This elf world is a bit strange

"Ma~chi~!"

The dream demon, who had just been as weak as a frost-bitten eggplant, puffed up her little chest proudly and immediately became arrogant.

Although it was still just a small prototype, it only took one morning for the talented Dream Demon to further enhance his dominance under Gengar's extensive education.

Even though it can only attract a few weak Pokémon at this time, this is indeed the same approach as Gengar's terrifying ghost army.

"You are truly amazing, little dream demon."

Smiling, Firion stretched out his hand and immediately held the unsuspecting dream demon in his arms. After rubbing it vigorously, he finally freed it.

"Ma..."

"To celebrate, I will not rest my old bones at noon today and will cook you a big meal!"

"Machi~!"

Originally, he was thinking about pretending to be angry and acting like a spoiled child, but when he heard about the feast, all his fatigue disappeared instantly. He cheered and pounced on Firion's face, with his [Facehugger] skill ready to go.

However, this time it failed.

Before it could get halfway, a pair of large hands clamped it tightly, and it could not move forward at all.

"Look at how dirty you are now. Don't run it on your face. Go take a good shower first!"

Firion, who was also a mud monkey, said cruel words that made the little dream demon "unacceptable.jpg".

A big grimace appeared on the small face. The little guy stuck out his tongue, showed a bit of arrogance, turned around and walked away, ran to the water, and did not forget to scoop up a handful of water and splash it on Firio.

"Wow--"

In the blink of an eye, the two mud monkeys, big and small, were in almost the same predicament.

"You unlucky child, don't run!" The sudden joy washed away all the fatigue and laziness in his body. Firion, who was rejuvenated, jumped up and pounced on the little dream demon who was taking a bath with his back to her.

There was a commotion by the pond, and then countless Pokémon joined in the fun. In an instant, the place was in chaos.

Unlike Kikuko's own coldness, all of her Pokémon are quite lively and get along well with Firion's companions, including the Crossbat that makes a "woop" and wants to bite people from time to time.

"Galala, stop playing, lend me a light!"

Firio, who had taken advantage of the chaos to wash off the stains on his body and escaped to the shore, shouted loudly, but was completely drowned out by the laughter.

After a long while, wisps of smoke began to rise from the riverside, bringing with them the aroma of rice.

-----------------

Kikuko left quickly and came back quickly. Firion had just finished preparing lunch when she returned to the waterfall with Gengar, who was carrying a lot of bags on his back.

The nimble purple fat man moved in and out of the wooden house, putting bags of things that looked heavy into the house.

Kikuko sat leisurely on the picnic blanket and put some steaming vegetables into her mouth.

"...It tastes pretty good. No wonder some people say you have a better talent as a breeder than a trainer." The old woman, who was picky about taste and had a small appetite, nodded slightly and looked at Firion who started to wolf down his food as she picked up her chopsticks. "However, in such a short time, you were able to dress up these little guys and yourself so neatly and make a table full of dishes. It seems that your training in the morning was not enough. You should practice more in the afternoon."

"Eh?!"

Before he could even finish a mouthful of rice, Filio looked up in surprise and saw Kikuko with a half-smile on her face.

Kikuko chewed slowly and calmly: "Why, am I wrong?"

"How can cooking and training be mixed together? Only when you eat well can you train well!"

"Madge! MadgeMadge!"

The man and the Pokémon, with rice grains hanging from the corners of their mouths, were filled with righteous indignation, which attracted a lot of responses.

"Geng Ga? Geng Ga!"

Even Gengar, who had finally finished his work and rushed to eat, quickly rebelled after taking two bites and stood behind Firion.

"You're quick to bribe. These greedy guys really haven't seen the world." Kikuko laughed dumbly, put down the bowl, and shook her head helplessly, "I'm just kidding you, eat well. This morning I was just testing your skills. Don't you want to learn these skills from me? I'll let you see clearly in the afternoon."

"Phew...you scared me to death."

"Machi~!"

Firion breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest, fearing that the dream demon, who was not only afraid of being beaten but also not having a full meal, was still in shock and floated down onto his thighs.

"You young people, you are used to the good life..."

Looking at the exaggerated behavior of the dream demon and Firio's doting appearance with both anger and amusement, Kikuko looked past him and looked into the distance.

"Back then, Xuecheng and I did research and special training in the wild. It was much harder than it is now. Sometimes, Xuecheng even had to cook for us, but he didn't know how to cook. In the end, we all had to make do with one bite."

"I remember that Professor Oak is also eating instant noodles every day, right? Some people on the Internet said that there are at least several large boxes of instant noodles piled up in his laboratory. Unfortunately, there is no way to verify it." Firio was busy eating while blinking his eyes and gossiping subtly.

Kikuko didn't take it seriously and curled her lips and said, "Who knows? That old guy only knows how to make a fancy and useless illustrated book. I don't know how good he is... He is no longer the good man he used to be."

Filio held the rice bowl and said vaguely, "Maybe Professor Oak has not interfered with his research and training over the years, and has achieved success in both literature and sports?"

"Hmm?" Firio's words made Kikuko frown. "You speak for him like this, do you think there is something to be gained from this?"

"No, no, no, no! I just thought of a possibility."

The murderous look in this gaze reminded Firio of something and he denied it repeatedly.

Anyone who gets involved in the decades-long grievances and entanglements among the older generation will be in trouble.

Seeing that he was genuinely apprehensive and didn't seem to be faking it, Kikuko's expression relaxed a little.

But the matter is obviously not over.

because……

"As a trainer, you must understand your own identity and not take those flashy things as your main job and waste your talent. That Daiki Yuki achievement..."

The old man’s lengthy speech began at the dinner table.

And I don’t know when this will end.

-----------------

By the time they finished cleaning up the mess from lunch and sat side by side by the river, it was already afternoon.

Kikuko, who rarely spoke so much, felt a little thirsty. She took a cup of tea that was almost like sugar water and sipped it slowly.

After experiencing the high-intensity training in the morning, she knew the importance of combining work and rest and did not ask Firion to continue such harmful exercises in the afternoon. Instead, she arranged for Gengar to take a few little ones to do some soothing relaxation exercises with the stimulation of the water flow.

After finishing a cup of tea, the old man's strength was mostly restored. He picked up the crutch beside him, pointed at Gengar who was shaking his hips while training, and reminded Firion beside him:

"Whether it's the Overlord's aura or other skills, don't think of them as too special or too powerful. The more you think of them, the more difficult it will be to obtain them."

"Please teach me, senior." Firio nodded respectfully.

"The Ghost Army is only a part of this ability, but it is too profound. Even Gengar and I have only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg in decades. You are still young, and perhaps you will have the opportunity to discover more." Kikuko said lightly, "Your dream demon is very talented. Don't restrict it with external forms. Let it display and grow freely and walk its own path."

Firion tilted his head slightly: "My own way?"

"That's right... I almost forgot that you have only grown to this point in the past year or so." Kikuko smiled, and her wrinkles smoothed out. "You don't need to worry about this now. Just let the little guy unleash his talent. The domineering aura is something that you will master sooner or later. I hope you can learn something else."

"You mean, the technique that Gengar used to take something out of the Incubus's shadow just now?"

Firio's eyes were sparkling with curiosity. He still remembered every detail of the magical skill in the morning.

"That's right. You have to remember that the shadow is the best ally of the ghost-type Pokémon. Using the shadow's skills is always one of the most important means." Kikuko nodded slightly, took the cane in front of her, pinched one end, and gestured on the soft grass. "Using the shadow as a storage space is an interesting and subtle use. You have mastered it well, but it is far from enough."

Firion sat upright and said, "To be honest, this is one of the innate talents of the Dream Demon. As a trainer, I only know a little about it. Please help me solve this puzzle."

"You are quite honest... Pretending to know something when you don't will cause big trouble. Relax, let me ask you, what are the skills of controlling shadows?"

The old man placed his weather-beaten hands on Firio's head and, contrary to his usual behavior, began to give him patient and persuasive instructions.

"The most basic one is of course Shadow Sneak Attack, followed by Seam Shadow and Dark Shadow. The most profound understanding should be the Spirit Sneak Attack and the Shadow Sneak Attack of Giratina, the God of Antimatter. If it involves other energy applications, Misfortunes never come singly is also a very important part."

This was not a very profound question, and Firion gave the answer after a moment's thought.

"What you said is correct, but it's not comprehensive. There are two types of skills to manipulate shadows. One is to manipulate the shadows themselves, and the other is to go deep into them. Your best skill, Misfortunes never come alone, is an innovation based on the second technique. It's quite good."

Kikuko ruffled Firio's hair casually, then stood up with great effort, and without asking for help, she walked to the river, picked up a wet pebble at random and threw it at Firio.

"Manipulating the shadow itself is like using this stone to hit someone. It may be strong, or not so strong, but people can see it at a glance."

Looking at Firio who was struggling to catch the stone, the old man couldn't help but smile. His gloomy face relaxed and some of his former charm could be vaguely seen.

“But if you dig deeper, you might find a completely different way to use it and open up a new path, which makes it hard to judge, right?”

"You mean... Gengar's technique is to understand and explore the shadow itself?"

Looking carefully at the stone in his hand, Firion seemed to have gained something.

Above the water, the little dream demon who was originally fighting wits and courage with Gengar seemed to have noticed something. He flashed past the chubby purple fat man, flew to the top of Firion's head, and landed steadily.

"It's quite clever. It knows how to talk about its own business." The little dream demon's big, sparkling eyes also pleased Kikuko. "Then don't practice for now. Let's listen together."

"Machi~!"

"Filio, you should know that there is a completely new and parallel world behind the shadows. This is almost 'common sense' among those so-called ghost experts. But in fact, it is not the case. There is no absolute parallel."

The black cane tapped gently on the riverbank, making a sound, which reflected the pride and complacency of the old man when he talked about his lifelong skills.

“Using the shadow as your own space is a very advanced use, but it is not enough. Because I found a more advanced technique, a unique technique.”

Kikuko was leaning on a cane, looking very excited.

"Ordinary ghost-type Pokémon can only hide in a shadow or in another space, which is good, but still far from enough. I want to turn Lurking Attack into the instinct of Pokémon, and turn the ubiquitous shadows into extensions of their bodies. Where the shadows are, that's where the ghost-type Pokémon is. I named this technique [Shadow Transfer]."

"Shadow...transfer?"

There was a strange light in Firio's eyes, and he suddenly thought of the fierce battle on Sufang Island that shocked the world.

The move that almost turned defeat into victory in a desperate situation, the technique of integrating Gengar and the shadow of the cave, was undoubtedly the essence of her lifelong learning.

Now it seems that compared to the ghost army that frightened the world and the death makeup technique that almost turned decay into magic, perhaps this stunt that almost touched the rules was what she was most proud of.

"Madge?"

Looking at the round little shadow below him, and then at Gengar who was running towards him, the Dream Demon tilted his head cutely.

"Yes, this is the real trump card that I, Kikuko, have devoted decades of research on." The long golden hair danced in the breeze, and the old man at this moment seemed to have returned to his youthful days. "In this world, no one has gone deeper than me!"

The short and somewhat thin old man, at this moment, is even taller and more majestic than the giant waterfall that rises hundreds of meters from the ground.

"Geng Ga!"

Feeling the surging emotions of his lifelong friend, Gengar could no longer contain his own passion and soared into the sky.

The deep and dark light covered the sky and the sun, and the surging purple-black waves ran from heaven to earth.

This is the true secret of a ghost master.

It was not a compliment to the strong, nor was it like the previous ridicule and mockery. In front of an elder who truly promoted the development of a field, all words were redundant.

Obsessed with fighting and with her beloved ghost attributes, she has devoted her entire life to these pursuits. Without a doubt, she deserves to be called a master by anyone.

The passion to pursue the limit, to explore new paths, and the determination to devote one's life to turning it into reality, even the lazy Firio could not help but be deeply moved.

“Machi…!”

Lying quietly on top of Firion, clutching his hair tightly, the little dream demon stared intently at Gengar in the sky, who was displaying his heroic spirit and powerful strength rarely seen in the world, and made up his mind secretly.

On the road of growth, after crossing one obstacle after another and surpassing all the mentors and friends who had once given it guidance, it once again found a more powerful goal.

"……Ah."

The corner of her eye swept across Firion and the Dream Demon's faces that were filled with concentration, and Kikuko's expression, which was tense due to excitement, relaxed in relief.

She was certain that the jokes she made during her sister's visit would become an undoubted reality.

With a serious expression, the stern instructor gave another order: "Alright! I have told you everything that needs to be told. Now the break time is over, let's start training! Gengar, take out all the things you bought earlier!"

Therefore, the afternoon time, which should have been a time for relaxation, turned into a rigorous and fulfilling training again because of the old man's joy.

The way old-school trainers express emotions is always different from that of contemporary people.

The waterfall from the Milky Way drowned out the sound of the training, leaving only dark shadows spreading across the seldom visited mountains.

With eager expectations and burning fighting spirit.

Chapter 273: Professor Oak's Strength Technique

A week passed in a flash, and the cycle of extreme fatigue, injury, healing, and injury was repeated. Every Pokémon seemed to have shed a layer of skin, and even Firion became a little haggard.

Even for someone like him who is not sensitive to sunlight, his skin turned a slightly wheat-colored hue due to the hard training.

The devilish training was designed by Granny Kikuko herself, and each item goes straight to the physical and mental limits of Firion and his companions. They will not stop until the last bit of strength is squeezed out, fully demonstrating the ruthless side of the old-school trainer in squeezing out his own potential.