After paying the treatment fee at the Pokémon Center, Skinny picked up his Poliwhirl and Breloom and headed straight to Reiji's villa.

When he arrived, Reiji was cooking in the kitchen, so Skinny jumped in to help. Skinny's Poliwhirl and Breloom hadn't been badly hurt—mostly drained—and after an afternoon's rest they were fine to train that night.

Reiji's side was different: his Poliwhirl needed two days off; Kingler one day. (Kingler wasn't actually injured and could resume tomorrow.)

They chatted while they cooked, then ate together. After a short break, they went back to the grove from the previous night for evening "training."

Tonight was special. Since Reiji's Poliwhirl and Kingler—and Skinny's Breloom and Poliwhirl—had all battled that afternoon, this was more "keeping the big lug company so he can bonk trees," otherwise the big lug wouldn't sleep.

Taking advantage of the rest day, Reiji released his Poliwhirl beside the campfire.

"Poli~whirl." As soon as Poliwhirl came out, Reiji rubbed its head. Poliwhirl leaned into it, not quite sure why the sudden head pats felt so good.

"You did great today. I'm giving you two days off—rest well. The 'ice blast' recoil is still too much. I need you to learn Protect from Skinny's Poliwhirl so we can nullify that backlash."

"Yobo." It nodded, then looked over at Skinny and motioned for him to release his Poliwhirl.

Skinny obliged at once, explaining that Reiji's Poliwhirl wanted to learn Protect and asking his own to teach it.

"Poli." Skinny's Poliwhirl nodded seriously and went off with Reiji's.

Once the two Poliwhirl had trotted away, Reiji began explaining. "Skinny, the key to Waterfall is burst distance. My requirement is: within one meter."

"One meter?" Skinny knew this was the start of the combo-tech lesson, so he whipped out his little notebook and began writing.

"You saw it today: Waterfall fires in an instant. You have to practice until the takeoff and landing points are compressed to within one meter. Only then is it 'qualified.'"

"Why not just explode forward? Why care about distance?" Skinny asked.

"Because Waterfall has two fatal weaknesses: once you launch, you can't dodge or turn in mid-air. If the opponent reads those, they can punish Poliwhirl. But if you pop Waterfall face-to-face within a meter, those weaknesses vanish. Any time, any place, near or far—you deliver max power instantly, all into the target.

"Even if you dodge, your landing becomes controllable: one meter, two, three—your choice. If it's always four, five, ten meters, then once they sidestep your burst they know you're drifting helplessly and can't threaten them."

"I get it." Skinny thought back to the afternoon. Poliwhirl's Waterfall always seemed to trigger at the same distance—about three to four meters. Even when dodging Electabuzz, its landing was still three to four meters away. So Reiji's Poliwhirl's working 'limit' in battle had been within four meters.

"Do you know why we keep compressing the burst distance?"

"I don't," Skinny admitted.

"If Poliwhirl is an arrow, shot with the same force, which deals more damage—hitting a target at ten meters or at three?" Reiji asked.

"Three."

"Correct. Closer increases power. And that's not all. Remember those two weaknesses—no turning, no dodge in mid-air? The fix is to compress the burst interval to within a meter so every burst is also a turn and a dodge. At one meter, there's no hanging, helplessly floating in mid-air.

"With one-meter steps, Poliwhirl can pop to evade, land next to the opponent, then pop again at full force. Continuous bursts—that's why I insist on one meter.

"If you can't do that, you end up like today: after every burst you have to reset range to get another max-power Waterfall. It's clumsy. Even using Waterfall to dodge, you'll land three to four meters away and miss the window to chain bursts and punish.

"Distance, power, direction—those are Waterfall's three core points. Remember them. Once Poliwhirl masters one-meter bursts, most Pokémon won't even react before the hit lands."

"I've got it, Big Bro." Skinny wrote frantically. These were treasures he could use for life.

"Even so, your Poliwhirl won't be 'invincible.' Psychic-types with precognition can sense burst and landing points instantly. But if their bodies can't keep up, they still eat punches. Sensory read without physical response is just a beating."

"Psychic sensing… noted."

"The best way to train burst intervals? Morning runs," Reiji added. Knowing the theory is useless if you don't know how to train it.

"So that's what the 'simple running' was for—I thought it was just cardio!" Skinny finally saw the point: the runs had Waterfall's rhythm baked in.

"As for the combo with Waterfall, all that's left is what your fist uses. That's easy—pick the punching move you want. You don't need me to tell you that."

"Understood."

"Alright. Ask whatever else you don't get." Reiji leaned against a tree and looked up at the stars. He'd handed over what he could; the rest was up to Skinny.

"Big Bro, what exactly is that ice blast?"

"A natural effect," Reiji said. "When Ice Punch and Thunder Punch collide violently, they generate a lot of heat—high temperature and pressure—then boom. Ice Punch + Fire Punch can also blow—but the collision must be violent."

"I'll remember." Skinny jotted down the 'little explosion trick.' Reiji's Poliwhirl had used that to beat Electabuzz—his own should learn it too.

"Use it carefully. The recoil is bad. You need Protect to null it." Reiji had already read Skinny's mind—of course he'd try it.

"So that's why you want Poliwhirl to learn Protect," Skinny muttered, caught out and a little sheepish.

"Only Protect fully blocks the blast." Reiji sighed. It's a tough technique to develop. Most people just assume "battle explosions happen" and leave it at that. He knew the principle—and how to aim it so only the opponent gets hurt.

"I'll keep it in mind." Tonight's info dump was so huge Skinny doubted he could sleep.

He hesitated, then braced himself to ask about other training routes. It was too good a chance to pass up—even if he had to pay.

"Big Bro, Grandpa told me to ask… do you have methods for my other Pokémon? He said we can pay."

"Your Breloom—the old director's notes are already solid. Follow them," Reiji said. The old man was greedy, but sharing this was fine. It was all investment; the return could take its time.

As for sunk costs? Heh. Skinny's already taking Reiji's shape. It won't sink.

"What about Elekid and Wingull?" Skinny pressed.

"Wingull's a mount for me—rain setups to support training and battles. No special method; raise it how you like, or find someone else's guidance.

"Elekid depends on the build you want. If you go fighting-style, you can borrow Poliwhirl's method. If you want to push Electric-type power, focus on raising its charge capacity. Other routes—you'll have to explore yourself."

"I see." Skinny wrote both Elekid routes down. Then another thought popped up: if Poliwhirl's method could port to Elekid, maybe others could, too. And boosting charge capacity to amplify Electric moves also sounded great.

Elekid could absorb electricity—could it drain a foe's power mid-fight and send it back?

One more thing: why exactly does Ground beat Electric? Why are Electric attacks ineffective on Ground?

"Big Bro, why are Electric moves invalid against Ground-types?"

"Because the ground doesn't conduct. Common sense." Reiji stopped—right, no universal schooling here. Even "water conducts" could be a gap, never mind soil and stone.

He clarified: "More precisely, rock doesn't conduct. If a Rhyhorn opens its mouth, it can still get shocked. And if Elekid overcharges, it can dump electricity into the ground to vent—bleeding off Electric damage."

"Got it." Skinny noted both points to look up later. If you can shunt charge into the earth, then using Elekid to screen Electric-types as part of a team defense might be viable.

With Skinny out of questions, Reiji pulled his own notebook to revise the training plans. He wasn't scrapping them—just re-prioritizing.

After today, he realized Poliwhirl's coverage was narrow. Against Electric-types, how could it not have a Ground-type move? If Poliwhirl had Mud Shot today, it wouldn't have been reduced to lobbing ice ball.

Before mastering Protect for ice-blast usage, learning one or two Ground moves was very much necessary.

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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