Chapter 86: The Study of Techniques

Gyarados slowly wrapped its tail in water, but every time it tried to strike the dummy Pokémon, the water would never gather properly around its tail. In the end, it merely ended up slapping the dummy’s face with a tail that was damp at best.

Zhao Fang felt a bit troubled. The way moves worked in the Pokémon world truly was peculiar. Once a Pokémon learned a move, it could use it without issue, but before that, it was almost impossible. By all logic, Gyarados should have no difficulty using Aqua Tail, but since it hadn’t learned the move, it simply couldn’t perform it.

“My experience really isn’t enough,” Zhao Fang muttered in frustration. He’d played plenty of games, but in those, a Gyarados would automatically master Aqua Tail once it reached a certain level. Teaching such a move in reality, however, was another matter entirely.

At this thought, Zhao Fang recalled the gift May had given him: that comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia. Perhaps it would have some guidance on teaching moves to Pokémon.

“Looking to trade?” Just as Zhao Fang was about to recall Gyarados and rummage through his backpack, a raspy voice reached his ears.

He turned around in confusion to find the sickly-looking man had, at some point, raised his head and was staring at him.

“Sorry, I don’t trade Pokémon,” Zhao Fang replied, his expression souring. He hated people asking to trade with him. He only had three Pokémon; which of them could he possibly spare?

“Moves. I have a method for teaching Aqua Tail. What do you have?” The man’s expression didn’t change. He pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and placed it on the ground.

Zhao Fang felt a little embarrassed, realizing he’d misunderstood. Even so, he shook his head and refused. He had nothing to offer in exchange for a move-teaching method; this was a trade he couldn’t make.

Seeing Zhao Fang’s refusal, the man said nothing more, simply retrieving the paper. Zhao Fang did consider offering the water-type Pokémon food Officer Jenny had given him, but he’d promised her not to share it with others, so he abandoned the idea.

Scratching his head, Zhao Fang concluded he would have to find a teacher to learn how to instruct Pokémon in moves. The matter of passing on move-teaching techniques would have to be made a priority as well—otherwise, who knew how long it would take to master these moves.

He recalled Gyarados and left the training room. Before departing, the memory of his arrival there came back to him.

“Should I turn off the lights?” Zhao Fang called out, but the man showed no response. As he reached to flip the switch, a purplish-black hand suddenly appeared and pressed it first, plunging the room into darkness.

Zhao Fang twitched at the mouth—what a horror movie moment. That hand must have belonged to a Ghost-type Pokémon; it looked rather like a Gengar’s.

He glanced around the training room. Though the man was no longer visible, Zhao Fang sensed he was still sitting in the same spot. Shaking his head, Zhao Fang closed the door and hurried back to his room, where he opened his trunk and pulled out the Pokémon encyclopedia May had given him.

Flipping through it, Zhao Fang actually found an entry on move learning. He quickly read it, only for his face to fall flat. The book merely stated that learning moves required attending a specialized school or finding an experienced trainer—utterly unhelpful.

Still, after his time in the training room, Zhao Fang’s seasickness had eased considerably. He drifted off to sleep, and in his dreams, he again found himself at the tall tower, watching Gyarados battle against Zapdos. Despite the fierce struggle, Gyarados ultimately triumphed through sheer willpower, passing the challenge.

The woman happily applied some unknown medicine to Gyarados, then led it to the other side of the tower.

“It’s over again.” Zhao Fang sighed as the tower darkened once more.

But soon, the tower lit up again. The woman emerged with Gyarados, and Zhao Fang watched intently. She spoke excitedly with a gray-robed figure who shook his head, took out a bottle of red liquid, and fed it to Gyarados.

After ingesting it, Gyarados began to struggle violently. The woman’s face was alight with joy. As Zhao Fang wondered what was happening, Gyarados let out a furious roar, its body exploding on the spot, dying right before the woman’s eyes. The gray-robed figure produced a Pokémon egg from his sleeve and handed it to the woman, who accepted it with delight.

The gray-robed figure left without a backward glance at Gyarados’ shattered remains, which slowly dissolved into the tower as darkness returned.

When Zhao Fang awoke, he heard over the loudspeaker that passengers could disembark. Yet his expression was grim—the red Gyarados had died, and the woman, its trainer, showed not a hint of sadness. On the contrary, she skipped away in excitement.

What was in that red potion? And what kind of Pokémon was in the egg the gray-robed figure gave the woman?

At that moment, Zhao Fang was left with countless questions. Unfortunately, the Unown was long gone, and these mysteries would remain buried unless Zhao Fang could find some record of them. Perhaps there would be further clues in the Sinnoh region.

He shook his head; it was too soon to dwell on such matters. Right now, he needed to challenge the Fighting-type Gym. But before that, he intended to take a look and see if climbing was really involved—if so, he’d need some training.

Quickly, Zhao Fang followed the crowd off the cruise ship. Amidst the throng, he didn’t see the purple-haired man.

He paid it no mind, heading straight to the Fighting Gym, where he found a long line of trainers waiting to challenge it. By his estimate, just waiting in line would take at least half an hour.

“I’ll check out the nearby cave first,” Zhao Fang decided, shaking his head at the queue.

Aside from challenging the gym, his other goal in Wudou Town was to see if he could find some stones in the nearby cave and make a bit of money.

With that in mind, he went to the store to buy supplies needed for cave exploration, as well as Pokémon food and a lantern the shopkeeper assured him was very bright. Since none of his Pokémon knew Flash, he’d have to rely on the lantern to navigate the dark passages.