Rhyperior might be ready to be phased out.
Shiro had spent money to buy it in the beginning mainly to ensure safety. Now that his overall strength had basically reached the Gym-level, there was no real need for Rhyperior to fight anymore. In fact, he had not needed to use it for a very long time.
"Useless to keep, but a shame to discard..." Shiro muttered. He still held a faint hope about whether to give up on Rhyperior.
What if its brainwashing state could be undone? For example, if the famous Professor Oak from the academic world saw it, maybe he would have a solution.
But if that did not work, Shiro planned to place it in a breeding center. He would spend some Pokédollars and let Rhyperior retire with honor.
As he thought about it, the three Pokémon had finished eating their Pokéblocks and regained their vitality.
He recalled Rhyperior first, then looked over Corviknight and Bewear.
Corviknight was the Pokémon he valued and invested in the most. From Rookidee to Corvisquire and finally Corviknight, every stage involved intense training and heavy use of resources. In the end, it easily broke through its evolutionary limits and reached the Gym-level.
As for Bewear...
"Beeweaaar!"
As soon as Shiro turned his gaze, Bewear spread its arms and jogged over, then hugged him tightly.
"Alright, alright..."
Shiro felt himself buried in a warm and fluffy mass of fur. It was soft and comfortable, but this was not the time for hugging.
Of course, with his current physical condition, even if Bewear used a lot of strength, he could fully endure it.
He pried open its arms and carefully examined Bewear's physical state with his psychic power.
After a moment, he realized he could not judge the situation clearly and called out softly, "A!"
Unown A swallowed the Pokéblock in its mouth and floated over. Following a quick scan, it commented.
'Hmm, even though this Bewear is the leader of a wild group, it managed to break through on its own and reach the Gym-level. Overall, it's quite good. The main point is that its talent is excellent, and it adapts very well to its attributes.'
"Then..." Shiro furrowed his brow and asked, "What do you think I should focus on training next?"
After bringing his Pokémon to around the Gym-level, he felt a bit lost and was not sure what path to take next.
Unown A was knowledgeable and should have some constructive advice.
'Hehehe!'
It seemed to sense his thoughts. With pride, it floated over to Corviknight and Bewear and examined them before speaking.
'Actually, there aren't many problems between the Gym-level and the Elite-level. It's just normal battling and eating. As long as there are enough resources, enough accumulation, and sufficient talent, reaching the Elite-level is natural.'
Shiro was even more puzzled. "So that means there are extra requirements from Elite-level to Champion-level?"
'You don't need to think about that yet.' Unown A shook its head. 'The key is how you train Pokémon in combat at the Gym and Elite levels.'
"...What do you mean?"
'You can train them in move fusion,' Unown A replied calmly. 'Moves of the same type and similar nature are the easiest to fuse. Next comes the moves of different types.'
"Move fusion..." Shiro murmured. He suddenly thought of the old man he had met at the Hammerlocke Stadium before.
That old man was not very strong, but he had rich training experience. He had developed fused moves using a Scorbunny.
'No. If Pokémon attempt move fusion too early, it actually damages their familiarity with normal moves. Later, learning other moves becomes much harder.'
Unown A rejected that approach and reminded him.
'At the Gym-level, Pokémon have basically completed their growth. After they have mastered the moves they should know, that is the best time to try move fusion.'
"Gym-level..."
Shiro thought of Raihan and others, yet they haven't used such moves.
Did they never consider it? Or did they give up because it was too difficult? Or was the cost-performance simply too low?
'Hey!'
Unown A shook wildly to make its presence known.
'I am an Unown, a Pokémon that has existed since the creation of the world by the Sinnoh gods. Can I really be compared to the inheritance of some small families?'
"They should at least be able to master a few, right?" Shiro could not help but argue.
Unown A explained quickly, 'Every fused move requires countless attempts to explore. How many years has that so-called Dragon Tamer family been around? Having one or two is already impressive!'
It paused, then continued, 'Also, the higher the level of the moves, the harder they are to fuse. Their time and energy all go into raising Pokémon levels. Where would they find the time to train fused moves?'
Shiro pinched his chin lightly and nodded. "That... makes sense."
'What do you mean, 'makes sense'!' Unown A widened its single eye and shouted anxiously.
'Let's not even talk about that Lucky Leon with no real inheritance. Raihan's Dragon-types all have very long growth cycles. Raising their levels already costs huge resources and effort. Do you think everyone can be like you, getting a Drakloak that lived in its territory for decades for free?'
"Calm down, A. You know me. I trust you the most."
Shiro soothed Unown A seriously, then pointed at the silent Corviknight and the confused-looking Bewear.
"So the key is, how exactly should we train?"
'Hmph…' Unown A closed its eye, turned its head aside, and sulked.
"Sigh." Shiro patted his shoulder and summoned Unown G. "G, you explain."
Unown A did not expect this move. It quickly shoved the about-to-speak Unown G back and cleared its throat twice.
'My head was a bit itchy just now. I'll explain.'
* * *
Shiro quickly understood the specific process and brought his other Pokémon into the training room.
Because each Pokémon had different moves, and the compatibility between moves varied, they needed someone who was familiar with move fusion and could accurately judge each Pokémon's physical condition.
Normally, such a role would be taken by a highly respected and experienced veteran trainer.
Now, Unown A alone was more than enough.
'Accuracy! Accuracy!' Unown A jumped in anger. 'Haunter! Did you not eat? The target is so close, and you still missed Shadow Ball!'
"Haun..."
Haunter nodded its head in grievance while several Shadow Balls naturally formed in its hands again.
It was trying to fuse Shadow Ball with Hex.
Hex allowed Pokémon to strike repeatedly and deal greater damage to opponents affected by status conditions.
After fusion, Shadow Balls could be released instantly and followed by rapid repeated attacks. Ordinary Pokémon would be unable to react before being hit continuously by Shadow Balls.
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