Chapter 9: Knowledge About Energy
"Regarding the distinction between a Pokémon's internal and external energy, I must elaborate here."
"Energies such as Water, Fire, Electric, Grass, Rock, Ground, Steel, Ghost, Ice, Poison, Bug, and so on, all belong to elements formed from matter. They share a common name: Elemental Energy."
"Water energy often originates from oceans and rivers; Fire energy can come from volcanoes and lava; Electric energy is contained in natural lightning or man-made power generators; Grass energy originates from forests and grasslands; Rock energy comes from mountains and rocks; Ground energy from the earth and mud; Steel energy from steel creations; Ghost energy from the death-qi of living beings; Ice energy from glaciers and snowfields; Poison energy from various poisonous gases, swamps, or toxic substances; Bug-type energy originates from the pheromones secreted by insects themselves."
"For these Pokémon that primarily use Elemental Energy, the moves they use are more often a display of their internal energy communicating with the external energy of the surrounding environment. Take the Squirtle Boss, whom you were curious about, being able to use [Surf] on flat ground as an example. The principle is that the Squirtle Boss mobilizes his powerful internal Water-type energy to synchronize with the water vapor floating in the air. When abundant Water energy is intentionally mobilized and shaped, it forms waves. Therefore, [Surf] can be successfully performed on flat ground. This is also why Water-type Pokémon prefer to stay in places rich in Water energy; the more Water energy there is around them, the more effortlessly they can use their moves and the stronger those moves will be."
Carefully recalling the games he played in his previous life, Rio had a moment of profound realization.
In the games, when entering a battle, regardless of the location, all sorts of moves could be used. For example, the Electric-type [Thunderbolt] could be effective in a stone cave, and the Grass-type [Razor Leaf] wouldn't be unusable just because they were in a lava area. Even the Fire-type [Flamethrower] could be used on the ocean. From this, it was evident that these moves were all produced by the Pokémon's own internal energy communicating with the corresponding external energy.
As for the point that the abundance of environmental energy affects a move's power, this could also be verified. For instance, after using [Rain Dance] to create rainy weather, Water-type moves were strengthened while Fire-type moves were weakened. This was undoubtedly because rainy weather greatly increased the content of Water energy in the environment, while the corresponding Fire energy was diminished. Conversely, [Sunny Day], the opposite of [Rain Dance], summoned sunny weather, invigorating Fire energy and weakening Water energy.
"Why do these Elemental-type Pokémon seem so much like mages from novels?"
Rio chuckled in spite of himself.
Machop looked at Rio's inexplicable smile with some confusion but didn't delve into it, continuing his explanation.
"However, for us Fighting-types, or Psychic, Flying, Dark, Dragon, Fairy, and Normal-type Pokémon, it's clearly impossible for the external environment to contain Fighting energy, Psychic energy, Dark energy, and the like."
"And these energies that cannot be obtained from the surrounding environment, the Professor called them Change-type Energy."
Change-type Energy!
Hearing this crucial point, Rio's expression became focused.
"Because Change-type energy cannot be acquired from the outside world, this kind of energy is generated from within the Pokémon itself. For example, Psychic-type Pokémon train their willpower through methods like meditation, thereby increasing their Psychic energy. The stronger a Pokémon's willpower, the stronger its Psychic moves will be. For instance, [Confusion], after training, will become the more powerful [Psychic]."
"Flying-type Pokémon continuously hone their flying skills. Proficient flying skills can even harness the power of the wind to execute powerful Flying-type moves. For example, [Air Cutter] is a Flying-type move that utilizes the power of the wind, while [Aerial Ace] is a move that relies on a Flying-type Pokémon's excellent flying skills."
"Dark-type Pokémon enhance their aura and presence. For example, the powerful move [Dark Pulse] causes the enemy to flinch through an aura filled with malice."
"I haven't seen Dragon-type Pokémon, but according to the Professor's research theory, Dragon-type Pokémon all possess a special constitution that continuously generates Dragon energy for them."
"Fairy-type Pokémon develop a unique enchanting power by enhancing their temperament and external form, and this charm also determines the strength of their moves. Just like the move [Charm], the more charming the Pokémon, the more effective this move will be when used."
"Finally, there are the very common Normal-type Pokémon. They continuously delve deep into their species' unique skills and improve themselves by strengthening these unique skills. Examples of unique skills include the Snake Pokémon's [Glare] and the Ditto species' unique [Transform]."
A real eye-opener!
Hearing this theory, Rio's understanding of this Pokémon world deepened considerably. At the same time, he couldn't help but admire the erudition of the Pokémon before him.
Seeing Machop's methodical way of teaching, Rio couldn't help but think that if he wore a pair of glasses and held a book, he would look exactly like a research scholar.
"As for us Fighting-types, the source of our energy is very simple."
Speaking of this, Machop bent his arms and flexed his whole body slightly. Clearly defined muscles appeared on his arms.
The style suddenly changed. Machop's image instantly transformed from a gentle researcher to a muscular, brawny hunk.
"Fighting-type energy originates from our meticulously tempered bodies. Punching moves require the strength of our arms, kicking moves require the strength of our legs, and the core power generation and balance for various moves rely even more on the strength of our core torso. Therefore, to become stronger, we must fully train our bodies so that Fighting energy can be generated from all parts of the body."
"In summary, the stronger you train your body, the stronger the Fighting energy generated will also become. Similarly, the stronger your energy, the better your body will be strengthened."
"The two mutually enhance each other."
"As for Fighting-type moves, it's like this."
With that, Machop walked up to a tree, took a deep breath, and then delivered a fierce karate chop to the tree trunk.
The immense force caused the tree's branches and leaves to tremble ceaselessly. Wood chips scattered from the trunk, and an arm-length indentation appeared on it.
Rio went forward to feel the depth of the indentation. To his astonishment, the dent was a full palm deep. It should be known that touching this tree felt like touching steel; the trunk was both thick and sturdy. For Machop to inflict such damage without overtly using energy showed that Fighting energy provided a very significant enhancement to the user's own body.
He pretended not to see the resentful gazes of the Metapod that had fallen to the ground.
A Metapod's back secretes a sticky fluid that allows them to adhere firmly to trees. Most Caterpie, when they sense they are about to evolve, will find a suitable tree and attach themselves to it. Once they evolve into Metapod, they can remain fixed on their chosen tree, avoiding falling to the ground and being harmed by other Pokémon.
However, under Machop's forceful blow, no matter how firmly the Metapod were stuck, they were helplessly shaken off.
"…"
Machop smiled a little embarrassedly, holding the Metapod and "sticking" them back onto the tree one by one.
"When you possess energy and infuse that energy into your combat actions, it forms various skills with different effects. This is what's called a move," Machop was still explaining when suddenly the sound of flapping wings came from above.
Both Pokémon looked up to see a Butterfree slowly descending from the tree, its red compound eyes filled with an angry expression.
"Machop, what on earth are you up to again?!"
Butterfree flapped its large white wings, yelling angrily.
Rio peeked at the tree that had been tormented by the two of them and saw many other indentations of varying depths around the trunk.
It seemed this tree had suffered quite a bit at Machop's hands.
"Ahhh, you even knocked down my little brothers and sisters! You're too much!"
Butterfree caught sight of the aggrieved little gazes of the Metapod that had fallen from the tree and became even angrier. Its antennae twitched, and without another word, it flapped its wings and charged towards Machop.
"[Gust]!"