Chapter 7: Training Turtwig
Chen Xi was quite satisfied with the Turtwig he had chosen.
Not only because of its purple-grade aptitude and dual abilities, but more importantly, this Turtwig inherited the seemingly ordinary inherited skills of Growth and Charge, which saved Chen Xi a lot of trouble.
These two seemingly ordinary inherited skills are crucial for the Yuan Family when cultivating Grass Type Pokémon, as Grass Type Pokémon must master them.
They are the key core for the Yuan Family to cultivate high-level Grass Type Pokémon.
Of course, the Charge skill is not needed yet; it will only be required when Turtwig has grown significantly.
In the early Growth of Grass Type Pokémon, the Growth skill is crucial for their further development.
Grass Type Pokémon are quite uniquely blessed Small Elves; basically, if not pursuing immense power, they can easily survive just by Synthesis, making them the easiest of all Small Elves to raise.
However, this easy-to-satisfy characteristic also restricts Grass Type Pokémon from absorbing many high-purity energies, limiting their push towards higher realms.
This is especially evident when attempting to reach the Quasi-Heavenly King and Tianwang levels.
This leads to Grass Type Gyms being found in almost every continent, yet almost no continent has a Grass Type Elite, let alone a Champion.
The situation where Grass Type Pokémon are easy to use but difficult to master is very common on almost every continent.
The lower the level of battle, the higher the win rate of Grass Type Pokémon, but the closer one gets to the top of the pyramid, the fewer Grass Type Pokémon there will be, and their win rate against other Small Elves will be lower.
This is partly because Grass Type Pokémon have many natural enemies and are inherently at the bottom of the Pokémon food chain.
But more often, it is due to the inherent limitations of Grass Type Pokémon, which make it truly difficult for them to complete the arduous process of elemental infusion required for the Quasi-Heavenly King realm.
After all, even if vast resources are piled before them, if they cannot absorb them, it is all in vain.
In response to this situation, the Yuan Family ancestors proposed accumulating power within Grass Type Pokémon and, when they attempt to reach the Quasi-Heavenly King level, using sufficient energy for the push, thereby completing a life transformation.
So, they researched the Charge skill and absorption-type skills.
And then they failed.
This system could store energy, but it couldn't solve the problem of Grass Type Pokémon adapting to this power.
Small Elves that attempted to reach the Quasi-Heavenly King level using this system were directly burst open by the released energy.
Later, another ancestor proposed the Growth skill.
Using it as the core training skill for Grass Type Pokémon, it promotes their normal Growth, constantly adjusting their state with the Growth skill, thereby enhancing their energy utilization rate and increasing the probability of reaching the Quasi-Heavenly King level.
This path was successful, at least allowing the Yuan Family to consistently produce Quasi-Heavenly King level Small Elves.
However, the only drawback of this path is that it is quite resource-intensive, or rather, very time-consuming.
Because the essence of the Growth skill is to convert the Grass Type Pokémon's own stored energy into current combat power.
Not to mention that this enhancement effect consumes the Grass Type Pokémon's stamina.
More importantly, adapting to this combat power boost is also a considerable burden for Grass Type Pokémon.
If energy is not replenished in time, Grass Type Pokémon might train themselves to death.
This is like exercise: moderate exercise makes people healthier, but forcing someone to do various body-challenging exercises every day without food can lead to sudden death from overexertion.
Furthermore, the changes in energy efficiency brought about by the Growth skill are the result of years of accumulation.
This requires the Trainer to either slowly grind it out over time or invest resources to allow the Small Elves to train continuously.
This led to this training method being generally known within the Yuan Family, but very few Trainers actually chose this cultivation path as their main focus.
Because the Growth skill can generally only be used about twenty times by a Grass Type Pokémon without other training.
To achieve the desired effect, it needs to be used at least one hundred thousand times. In other words, even if used continuously for a year, it would only be about seven thousand times. To reach the one hundred thousand mark, it would take a full fourteen years.
Even if training efficiency improves with skill mastery, and Grass Type Pokémon show significant beneficial development, without sufficient resource support, at least ten years are necessary.
For most ordinary Trainers, they could use other more efficient methods to cultivate other Small Elves in ten years; why stick with this one Grass Type Pokémon?
More importantly, who knows if this Grass Type Pokémon's lifespan even reaches ten years?
Therefore, although this method is not a secret within the Yuan Family, the Yuan Family's Trainers only cultivate it as a secondary focus.
Few ordinary Trainers use Growth as a core cultivation skill; their cultivation skills are mostly combat-oriented.
But for the high-level members of the Yuan Family, if they want to cultivate Grass Type Pokémon to a higher realm, this skill is indispensable.
Because this skill lays the foundation; it determines whether a Grass Type Pokémon can cross the life-and-death hurdle of the Quasi-Heavenly King level.
As for the issue of consuming the Small Elves' stamina and energy, it can be directly replenished with high-energy Small Elves food.
For Grass Type Pokémon, the solution for replenishing Small Elves' stamina is Berries.
Berries contain enough energy to allow Grass Type Pokémon to replenish their stamina.
Later, after numerous family experiments, it was discovered that supplementing energy with five types of Berries—Lychee Berry, dragon eye fruit, Sandscale Berry, Dragon Fruit, and apricot seed fruit—could also enhance the Small Elves' five basic abilities: Attack, Defense, Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense.
The only regret is that the amount Small Elves can absorb is limited, so not all five types can be given to them.
The best absorption method is to choose two of them for long-term consumption, to be used in conjunction with the Growth skill for training and absorption.
Chen Xi chose dragon eye fruit and apricot seed fruit to enhance Turtwig's Physical Defense and Special Defense, respectively, so that its future defensive power could be further strengthened.
“Sister, please prepare a few kilograms of dragon eye fruit and apricot seed fruit for me every day… I need the Berry juice. I plan to train Turtwig to be defense-oriented.”
“Alright, I will inform the people below to prepare Berry juice for your Turtwig every day,” Yuan Zihua nodded.
“In that case, I can train Turtwig with peace of mind,” Chen Xi breathed a slight sigh of relief.
“Do you need to prepare dedicated medical Small Elves for Turtwig?” Yuan Zihua asked Chen Xi.
“Don’t worry, my Floette is the most professional medical Small Elves,” Chen Xi said confidently.
Hearing this, Yuan Zihua nodded. Since Chen Xi had already taken notice, Yuan Zihua said no more.
And from the next day onwards, Turtwig felt like it had fallen from heaven to hell.
In the early morning, before dawn even broke, Turtwig was woken up by Floette and followed Chen Xi jogging to a dirt mound.
This distance was naturally easy for Floette, who was riding the Fairy Wind, and for Chen Xi, who was running as a morning exercise, it was not difficult at all.
But for the palm-sized Turtwig, this distance was truly not easy.
By the time they reached the dirt mound, Chen Xi was stretching and doing deep breathing, surveying the surroundings.
A dirt mound served as the training ground the family had built for him. As for why it was designed here, a very important reason was to allow his Small Elves to absorb the first ray of sunlight rising from the horizon in the early morning.
Floette, familiar with the route, found her usual spot, enjoying the breeze and breathing in and out.
At this point, Turtwig was already lying on the ground, splayed out on all fours. It felt truly comfortable to stop.
Chen Xi picked up the watering can, which the servants had already filled with Mystic Water, and sprinkled water on the young Turtwig, watching its vitality recover slightly.
Chen Xi said, “Rest for a bit. Remember to use Synthesis the moment the sun appears, and maintain Synthesis for as long as possible.
Once Synthesis is over, you will begin your first day of training. You must cherish the first ray of morning sunlight.”
“Ler?” Turtwig looked bewildered upon hearing Chen Xi’s words, turning to Floette and saying, “Ler ler?”
“Hua hua~” Floette, like an old senior, held up her gracidea flower, which resembled a ruler, and began explaining to Turtwig.
Seeing this scene, Chen Xi felt that having Floette made things much easier for him; at least it was simpler than communicating with Floette initially.
As for whether the first ray of morning sunlight had any special effects compared to ordinary sunlight, Chen Xi honestly didn't know.
After all, the Small Elves world does not talk about internal energy cultivation or cultivating yin and yang energies.
But in Chen Xi's view, the daily morning run was to warm up the Small Elves, and Synthesis was a means to restore their own state, with the recovery effect of Synthesis being enhanced under sunlight.
In such a situation, trying to suppress the recovery effect of Synthesis and extend its duration is not an easy task.
How to both extend the duration of Synthesis and restore ample stamina to cope with the upcoming training requires the Small Elves to have very strong control.
If the Small Elves like to Slack Off, then extending the duration of Synthesis itself is a form of energy control training.
If the Small Elves like to train, then quickly using Synthesis to restore their body and enter the training state is also quite good.
After all, Chen Xi was not a demon; of course, he would let Turtwig choose its preferred training method.
Under the first ray of sunlight, Turtwig completed its Synthesis and entered a spirited training state.
Chen Xi looked at Turtwig and said, “Today is the first day of training, so let’s see where your limit is. First, use the Growth skill and see how many layers of enhancement you can currently withstand. Come on! Growth.”
“Ler~” Turtwig heard Chen Xi’s words, and its tender sprout on its head glowed under the sunlight.
A faint green glow emanated from Turtwig's body, making Chen Xi feel that this Turtwig had become much stronger.
However, at this moment, Turtwig was already slightly panting, which made Chen Xi slightly surprised.
“Feeling tired after just one layer… Is its stamina really that poor…?” Chen Xi frowned upon seeing this scene.
But Chen Xi looked at the sun slowly rising in the sky and the constantly intensifying sunlight, and suddenly realized, “The Growth skill is enhanced under Sunny Day. This should be a two-layer enhancement.”
“Again, continue to use Growth!” Chen Xi had no intention of pitying Turtwig, but continued to command it.
“Ler!” Turtwig shouted loudly, once again unleashing the Growth skill.
At this moment, Turtwig was sweating profusely. For a Small Elves like Turtwig, a large loss of water was already a sign that it was nearing its limit.
“Keep going, keep growing!” But even so, Chen Xi did not let Turtwig stop, but continued to command.
Although Turtwig felt it had reached its limit, the domesticated Turtwig would not refuse its Trainer’s command.
Under the sunlight, Turtwig shouted loudly again, “Ler!”
In an instant, a brilliant green glow flickered around Turtwig's body, and even Turtwig's body seemed to grow a bit larger.
But the next second, this brilliant glow vanished in an instant, as if someone had turned off the lights at night.
At this moment, Turtwig collapsed weakly to the ground. Clearly, it was still unable to sustain a six-layer Growth enhancement.
“This is still not enough…”
Chen Xi watched as Turtwig couldn't even last a second, realizing that Turtwig still had a long way to go.
At this point, Chen Xi picked up a small dish, poured out the Berry juice already brewed with dragon eye fruit and apricot seed fruit, and placed it in front of the young Turtwig.
Chen Xi said kindly, “Drink up. I roughly know your limit. Today, let’s train in a two-layer Growth state for now.”
At this moment, Turtwig was gulping down the Berry juice. Looking at its ravenous eating, it was unclear if it had heard Chen Xi’s words.
For Grass Type Small Elves, especially young Grass Type Small Elves, liquid, fluid food is more conducive to their absorption and digestion.
These details, though seemingly insignificant, must be perfected if one is to train Small Elves long-term.
This is to ensure that the Small Elves undergo reasonable training in an orderly and healthy manner.
And the Turtwig before him, under Chen Xi's arrangement, began training day after day.
Its body absorbed the various nutrients Chen Xi prepared for it like a sponge.
Because these resources, coupled with reasonable exercise and training, were enough to allow Turtwig to rapidly pass through its early juvenile period.
In less than two weeks, Turtwig's level had even directly reached 17.
In this real world, if an ordinary Trainer's Small Elves want to grow rapidly, they need to constantly battle to stimulate the potential within their bloodline.
But for the Yuan Family, who stand at the pinnacle of power, as long as there are resources, it is enough to allow Small Elves to grow healthily and smoothly, and more importantly, this will not leave behind hidden injuries or dangers.