After dinner, Silas arranged evening training for his Pokémon.
Crawdaunt's training was obvious. Recently it had been following Castform while learning the move Rain Dance. It had already grasped the basics of the technique. Now its goal was to increase both the range and intensity of the rainfall.
Since drinking the talent potion, Sharpedo had been improving rapidly. It had already begun training Ice Fang and Poison Fang.
After all, it couldn't rely on Crunch alone forever. It needed to master biting moves of other attributes as well.
Fortunately, when the talent potion was created, a fang from a Walrein had been mixed into it. This greatly improved Sharpedo's affinity with Ice-type energy.
Umbreon's focus was different.
She needed to practice Dark Pulse and Attract both moves she had recently learned through TMs.
Among them, Dark Pulse was the most important. It was one of Umbreon's few offensive moves, and it also received the STAB bonus.
There was also something interesting.
The Hidden Power TM Umbreon had used earlier had turned out to be Psychic-type.
This made Silas pleasantly surprised.
Psychic-type energy was powerful and mysterious. It also countered Poison and Fighting types.
Fighting-types were currently the biggest weakness of Silas's team.
They completely countered his Dark-types.
The only reliable ways to deal with Fighting-types were Flying, Psychic, and Fairy.
The Fairy type had not yet appeared in the world.
However, thanks to the Psychic-type Hidden Power possessed by Murkrow and Umbreon, Silas at least had some way to fight back.
....
Training Sandile was much simpler.
Besides mastering Stomping Tantrum, it needed to practice its four inherited moves.
Silas had extremely high expectations for Sandile.
Its talent was already comparable to Murkrow's. After consuming the potion made from Ley Line Milk, its potential had improved even further.
...
As for Murkrow, its level was now close to Level 27, meaning it had completely caught up with Umbreon.
Silas only had one plan for it.
Learn as many status and support moves as possible.
Once Murkrow evolved into Honchkrow, its Prankster ability would disappear and be replaced by Moxie.
At that time, learning status moves would become much more difficult.
Learning them now was the best preparation for the future.
Of course, Murkrow had also begun trying to master its inherited move:
Brave Bird.
As one of the ultimate Flying-type moves, its difficulty was naturally extremely high.
....
"Even though I already have a high-grade Dusk Stone, Murkrow's evolution will have to wait."
Silas looked at the dark stone resting inside the exquisite gift box on his desk.
The stone was of high-grade quality, with a purity above 90%.
Its exact purity was 93.97%.
Yes.
Accurate to two decimal places.
According to Steven, if the purity reached 94%, the price would increase significantly.
Even so, this Dusk Stone still cost Silas nearly 2 million PokéDollars.
Silas wanted to ensure Murkrow had the best possible evolution conditions.
There was no way he would let such an important evolution happen using an ordinary stone.
As for the mid-grade Dusk Stone he had previously obtained from the battle club, Silas had simply sold it at a shop in Fallarbor Town, recovering several hundred thousand PokéDollars.
....
The Pokémon trained diligently.
Watching them, Silas felt deeply satisfied.
After organizing all of Chikorita's data, he began designing a breeding plan and a custom Pokeblock Cube formula for it.
Selene's Chikorita had excellent energy control talent, but its physical strength was slightly below average.
Because it had inherited Grassy Terrain, Silas had also investigated its lineage.
Its parent turned out to be a Roserade with the Natural Cure ability.
After testing, Silas discovered something interesting.
This Chikorita was extremely sensitive to gentle healing energy.
In other words,It had exceptional talent in healing moves.
.....
"In the early stages, focus on training moves like Leech Seed, Reflect, and Light Screen."
"These will strengthen Chikorita's support capabilities."
"Then combine them with healing moves such as Synthesis and Grassy Terrain."
"When raising it, make sure Chikorita receives plenty of sunlight."
"The ring of buds around its neck will gradually bloom as it evolves."
"When it finally becomes Meganium, those buds will transform into large petals."
"The fragrance released from those petals can calm Pokémon's anger and weaken an opponent's fighting spirit."
....
Silas wrote rapidly inside his planning notebook.
Every breeding plan had to be customized for the specific Pokémon.
At the beginning, Silas could only rely on his own exploration.
Fortunately, after contacting Master Edgar glass, the president of the Rustboro City Breeders Association, he had received some valuable guidance.
Once the direction was clear, things became much easier.
Now he simply needed to combine the templates with his own understanding.
...
As for the custom Pokeblock Cubes…
Silas began listing possible materials.
"Petals from a Bellossom with the Healer ability…"
"Nectar from a Roselia with Natural Cure…"
"Berry capsules dropped by Cherubi above Elite level…"
"These should work as primary materials."
"As for auxiliary ingredients… we can experiment later."
This Pokeblock Cube formula would enhance a Pokémon's affinity for healing energy, making it easier to use recovery-type moves.
Of course, Silas couldn't finish this work alone.
He would inevitably need to consult Master Edgar.
As the president of the Rustboro Breeders Association, Master Edgar was naturally happy to guide such a talented junior.
.....
Silas began experimenting with Pokeblock Cube production.
Although he was confident in his formula, theory alone was never enough.
Truth always came from practice.
Besides, many of the auxiliary ingredients required careful testing.
Each Pokeblock Cube formula represented countless hours of effort And that fleeting spark of inspiration.
"Hm… would adding Sunflora leaf powder make it better?"
"No… maybe Flabébépollen instead."
"Leaves and milk from Skiddo might also work… they contain healing properties."
.....
Inside a room on the second floor of the manor, the lights remained on all night.
From outside, one could faintly see a young man sitting at a desk, writing tirelessly.
Night fell.
The Pokémon gradually fell asleep.
Only Umbreon and Murkrow remained awake beside Silas.
Both were nocturnal Pokémon, naturally more active at night.
Therefore, Silas always assigned them as his personal guards.
Even though the Solans family manor was extremely safe, the two Pokémon still faithfully carried out their duties.
Umbreon quietly padded over.
"Umbre~"
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(End of chapter)