Dragon-type Gym.
Inside the private enclosed training area, two Noivern continuously emitted sound waves toward the front, performing warm-up exercises before their special training session.
Nina's Noivern demonstrated basic vocalization techniques to Jacob's Noivern repeatedly—essential preparation before learning Boomburst.
The move Boomburst was similar to Hyper Voice. Both were sound-based attacking moves, and both belonged to the Normal type.
However, Boomburst's power was roughly 1.5 times greater than Hyper Voice. It was also much harder to learn, with very few Pokémon capable of mastering it.
Currently, only twelve species of Pokémon could learn it—four through breeding and eight by reaching sufficient strength.
Under normal circumstances, Noivern needed to reach King level strength to learn it, which explained why the move was so difficult to master. King -level Pokémon were already rare, so a considerable number of Noivern never learned Boomburst at all.
Nina's Noivern currently possessed only Quasi-King level strength. The reason it had learned Boomburst early was through continuous teaching from Maximus's Noivern.
This was equivalent to a legacy—passed from Maximus to Nina, and now from Nina to Jacob.
"The most crucial aspect of the Boomburst move is emitting a massive sound infused with Normal-type energy that spreads outward, creating an effect similar to an explosion that severely damages all nearby enemies," Nina explained to Jacob's Noivern.
"The Boomburst move is essentially an advanced version of Hyper Voice. The core of Hyper Voice is inflicting damage on enemies through sound vibrations and high-frequency energy."
"But the core of Boomburst lies in the explosion itself. Creating an explosive effect is extremely difficult. It requires not only exceptional talent with sound but also extraordinary talent in energy control. This is why most Pokémon cannot learn the Boomburst move."
"For example, among the Pokémon that can learn Boomburst, most are Pokémon with extremely high aptitude for sound."
"For instance, Exploud, Toxtricity, Noivern, Rillaboom, Kommo-o, and Flygon all possess unique talents with sound."
"Noivern, watch us demonstrate it once first to get a feel for it."
After Nina finished her explanation, she patted the Noivern beside her, and it began its first demonstration.
The Noivern's body began to surge with Normal-type energy, gathering in its large ears.
Noivern was a very unique Pokémon. It communicated by making sounds with its mouth, but in actual combat, sound-based moves like Supersonic and Boomburst were emitted through its ears.
The Noivern's energy accumulated more and more, quickly reaching a critical point.
At that moment, the Noivern suddenly perked up its ears, unleashing an astonishing sound wave. In an instant, the ground in front of the Noivern cracked and rocks shattered, as if struck by a massive explosion, leaving a scene of devastation.
Jacob and his Noivern looked at the scene with surprise on their faces, marveling at Boomburst's formidable power.
"Boomburst is very powerful. It's the second strongest special attack move among Normal-type moves, second only to Hyper Beam. But its advantage is that it has no side effects," Nina explained to Jacob.
She was capable of serving as a battle instructor at Capital University, possessing a very solid foundation in theoretical knowledge.
"However, it's unfortunate that among Normal-type Pokémon, only the Swellow family, Chatot, Toucannon, Exploud, and Dudunsparce can learn Boomburst. These Pokémon aren't particularly strong in special attack." Nina realized she had strayed off topic and quickly brought the conversation back. "Alright, Noivern, try it yourself now."
Jacob's Noivern nodded, imitating Nina's Noivern's movements. It began gathering Normal-type energy, then suddenly released a powerful sound wave.
Unfortunately, the Boomburst released by Noivern only stirred up a strong wind and couldn't cause an explosion.
"Very good! Being able to cause a strong wind on your first attempt is already impressive," Nina said with a smile, praising Noivern and encouraging it to keep trying. "Boomburst isn't that simple to learn. Talent and strength are both essential. Come on, keep trying a few more times."
Looking at Nina, who spoke with such patience and gentleness, Jacob suddenly realized that Teacher Long's most suitable profession was indeed teaching.
She possessed rich theoretical knowledge, was patient, and her own strength was excellent. At the same time, Nina wasn't like Raya—a woman with countless schemes and strategies. She didn't have too many complicated plans, and therefore wasn't suited to be a Gym Leader or Heavenly King member, guarding a region.
She was better suited to working in an academic setting like a university, being a teacher who educated others. The key was that she genuinely liked this profession.
If Teacher Long could continue in this profession for a long time...
Perhaps in the future, Teacher Long could even teach his children, being a devoted wife and mother. Truly wonderful.
Jacob thought about this, a slight smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
After entrusting Noivern to Teacher Long for special training, Jacob began special training for Fraxure and Shelgon. These two were at a critical stage, on the verge of evolving. Now wasn't the time to be careless—he had to lay as solid a foundation as possible.
The two of them trained with their Pokémon in the training room all afternoon. This unique way of dating was quite rare among couples, but both of them enjoyed it immensely.
The scene before them felt like a return to their time in the Secret Realm, when Nina tutored Jacob every night.
Looking back now, their feelings for each other must have rapidly grown during that period.
It was five o'clock in the afternoon. Seeing that time was running short, Jacob spoke. "Let's go. Training ends here for today. We'll wash up and change clothes, then have dinner and go to the concert."
"Mm." Nina nodded, then looked at Jacob seriously and instructed, "When I'm not around, you must urge Noivern to practice more. There are no shortcuts to learning the Boomburst move."
"Mm." Jacob nodded.
"And you need to help Fraxure with its fangs every day. Its fangs are growing extremely fast at this stage, and it can't be neglected," Nina continued.
"Okay. You can rest assured. I'll definitely take good care of them," Jacob replied.
"And Shelgon too. At this stage, it should start supplementing with large amounts of nutrients and Flying-type energy to provide sufficient energy for its evolution into Salamence and its Shell Smash," Nina stared at Jacob and said seriously. "No matter how busy you are, you cannot forget to take care of your Pokémon."
"I understand." Jacob listened to Nina's instructions with a wry smile on his face.
This must be the charm of dating an older woman—she was always able to think ahead for you and be considerate.
"Alright, Teacher Long, it's date time now," Jacob said with a smile. "No more talk about training."
"Jacob, I'm not joking with you. You need to keep what I just said in mind," Nina looked at Jacob worriedly, afraid that he would forget her words in the blink of an eye.
"I'm not joking either. How about this—you send me a message with what you just said, and I'll make it into a memo."
"Good." Nina's eyes lit up. That was a good idea.