Old Man Fuji had barely sat down when he felt restless again.
With a puzzled look, he rose and walked towards the Trainers who had bought answers from Jiang Fan.
After getting their answers, those Trainers immediately found a corner in the park and began special training.
He started weaving among these people, observing them.
About fifty minutes later, he saw an Ivysaur successfully launch an Energy Ball from its unopened flower bud after absorbing a large amount of natural energy from its surroundings.
"It worked, hahaha, it worked! My Ivysaur successfully learned Energy Ball!" The Trainer immediately shouted excitedly, "This is incredible, it really did learn it after thirty-five tries."
Old Man Fuji took out a small notebook and jotted down this scene.
Then he continued to look at other places where special training was underway.
Time passed bit by bit.
Before he knew it, it was noon. Old Man Fuji, preparing to return to Pokémon House, looked at the records in his notebook.
Four Trainers who had bought answers had finished their special training.
The number of practice attempts perfectly matched what Jiang Fan had said.
As for the Trainers who hadn't finished their special training, most of them were still in the park hyping up their Pokémon.
"Come on, Nidorino, you only have two hundred fifty-one more tries until you learn Toxic Spikes!"
"Mareep, my dear, you're amazing! Only sixty-one more tries until you can learn Electro Ball!"
"Raticate, keep up the good work! After one hundred five more practices, we'll learn Swords Dance!"
As for Jiang Fan, who caused this situation, he was busy directing Charmander in a Pokémon battle.
The opponent was an Ekans.
That Ekans was following its Trainer's command, using the move Acid.
A large stream of highly corrosive strong Acid was spat towards Charmander, who was in the middle of condensing Dragon Breath.
Judging by the reaction time, Charmander no longer had enough time to spit Dragon Breath at the opponent.
"Are they going to lose?" Old Man Fuji wondered.
At this point, both Charmander and Ekans on the battlefield were covered in wounds.
If the Acid splashed onto Charmander, he felt it would likely be in big trouble.
But at that moment, a command that made his eyes light up came from Jiang Fan's mouth.
"Charmander, spit Dragon Breath at the ground to dodge its Acid!"
As soon as the command was given, Charmander decisively aimed its mouth at the ground.
The next second, a scorching, pitch-black aura erupted, and the recoil from the aura directly propelled Charmander rapidly upwards from the ground, narrowly dodging the edge of the highly corrosive Acid.
When Charmander sprang into mid-air, Jiang Fan decisively said, "Charmander, use Ember!"
"Rua~"
Charmander received the command. The strong scent of Dragon Breath had not yet dissipated from its mouth when it immediately spat out a ball of flame.
The young opponent's face changed. "Oh no, Ekans, quickly dodge!"
Ekans received the command and was about to dodge.
However,
Injured all over, it reacted a step too slow.
The flame still landed on its body.
"Arbok~"
Ekans screamed in agony as it was burned into unconsciousness.
"Rua~"
The victorious Charmander excitedly rushed towards Jiang Fan.
Jiang Fan gave it a big hug and offered the highest praise.
"Charmander, you are truly outstanding! From this morning until now, you've won eight battles in a row, giving me such a huge surprise!"
"Rua~ rua~"
Charmander responded happily, pointing towards the battleground at the same time.
It seemed to want to continue battling.
"No rush, let's rest for a bit," Jiang Fan said with a smile, shaking his head.
In the previous battles, to build Charmander's confidence, he had chosen Pokémon one or two levels lower than Charmander as opponents. Only this Arbok was of the same level.
Fortunately, under his command, they also achieved victory.
Now, in this park, there were no opponents whose levels guaranteed a sure win, so he could only wait and see in the afternoon.
And at this moment, Jiang Fan's eyes lit up.
The information panel above Charmander's head refreshed.
"Pokémon: Charmander (Shinny)"
"Level: 15 (In a winning streak, positive emotions, eager for battle. At this time, leveling up speed is twice as effective. 198 days until next level.)"
"Aptitude: Superior"
"Affection: 10 (-25 to 10)"
"Ability: Blaze"
"Gender: Male"
"Skills: Scratch (26%), Growl (18%), Ember (21%), Smokescreen (16%), Dragon Breath (11%)"
"Description: This is a Charmander whose fighting spirit has been restored..."
Looking at the information on the panel, Jiang Fan was a little excited.
That battle not only raised Charmander from Level 14 to Level 15 but also gave it a winning streak buff.
Given this, he absolutely couldn't battle rashly.
If he chose a strong opponent and lost, breaking the newly acquired winning streak buff, he would truly cry his eyes out.
The most important thing to do now should be to improve skill proficiency.
The maximum proficiency for each skill at Level 15 was thirty percent.
Currently, Charmander hadn't reached it for any skill.
Especially after the recent battle, he felt even more strongly the importance of proficiency.
It was a showdown between Charmander and another person's Charmander using Ember.
The opponent's Ember proficiency was only 14 points, 7 points lower than theirs, which resulted in the opponent's Ember being not only much slower to cast but also weaker in power during the clash.
The clash dissipated in the air after struggling for two seconds, allowing their remaining flames to successfully land on the opponent's Charmander, causing damage.
He couldn't imagine how solid Charmander's foundation would be if all its skills could be raised to the level cap.
Unless they encountered an opponent who also had extremely high proficiency, challenging higher-level Pokémon shouldn't be difficult.
And as Jiang Fan was lost in thought, Li Nai's voice came from beside him.
"Jiang Fan, are you coming back to Pokémon House for lunch? Grandpa and I are heading back."
Jiang Fan looked down. "Charmander, do you want to go back to Pokémon House for lunch?"
"Rua~"
Charmander decisively shook its head. It only wanted to battle now, to fully unleash its incredibly strong talent.
If possible, it really wanted to meet the Trainer who abandoned it in the future.
It wanted to make that person regret seeing how strong it had become.
"I was never trash; you just didn't know how to train me."
Seeing Charmander shake its head, Jiang Fan was very pleased.
Very good, it was no longer the Charmander that spent its time idly just a few days ago, but a Charmander with a desire for battle and a drive to become stronger.
So, Jiang Fan grandly pointed to a high-end Pokémon restaurant not far away.
"We're not going back later. I'll just take Charmander there to grab a bite. Do you and Old Man Fuji want to come along?"
He was no longer the penniless nobody with deceased parents he was a few days ago; he was now a small landlord who had turned his fortunes around.
...
"Grandpa, you observed all morning, what do you think?"
On the way back to Pokémon House, Li Nai suddenly asked.
Old Man Fuji heard her and immediately showed his appreciation.
"To be honest, although I heard your description last night, I still had some doubts. After seeing it today, I have no choice but to believe it."
"He is very suitable to be a Pokémon Trainer. Besides having special abilities, he truly understands the Pokémon's psychology. I'm starting to understand why Charmander was able to cheer up in just one afternoon."
"I think any Pokémon that becomes his will likely be very happy in the future."
"He is different from many other Trainers I've seen. Those Trainers would criticize and scold Pokémon that made mistakes or lost battles, pushing all the blame onto the Pokémon. Some even cruelly abandoned Pokémon that trusted them.
He is different. All I've seen from him so far is encouragement and praise. Those praises might seem overly exaggerated to outsiders, but they are extremely effective for Pokémon.
You noticed Charmander's expression when he praised it, right? That happiness was clearly from the heart, something it never had before Jiang Fan arrived.
I'm even thinking now if I should apologize to him. Yesterday, I actually thought about making him leave Pokémon House."
At this point, Old Man Fuji sighed deeply and continued after a moment.
"Li Nai, in the afternoon, find Charmander's Poké Ball. When the time is right, give it to him. Charmander deserves to have an owner like him."
"Okay, Grandpa."
Li Nai nodded, then curiously asked,
"Then, Grandpa, between Jiang Fan's special ability and your old friend's Tokiwa Power, which do you think is better?"
