Chapter Thirty: Advanced Training Approaches for Martial Techniques

After a moment's thought, Zhu Suihan decided to return Ma Zhishi’s call.

“I’ll pay more. Can you deliver it faster?”

“Huh?” Ma Zhishi, phone wedged between his ear and shoulder as he signed off on documents, replied, “Are you really in that much of a hurry, kid? Why not take my suggestion and join my tech department?”

“That’s not something I’m considering for now. I just want to get a research project started as soon as possible.”

Ma Zhishi was momentarily stunned. “You only just sent me the bait module. Are all researchers as reckless as you?”

“Guess when I actually finished that project.”

Fine.

Ma Zhishi typed a few commands into his computer. “Alright, I’ve marked your order as urgent. Please make the payment on your phone. I’m busy here, so if you need anything else, talk to Naze.”

“She isn’t busy?”

“There are times when I really envy Alakazam—so much intelligence, and it doesn’t have to do everything by hand.”

Zhu Suihan nodded—he understood.

With the incense burner now reinforced, Zhu Suihan could use it to craft energy cubes, powered by a simple electrical charge—a great convenience.

He flicked the Beiming Ball at his waist. “Let’s go. I promised you a while back I’d help you refine your technique. Let’s see if you can do it.”

The Lapras inside the ball was raring to go.

No way a dragon could fall short today!

Today, she would truly impress her trainer!

The little lake where they usually practiced water fights was the same as ever. After releasing Lapras, Zhu Suihan noticed the crowd of curious Pokémon gathering around, and waved his hand.

“We’re not playing today—this is training.”

But none of them seemed inclined to leave; training was still more interesting than playing on their own. Even just watching was a good way to pass the time.

“Let’s start with the basics. Water Gun.”

Zhu Suihan pointed to a patch of water. “A normal Water Gun, aimed right there.”

“Wuu!” With a roar, the Water Gun blasted into the lake, churning up waves like a wave machine—much to the delight of the onlooking Pokémon.

Spectating definitely had its perks!

“Lapras, try pressurizing your Water Gun. Keep up the standard output, but unleash it with the speed of a Hydro Pump.”

Zhu Suihan slowly punched the air, then suddenly thrust forward with speed.

“That’s roughly the difference. See if you can do it. Don’t worry if the power’s a bit lower—just focus on understanding the logic first.”

His little cheat couldn’t teach Lapras any legendary-only moves, so if he wanted to get creative, he’d have to put in more effort.

Faster, stronger—that was the essence of overwhelming force. With power and speed, you could never go wrong.

If Lapras mastered this technique, Water Gun would evolve into a “High-Pressure Water Gun,” and with enough practice, she might even be able to use it instantly—to seize the initiative, so to speak.

As for the ultimate goal, Zhu Suihan intended to develop this move into a “High-Pressure Water Cutter”—a technique that, against large Pokémon, would show what it truly meant to “take an arrow to the knee.”

Condensing the impact into a focused stream, the attack would gain a sharp attribute, breaking the opponent’s defenses at a single point.

He wasn’t saying it could pierce an enemy’s hardened body in one blow, but it could certainly serve as a critical hit—and keep foes guessing.

Is this a standard Water Gun, or the sharper version?

The yin-yang shift would be enough to drive them mad.

To put it plainly, it was like the fast-slow blade technique in soulslike games, notorious for tripping up new players.

“It’s a difficult move, so there’s no rush. Just practice with intention and you’ll get there. Once you master this level of Water Gun, you can move on to Hydro Pump and then High-Pressure Hydro Pump—those are even tougher.”

“Wuu!” Lapras refused to believe it was so hard—she fired off another Water Gun, noticeably faster this time, though with less force.

Zhu Suihan stroked Lapras’s smooth, wet head.

“That’s rapid-fire. Still, it’s a good start. Keep it up.”

“Feel the pulse of your elemental energy. Gather it consciously. Since we lack technique right now, make up for it with sheer power.”

As long as I’m strong enough, even if my technique isn’t perfect, I’ll still have the upper hand—provided I don’t miss.

Feeling the warmth of Zhu Suihan’s hand, Lapras closed her eyes, pushing aside her impatience and earnestly focused her energy.

Hold it steady, then release with greater speed!

Water Gun!

Boom!

This time, the stream was a third narrower than before, but the impact and speed were much stronger, slicing through the calm water like a laser.

Zhu Suihan dove underwater to check, and could still see the powerful jet stirring up the lakebed.

Judging by the force, it could probably churn up the soil below.

“Not bad, you got it on the first try.” Zhu Suihan ruffled Lapras’s head. “Remember this feeling. Once you can fire off this kind of Water Gun at will, you’ll have mastered half the training.”

“Wuu wuu?!” Lapras stared at Zhu Suihan, puzzled—what did he mean by half?

“It means you need to switch seamlessly between two modes of Water Gun attack.”

Zhu Suihan explained, “Think back to when you faced that Ampharos. If it tries to hit you with Thunder again, as long as your Water Gun is ready faster, you’ll get the first move.”

“Then, you can use a normal Water Gun to take advantage and blast it right out of the arena.”

With her old defeat brought up, Lapras’s determination blazed anew.

It’s just Water Gun—bring it on!

“Wait, I’ll give you another training idea,” Zhu Suihan said. “Condense an Aqua Pulse and keep it in front of you without letting it dissipate.”

Lapras followed instructions, forming a large, jelly-like water bubble.

“Now, using the same feeling as before, try accelerating Aqua Pulse.”

The internal structure and energy of Aqua Pulse were more complex than Water Gun, making it heavier and slower to cast.

To put it in ninja terms, Water Gun was a quick jutsu with only two hand signs, while Aqua Pulse needed several more—excluding the overpowered ones, of course.

One was sustained fire, the other a single, detached attack—there was a clear difference.

Plus, Aqua Pulse was a bit like a Spirit Bomb in its form.

Time for a change.

Let’s turn it into a sniper shot.

A high-speed Aqua Pulse launched forward, and with Zhu Suihan’s uncanny luck, it might not guarantee total chaos in battle, but it could certainly disrupt the opponent’s commands.

“Wuu!” With the earlier experience, Lapras quickly grasped the knack for supercharging Aqua Pulse. On her first try, she hurled it like a wave generator, delighting the audience of Pokémon once more.

“Whew, that’s about it for now. This is just a basic trick to get you started—later, I’ll think of more to add.”

Zhu Suihan nodded in satisfaction. “Keep practicing. Meanwhile, I can finally enjoy the convenience of making energy cubes anytime, anywhere.”

Charging? Just one Thunderbolt does the trick, and there’s no risk of explosion—quick and easy.

“Wuu wuu!” Lapras felt fired up, especially since she’d seen her own growth with moves.

It was completely different from physical training; with technique practice, the feedback was immediate, and as long as you found the knack, improvement came much faster.

I, the dragon, must train hard!

Humming a little tune, Zhu Suihan sat down and began processing berry materials, adding the powdered attribute ingredients.

High-tech made everything easier, saving several steps.

In the old days, you’d have to boil and refine everything, with uncertain efficiency and quality.

If you had to compare, energy cubes were like high-proof spirits—nowadays you might worry about alcohol content, but in ancient times, you probably couldn’t even imagine such a thing.

Having made energy cubes so many times, Zhu Suihan had memorized the feel. As long as the raw materials were handled properly, the quality would be top-notch.

To make even better versions, he’d probably need some of those aged, super-nutritious berries.

Iron Man mentioned Professor Oak had them—and in a whole grove, no less. One day…

Zhu Suihan stroked his chin—this was a promising lead.

Armed with technology and valuable data as bargaining chips, he doubted Professor Oak could resist.

Oh, devout Pokémon researcher, do you want the Hoenn legendary data in my left hand, or the Sinnoh Supreme intelligence in my right?

Only 998—just 998, and the exclusive report is yours!

Calm down, calm down.

Cradling the incense burner in both hands, Zhu Suihan immersed himself in crafting energy cubes.

White smoke puffed from the top, drawing all the Pokémon’s attention away from Lapras’s training to Zhu Suihan and his burner.

They’d already heard from friends in the nearby woods—this guy was a generous benefactor, always handing out tasty treats!

“The effect is even better than I expected.”

Opening the lid, Zhu Suihan brought over a box to collect the finished energy cubes. A shimmering projection appeared above the burner, displaying the production data.

“Hmm, the nutritional utilization rate of the materials has reached the highest standard—probably just good luck.”

Zhu Suihan propped his chin up. “But there’s still a bit of detail missing in the final shaping. Quality is up, but yield isn’t. Looks like I need to train this aspect more.”

“I’ll go see Abi this afternoon for a couple of books. The gym should have some.”

Money or not, anything you can improve with technique isn’t worth wasting on. It’s worth honing your skills.

Lapras was working hard, and as her trainer, Zhu Suihan needed to set a good example.