The Pottery Nurturing Program

After helping Eevee master Swift, Tong Si spent another five hundred thousand points to exchange with the system for a bottle of yellow aptitude enhancement liquid. Both Elekid and Shuckle were Pokémon of Gym Leader-level aptitude; how could Eevee remain merely at the Excellent level? Tong Si figured he might as well take advantage of his remaining points and quickly give Eevee a boost.

After drinking the enhancement liquid, Eevee’s fur looked much sleeker and softer. Its aptitude smoothly advanced from Excellent to Gym Leader level.

“Eevee, go play for a while.” Tong Si had already been putting Eevee through special training for some time; he didn’t expect it to work overtime. That just wasn’t Eevee’s style.

“Eevee! Eevee!” Off duty, even the air Eevee breathed tasted of freedom. Soon, it was frolicking with the three runaway brothers.

“Shuckle, it’s your turn next!” Tong Si sat cross-legged on the ground, watching Shuckle intently.

“Shuckle?” Shuckle looked puzzled.

When it came to Shuckle, Tong Si didn’t even know where to start with special training. Its defenses were indeed impressive, but its attack power was pitifully weak! In Viridian Forest, when Shuckle used Rock Slide, it had only managed to drop a rock the size of a fist—not only did it fail to harm Drapion, it came off as a joke.

“Shuckle, try using Rock Slide again.” After some thought, Tong Si decided to watch Shuckle’s move one more time.

“Shuckle!” With a serious expression, Shuckle performed Rock Slide. In the air, a fist-sized rock appeared; it seemed to want to grow larger, but after a slight increase, it immediately shrank back to its original size.

Thud! The rock fell to the ground, not causing any damage at all.

“Shuckle…” Shuckle hung its head, as if feeling sorry.

“It’s alright, Shuckle. Even though your Rock Slide isn’t very strong right now, you’ll get better with time.” Tong Si had no choice but to offer encouragement, though he himself thought the damage was really too low.

“Elekid!” Just then, Elekid walked over, picked up the rock, and patted Shuckle’s shell as if cheering it on.

“Shuckle! Shuckle!” Hearing Elekid’s encouragement, Shuckle immediately perked up. Tong Si couldn’t help but think: Is this the power of having an idol?

Shuckle and Elekid began an animated conversation, though Elekid only cocked its head in confusion. Then, Tong Si saw Elekid use Brick Break. Shuckle tried to follow along and mimic the move.

Smack! When Shuckle hit the rock, the pain made it jump right out of its shell.

“Shuckle, are you trying to learn a Fighting-type move?” Tong Si frowned, a bit curious.

“Shuckle!” Shuckle nodded vigorously. In truth, it had begun to idolize Elekid because Elekid’s Fighting-type moves looked so cool. Shuckle, yearning to fight, had become Elekid’s devoted fan in an instant.

“Uh…” Tong Si sized up the now shell-less Shuckle. It wanted to learn how to fight? Could such a small creature really pull it off?

“System, can Shuckle learn Brick Break?” Tong Si asked inwardly.

[Beep-boop]

[Learning is not possible. Shuckle lacks the talent for Brick Break.]

Hearing the system’s response, Tong Si frowned. He wasn’t sure how Shuckle had even learned the move Reversal, but it was clear that Shuckle really had no knack for fighting. Still, seeing the longing in Shuckle’s eyes, Tong Si didn’t have the heart to discourage it directly.

“Why don’t you train with Elekid for a while?” Tong Si suggested.

“Shuckle! Shuckle!” Shuckle nodded enthusiastically and began to mimic Elekid’s Brick Break moves like crazy, even abandoning its shell in the process.

Tong Si returned to the breeding house and started formulating a training plan for Shuckle. Logically, Shuckle’s main strength should be its defense, serving as a support in battles. It could learn moves like Stealth Rock and Sticky Web. Besides, since Shuckle was slow, learning Gyro Ball would also be a good idea. But its attack was just too feeble for Tong Si’s liking.

Soon, Tong Si thought of a move: Power Trick! The Psychic-type Power Trick could swap a Pokémon’s attack and defense. In addition, the Psychic-type had moves like Power Split and Guard Split. If Shuckle could learn all three, it might work wonders in battle.

A battle strategy began to take shape in Tong Si’s mind. At the start of a match, Shuckle could use Power Split with its very low attack, thereby lowering the opponent’s attack as well. Then, using Power Trick, it would swap its own attack and defense. With strong offensive power, Shuckle’s defense would become weak, so it could follow with Guard Split to reduce the opponent’s defense.

In this way, Shuckle’s chances of victory would greatly increase. The biggest issue with this plan, however, was how to survive three rounds in a row. Using three consecutive moves to alter both Shuckle’s and its opponent’s stats wasn’t easy—no opponent would just let you pull it off. Once Power Trick was used, Shuckle’s defense would drop and the opponent would seize that opening to attack.

Shuckle’s only advantage was its Sturdy ability, which ensured it wouldn’t be knocked out in one hit. But if the opponent kept attacking, even if Shuckle managed the stat swaps, it might be defeated before it could strike back.

Tong Si also considered using pastel-blue energy cubes to restore stamina. Even in major tournaments, Pokémon were allowed to carry one energy cube into battle. However, only five pastel-blue cubes remained. Although Tong Si had the recipe, it was a new method, and he’d never made even the ordinary kind before. Who could guarantee he’d succeed on his first try?

Breeding Shuckle was genuinely giving Tong Si a headache. What’s more, Psychic-type moves required a lot of points to exchange—redeeming three at once made him feel the sting. Add to that the planned Gyro Ball, Stealth Rock, and Sticky Web, and he’d need at least a million points.

“It seems that Pokémon breeding really is a long and arduous process,” Tong Si muttered to himself.

At that moment, Song Xin arrived unexpectedly.

“Tong Si, you’re back?” Song Xin had come to feed the Pokémon in Tong Si’s yard, not expecting to find the breeding house door open.

“Sister Xin, long time no see. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done lately!” Tong Si was truly grateful; if not for Song Xin, the Pokémon in his yard might have starved long ago.

“It’s nothing, just helping out with feeding. Besides, it’s your food anyway.” Song Xin smiled gently.

“Hmm? Another new Pokémon?” She caught sight of Shuckle practicing its fighting moves in the yard.

“Yes, a Shuckle,” Tong Si replied.

… (To be continued)