“Alright, let’s start training.” Lin Qiuyu stretched her arms, and the Riolu beside her also began warming up.
“Sprigatito, let’s work hard together too.” Ling You mimicked Lin Qiuyu’s movements to warm up.
“Meow!” (˃ ⌑ ˂)
Sprigatito stood on its hind legs, struggling to imitate their movements, its red eyes tightly closed, looking incredibly cute.
“Very good, we can’t lose to Scorbunny either!” He Pingfan, seeing them start warming up, also began his warm-up, unwilling to be outdone.
The three jogged around the track, with Sprigatito, Riolu, and Scorbunny in front. Led by Lin Qiuyu, they ran a full five laps of the 400-meter track before stopping. Ling You and He Pingfan sat on the grass, panting and out of breath.
“I’m exhausted.” He Pingfan lay on the grass, gasping for air, while the Scorbunny beside him still looked excited.
Although Ling You wasn't as exaggerated as He Pingfan, he also felt very tired. Sprigatito, lying on Ling You's lap, also looked exhausted.
Lin Qiuyu wiped the sweat from her forehead, while the Riolu beside her had already started doing push-ups.
“Riolu has such good stamina. Fighting-type Pokemon are really strong in terms of physical fitness.” Ling You stood up and praised, placing Sprigatito on the ground.
“Because we started training like this two months ago. Riolu has already adapted to this rhythm,” Lin Qiuyu explained. She had received her first Pokemon earlier than most, so Riolu’s training time and strength far surpassed those of other new Trainers.
“I see. Sprigatito, let’s continue training too.” Ling You said to Sprigatito, “First, let’s practice Grass Knot. Let’s try to fully master this move as soon as possible.”
“Meow~”
Sprigatito nodded seriously, a light green glow emanating from its body as Grass-type energy gathered within it.
Suddenly, greenish-blue vines shot out from the ground, crisscrossing and connecting. To Ling You’s surprised and delighted gaze, the vines elegantly bound Sprigatito.
“Meow~ Meow~”
Sprigatito struggled in a panic, its limbs flailing as it looked pitifully at Ling You.
“Haha~” Ling You couldn’t help but laugh. He squatted down and broke the vines binding Sprigatito. “This is the first time I’ve seen a Grass Knot that ties itself up.”
“Meow!”
Sprigatito pouted and turned its head away angrily. That hateful Trainer, actually making fun of me! I must learn Grass Knot and then thoroughly defeat him!
Sprigatito once again gathered energy, dense Grass-type energy coalescing within its body. The green Grass-type energy spread underground, and vines suddenly shot out, coiling around Riolu, who was doing push-ups.
“Riolu!”
Now it was Riolu’s turn to be stunned. Riolu exerted all its strength, snapping the vines and falling to the ground. Riolu crossed its arms and looked at Sprigatito, a hint of battle intent in its eyes.
“Not bad, Sprigatito, but you still need more practice.” Ling You patted Sprigatito’s head. Sprigatito nodded, its eyes half-closed as it looked at Ling You.
You’re smart, my strength is super strong!
“Yes, yes, yes, my Sprigatito is the strongest.” Ling You didn’t know why Sprigatito had such a personality, easily brightened by a little encouragement, and such a rich inner life. But it was a good thing, at least it was cute enough.
“Meow~ Meow~”
Sprigatito nodded. It was so good to get the Trainer’s approval. It must work even harder!
“Sprigatito, first is the control of energy. Grass Knot is a move that uses Grass-type energy to create vines. If you can skillfully control the energy and the vines created by the energy, you can use Grass Knot as a Vine Whip to make up for the gap with other Grass-type Pokemon.” Ling You squatted in front of Sprigatito and analyzed the specific usage of Grass Knot with it.
In Ling You’s opinion, the control ability of Grass Knot was secondary; the most important thing was the vines it produced. Sprigatito’s only long-range attack was Leafage, and most of its moves were close-quarters combat moves.
Although Sprigatito was well-suited for close-quarters combat, it would be difficult for it to gain an advantage against Fighting-type Pokemon like Riolu or even other Grass-types like Bulbasaur and Chikorita.
If the vines created by Grass Knot could be freely manipulated, Sprigatito would gain the ability for mid-range combat and also have more flexible tactics.
“Meow meow~”
Sprigatito nodded. Although it didn’t quite understand what the Trainer was saying, it just needed to listen obediently. The Trainer would definitely not lie to it.
Sprigatito tried to control the vines to do more things, but the effect was not as good as expected; many times, they just dissipated.
“Sprigatito, stop for a moment.” After several more attempts, Sprigatito was already panting from exhaustion. Ling You called a halt, wondering how to fully master the Vine Whip application of Grass Knot.
“Why don’t you try outputting more energy? Grass Knot often disappears directly due to insufficient power, doesn’t it?” Lin Qiuyu suggested, seeing Ling You’s troubled expression. To be honest, she didn’t know if there was a way, but if the energy output was increased, it should be easier, at least the duration of Grass Knot would be longer.
“Increase energy output?” Ling You carefully considered this possibility. While it might be easier, it contradicted the original intention of sustained combat. However, on second thought, Sprigatito’s current level wasn’t high, so perhaps using this as a surprise move would be a good possibility. “Sprigatito, are you still okay? Let’s try one more time. This time, use two times, no, three times the energy to use Grass Knot.”
“Meow!”
Sprigatito nodded seriously, green Grass-type energy once again began to gather. The rising green vine whipped forward like a long lash, leaving a mark on the ground.
“Meow~”
Sprigatito let out a tired cry and collapsed on the ground, the vines disappearing shortly after. Ling You quickly went forward and picked up Sprigatito. From the results, it had learned the application of the Grass Knot Vine Whip tactic, though there was a slight difference from what was expected.
For the rest of the lunch break, Ling You observed Riolu and Scorbunny’s training, while also massaging Sprigatito and feeding it some Grass-type energy cubes to replenish its energy.
“Meow-woo~”
Sprigatito showed a happy smile, lazily lying on Ling You’s lap.
After the afternoon cultural class, school was dismissed, but Teacher Liu kept everyone back to explain something.
There would be a placement exam tomorrow morning, as the school would be divided into Battle Class and Cultivation Class. The total score for both exams was 100 points. If one scored 80 points or above, they would have the qualification to choose their class freely. If below 80 points, they would be assigned to the corresponding class based on the higher score of the two subjects.
“Ling You, don’t be late tomorrow.” Teacher Liu specifically reminded Ling You before leaving. Ling You nodded in agreement, but in his heart, he was thinking, “I’ll still dare next time.”