Chapter 44: Shadow Ball

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After finishing the Gust training, Sato moved on to practice Zubat's second long-range attack, Shadow Ball. This move had been crucial in the Pokémon battle earlier that morning.

(Note: Shadow Ball is a Ghost-type special attack move with a power of 80 and a 20% chance of lowering the target's Special Defense by one stage.)

From this description, it's clear that a significant reason Zubat's final Gust was able to decisively defeat Ekans was that Zubat had landed enough Shadow Balls to accumulate damage, and possibly reduced Ekans' Special Defense by several stages. (Gust is a Flying-type special attack.)

Overall, Shadow Ball is a mid-to-high power move with an added effect that's very useful. Its long range makes it a great move for hit-and-run tactics, even in Zubat's current beginner stage, where it can shoot the Shadow Ball about 10 meters.

Following Sato's command, Zubat began gathering Ghost-type energy in front of its large mouth. However, since Zubat didn't possess the Ghost-type, its ability to sense Ghost energy in the environment was weak. Additionally, its control over this type of energy was limited, so the largest Shadow Ball it could form was only about the size of a large egg.

Even though Zubat had echolocation to aid its aim, its control over Ghost energy was still shaky, leading to poor accuracy. Of the ten Shadow Balls fired, none hit the red target Sato had drawn on the wall with paint.

Due to the lack of power, Zubat's Shadow Ball only left an insignificant mark on the steel-reinforced concrete wall.

Despite the small size and low accuracy of the Shadow Balls, they did have one advantage: very short charging time. Zubat could fire one roughly every second.

Of course, there was a limit to how many could be fired consecutively. After launching about seven or eight egg-sized Shadow Balls, Zubat needed a brief pause to catch its breath, taking a two-second break before being able to fire another round.

"Average diameter: 0.35 meters. Power: weak. Accuracy: 83%. Maximum range: 12 meters. Average speed: 10 meters per second. Average charge time: 1.12 seconds. Maximum consecutive shots: nine." After gathering data on 100 Shadow Balls using his laptop, Sato came to this conclusion.

By the time Zubat had fired 103 Shadow Balls, its energy was completely spent, and it had to rest.

Analyzing the data from Zubat's Shadow Balls, Sato began considering ways to improve their power. The data made it clear that the primary weakness of Zubat's Shadow Ball was its low power, while its strengths lay in its fast charge time and ability to fire in quick succession.

Sato also realized that these strengths were a result of the weakness itself. Zubat's inability to control large amounts of Ghost energy made the charging time short.

Furthermore, Sato noticed that despite Zubat firing 100 Shadow Balls, its progress with the move was minimal. The largest Shadow Ball it produced was only 0.38 meters in diameter, and that was also the most powerful one.

It was evident that compared to the rapid improvement with Gust, Zubat's progress with Shadow Ball was slow, almost like a snail's pace. However, Sato wasn't too disappointed, as he understood this was just the nature of things.

It's similar to how mages in fantasy novels might excel in one elemental magic but struggle with others. Just because a mage is proficient in wind magic doesn't mean they can't use fire magic—they're just not as adept at it. This often comes down to a mage's elemental affinity.

As a Flying- type as well as a Poison-type Pokémon, Zubat naturally had strong sensitivity to Flying=type and Poison-type energies, and these energies responded positively to it. When Zubat controlled these energies, they were obedient.

This was why Zubat had progressed so quickly in mastering the Flying-type move Gust. However, Shadow Ball, a Ghost-type move, was a different story. Without the Ghost typing, Zubat wasn't sensitive to Ghost-type energy, and the Ghost-type energy in the environment didn't respond to it as willingly, sometimes even resisting slightly.

To put it simply, if the difficulty for Zubat to master Gust was a 1, then the difficulty of mastering Shadow Ball was a 2. To bring Shadow Ball from beginner to proficient level would take much more time than Gust—likely more than double. It might take several times more practice and effort to fully master Shadow Ball.

"Zubat, you've probably noticed too that your progress with Shadow Ball is minimal, but don't get discouraged. Follow what I say next, and your improvement should be much better." After Zubat finished resting and ate a few PokeBlocks, Sato spoke to it.

Right after speaking, Sato turned off the lights in the hall. Instantly, apart from the glow from his computer screen, the entire hall was engulfed in darkness. As soon as the room darkened, Zubat's energy seemed to increase, becoming much more lively.

"Now, do you feel like the Ghost-type energy around you has become a lot denser?" Sato asked Zubat, who had become more active due to the dark environment.

"Zii zii zii~~" Zubat chirped happily in response, nodding to confirm.

In Zubat's perception, as the surroundings became darker, the amount of Ghost-type energy in the area did indeed increase, allowing it to sense it more clearly.

"Good. For the next Shadow Ball training, follow my instructions. First, gather the Shadow Ball as you normally do, but this time, focus on extending the gathering time as much as you can. Make it grow bigger, and only release it when you can't control it any longer." Sato, pleased with Zubat's response, continued to explain his training method.

Just like how strong winds can cause Flying-type energy to become more concentrated, Sato reasoned that in a dark environment, Ghost-type energy would similarly become more active and dense. With Zubat's confirmation, his hypothesis was proven correct.

In Sato's understanding, there are three key factors that contribute to a Pokémon improving its skill proficiency.

The first factor is naturally the Pokémon's own typing. Clearly, when a Pokémon trains moves that match its own type, the difficulty is significantly lower.

That's because they can easily sense that type of energy in the environment and can readily manipulate it to help them practice their moves. This makes it much easier for them to train and improve their proficiency with that type of move.

In simpler terms, when a Pokémon is training moves that match its own typing, it benefits from an experience boost.

The second factor is the concentration of different types of energy in the environment. This is easy to understand as well. For example, in places where Water-type energy is abundant (like on rainy days), a Pokémon will naturally find it easier to sense Water-type energy, which in turn helps them train Water-type moves more effectively.

The third factor is the Pokémon's ability to control a specific type of energy (manipulation ability or technique). If a Pokémon doesn't have a natural advantage (the first factor), it must rely on training and effort to develop this skill, which is something that tests both the Pokémon's innate understanding and hard work. This is a skill that can only be acquired through time and practice—there's no shortcut.

To put it simply, energy of the same type feels like "family" to a Pokémon, so they can easily command it to assist them.

On the other hand, energy of different types feels like "strangers" to a Pokémon. If a Pokémon wants these strangers to listen and follow their commands, they need to "befriend" them. This process of building a friendship with foreign types of energy is how a Pokémon improves its control over different energy types.

In less polite terms, as a Pokémon uses a particular type of energy, it gradually accumulates experience, figures out the methods and rules for controlling that energy, and eventually learns how to direct it at will.

Right now, Zubat doesn't have the advantage of the first factor, and it hasn't yet developed the third factor. The only factor that can be improved is the second one—training in an environment where Ghost-type energy is active and dense, such as in the darkness, will certainly help Zubat's Shadow Ball training.