-114- Flame Fist and Ice Fist [Additional Chapter for (For Baozi’s Deep-Sea Fish)] (13/10)

Without a moment’s hesitation, Tongsi exchanged 200,000 points to acquire the moves Fire Punch and Ice Punch. He then instructed the system to teach these two skills to Elekid.

The rationale behind choosing Fire Punch and Ice Punch was the same as that for Thunder Punch. Elekid possessed powerful arms and was naturally adept at using punching moves. Tongsi had considered moves like Mega Punch or various kicking techniques, but he decided it would be more efficient to wait until Elekid evolved before teaching those. While the system could impart the knowledge directly, the Pokémon's mastery and the actual power output depended entirely on the Pokémon itself.

"Elekid, how do you feel about Fire Punch and Ice Punch?" Tongsi asked.

"Ele-kid..."

Elekid held a Fire Punch in its left hand and an Ice Punch in its right. The two opposing elements left it feeling somewhat disoriented. After all, these were Fire and Ice-type moves, requiring the manipulation of flame and frost energy. As an Electric-type, using Thunder Punch was as natural as breathing for Elekid, but these new moves felt awkward. The primary issue was that Elekid lacked a natural affinity for fire and ice elements; it had to absorb massive amounts of these energies from the air every time it used the moves, which was quite taxing for a Pokémon that had not yet evolved. (Pokémon often see an increase in their ability to absorb elemental energy upon evolution, alongside improvements to their base stats and capabilities.)

"It’s okay, Elekid. We’ll practice slowly," Tongsi said, unfazed.

After school, Tongsi headed straight to the Gold Sun Club. He had no intention of taking on challengers that day, so his private battle room remained closed. He led Elekid into the Fire Room to help it gain a better feel for the fire element.

"Elekid, let’s focus on your Fire Punch in here."

"Ele-kid!"

Elekid threw a punch, and flames instantly ignited around its arm. Compared to its Thunder Punch, the scale of the flames was significantly smaller, even within the high-temperature environment of the Fire Room.

"Still not refined enough. Let’s keep practicing." Tongsi was prepared to wear them out in the heat, staying by Elekid’s side throughout the training. He also released Eevee.

"Eev-ui? Eev-ui!!!"

The moment Eevee emerged from its Poké Ball, it began scrambling frantically around the room. It wasn't just being hyperactive; the ground was scorching, and its sensitive paw pads were struggling to cope.

"Eev-ui..." Eevee looked at Tongsi with teary eyes, as if asking, *Why are you torturing me? Do you not love me anymore?*

"Eevee, you have an evolution path into Flareon. Getting a feel for the fire element now might help with your future evolution." Tongsi was purely making this up. While Eevee would gain the fire element upon evolving into Flareon, it was currently just a Normal-type. The real reason he let Eevee out was simply to toughen it up; it had been far too lazy lately, and Tongsi couldn't stand it.

"Eev-ui!!!"

Desperate, Eevee tried to leap onto Tongsi’s shoulder, but Tongsi stood tall, keeping well out of reach. For the next two hours, Elekid trained relentlessly. Eevee, however, suffered from heatstroke in less than thirty minutes. Seeing this, Tongsi reluctantly moved it to the nearby "Free-for-All" room, a place where trainers often left their Pokémon to gain experience. The Pokémon inside engaged in spontaneous battles, and while staff removed those that were incapacitated, the rest were forced to fight or flee.

Eevee scrambled wildly inside, cursing Tongsi as a "star-crossed trainer" as it ran. Yet, the results were evident; in just an hour and a half, Eevee leveled up. Tongsi thought Eevee should spend more time in such an environment—perhaps even twenty-four hours a day.

*Elekid raised both arms in agreement.*

Eevee, shivering, promptly feigned death.

Next was the Ice Room. Once the training in the Fire Room concluded, Tongsi took Elekid to the Ice Room. Eevee had initially followed, but upon feeling the biting cold, it chose to retreat back to the Free-for-All room, where it could avoid higher-level Pokémon while continuing to bully those weaker than itself. Tongsi even tossed Shuckle into the fray. Regardless, being forced to battle was better than sitting idly in a Poké Ball.

"How is it, Elekid? Is Ice Punch any better?" Tongsi asked.

"Ele-kid..."

Ice instantly encased Elekid’s left arm. Clearly, Ice Punch was even more difficult to master than Fire Punch; if Elekid wasn't careful, the intensity of the freezing power would simply trap its own arm in ice.

"It seems these moves aren't so easy to unleash after all," Tongsi murmured, thinking of moves like Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, and Ice Fang. If a punch required gathering elemental energy in the hand, the fang moves required channeling it through the mouth. He wondered just how resilient a Pokémon's jaw had to be to master all three.

"It’s fine, Elekid. Take your time."

For the next three days, Tongsi brought Elekid to the Gold Sun Club every afternoon. Finally, Elekid began to execute the moves smoothly. However, the power still lagged behind its Thunder Punch. This was partly because Elekid was an Electric-type, making its native moves more potent, and partly because it remained less sensitive to fire and ice energies. Tongsi wasn't worried; it was unreasonable to expect perfection with off-type moves so quickly.

During these three days, the school administration approached Tongsi twice. The first time, Professor Wu personally represented the entire Battle Department to thank him. Had it not been for Tongsi, the department would have suffered a humiliating defeat. The school decided to let Tongsi choose any item from the school’s collection vault as his "appearance fee." After some deliberation, Tongsi chose an Everstone. If Eevee reached a certain level of friendship, it might evolve unexpectedly; if that happened in public, Tongsi would have no way to revert it back.

The second time, several department heads came to pressure Tongsi to change his major. They promised to arrange a transfer to any department he preferred, stating, "A student as talented as you is wasted in the Breeding Department. Any battle-oriented major would help you become a top-tier trainer. The school will spare no effort in cultivating your potential."

Tongsi rejected them flatly. He was satisfied with the Breeding Department and had no plans to switch. He intended to pursue a "traveling study" approach, making his major largely irrelevant. Besides, the Breeding Department’s final exams were much easier to pass.

...(To be continued)