Strange.
Chen Mo couldn't help but suspect that Pichu's unusual drowsiness might be related to it forcibly suppressing its evolution. After all, the signs of evolution had appeared right after it woke up from unconsciousness. And only after Pichu forcefully pushed back the evolution did the excessive sleepiness begin.
But even Pichu itself seemed confused about it.
It told Chen Mo that it simply felt sleepy all of a sudden and didn't know why. However, it also felt better than ever before—its condition had never been so good. It felt full of energy and fulfillment.
"Pichu!"
After finishing lunch, Pichu looked brimming with determination as it told Chen Mo it was ready to start training.
Chen Mo suppressed the jumble of thoughts in his mind for the time being and nodded.
It had only been a day. He could continue observing through [Detective Eye] for now.
"Pichu, this afternoon's training will still be divided into two parts. First, learning the move Agility. Second, practical combat training with Pidgeotto. I'll stay with you the entire time."
"Pichu~"
Pichu affectionately rubbed against Chen Mo's outstretched palm.
At that moment, Ah Hui walked over carrying Caterpie. His eyes lit up when he saw the scene.
"Mo-ge, training again?"
"Mm."
Seeing Ah Hui's eager expression, clearly wanting to watch again, Chen Mo hesitated before finally voicing what was on his mind.
"Ah Hui, when are you planning to take Caterpie to the flower fields?"
Ah Hui's expression stiffened.
He looked down at Caterpie resting in his arms. Caterpie blinked up at him in confusion. When Ah Hui looked back up, he forced an awkward smile.
"Mo-ge… I want to wait a little longer. Maybe after you're done here."
"…Alright."
Chen Mo didn't press further.
He gently patted Ah Hui's shoulder before heading toward the edge of the campsite with Pichu.
Ah Hui, who had just said he wanted to observe the training, remained standing in place. Head lowered, expression conflicted. After a long while, he let out a deep sigh.
—
Everyone has their own troubles. Very few people go through life without confusion.
Chen Mo wasn't worried about Ah Hui. The fact that Ah Hui had come all the way to the Evergreen Forest meant he carried his own resolve.
What must be faced will eventually be faced.
Until then, Chen Mo chose patience—just like before.
Over the following days, he carried out targeted training for Pichu.
Winning against Electabuzz without evolving wasn't impossible for Pichu at this stage.
Thanks to the Light Ball, Pichu's mastery over the electricity stored in its cheek pouches had reached a highly refined level. The power of its Thunder Shock was increasing rapidly.
Electabuzz itself was proof of that—the damage it took from Pichu's Thunder Shock was far from insignificant.
Of course, real battles weren't turn-based games. Electabuzz wouldn't stand still and let Pichu continuously fire off Thunder Shocks. And even if they exchanged moves head-on, Pichu would be at a disadvantage—its body simply wasn't as durable as Electabuzz's. Even in peak condition, it couldn't take more than a few hits before losing the ability to fight.
So if Pichu wanted to win, it absolutely couldn't abandon the speed advantage it had shown in the previous battle.
If Pichu could master Agility during this period, Chen Mo estimated its win rate against Electabuzz would increase by at least thirty percent.
However, learning Agility was no simple matter.
Although Chen Mo had Pidgeotto—who had long mastered Agility—demonstrate and guide Pichu, Agility was a Psychic-type move. While it looked similar to Quick Attack and shared some overlapping traits, the difficulty of learning it far exceeded that of Quick Attack.
The first major hurdle was sensing the faint Psychic-type energy within Pichu's body. Without that awareness, there was no hope of mastering Agility.
Then something astonishing happened.
During the day, Chen Mo had been worrying about how to help Pichu quickly sense Psychic energy.
The very next morning, Pichu woke up and calmly told him—
It could already feel the Psychic-type energy inside its body.
Chen Mo was utterly baffled.
But Pichu wasn't lying.
After grasping Psychic energy, and with its already excellent mastery of Quick Attack, Pichu only needed three days to successfully learn Agility.
The move list inside [Detective Eye] confirmed it.
Chen Mo: "..."
He had always known Pichu was talented. After all, learning Quick Attack in less than a day was proof enough.
But this…
This was ridiculous.
Chen Mo had the nagging feeling that something was off.
Still, Pichu's smooth mastery of Agility filled him with joy. That very evening, he held a barbecue party to celebrate, letting Pichu indulge happily with its beloved ketchup.
But the next afternoon, during routine sparring—
Something even more outrageous happened.
To make up for Pichu's lack of real combat experience, Chen Mo not only arranged special training with Pidgeotto but also offered food and healing in exchange for friendly wild Pokémon to spar with Pichu.
During a temporary match against a Meowth—
Meowth suddenly launched into a wild Fury Swipes. Pichu couldn't fully evade in time. At the critical moment, lightning crackled around Pichu's right paw.
With a head-on strike—
It forcefully defeated Meowth.
The livestream chat exploded.
[WHAT THE HELL?! THAT'S THUNDER PUNCH!]
[What happened?! I stepped away for a second and Meowth's already down?!]
[Mo Bao, your Pichu is bugged. Did it just unlock Thunder Punch out of nowhere?!]
[This is insane.]
[Electabuzz took one look and immediately packed its bags to flee the Evergreen Forest overnight.]
"Mo-ge… your Pichu…"
Ah Hui didn't fully understand the mechanics, but from Chen Mo's previous explanations, learning new moves was rarely easy for most Pokémon.
"I don't know."
Chen Mo stared at Pichu, who was now sprinting toward him with a face full of excitement, eyes filled with confusion.
Meanwhile—
Hidden among the trees, a purple-black figure quietly watched everything unfold.
It was Haunter.
At this moment, Haunter looked utterly drained, as if all its energy had been squeezed out. From a distance, it gazed at Pichu snuggling into Chen Mo's arms. In its tired eyes was a look of deep satisfaction—
Like a parent watching their child finally grow up.
"Ke-ke-ke…"
It hadn't been easy.
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