Chapter 22 - Stun Bomb

Although the idea was good, the performance leaves something to be desired.

In this case, it tests the tacit understanding between a trainer and their Pokémon. If the Pokémon cannot understand the meaning of their trainer, then it's difficult for them to do what is asked. Moreover, this kind of thing also has high requirements on the energy control of the Pokémon.

Perhaps other combinations of moves are less difficult, but it should be relatively easy to combine two basic moves like Stun Spore and Seed Bomb...

'If Budew can't integrate the spores inside of the seed, then she could try making it on the outside?' Quinn thought.

Quinn brought this up to Budew, but she only showed an expression of incomprehension on her face.

"..."

'Well, I can only try explaining again...' he thought.

So in the next five minutes, Quinn detailed the pros and cons of these two moves and the benefits of combining them, as well as guessing how to combine them, going through them word for word with Budew.

After a moment of thought, a bright light appeared in Budew's eyes. At this moment, it seemed to feel that it had found another way to move her energy, and she could see many new avenues of possibility! Roads that had never been imagined appeared before her.

"Bud!" Budew said, excited.

Quinn quietly breathed a sigh of relief seeing she understood, and said, "Do you want to try?"

Budew nodded quickly.

Quinn got up and stood aside, while Budew stood in front of a big stone full of fighting spirit.

"Use Stun Bomb!" Quinn commanded.

"Bud!"

Budew began to accumulate her energy. The first attempt failed, Budew in her excitement went too fast with the accumulation of energy and the Stun Spore infused Seed Bomb exploded in front of her! The light yellow powder instantly spread from the explosion. Seeing this, Quinn frowned and opened his mouth trying to talk, but accidentally inhaled some of the spores.

He immediately felt that his body was out of control, like general anesthesia except for the head, his muscles twitched- and he suddenly fell on the ground face-first.

Budew who stood nearby watched with embarrassment on her face.

"Gah?!" Cramorant who stood nearby in the river, suddenly raised his head on full alert- all while holding a struggling Magikarp in his mouth.

Followed by Gengar who had followed Quinn, who also stared at this. 'Why does it feel like this human gets less and less reliable as I watch him?' he thought.

Five minutes later, the paralysis naturally faded. Budew stood in front of Quinn, embarrassed.

Quinn comforted her, saying, "It's okay, if you work hard, you can do it."

At least the accident just now proved the feasibility of the move combination. In the second attempt, Budew had learned the lesson from the first time, and under her control, she successfully produced a Seed Bomb covered in Stun Spores.

This new move, dubbed by Quinn, "Stun Bomb" was launched and exploded on the rock nearby. At the seed exploded, a large number of spores spread in all directions at an extremely fast speed, and the coverage reached an exaggerated eight meters.

Fortunately, Quinn was prepared this time, standing far away, so he couldn't risk inhaling the spores again...

"Bud!" Budew let out a cry of excitement.

Quinn stepped forward to praise her, saying, "You did a great job!"

Quinn was surprised, Budew seemed to be incredibly talented!

She succeeded on the second try. This is almost on par with the talent of isekai'd protagonists in online novels! However, the amount of time needed to use this move is almost the same as casting Seed Bomb and Stun Spore separately! But anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is just because Budew isn't very proficient at using the move yet. After some practice, the time should be halved to use "Stun Bomb".

Even so, there is a lot of room for improvement- so Quinn spent the afternoon helping Budew with practice. Although the integration is not successful every time, the more proficient she becomes with the move the less it fails.

To command Budew better in battle, after some discussion, they jointly named this move "Stun Spore".

Wanting to see if the move appeared on the moves known tab of Budew's status, he used [Identification] on her.

[Budew♀]

Typing: Grass, Poison

Ability: Leaf Guard

Base Stats: 280 (HP: 40, Attack: 30, Defense: 35, Sp. Atk: 50, Sp. Def: 70, Speed: 55)

Known Moves: Absorb, Growth, Stun Spore, Seed Bomb, Stun Bomb (Stun Spore + Seed Bomb)

Current Mood: Excited

Physical State: Moderate Fatigue (Mental)

Favorability: 55 (You get closer and closer daily.)

Favorability had risen to 55 unknowingly. Most of the time, favorability rises day to day without him checking- but he didn't expect it to rise this much.

Later that night...

Quinn recalled Budew into the poke ball to let her rest, and on the other hand, he carried the fish that Cramorant caught, and walked home step by step. Before he reached the door of his room, Nishida just ran over and grabbed his arm.

Quinn asked in shock, "What are you doing?!"

Nishida looked excited, saying, "Come with me!"

"It's getting dark soon." Quinn reminded him.

"I know that! The store is only open when it's dark!"

"...what store?"

"A store that delights both body and mind!"

(E/N -- Dude, Quinn's a kid...)

Quinn's mouth twitched as he thought, 'It only opens at night, which makes people happy in both body and mind... It sounds like some kind of romantic place- right?' Quinn looked at Nishida a little surprised, he didn't expect him to be that kind of person...

Nishida looked at Quinn's face and said, "What's with that look? It's not what you think! You'll know when you get there!"

Quinn saw how persistent Nishida was being, and decided to follow him. The two left through the school gate, took a taxi, and soon arrived at the door of a store with a sign that read, "Sweet Cafe".

The interior decoration of the shop is very warm, with most of the decorations being pink. The boss of the store stood nearby in a maid costume, wiping the counter. A group of Eevee and Skitty sat nearby on a sofa, looking bored.

Seeing some customers, they immediately had a burst of excitement in their eyes- running over while making noises of excitement.

"Two cups of Moo-Moo Milk, thank you!" Nishida just seemed to be familiar with this place and ordered casually. Nishida picked up the Eevee with a bow tied around her neck, and started to rub his face in their fur, asking, "Did you miss me little one?!"

Quinn took a breath, seeing that Nishida was weird. At this time, Skitty has already come to the new visitor, rubbing up against Quinn's legs much like a house-cat would. Quinn picked it up and started to hug it. Looking up again, he saw Nishida still petting the Eevee...

"..."

The owner laughed seeing this and said, "Don't worry, it's normal. For some guests, getting along with cute Pokémon is a very effective way to relax. This falls to Eevee and Skitty."

"Are they your Pokémon?" Quinn touched Skitty's head and asked.

The female boss smiled and shook her head, and explained, "I'm not a trainer. Some are abandoned Pokémon, some are wild Pokémon. They work here. I just provide them with shelter and food."

"Eevee!" Another Eevee approached Quinn, sitting in front of him. Quinn hugged Skitty with one hand, leaned over, and picked up the Eevee with his other hand.

At this moment, Nishida stopped petting the Eevee and went to business, saying, "I didn't bring you here just to pet Eevee and Skitty! Boss, turn on the TV!"

"What are you doing in such a hurry, isn't it half an hour before the match starts?" The owner responded.

Despite saying so, she still turned on the TV hanging on the wall. Hanging a bunch of Eevee on his body, Nishida leaned over and said excitedly, "Today is the finals of the Pokémon League! In a while, we will witness the birth of a new champion!"

Quinn was stunned for a moment. During this time, he had been reading in the library and training- so he hadn't been hearing much about the outside. But thinking about it, the last few weeks have indeed been the time for the league tournament...

Nishida excitedly said, "In the finals, it's Steven Stone vs. Jeremy, who do you think will win?"

"..."

Needless to say, it must be Steven, what kind of unnamed person is Jeremy? Quinn hasn't even heard of his name.

So, did he come to the time when Steven had just become the Champion of the Pokémon League? According to his understanding, after becoming the champion of the League, he is qualified to challenge the Elite Four. If he wins, he will become the Champion of the Hoenn region!