Regarding the question raised by Aoki,
Norman was not surprised.
Because he was a Normal-type Pokémon trainer, and his specialty was training Apexis and Slaking.
He had a Slaking that could unleash its full power and was unaffected by the sloth ability, which was no secret to the League's higher-ups.
Many people had asked Norman this question before.
Because the combat power that a Slaking without the Sloth ability could unleash was truly terrifying.
However, it was not so easy to imitate.
If Norman could really train such a Slaking perfectly, wouldn't he be invincible?
He only trained one by chance.
Moreover, it was not the kind of Slaking that could unleash its combat power at any time. Only under certain prerequisites could Slaking remain unaffected, and this requirement was quite high.
Norman smiled slightly, not hiding anything. "Actually, I cultivated it by chance, and I only have a superficial understanding of the principles behind it. However, I think people are always thinking about how to get rid of Slaking's laziness, but no one has thought about cultivating it along with this trait .
Laziness is Slaking's nature. Since it's meant to be lazy, why not let it stay lazy? Perhaps extreme laziness will lead to a reversal."
Hearing Normam's words, Aoki felt like someone had opened a window for him.
Yes, why insist on changing Slaking's laziness?
Everyone, including himself, thinks it would be great if Slaking wasn't affected by its laziness, so they look for ways to make it less lazy.
For example, having a Pokémon use Ability Swap to change Slaking's ability to another Pokémon's.
But when a Pokémon's laziness is ingrained, how can you easily change it?
Besides, laziness is a characteristic of Pokémon like Slaking, so why not cultivate it along with this trait?
Since it's lazy, just let it stay lazy.
Even at the peak, there's always a rebound.
"So, Mr. Norman, your Slaking was only able to unleash its full power in such a short time because it was too lazy?" Aoki's eyes lit up as he asked.
Asking so openly about someone's trump card is extremely impolite and crosses the line.
But Aoki couldn't care less now; the answer was right in front of him.
Norman, however, didn't seem to mind.
Over the years, hadn't the League asked him countless times about Slaking?
But besides him, had anyone else trained such a Slaking?
No!
Not several, not a single one.
This had once made both Senri and the League think his theory was incorrect.
Because Senri himself had never trained another Slaking like that.
Or rather, he had only trained a half-finished product, his second Slaking.
If someone could train another Slaking like that now, it would be an affirmation and encouragement for both him and the League.
"That's right. When I first started training Slaking, I never imagined that kind of situation would arise. I just thought, since he's going to be lazy, let him stay lazy.
Until one time, during a League mission, I encountered a crisis and came across a group of wild Pokémon that had gone berserk.
At that time, all my Pokémon had lost their ability to battle, leaving only Slaking.
So, on a whim, I summoned that guy... Who knew that it would be just a last-ditch effort, but it really became my lifeline.
Slaking was not bound by the Slaking ability at all, and the power it unleashed repelled all the wild Pokémon.
That's how I survived." Senri's eyes showed reminiscence, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up, presumably thinking of Slaking's godlike appearance at that time.
He continued, "After that battle, Slaking slept for two days and two nights before recovering.
That's when I realized that the length of time he could sustain a battle was directly proportional to the amount of time he spent slacking off. It was like he was accumulating power; the more he accumulated, the stronger and longer the final burst would be.
From then on, I began researching Slaking and Apexis.
Unfortunately, of all the Slakings I've trained since then, only one has become a 'half-finished product'; the rest are no different from ordinary Slakings. Even if I
continued training them based on their laziness, I didn't achieve the same result as that guy."
Norman sighed.
He had spent over a decade researching, yet he hadn't managed to train a second one.
There must be some key, but he hadn't grasped it.
"A 'half-finished product'?" Aoki asked curiously, hearing the description.
Norman chuckled self-deprecatingly. "It's just the closest to that state. The power and duration of its burst are fixed. Unlike my first Slaking, which became stronger the longer it was lazy, this one can only remain unaffected by laziness for a maximum of three minutes. After three minutes, it reverts to its original state."
This was his second Slaking.
Even as a half-finished product, it was far stronger than a typical Slaking.
It was precisely because of these two Slakings that he attracted the League's attention.
Because the fighting power he could unleash was truly terrifying.
Even Genji could only parry its burst of power in a short period. It was only because this burst of power was limited in time that Adams would have pulled him into the Elite Four position, even considering making him the Champion, even if Chisato was unwilling to take on the responsibilities.
Hearing Norman's explanation of the unfinished product, Aoki asked again, "Since an unfinished product appears, has Mr. Senri already seized the opportunity that caused Slaking to change like this?"
Norman hesitated for a moment, as if recalling something, or perhaps he himself was somewhat unsure, "I... actually, I'm not very confident even now. Back then, not long after I became a trainer, I caught a Slakoth, which later evolved into a Vigoroth. But my Vigoroth was extremely active, had unlimited energy, and possessed considerable combat power.
So I thought, since Vigoroth is so strong, why evolve? So I discussed with my Phantasia and asked it not to evolve.
After that, even when it was time for it to evolve,Vigoroth..." Forcibly suppressing it was torture for him every time.
But after each suppression, the Vigoroth ape's energy only increased.
Finally, unable to be suppressed any longer, it evolved into Slaking. Then, things backfired; after the frantic energy expenditure, Slaking became incredibly lazy. I felt very guilty at the time, which is why I didn't force Slaking to overcome its laziness. Perhaps
... that's the key.
So, following this plan, I tried to train a second Vigoroth, also keeping it from evolving for a long time, but the final result was different from what I expected, and it didn't succeed.
Afterwards, I tried training it several more times, but without success.
Finally... I discovered a possible decisive condition, but I can't be sure of it yet."
(End of this chapter)