Since ancient times, clever schemes have always won people's hearts (3/3)

For three consecutive days, Tongsi had been training Huhu intensively.

In the end, Tongsi was beginning to give up.

Was it really possible for Huhu to master a fighting-type move?

There was no need to make things difficult for himself—or for the Toxicroak, either!

That’s right. Over the past three days, Tongsi and Toxicroak had accompanied Huhu in relentless combat practice.

Huhu had truly put in the effort.

Every day, it trained for over twelve hours, leaving itself battered and bruised.

Yet, even after all that, Huhu still couldn’t split a rock the size of a cubic decimeter.

“Huhu, I know you’ve tried your best, but if learning a fighting-type move truly isn’t possible, we can approach things from another angle.”

Tongsi encouraged Huhu gently.

“Bazi, bazi…”

Huhu hung its head, looking dejected.

It loved fighting so much!

During these three days, Tongsi also discovered the six moves Huhu currently knew.

Truth be told, none of them were particularly impressive.

Withdraw was acceptable; it was Huhu’s most reliable defensive technique.

But Bind, Rollout, and Bug Resistance were all rather weak in power.

Rock Slide was hardly worth mentioning; Huhu was barely able to use it at all.

And Reversal?

Yes!

That was the only fighting-type move Huhu knew.

But its Reversal barely scratched its opponents. Huhu’s attack was simply too low, and besides, Reversal’s power only increased as the user’s remaining health decreased.

So, under normal circumstances, Huhu’s Reversal was little more than a gentle tickle to its foes.

Moreover, Tongsi still couldn’t figure out how Huhu had actually learned Reversal.

In summary, out of the six moves Huhu currently possessed, only Withdraw was up to standard; the other five felt half-baked at best.

“Huhu, I know you love fighting, but you aren’t a fighting-type Pokémon. Learning such moves will take you many times more effort than others. We have to take things slowly and not rush.”

Tongsi tried to reason with Huhu.

Indeed, the odds of Huhu mastering fighting moves were quite low.

This was mainly due to its low physical attack, making those moves difficult to learn.

“Bazi! Bazi bazi!”

Huhu’s spirit was unwavering. It understood Tongsi’s words and was willing to try.

“All right! But Huhu, let’s put aside the fighting moves for now. Let’s focus on learning some other skills first. At least then, you’ll be able to win battles. As you level up, I believe your chances of mastering fighting moves will also rise.”

Tongsi wasn’t just trying to placate Huhu with these words.

Even if Huhu insisted on learning only fighting moves and ignored everything else, Tongsi would still accept it.

After all, once you’ve taken in a Pokémon, you must care for it for its whole life.

Not every Pokémon loves battling, nor is every Pokémon required to fight.

But if Huhu’s level rises, its chance of learning new skills also increases.

And the best way to gain levels is through Pokémon battles.

If it didn’t learn some new moves, with just the skills it currently had, Huhu would struggle to win—even against the trio of Runaway Brothers in the yard.

Even if its level far surpassed theirs.

With its slow speed and low attack, even if the Runaway Brothers couldn’t win, they could always run away, couldn’t they?

“Bazi!”

Huhu nodded, agreeing to Tongsi’s plan to learn other moves first.

Seeing its agreement, Tongsi smiled in satisfaction.

He had considered many ways to train Huhu.

The most underhanded approach was the Substitute-Toxic-Stall strategy.

By poisoning the opponent, then using Protect and Substitute to wear them down, you could win by attrition.

In Pokémon battles, this was one of the most infuriating tactics.

And in this world, no one seemed to have invented this strategy yet—Tongsi thought it was worth a try.

“System, exchange for the moves Toxic, Protect, and Substitute—immediately.”

As the idea occurred to him, he acted on it without delay.

“Beep-boop.”

“Exchanged for Toxic, Protect, and Substitute. 180,000 points deducted. Exchange complete.”

After the system notification, Tongsi glanced at his remaining points.

One million seven hundred seventy thousand left.

Fortunately, of these three moves, only Toxic cost eighty thousand points; the other two were just fifty thousand each, which was relatively cheap.

“Have Huhu learn these three moves.”

“Beep-boop.”

“Huhu has successfully learned Toxic, Protect, and Substitute.”

“Huhu, try using Toxic on the ground!”

As usual, once a Pokémon learned a move, Tongsi would immediately test its power.

This was Huhu’s first time learning a move via the system, and it felt a bit bewildered, but somehow, it instinctively knew how to use Toxic.

It was as if something had been awakened deep in its DNA.

Huhu scattered poison on the ground; the toxin was so potent that Tongsi quickly retreated to avoid being poisoned himself.

It took quite a while before the toxicity finally dissipated.

Seeing the corroded patch of earth, Tongsi couldn’t help but think that this move was terrifyingly powerful.

“Huhu, try using Protect.”

Once the poison cleared, Tongsi prepared to test another move.

“Bazi!”

A shimmering barrier appeared in front of Huhu.

“Toxicroak, use Thunderbolt!”

Tongsi gave the order to Toxicroak.

“Beep beep!”

Toxicroak unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt, striking directly at Huhu.

When the Thunderbolt hit the barrier, it couldn’t penetrate it, no matter how it tried.

“Huhu, now use Substitute!”

This was the last move to test.

Huhu leapt out of its shell, standing solemnly with clenched fists.

Anyone who didn’t know better might think it was performing some kind of ninja technique.

Soon, a decoy that looked almost identical to Huhu appeared.

Huhu was visibly strained; creating a Substitute had cost it nearly a quarter of its health.

“So it’s really Substitute! Excellent… The Substitute-Toxic-Stall strategy is now in place!”

Tongsi was delighted.

He could take Huhu to the Golden Sun Club and grind some experience soon.

However, although this strategy was indeed infuriating for opponents, it wasn’t foolproof.

If Protect failed, or if health was too low to use Substitute, even with Sturdy as an ability, it wouldn’t activate unless Huhu was at full health.

Tongsi had considered the Endure move as well, but that only guaranteed survival for one turn.

So, he came up with a second plan.

The Sleep-Recoil strategy!

Compared to Substitute-Toxic-Stall, Tongsi felt this was even more aggravating.

By using Pain Split to weaken the opponent’s offense, then stacking Withdraw and Iron Defense to bolster his own defenses, Huhu could use the Rocky Helmet item and inflict damage whenever hit.

If health ran low, it could use Rest to recover.

As long as its defenses were solid and it could heal quickly, Huhu could win battles simply by turtling in its shell.

Just imagining winning with this strategy made Tongsi want to laugh.

The look on an opposing trainer’s face would be priceless!

… (To be continued)