As for the Combee, even the move Gust was only learned after eating tofu pudding made by Luo Mu with spicy seasoning, digesting a significant amount of accumulated nutrients.

Holding the small notebook, Luo Mu had the four Pokémon demonstrate their learned moves before him one by one again.

This test truly revealed quite a few surprises.

The first was the Combee.

Besides Gust and Bug Bite, perhaps because the nutrients within its body were further absorbed under the influence of the spicy herb sauce, it had mastered two new moves.

Sweet Scent and Bug Buzz.

The Applin showed no changes, which might be related to some kind of limit mysteriously placed on its move pool before evolution.

The Tropius had learned Bulldoze and Magical Leaf, while the Vulpix had learned a very important move—Aurora Beam.

Having said he wanted to make the Vulpix a special effects master, Luo Mu had naturally considered what moves would suit the Vulpix.

Just like the Lapras, Weavile, and Frosmoth working in perfect coordination in that video, the colorful and changing Aurora Veil made the already exquisite ice sculptures appear even more mysterious and moving.

Compared to Aurora Veil, Aurora Beam could completely be treated as a "prerequisite move" for Aurora Veil; after training it to proficiency, there was a high probability that conducting corresponding specialized training would allow the Vulpix to master Aurora Veil ahead of schedule.

To make a simple and easy-to-understand analogy, it was like the progressive move upgrade process of Thunder Shock—Thunderbolt—Thunder.

Plus, the Vulpix's Ability was Snow Warning; after further combination and training, the effect of Aurora Veil was expected to be very excellent.

Thinking of this, Luo Mu revealed a faint smile and began to PUA the four Pokémon: "Since the Luxray and others have yielded the training ground to us, in the upcoming training, we must show our best state to accept training, and finally give the Luxray and others a surprise!" Perhaps this level of chicken soup for the soul was no longer effective for an old hand like Feng Su Gou, but for the four little ones who were inexperienced in the world, the effect was surprisingly good.

Accompanied by their excited cries, Luo Mu could see they had clearly drunk up this bowl of chicken soup, so he simply struck while the iron was hot: "While you are training, I will also engage in physical training alongside you; push-ups, running, jumping jacks, so everyone can improve together!"

In his spare time, Luo Mu had also supplemented his knowledge at the Grape Academy with many training methods explored by Trainers in this world.

Research has shown that when Trainers and Pokémon train together, it not only greatly increases the Pokémon's enthusiasm but also, based on this, allows a positive feedback loop to continue.

After patting each of them on the head, Luo Mu began to assign the training content.

The training methods for Applin and Combee are the simplest.

Since Applin's evolution path isn't yet determined, and Combee still needs much more exercise before it can evolve, the two of them happen to pair up perfectly; by repeatedly clashing moves against each other to increase proficiency, there's even a chance they might develop into worry-free Pokémon like Politoed, capable of thinking for themselves during battles!

Applin doesn't have a single STAB move, but it possesses respectable physical defense.

Although Combee has STAB moves, neither their power nor its own dual attacking stats are particularly outstanding.

They're both poorly equipped in their own unique ways, making them just right for pecking at each other.

Otherwise, whether facing a truly towering Tropius or a Vulpix that deals four-times super-effective damage to Applin and two-times super-effective damage to Combee, their training experience would surely be miserable.

Hiding inside its apple, Applin quietly poked out its head; watching Combee, who seemed to be clumsily imitating someone, it softly offered a greeting.

"Chew chew~" (Hello there~)

Combee originally intended to respond enthusiastically to Applin.

But then it remembered Serperior's teachings from this period.

As a queen, the most important thing is to possess an air of composure amidst change; one must not make a fuss over trivialities, and emotions must never be easily revealed. Although acting this way was somewhat difficult, Combee still strove to maintain its "demeanor," nodding reservedly at Applin.

"Beep beep." (Work hard.) Seeing Combee's slightly cold reaction, Applin only then realized.

Is Combee... imitating Mother Serperior?

After arranging matters for Combee and Applin, Luo Mu did not immediately pit Vulpix against Tropius in battle; instead, he assigned them separate training content.

Tropius's training content involved using Razor Leaf to accurately hit the targets brought by Oranguru.

Razor Leaf is characterized by high speed and sharpness; wanting to cut precisely through an opponent without being negated by air currents stirred up by the opponent or by their moves means learning how to correctly utilize Razor Leaf is quite a significant subject of study.

These targets were all handmade by Oranguru; regarding quality, there was nothing to complain about, yet with Tropius's current skill level, it could at most leave a faint mark on the targets.

Accuracy when Pokémon use ranged moves is something that must be emphasized in training; this is basic knowledge that most Trainers are clearly aware of.

During classes at the Grape Academy, Luo Mu also frequently emphasized this point to Hearing Hearing Nimo and the others; accuracy with ranged moves is something every Pokémon must persist in training.

Luo Mu set a goal for Tropius: once it could hit the center circle of the target nine times out of ten shots, its accuracy would be considered barely graduated.

Raised by Serperior to be extremely confident, Tropius stubbornly expressed its dissatisfaction; it would show Luo Mu what true innate talent meant—

Then, from start to finish, Tropius released a total of sixteen Razor Leaves, yet every single one missed the target at an extremely tricky angle.

Looking in the direction of the target, Luo Mu: "."

A bit unsure, he looked again a few more times.

A moment later, Luo Mu's face showed difficulty.

Wait, a target only five meters away and it still missed?

Even though he hadn't let Tropius use Magical Leaf, which has certain tracking capabilities, the accuracy shouldn't be this abstract, right?

If Serperior found out about this, the consequences would be dire.

Luo Mu's tiger-like body trembled as he considered the possibility of giving extra tutoring to the completely unaware Tropius.

For now, letting Tropius play on its own, Luo Mu approached Vulpix, the main target of this training session.

Just as mentioned earlier, Vulpix's most important training content consisted of only one thing: master Aurora Beam thoroughly, then upgrade it into Aurora Veil.

Regarding how to perform the upgrade, Luo Mu already had a formed idea in his mind, but before that, Vulpix should first practice until it could skillfully use Aurora Beam.

After the training content for the four Pokémon was finalized, the only thing left to do was one thing—execute it and persist.

Since the Summer Ice Sculpture Competition held at Glaseado Mountain takes place on the last two days of August, the training deadline remaining for Luo Mu and Vulpix is only about four days.

During this period, Luo Mu also had to balance honing his ice sculpting techniques, accompanying Vulpix and the others in basic physical training, plus the farm's daily work, courses at the Grape Academy, and Joy Lin's medical knowledge extra tutoring.

By the end of the day, Luo Mu's schedule was packed to the brim; fortunately, with Oranguru and Lei Guan Wang assisting nearby, he could at least catch his breath slightly.

Although it looked like he was frantically rushing toward a deadline, in reality, Luo Mu never intended to surpass others in their professional fields; everything was mainly about participation.

Worst case, he could accumulate strength quietly and burst forth next year to fight again.

Fortunately, Vulpix not only lived up to Luo Mu's expectations but actually exceeded the goal.

On the morning of August 28, watching Vulpix open its small mouth slightly as a very standard rainbow-colored beam gushed out, steadily hitting the target moved ten meters away, the smile on Luo Mu's lips was harder to suppress than an AK.

Walking straight over, Luo Mu made his judgment based on the marks on the target.

"Seven rings; that's already quite good."

"Mewoo!"

Vulpix's eyes lit up as it hopped around, letting out joyful cries of excitement.

Off to the side, Tropius, who occasionally still missed the five-meter-level target, looked slightly stiff-faced—

The sorrow and joy between Pokémon do not connect; I just find them noisy.

Approaching Vulpix, Luo Mu patted its head appreciatively, and under its expectant expression, he smiled and said, "Training for Aurora Beam is about sufficient at this level; next comes what you've been looking forward to all along: Aurora Veil."

"To learn Aurora Veil through Aurora Beam, first, your Snow Warning Ability will come into play."

"Although there's only about one day left until the Summer Ice Sculpture Competition, before the deadline arrives, we'll just do our absolute best."

(End of Chapter)