Chapter 65: Kiku Jirō
Chen Xi arrived at Kiku Jirō’s Gym with Purple Cherry’s introduction. From the outside, the Gym looked quite luxurious.
But after walking inside, Chen Xi looked at the empty environment, the courtyard full of fallen leaves, and the spider webs occasionally appearing at the base of the walls. Chen Xi felt a bit suspicious, wondering if Purple Cherry had swindled him out of his 800 academic credits.
Is this the legendary Gym run by a big shot from the Ju family? Should he turn around now and ask for his academic credits back?!
“Are you the Yuan Family kid that little girl Purple Cherry said was coming to learn the mysteries of Ground Type?”
Just as Chen Xi was still looking around, hesitating whether to turn back, a slightly rough voice came over, carrying a hint of laziness and decadence.
Chen Xi looked up and saw a disheveled middle-aged man lying casually on a mat under the eaves.
His full beard was stained with wine, he held a wine bottle in his hand, and his face was flushed red. It was hard to tell if it was from drinking or if that was just his natural complexion.
However, it must be said that his features indeed bore a five or six-tenths resemblance to Kikuyo.
Kiku Jirō, half-drunk, sized up Chen Xi and said, “You haven’t mastered Natural Force, but instead awakened Psychic abilities. You’re quite an interesting child from the Yuan Family.”
After saying this, Kiku Jirō took a big gulp of wine and then let out a long, boozy sigh.
Chen Xi was slightly startled by Kiku Jirō’s words, not expecting him to be able to see through his abilities at a glance.
While this surprised Chen Xi, he also felt that this person indeed had some skill. Chen Xi calmly said, “I hope to learn some knowledge about the Ground Type from you, senior. Chen Xi would be extremely grateful.”
“Don’t worry about that. I always collect money and do my job. I will still abide by that old man Sha Miao’s rules.”
Kiku Jirō looked at Chen Xi and said cheerfully, “I am currently a teacher at Qiefeng Academy, not a member of the Ju family. The disputes between the Ju family and the Yuan Family are none of my business.
As long as you can pay the academic credits, you can learn all my skills.
However, the Ju family’s abilities require the cooperation of Natural Force to be used. Without this extraordinary power, it’s useless for you to learn them!
Hahahahaha!”
As Kiku Jirō spoke, he burst into a sharp, bitter laugh.
“Senior, you jest. What do I have to hope for regarding the Ju family’s abilities?” Chen Xi said, “I just hope to systematically learn about Ground Type Pokémon and cultivate my Ground Type Pokémon as much as possible. That would be enough.”
“In that case, let’s begin the lesson!” Kiku Jirō looked at Chen Xi and led him into the courtyard.
He said to Chen Xi, “Summon your Ground Type Pokémon. For a Trainer, the fastest way to learn is through battle. Simply talking, let alone grasping the essence, even remembering a few points is probably only something a genius would know.”
“Understood, senior.
Come out, Torterra!”
Hearing Kiku Jirō’s words, Chen Xi didn’t hesitate and decisively summoned his Pokémon.
A massive Torterra appeared in the courtyard, letting out a very high-profile roar.
“Torterra… quite well-trained.” Seeing Chen Xi summon Torterra, Kiku Jirō examined it and said, “A typical Charge system of the Yuan Family. By the way, how many recovery abilities has your Torterra mastered?”
“Grassy Terrain, Synthesis, Leech Seed, and Giga Drain.” Chen Xi thought for a moment and didn’t conceal anything from Kiku Jirō, as it was clear the other party was quite familiar with the Yuan Family’s style.
Because the Yuan Family’s method of cultivating Torterra was not unique; basically, all Grass Type MTs were cultivated in this manner.
They would strengthen Torterra’s defense through the Charge system, and then use various recovery methods to maintain Torterra’s stamina.
However, the Yuan Family’s MTs also had a mandatory Ingrain skill. Through the sharing and transmission of root power, they could form a defense strong enough to contend with higher-level existences. This was the foundation of the Yuan Family’s MTs; the more people there were, the more powerful this system became.
But Torterra couldn’t achieve this.
Therefore, among the MT Pokémon normally cultivated by the Yuan Family, although Torterra’s body size was larger than other Pokémon, and theoretically, it would be more suitable to train Torterra as an MT Pokémon,
because it couldn’t Master the Ingrain skill for power sharing, Torterra was rarely used by ordinary Superior Trainers of the Yuan Family and was not considered a flagship Pokémon of the Yuan Family.
However, regardless, the Yuan Family did develop Torterra’s Grass Type abilities, and they were top-tier in Sinnoh.
But because it wasn't a foundational Pokémon for the Yuan Family, there were fewer Trainers for Torterra, and consequently, much less research on Torterra's Ground Type aspects.
Therefore, although the Yuan Family had a few basic Ground Type mysteries, they did not form a complete battle system.
And facing Chen Xi’s Torterra, Kiku Jirō also summoned his Pokémon, one of the three starter Pokémon of the Hoenn region.
Swampert!
“Camo!”
Amidst a deafening roar, an incredibly burly Swampert appeared before Chen Xi.
Although this Swampert’s size was not as large as Torterra’s, it was considerably bigger than an average Swampert.
The Swampert’s muscles were well-proportioned, its eyes were sharp and piercing, and it showed a hint of disdain upon seeing Chen Xi’s Torterra.
Even though it was quadruply weak to Grass Type, it seemed to completely disregard the Torterra before it.
“A Level 79 Quasi-Heavenly King peak Swampert?” Chen Xi looked at the Swampert before him, deep in thought.
This Pokémon was just one step away from being a Tianwang Pokémon, but the Tianwang Pokémon realm was like an insurmountable chasm, blocking countless brilliant and talented Pokémon.
The Swampert before him was one of them.
To become a Tianwang Pokémon, a Pokémon needs to Master Natural Force, or the Trainer and Pokémon need to be united in will, forcibly tearing open a path that isn't a path.
If the Quasi-Heavenly King level could still be achieved by brute-forcing resources, then the Tianwang level lacked not resources, but the Trainer’s own enlightenment and the Pokémon’s chance to Master Natural Force.
In short, the ratio of Trainers stuck at the Quasi-Heavenly King peak to Tianwang Trainers in this world definitely exceeds one hundred to one.
The Kiku Jirō before him was clearly the same, an ordinary Trainer stuck at the Quasi-Heavenly King peak.
However, even so, Chen Xi did not believe that his Level 55 Torterra could defeat his Swampert.
At this moment, at Kiku Jirō’s signal, Chen Xi was told to attack first.
Chen Xi did not hesitate, decisively ordering Torterra, “Use Grassy Terrain.”
A light green field spread out from under Torterra’s feet, covering the entire arena in an instant.
And now, the ground beneath Swampert’s feet also had the effect of Grassy Terrain, providing some healing to Swampert.
Chen Xi’s Torterra’s fighting style was almost unoriginal, a recovery-based approach, simply exhausting the opponent to death.
But undeniably, combined with Torterra’s massive body and defensive power, this recovery-based strategy was not easy to deal with.
Although it might not win against a Quasi-Heavenly King peak monster, as long as it didn’t face an Ice Type Pokémon, even against a Master level Pokémon, Chen Xi dared to fight with his Torterra.
More importantly, with Grassy Terrain as a medium, Torterra could use Giga Drain from a distance.
Even if Swampert was far away at this moment, as long as it stood on the Grassy Terrain, it would still take damage.
“That’s a very good idea, but your foundation isn’t strong enough yet!”
Kiku Jirō watched as the combination of Grassy Terrain and the absorption skill made the Grassy Terrain not just a means of recovery but also a method of attack. He nodded; this combination wasn’t innovative,
but being able to achieve it proved the strength of Chen Xi and his Torterra.
As Kiku Jirō sighed, Swampert stomped its feet forcefully on the ground, instantly raising a cloud of dust.
Under Swampert’s stomping, an invisible force forcibly isolated the Grassy Terrain.
At this moment, within five meters centered around Swampert, there was not an inch of green, nor a single blade of grass.
And Swampert seemed to have merged with the earth beneath its feet, becoming one.
“The entire Grassy Terrain has been repelled?!” Chen Xi was stunned by this sight and asked, “What skill is this?”
“It’s a form change of Earth Power!” Kiku Jirō generously explained to Chen Xi, showing no intention of concealing anything.
After all, Chen Xi had paid academic credits, and his main purpose in coming was to learn Ground Type knowledge.
So Kiku Jirō had nothing to hide; he explained what needed to be explained, and how much Chen Xi could learn was up to him.
“For Ground Type Pokémon, the earth beneath their feet is the source of their power. Their foothold is their territory. Absolute control over their foothold is how you can gauge a Ground Type Pokémon’s level,” Kiku Jirō said.
“Is it better if the controlled area is larger?” Chen Xi looked at the ground beneath Swampert’s feet, deep in thought.
“No!” Kiku Jirō shook his head and said to Chen Xi, “Have your Torterra use Tackle.”
“Tackle?” Chen Xi originally wanted Torterra to use a long-range attack, not a close-range Tackle.
It wasn’t that Torterra’s bulldozer-like Charge wasn’t strong; considering Torterra’s current size, one could imagine that if Torterra charged, it would definitely be a scene of chaos.
The main reason was that Torterra’s speed was too slow; if the opponent was determined to escape, Torterra might waste its efforts.
However, since Kiku Jirō told him to have his Torterra Charge directly, Chen Xi wouldn’t be polite in the slightest.
At this moment, with a command from Chen Xi, Torterra launched Tackle at Swampert.
With Torterra’s astonishing size, one or two times larger than Swampert, it slammed fiercely into Swampert.
But at this moment, Swampert extended one hand and blocked Torterra’s massive body.
This exaggerated scene made Chen Xi somewhat incredulous. Even if this Swampert’s level was higher than Torterra’s, this kind of pure power collision had little to do with experience level.
The next second, Swampert’s other hand condensed an extremely low temperature, even beginning to drift with ice crystals from reduced moisture.
Swampert’s Ice Punch now directly struck Torterra!
“Protect!” Chen Xi didn’t hesitate at all, decisively having Torterra use Protect.
This skill was naturally a divine skill; aside from generally only being usable once per battle, it had almost no other limitations.
And now, for Torterra, it was even more life-saving.
Under the effect of this Protect skill, a barrier appeared around Torterra.
Although the Protect barrier unleashed by Torterra was almost instantly shattered in front of this Swampert.
But with the help of the Protect skill, Torterra ultimately wasn’t knocked out by that Ice Punch.
“Do you understand?” Seeing that Torterra wasn’t defeated in one punch, Kiku Jirō spoke to Chen Xi as if nothing had happened.
“Understand what?” Chen Xi asked.
But Chen Xi quickly noticed that the circle of land surrounding Swampert, within five meters, was almost completely still, as if solidified into a single block.
Beyond five meters, however, clear cracks appeared, as if all of Turtwig’s previous attacks had been absorbed into the ground.
“The Swampert just now merged with the ground… and even guided Torterra’s attack into the ground?”
Chen Xi, with a hint of speculation, looked at Kiku Jirō before him and directly posed his question.
“That’s right, this is what I’m going to teach you. To fully Master the Ground Type, the first step is to skillfully use the power of the earth. Of course, for you, the first step is to perceive the power of the earth,” Kiku Jirō said.
“Perceive the power of the earth? Is it me who perceives, or my Pokémon who perceives?” Chen Xi asked.
“Pokémon are an extension of the Trainer’s will. If you cannot make your Pokémon understand what you understand, then you are not a true Trainer,” Kiku Jirō said, shaking his head as he looked at Chen Xi.
“That standard seems a bit high, doesn’t it?” Chen Xi heard Kiku Jirō’s words and couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “Does that mean everyone has to be a Psychic, mastering telepathy, to be considered a Pokémon Trainer?”
“Psychics are indeed a shortcut, but having Pokémon understand the Trainer’s will doesn’t refer to telepathic communication between Pokémon and Trainer.” Kiku Jirō shook his head with a disappointed look, as if to say, ‘You’re really useless.’ He waved his hand and said, “Never mind, that concept is too early for you. Let’s talk about the first step. Has your Torterra mastered the Earth Power skill?”
“Not… not yet, but it has mastered Earthquake!” Chen Xi decisively stated that Torterra did have some abilities.
“Torterra mastering Earthquake is standard; otherwise, I would advise you to give up on this Torterra and train another one,” Kiku Jirō said. “Then let it Master the Earth Power skill first.”
“Are you going to teach me this skill, senior?” Chen Xi said, looking happy.
Kiku Jirō extended his hand, saying earnestly, “That’s an additional Charge.”