Poliwhirl's learnable Ground-type moves include Mud Shot, Earth Power, Dig, Bulldoze, and Earthquake.

Good grief—it can even learn Earthquake. When Reiji looked through Poliwhirl's movepool and saw the strongest Ground move on the list, the choice was obvious.

That settles the Ground path: start with Mud Shot and Bulldoze to get a feel for Ground-type mechanics, then work up to Earthquake. No need to jump straight to the hardest move on day one. As for Earth Power and Dig—skip them for now.

Water already beats Rock and Ground. If you Dig and get tagged mid-burrow, you take double damage; not worth the risk. Earth Power is a special attack; Poliwhirl prefers physical. Earthquake fits.

Mud Shot is ranged and worth learning, especially since the Water Gun accuracy drills are already top-tier—why waste that? And the "ice ball" throw: if you sling it with a Waterfall burst behind it, it's basically an ice shell fired from a cannon. That should slap.

Up to now, Poliwhirl's routine was: Waterfall sprints in the morning; Moisture sensing in the afternoon; and at night, combo-tech centered on Waterfall.

New adds: learn Protect and weave it into Ice Burst—trigger Protect at the instant of the detonation. Add Mud Shot and Bulldoze as stepping stones toward Earthquake. Also, practice ice-ball throwing accuracy.

Protect is simple to learn and simple to slot into Ice Burst—but there's the cooldown: after using Protect once, the success rate drops to roughly a third. Realistically, to avoid "bandage-worthy" self-damage, Ice Burst should be capped at three uses per battle.

Tradeoffs. There's no such thing as a perfect plan.

Mud Shot will be easy—Kingler already knows it, so let Poliwhirl learn from Kingler.

Bulldoze? Rhyhorn's got it; have Poliwhirl study under Rhyhorn.

Ice-ball throws only need a little polish; Water Gun fundamentals carry over.

Total new moves to learn: four. Order: Protect → Mud Shot → Bulldoze → ice-ball throws.

Scheduling: morning Waterfall sprints are sacred—Reiji still wants the burst distance compressed ASAP. Afternoon Moisture sensing is the cornerstone; Poliwhirl has no Psychic powers or aura—so it has to grind. That means the night block will be repurposed from combo practice to new-move study.

Poliwhirl's revamp done; next up, Kingler.

From this afternoon's battles, Kingler looked good. With Agility learned and Ground options (Mud Shot, Dig) online, it's time to add Iron Defense and Swords Dance. Keep an eye on Stomping Tantrum and High Horsepower as future options—let the big lug pick them up later.

Once Iron Defense and Swords Dance are in place, add either an Ice- or Bug-type attack to widen coverage and avoid being hard-walled.

Kingler's old schedule? Agility runs in the morning, Agility runs at noon, and—yeah—Agility runs at night.

Thinking of that, Reiji popped Kingler out.

"Ka-ka?" Kingler scratched its head with the small pincer, doubtful—was it training time?

"Kingler, head over there and learn Protect from Poliwhirl. Let Poliwhirl teach you."

"Ka-ka." Kingler scuttled to the firelight's edge. "Ka-ka-ka!"

"Yobo—learn together," Poliwhirl said, patting the shell, while Skinny's Poliwhirl continued explaining how to form and time Protect.

With Kingler studying, Reiji set the framework: morning Agility runs stay; afternoons become new-move study; nights return to running. Speed underpins the entire "high-attack, high-defense, high-speed" design—no speed, no plan. If he had to rank priorities: speed first, defense second, offense third.

Kingler can also learn Amnesia to shore up special defense. Max both defenses, and who's breaking through? Unless the opponent can Haze away buffs or Baton Pass/Skill Swap shenanigans the boosts, most foes get ground down.

Plan set; now, how to learn? Iron Defense and Swords Dance aren't STAB for Kingler; difficulty's higher. Better to hire a tutor than bang his head against a TM alone.

It's just like that book he read this week:

"On the Difficulty of Learning Off-Type Moves for Pokémon."

Conclusion and prior experience are clear: for Kingler the question isn't "can" but "how to start." TM alone won't cut it; the book says the difficulty is high. Don't be stubborn, don't waste time—get a teacher. He can afford it.

Tomorrow he'll line up a good tutor for Iron Defense and Swords Dance, then bring Kingler home to drill Protect at night—must-learn, no excuses.

Next, Rhyhorn—the big doofus. It's time to get it into real battles. Will it actually follow orders? That uncertainty is why Reiji didn't dare use Rhyhorn in the 5-million match. In a wager like that, you don't field a mon whose battle will is unproven.

Rhyhorn's old plan: morning rock polish and rock climb sprints; afternoon… it napped; night was "ram the tree," and during meals it trained its "three fangs."

So: afternoons become new-move time—High Horsepower.

Stomp/tantrum-type moves will grow naturally via running; Horn attacks are covered at night; bite/fang drills happen at mealtime. The three major striking zones—limbs, horn, jaws—are all touched. Good.

What it lacks is live experience. Soon, he'll queue a couple of low-tier skirmishes to test it.

With the three main battlers' plans rebuilt, that's a wrap. The rest are support units—later.

Reiji flipped his notebook and did the money.

Recent purchases: knives 10,000; food for two 30,000; blankets 10,000; snacks 10,000; calcium 95,000; treatment 15,000; massage 10,000.

Total spend: 180,000.

Recent earnings: 1,000,000 + 1,000,000 + 5,000,000 = 7,000,000.

Previous balance: 10,078,000.

New balance: 17,078,000.

Minus expenses: 16,898,000.

Add the 27,000,000 in the bank: over 40,000,000 total. A new milestone.

More money, more problems. And still—no sign of a High-Grade Water Stone. Even with cash in hand? Annoying. Which bastard is hoarding them all?

He closed the notebook, slipped it into his pack, and quietly watched Skinny studying, the two Poliwhirl practicing, and Rhyhorn head-butting trees.

It was only nine. Early yet. He leaned against a trunk and dozed until Skinny nudged him awake; training was done. They doused the fire and headed back. Reiji threw together a late-night snack for the team.

Everyone ate, and they crashed on the sofas. So much for laying out bedrolls.

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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