Next, Pidgeotto found another group of Paras, and with the cooperation of the three, they solved it quickly.
This time, because there was no Parasect, Icarus specifically asked Pidgeotto to help Airi. Even so, after the battle, Poliwag, being a pure Water-type, was still badly beaten, and its output was even worse than Geodude's.
"Yo yobo"
At this moment, Poliwag sat weakly on the ground while Airi replenished it with Water-type energy.
"It's almost noon. Let's find a place to eat first. I have an idea for Poliwag—we can give it a try," said Icarus after packing up the materials from the Paras, glancing at the half-recovered Pokémon.
"Okay."
"Mm~"
Airi and Stone nodded and followed Icarus to find a more open area.
After walking for a while, the three finally found an open grassland. After quickly dealing with an Arbok lurking in the grass, they settled down and began feeding their Pokémon in batches.
Once all the Pokémon were fed, the three of them started eating lunch.
"Uh… Brother Icarus, what did you mean earlier?"
After hurriedly taking a few bites of cake, Airi couldn't hold back her anxious thoughts and asked.
This mission was simply too unfriendly to her and Poliwag. Even with Pidgeotto's help earlier, Poliwag had still been seriously injured. They had collected fewer than 20 mushrooms so far—it would likely take two or three more battles to complete the task.
Every battle carried huge risks for Poliwag, which was why she was so uneasy.
"Gulp gulp"
Seeing her anxiety, Icarus took two sips of water before calmly explaining his idea.
"Airi, do you know about flame vortexes and tidal vortexes?"
He started by asking her about the moves.
"I know vortex moves—they trap the enemy in swirling water and deal continuous damage.
Flame vortex… is probably the same idea, but with fire instead of water?"
Airi quickly answered after recalling what she had learned.
"Exactly. What I want is for Poliwag to learn something like that. It doesn't need high damage—just trapping Paras would already make things much easier."
Hearing her answer, Icarus nodded approvingly and explained further.
"That's true! But… Poliwag doesn't know anything like that. And it's too late to buy a TM now…"
Airi's eyes lit up, then dimmed again.
"You can still try," Icarus said.
"Pidgeotto knows Twister. That's a vortex in the air. A tidal vortex is just a vortex in water—the principle is the same. I'll have Pidgeotto teach Poliwag. With its water control, it should be able to learn it."
Seeing how rigid her thinking had become, he patiently explained.
People in this world relied too much on fixed methods like TMs—this wasn't the first time he had noticed it.
"Look—tornadoes have a center point, right? The wind rotates around it. A vortex works the same way.
As he spoke, Icarus drew a diagram on the ground with a branch, then swirled water in a cup to demonstrate.
It wasn't complicated—just basic intuition—but it was enough.
"It really is like that! Brother Icarus, you're amazing!"
Airi's eyes lit up with admiration as she felt like she had discovered a whole new way of thinking.
"Haha, it's nothing. You just need to explore more."
Even Icarus couldn't help feeling a bit smug.
"Alright, I'll have Pidgeotto teach Poliwag."
After that, he called over Pidgeotto and explained the task.
"Beep beep~"
Pidgeotto nodded and began demonstrating a small Twister.
"Huhu~"
A small tornado formed in front of Poliwag.
"Yo? Yobo?"
Following Airi's instructions, Poliwag reached into the vortex, carefully feeling the flow.
"Yo~ yo boo!"
Since the tornado was small, it caused no harm. Instead, Poliwag seemed to grasp something and grew excited.
"Beep beep"
Pidgeotto then explained how it controlled the airflow and energy.
"Yo! Yo boo!"
Poliwag nodded eagerly.
Soon, it tried.
"Wow~ bang!"
Water formed into a ring… then suddenly collapsed.
"Wow! That's already halfway there!"
Airi was thrilled.
The concept clearly worked—it just needed practice.
"Yobo…"
Re-energized, Poliwag tried again, this time focusing on forming a smaller vortex.
Meanwhile…
"Um… Brother Icarus, does Geodude have anything it can improve too?"
Stone asked hesitantly.
"Heh cha~" Geodude chimed in eagerly.
"Well… you already have your Stone Bullet concept, right? You just haven't mastered it."
Icarus thought for a moment before answering.
"Yeah, but it feels too slow—only useful for sneak attacks," Stone admitted.
"That's because you're making them too big," Icarus explained.
"Shrink them—make them the size of Airi's water bullets. That way, you can fire instantly and even chain multiple shots."
He continued:
"You can also change the shape—like turning them into spears or arrows for better penetration."
Stone's eyes lit up.
"Got it! Thanks, Brother Icarus!"
He immediately took Geodude aside to train.
Sighing, Icarus stayed on guard with Houndour and Victreebel.
After over two hours…
Poliwag finally succeeded.
"Yo splash splash"
A spinning water ring formed, trapping a tree stump and grinding against it.
"It worked!" Airi shouted.
"Not bad. It's usable now—just needs refinement," Icarus said with a nod.
Soon after, Geodude also succeeded.
"I can fire three Stone Bullets in a row now!" Stone reported proudly.
"Good. Let's continue hunting," Icarus said.
Not long after, they found another group of five Paras.
Battle began instantly.
"Pidgeotto—Gust!"
"Geodude—multi Stone Bullet! Left target!"
"Poliwag—Tidal Vortex! Trap one!"
With coordinated attacks…
One Paras dropped instantly.
The rest were quickly overwhelmed by Victreebel and Houndour, then finished off by Pidgeotto'sTwister.
Meanwhile, Poliwag kept its opponent trapped, slowly wearing it down.
"See? This is way better than rushing in!" Airi said excitedly.
Now she finally understood—
Strategy mattered more than brute force.
End of Chapter 200
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