Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

In fact, most wild Pokémon are willing to follow their trainers because they can become stronger than they would in the wild.

"So, now that you've joined the training, I'll help you become stronger!"

Xia Chen earnestly said to Jeraora, "At least, after this is over, if you find yourself in a dangerous situation like yesterday again, you will be able to get out of it."

If it were the proud Zeraora of the past, it might have scoffed at this, but now, it nodded humbly and silently, its eyes gradually becoming serious.

I used to disdain it, but now I learn it frame by frame!

Developing a training plan for Zeraora is quite difficult. Most of Xia Chen's Pokémon are raised from infancy. Even Diancie, who was already quite mature when they met, was only at the Gym Leader level at the time, so there was a lot of room for growth.

But Zeraora is in a bit of an awkward position. You might say it's weak, since its energy intensity is close to legendary level, but to say it doesn't have much room for growth... isn't entirely true.

Simply put, it means being stuck in a limbo, neither here nor there.

As the saying goes, a serious illness requires strong medicine. If you want to break the mold, you can't design training strategies in the usual, conventional way.

After pondering for a while, Xia Chen finally spoke: "Zeraora, my first piece of advice to you is that from now on, don't rely on your instincts to fight."

Electric Cat frowned slightly, looking somewhat puzzled by Xia Chen's words.

Xia Chen also felt that simply stating it was a bit abstract, so he analyzed, "Let's take the battle you encountered yesterday as an example, uh... you shouldn't mind, right?"

Zeraora shook her head. She wasn't the kind of person who couldn't bear to reopen old wounds. On the contrary, last night's experience was another driving force for her future growth.

Xia Chen nodded and continued, "First of all, there are those firearms and capture balls. Your reaction speed is indeed very fast, and you can destroy them in the shortest amount of time. But is that meaningful? Can't you dodge them? Even if they do hit you, how much damage can they do to you?"

Zeraora fell into deep thought.

It vaguely understood what Xia Chen meant: some things could be done, but there was no need to.

Actually, when the rocket launcher first came at it, it had another option: to dodge. Although its body was already somewhat overwhelmed, it could still dodge a missile.

But why not hide... of course, it's because of pride.

How could I, the mighty Lord Zeraora, possibly evade the sneak attacks of petty villains?

This is its instinctive instinct, not the optimal solution based on careful decision-making.

…………

Seeing Zeraora's thoughtful expression, Xia Chen smiled slightly and continued to guide her: "It seems you should understand something now. Let me continue. Secondly, you used only electric-type moves in the battle. Such an offensive method is too one-dimensional. It doesn't matter in ordinary outdoor fights, but if you encounter a cunning and treacherous human, you will easily suffer losses."

Zeraora nodded silently.

"For example, those three Pokémon yesterday, Marowak, Sandstorm, and Rhyperior, two Ground-type Pokémon are immune to your best Electric-type moves, two Ghost-type Pokémon are immune to your Fighting-type attacks, and two Pokémon even have the Lightning Rod ability, they were completely designed to target you."

Xia Chen paused, then complained, "And you're still standing there like an idiot, flirting!"

Zeraora was ashamed.

Although the lingering smoke of battle obscured Zeraora's vision at the time, it wouldn't have made this mistake if it had spent even a tiny bit of time sensing the presence of those three Pokémon.

With Zeraora's speed, sensory attributes, strategizing, and counterattacking, it wouldn't be difficult.

Ultimately, Xia Chen was right; it was still its unthinking physical fighting instincts that were at play.

Do I need to say anything more?

Xia Chen winked at Zeraora, feeling that this intelligent guy had completely understood his meaning.

Jeraora neither nodded nor shook her head, but looked at Xia Chen with a calm gaze, "Aurora—(So, you're just looking at me like this?)"

"..."

This time it was Xia Chen's turn to be puzzled. "Huh?"

"Oro—(You know so much about that battle, you must have been there long before, right?)"

Xia Chen: "......"

Oh no, I've accidentally revealed that I've been observing for over ten minutes.

This thing has such a peculiar focus; I was clearly talking to it about fighting instincts!

I've heard that girls are very good at noticing details when chatting. Are you, a female elf, like that too?

Jeraora remained locked in gaze with Xia Chen, as if waiting for an answer.

Xia Chen had no choice but to admit helplessly, "Okay, I admit I did watch for a while, but I think it's a good thing for you too, at least you're more vigilant than before, aren't you?"

Zeraora did not refute, but nodded.

Xia Chen stopped talking about it and instead said, "Alright, it's getting late, let's start training."

…………

That night, Xia Chen spent most of his time on Zeraora.

It's not that I'm being biased, it's just that the training plans for the other Pokémon have already been made, and Xia Chen was only there to keep them company while he was in the training room.

The training results on the first night were not very good, but this was within Xia Chen's expectations. After all, it was a fighting instinct, and it was impossible to just give it up.

Especially for Pokémon like Zeraora, which are inherently fast, their bodies often move before they've even thought about how to handle the situation.

This situation once made Xia Chen feel desperate, but he soon discovered the opportunity for change: Zeraora's thinking speed was also very fast.

This is similar to a superhero Xia Chen knows called The Flash. Speaking of which, Zeraora looks like a silver-white lightning bolt. The two guys from different worlds are surprisingly similar.

If only Zeraora could master the Flash's legendary Speed ​​Force...

Far away.

Xia Chen's idea of ​​a breakthrough was to force Zeraora to develop a habit of "thinking before acting".

This might be difficult for other Pokémon, but Zeraora is able to do it with its lightning-fast thinking speed, which only takes a few milliseconds or microseconds anyway.

However, even the best ideas take time to realize.

After all, a sprite isn't a computer; you can't just plug in a "priority thinking" program.

It is said that it takes 21 days to form a good habit; I wonder if that will work for elves.

In short, training Zeraora is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

Fortunately, there's still plenty of time.

The following day, Lillie arrived as promised.

"Hey, your brother didn't come?"

Xia Chen remembered that this girl had promised to bring Gladgio over last time.

Lillie paused for a moment, then shook her head. "No, because I came here today to talk to the teacher about something."

Xia Chen wasn't surprised. He could tell from the girl's hesitant tone on the phone last night that it probably wasn't anything to be happy about.

He smiled gently and said, "Well, we'll talk about it when we eat. You go play with Xianbu in the living room for a while. The food will be ready soon."

Lillie smiled and nodded emphatically, "Yes!"

For her, who was burdened with worries, only the fairy cloth could soothe her bad mood at this moment.

…………

"Alright, just say what's on your mind."

At the dinner table, Xia Chen looked at Lillie, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated several times, and took the initiative to speak.

"Um..."

Lillie put down her chopsticks, her expression somewhat solemn. "Teacher, I have some questions I'd like to ask you about yesterday's explosion."

Xia Chen nodded, signaling her to continue.

Lillie carefully considered her words before slowly saying, "Do you believe... another world exists?"

Xia Chen: "?"

This question seems vaguely familiar.

Could this girl also be looking for me to talk about the Ultimate World?

Bringing himself back to reality, he nodded calmly. "I believe it exists."

Lillie looked dejected. "As expected, you didn't believe me either... Eh... Eh—"

She looked at Xia Chen in surprise, "You...you mean you believe it?"

Xia Chen shrugged. "If you're talking about a world where ferocious Ultra Beasts exist."

Lillie was even more surprised, "Ah—you know so much?"

"The fire moth told me."

Xia Chen shifted the blame to his own elf, then looked at Lillie with a long gaze, turning the tables on her, "But how did you know?"

Lillie, the honest girl, said sincerely, "Because... I really have encountered Ultra Beasts, and the Aether Foundation is secretly researching them."

Xia Chen wasn't surprised that Lillie had come into contact with Ultra Beasts. In the anime, the girl's fear of Pokémon stemmed from her contact with Nihilego. Lillie in this world has the same problem, which is most likely related to Ultra Beasts.

Lillie's candid confession left Xia Chen completely bewildered. He had only intended to bluff Lillie, but he never expected her to tell him something so confidential.

Xia Chen quickly understood the reason for Lillie's sincerity. She mustered her courage and said, "I came here today to ask for your help, teacher. I would like to ask you to stop my mother from continuing this research!"

Can you tell me why?

Xia Chen tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his attitude neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Lillie replied without hesitation, "This research has harmed too many things, whether it's the humans and elves of this world, or the so-called Ultra Beasts of that world. No one can find happiness!"

Lillie's answer left Xia Chen speechless.

He had expected the girl to give a reason such as "Ultra Beasts are too dangerous," "help me find my father," or "I was hurt by an Ultra Beast when I was a child," but he didn't expect this answer.

Can no human or elf find happiness...?

This girl is too kind; she truly lives up to her reputation as the innocent Lillie...

…………

"what can I do?"

After a moment of silence, Xia Chen asked.

This answer implicitly acknowledges his stance: he will help Lillie get involved in the Ultra Beasts matter.

Of course, it wasn't just because it was a request from his student Lillie. Rather, Xia Chen's initial purpose in coming to Alola was to investigate this incident that was closely related to the disappearance of parents.