"What, so you were just half-asleep?"
Shiyu turned slightly, her cheeks flushed, and peeked at Rick with one eye.
"Then I'll go make breakfast. You hurry and get washed up."
"Alright."
Watching her hum a tune as she left his room, Rick stretched lazily and went to freshen up.
After enjoying a hearty breakfast at home, just like yesterday, he made his way to the sports center.
Following a two-hour jogging session, Rick brought Charmander into the Pokémon training room. Since Charizard excels at ranged combat, Rick decided to focus Charmander's training in that direction.
"Let's try the disc shooter first."
He glanced at a black device. Though it was called a disc machine, it was more of a projection device. When a Pokémon hit the projected disc with a move, the projection would disappear—efficient and eco-friendly, without wasting resources.
Rick pressed a few buttons, configuring the number of discs and interval speed. The machine whirred to life—
A whistling sound echoed as a disc projection shot out across their field of vision.
"Ember!"
Following Rick's command, Charmander spat out a burst of flames. Though it wasn't weak, it failed to hit the disc. Then came the second and third discs. Charmander launched two more Ember attacks and finally hit the last one.
Seeing this, Rick stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Accuracy's a bit low—we'll need to work on that."
After over an hour of training, Charmander's aim had improved noticeably. But Rick, using his Aura, sensed that Charmander was suppressing a strong emotion—an urge to destroy, a deep-seated frenzy emanating from within.
"Could it be…?"
To confirm his theory, Rick pointed to a nearby wooden post.
"Charmander, use Scratch!"
"Raaagh!"
Charmander let out a feral roar, then charged at the wooden post. Its claws glowed faintly as it slashed repeatedly, wood chips flying, deep claw marks left behind.
It seemed like an act of pure release. Before long, Charmander had torn the post to shreds and sat down, panting heavily—its pent-up emotions finally discharged.
"Is this influence from its bloodline?"
Rick began to consider the implications. This ferocity most likely stemmed from Charmander's father—Salamence, a dragon known as the "Tyrant of the Skies." This kind of natural aggression and destructive instinct wasn't something a newborn Charmander would normally possess.
And clearly, Charmander's Scratch was more powerful than its Ember—at least a whole tier stronger. As things stood, its melee capabilities far surpassed its ranged ones.
Which left Rick with a headache.
"In game terms, this is like having a mage that naturally excels at strength-based combat."
He had two options:
Ignore Charmander's instinctual desire for melee and destruction, forcing it to focus solely on ranged techniques.
Embrace its nature, guiding it down a melee path instead.
While doing both was possible, he'd need to specialize in one and use the other as a support role.
Charmander could learn many melee moves. Its species wasn't inherently bad at close combat—it just leaned more toward ranged. So going melee was viable.
"Charmander," Rick asked seriously, "if you had to choose—do you prefer close combat, or ranged attacks?"
As a responsible trainer, he believed listening to his Pokémon was important.
Charmander didn't hesitate—it raised its little claw and pointed toward the shattered wooden post.
Seeing the fierce determination in its eyes, Rick smiled.
"I see."
Charmander had even inherited Dragon Dance, a move that boosts strength and speed. That alone made melee a workable path.
Having made up his mind, Rick immediately started focusing Charmander's training on close-quarters combat, with ranged attacks as a secondary discipline.
Time passed without notice. Even when mealtime came, Rick didn't feel like going home. After sending Shiyu a message, he and Charmander stayed in the training room for a full eight hours—until 6 p.m.
At dinner, Shiyu rested her cheek on one hand, watching Rick and Charmander devour their food.
"Are you sure all this intense training isn't too much?"
"We were having fun, but when we snapped out of it, our stomachs were already empty."
Rick rubbed his belly with a grin.
Shiyu sighed.
"Idiot. But still—you need to keep an eye on Charmander's condition. Its energy consumption is way higher than yours."
"We'll start eating on time, then."
Rick admitted he hadn't thought it through and accepted the criticism.
Shiyu glanced at Charmander and shook her head slightly.
"With the kind of training you just described, it's a bit much for a newly hatched Charmander."
"Really?"
"Meals alone aren't enough to replenish that kind of energy loss."
She raised a finger and wagged it, then ran to the kitchen. From the cabinet, she pulled out a dark blue machine—box-shaped, with a lid in the middle.
Seeing Rick's confused expression, she smiled, her eyes forming crescent moons.
"Never seen one of these? It's an energy cube maker."
"First time seeing one…"
Rick wasn't unfamiliar with energy cubes—they were special Pokémon foods made from Berries using a precise process. The ingredients, combinations, and even preparation time all affected the final product.
High-quality energy cubes were always in high demand, and Rick hadn't expected Shiyu to own a machine like this at home.
"They sell the machines online. The hard part is understanding how to combine the berries and prepare them properly."
Reading his thoughts, Shiyu explained:
"Making energy cubes isn't as easy as following a recipe. If you mess up even a little, the effectiveness can drop significantly."
"Sounds like alchemy from a fantasy novel."
Rick jokes.
"So, when did you learn how to make them?"
"I learned a bit from my mom while we were traveling in Hawaii."
Shiyu opened the fridge and took out three or four berry-like fruits—each smaller than a fist, but exuding a rich, sweet aroma.
Pokémon berries were hard to cultivate and had low yields, which made them expensive. These three or four fruits alone easily cost over 1000 yuan.
"These three—Apicot, Oran, and Sitrus Berries—can restore stamina even when eaten raw. But turning them into energy cubes not only maximizes their effects, the right combo can make them even more potent."
She opened the machine, placed the berries inside, then adjusted various settings like rotation speed and time. Finally, she pressed the start button, and the machine began to whir to life.
Just got a contract short notice—invest now, guaranteed profit.