Chapter 61: Evolutionary Path

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As Gloom continued to display her terrifying talent in mastering Grass-type moves, Sato felt not only shocked but also immense joy. Without a doubt, he had truly found a treasure this time; Gloom's true potential far exceeded his expectations.

"Gloom, well done! It seems like your control over Grass-type energy is incredibly strong. Congratulations! This is a rare ability. Next, try rapid-firing Energy Balls. You don't need to make them as large as the one earlier. Here, drink some water and eat this PokeBlock. Rest a bit before continuing your training." Sato smiled as he spoke to Gloom, handing her a bowl of fresh water and a high-quality PokeBlock.

Upon hearing Sato's praise, Gloom nodded shyly. After finishing every last drop of water from the bowl, she quickly ate the PokeBlock that Sato had offered her.

After resting under the sunlight for about ten minutes, Gloom fully regained her energy. She came back to Sato's side and, with her hands outstretched, skillfully began to gather Grass-type energy between them—energy that was as obedient as sheep to her.

In an instant, a bright green Energy Ball quickly formed between Gloom's hands. Within less than a second, it expanded to a diameter of 0.5 meters.

"Great! Keep it at this size. Now, try rapid-firing at this level." As soon as Gloom created the Energy Ball of the desired size, Sato immediately instructed her.

"Mmm…" Gloom nodded and followed Sato's instructions, ceasing to channel more energy into the Energy Ball. She then launched the ball toward a large tree about ten meters away.

In the following twenty seconds, Gloom unleashed a flurry of 25 Energy Balls, each 0.5 meters in diameter, with consistent accuracy. The targeted tree now had a large hole in its trunk from the repeated attacks.

"Perfect! It took about 0.8 seconds to create a regular-powered Energy Ball, and she was able to fire 25 in one go without breaking much of a sweat. This is truly amazing! Gloom has now taken over Zubat's role as the primary attacker." Sato marveled, jotting down the data from Gloom's performance on his laptop.

From what he observed, Gloom had completely mastered Energy Ball, starting from scratch and perfecting her control over the move.

With this powerful Grass-type long-range attack in her arsenal, Gloom had undoubtedly transformed from a support Pokémon into a main offensive force.

After confirming that Gloom had fully grasped Energy Ball, Sato began having her practice other long-range attacks, such as Acid, a Poison-type move that suited her secondary type.

However, to Sato's surprise, Gloom did not display the same talent when training with Acid. In fact, she seemed a bit clumsy and even appeared disinterested in the Poison-type move.

Noticing her lack of enthusiasm, Sato decided to halt her training on Acid and refocused on improving her Energy Ball technique.

It was clear now—Gloom's talent for move proficiency was limited to Grass-type techniques. Instead of forcing her to train Poison-type moves that she wasn't fond of, Sato figured it was better to let her continue improving the Grass-type moves that she loved and excelled at.

From Sato's current understanding, Gloom had already reached the 'Expert' level in Energy Ball, but she had hit a bottleneck. She was still far from achieving the next level of proficiency, which would be "Mastery."

Of course, for Gloom to reach "Mastery" in Energy Ball, the training time she had put in so far was nowhere near enough. She needed to deepen her understanding of the move to progress further.

"At this point, Gloom's training advantages seem to be focused on Grass-type moves. Her excellent control over Grass-type energy is likely the result of her long-term effort." Watching Gloom happily training with Energy Ball, Sato mused to himself.

At the same time, Sato carefully reconsidered Gloom's future role within the team. Initially, he had thought of her as a support Pokémon.

But after witnessing her incredible control over Grass-type energy, he was now considering making her a primary special attacker.

However, after realizing that Gloom had weak control over Poison-type energy and little interest in Poison-type moves, Sato reconsidered her role as a support Pokémon for the team.

Gloom had two potential evolutionary paths: she could evolve into Vileplume with a Leaf Stone or into Bellossom with a Sun Stone.

Due to Gloom's hidden ability, if she evolves into Vileplume, she will gain the "Effect Spore" ability, whereas if she evolves into Bellossom, she will acquire the "Healer" ability.

(The Healer ability has a chance to cure a teammate's status condition. Of course, this is just how it works in the games.)

Comparing the two abilities, it's clear that Bellossom with the Healer ability would be an excellent team medic. Moreover, Bellossom can learn more Grass-type moves compared to Vileplume and also comes with the powerful stat-boosting move, Quiver Dance.

The most important reason Sato was leaning towards Bellossom, though, was that he wanted to help Gloom overcome her deep-seated insecurity caused by years of rejection. Transforming from an awkward Gloom into the beautiful Bellossom would be a perfect way to restore her confidence, much like a beautiful swan emerging from an ugly duckling.

Meanwhile, while Sato was busy guiding Zubat and Gloom in their training, the young Nidoran was also working hard on the training regimen Sato had assigned him. His task was to run a total of 2 kilometers on a specialized running wheel.

The running wheel, which Sato had specially purchased for Nidoran, looked like a hamster wheel but enlarged many times over. Nidoran, though small, still found the wheel a bit spacious, making it a tough workout for him.

The wheel was equipped with an automatic distance tracker, and after about an hour of on-and-off running, Nidoran finally completed the task Sato had set for him.

Originally, Nidoran had planned to crawl back into his PokéBall for a nap after finishing the training. However, seeing that Zubat and Gloom were still diligently working on their own training, he got motivated and trotted over to Sato, asking for his next task.

"You lazy little guy, suddenly so eager to work, huh? Fine. Your next task is to lift this small stone with Confusion ten times. Remember, don't go any lower than this height," Sato chuckled as he picked up a small stone, weighing about 50 grams, and showed Nidoran the height.

"Nido! Nido!" Nidoran responded with determination, his eyes lighting up with blue psychic energy. The stone that Sato had placed in front of him quickly became enveloped in a blue psychic aura and started lifting off the ground, rising to about 20 centimeters.

But once the stone reached that height, Nidoran lost focus, and the blue glow in his eyes faded. He collapsed onto the ground, panting, while the stone immediately dropped back to the ground as well.

"Good job! Keep going; you've got nine more reps to go. Once you're done, I'll give you your favorite 'candy' (PokeBlock) as a reward," Sato encouraged, using food as motivation.

Nidoran, being a simple-minded Pokémon and a true foodie, had no resistance to delicious treats. The moment he heard that he'd get his beloved "candy" after completing the task, his eyes lit up with renewed energy. He focused again and used Confusion on the small stone.

Motivated by the promise of a treat, Nidoran soon completed all 10 reps, successfully lifting the stone. As a reward, he received a high-quality PokeBlock from Sato, and after savoring it, he quickly dozed off, completely exhausted from the training.

"Rest well. Right now, your job is to grow up healthy and strong. Leave the rest to your teammates for now. In the future, you'll be their strongest protector," Sato said softly as he gently placed the sleeping Nidoran back into his PokéBall.