Pokémon: Trainer Paul

"Grr~"

After barely a minute of absorbing the energy, Grotle lifted its head, looking awkwardly at Paul.

Most of the life force had been used to replenish its previous exhaustion, leaving it with no time to truly experience the energy before it was gone…

Paul said nothing. Instead, he took out a small box, retrieved a Miracle Seed, and tossed it into Grotle's mouth.

"Grr?!"

Grotle was stunned.

It had just felt guilty about consuming such a precious item, but to its shock—Paul had an entire box of them?!

"Once you've recovered, use Ingrain and focus on sensing the energy properly!"

Paul knocked Grotle on the head to keep it focused.

As for the Miracle Seeds in his hand?

They were indeed rare and expensive, which was why he had only managed to collect a small supply.

"Grr~"

Grinning sheepishly, Grotle planted its roots into the ground, once again immersing itself in the unique properties of life energy.

Two or three minutes later, Grotle raised its head again, looking at Paul with an embarrassed yet hopeful expression.

These seeds were amazing. After eating two, it felt almost fully recovered! However, to truly grasp their effects… it needed just a little more time.

"I'll give you a few more. Once you've gotten a good feel for it, try absorbing an Energy Ball along with the life force—compare the differences yourself."

"Then, work on incorporating life energy into your Growth Training Method."

Paul tossed a few more Miracle Seeds into Grotle's mouth, patted its head, and walked away, leaving it to focus.

"Grrr~"

Watching Paul's retreating figure, Grotle grinned.

A "silly" Grotle gets "sweets" to eat.

With that thought, it seriously resumed its meditation on the mysteries of life energy.

Meanwhile, Paul approached the group of Pokémon that had been discussing among themselves. Without hesitation, he grabbed Vulpix who was lying on the ground basking in the sun, and dragged it away.

"If you're not interested in socializing, then train properly."

Releasing Vulpix, Paul ruthlessly ended its relaxation time.

"Vuuuul~"

Vulpix let out a pitiful cry, feeling utterly betrayed.

You said you wouldn't make me train today!

Liar! No shame!

"It's not regular training. Do you want to learn or not?" Paul asked coldly.

"Vuuuul~"

Shrinking its neck instinctively, Vulpix reluctantly accepted the extra training.

"Maintain Sunny Day and absorb solar energy."

The effect of Sunny Day initially created by Grotle, had faded without notice.

"Vuul~"

Vulpix glowed as it activated Sunny Day, then began absorbing the sunlight using the same method as Solar Beam.

Once it felt like it had absorbed enough, Vulpix lifted its head to look at Paul, wondering what he had planned next.

Was it going to be Solar Beam's power output? Its charge times?

That didn't seem right—if that were the case, why use Sunny Day as an aid?

"Try meditating. Convert solar energy into psychic power, or into Fire-type energy."

"Vuul?!"

Vulpix tilted its head in confusion.

Was that even possible? It wasn't a Grotle—this kind of thing shouldn't work for it, right?

"Meditate and try."

Paul flicked Vulpix's forehead, forcing it to obediently close its eyes and attempt the meditation.

He recalled a moment from his past—an Eevee he had once encountered had mastered a special technique known as Solar Meditation.

Naturally, an Eevee would be better suited for absorbing solar energy than a Vulpix.

But was Vulpix truly inferior?

Fire- and Grass-types both had strong connections to solar energy.

Since Vulpix had already mastered the prerequisite move, Solar Beam, its ability to sense and absorb sunlight shouldn't be far behind that of an Eevee.

In theory, it should be able to learn this meditation technique.

The problem was, Paul didn't know the exact method.

All he could do was provide the concept and theory—Vulpix would have to rely on its own talent to figure out the rest.

This was precisely why Paul avoided capturing Pokémon with weak potential.

If a Pokémon's talent was lacking and it couldn't keep up, even if he provided reasonable theories and strategies, it wouldn't be able to implement them.

What was the point of a Pokémon that couldn't follow instructions even when given a clear blueprint?

"I've already given you the method. If you succeed, your path to getting stronger will become much easier."

With that, Paul left Vulpix to figure things out on its own.

If Solar Meditation was possible, then theoretically, a Lunar Meditation technique should also exist.

For example, Pokémon like Umbreon, who could use Moonlight, or Gardevoir, who could harness lunar energy, should be able to develop it.

But…

Paul glanced at Gardevoir, who deliberately turned its head away upon meeting his gaze.

He gave up on the idea.

Disobedient, stubborn, and lacking the right potential—not worth the effort.

He'd leave it for his brother to deal with.

The same Pokémon could be seen in completely different lights depending on the trainer.

Of course, there was another reason.

If he trained Gardevoir in Lunar Meditation, he'd have to let it out every night to bask in the moonlight.

That would be a hassle.

If it were a small Umbreon, it wouldn't be a problem.

But a Gardevoir? Forget it.

As far as Paul was concerned, the best thing Gardevoir could do was lay plenty of eggs.

Maybe, just maybe, one of its offspring would have enough potential to be worth training.

"Dewott, come here."

With Vulpix's training settled, Paul turned his attention to the other Pokémon.

There wasn't much left to teach Ursaring—its attack style, battle strategies, and move pool were nearly complete.

All it needed was to push its Guts ability to the limit, continuously training until it could fully utilize it in battle.

As for Skorupi?

There wasn't much to teach either.

Even if he wanted to help it learn new moves, he wouldn't be able to teach them himself.

Besides, they would reach Veilstone City in just a few days—there was no need to waste time on self-study.

Once there, he could simply hand Skorupi over to Reggie's Drapion for training.

Paul trusted Drapion completely.

It might not be as strong as Aaron's Drapion, but the knowledge it could pass down was definitely more valuable.

After all, Paul had played a significant role in its training.

The only thing Skorupi needed to work on was…

"Skorupi, start practicing the fusion of Poison Tail, Poison Fang, and Toxic."

"Your goal is to make sure that every attack inflicts the opponent with toxic poisoning."

Paul understood the power of Skorupi's unique venom and the importance of consciously infusing its attacks with poison to control the battle.

But that alone wasn't enough.

It needed constant training.

Until every physical strike, every Poison-type move landed, resulted in a guaranteed toxic effect.

That was the path to becoming the ultimate poison master.

A true master of poison—one touch meant death.

Even if not immediate, the opponent would be left fatally poisoned.

In this regard, Paul wasn't particularly impressed with Aaron's Drapion, which focused too much on brute force.

Strength alone wasn't enough—without absolute power, it was meaningless.

Just like how Drapion had struggled to escape Grotle's grasp in their last battle.

To truly become stronger, Skorupi needed to master both poison and precision.

"Kuuu~"

Skorupi eagerly waved its pincers.

It had always known that its venom was powerful and had been training toward this goal.

Now, it was glad to see that Paul's thoughts aligned with its own.

With the foundation for Growth Training set and Solar Meditation in progress, the next step was the training facility…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want to access advance chapters, please visit: patreon.com / PMadz_23