Chapter 314: Homework and Hard Truths
It would be very easy to get a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak, Xiu knew, but it ultimately depended on whether Rinko herself was willing to take on another Pokémon that way.
Xiu actually preferred the idea of going into the forest with her. Firstly, it would let her experience the pressure and realities of the wild firsthand. Secondly, Pokémon born and raised in the wild naturally possessed a certain wildness, a stronger innate desire to fight and survive.
Moreover, any Pokémon that managed to survive in the wild for a significant time had already underwent natural selection; it was difficult for them to make it without some inherent strength, cunning, or resilience.
"How's that sound? Do you have any ideas or preferences?" Xiu asked. He had no intention of forcing her decision; it still depended on what Rinko thought.
Anyway, he had already stated his reasons and offered his suggestions. She should have her own ideas by now; after all, she was not Xiu's puppet.
After listening to Xiu's words, Rinko thought about it carefully. She found that all Xiu had recommended to her were either pure Grass-types or had a Grass typing as part of their aspect. She was a little confused for a moment, so she asked him why.
Xiu shared his views on this issue. "Of course, this is primarily because it takes the least amount of specialized energy and resources to cultivate Pokémon of the same or similar types, because there are many common points between them in terms of dietary needs, environmental preferences, and even some training methodologies.
After all," he added with a touch of realism, "no one dares to say that they have studied Pokémon so thoroughly that they understand every type perfectly yet."
He had thought about this problem of type specialization before. After all, a single-type team could easily be targeted by opponents with strong counter-types.
But after a more thorough study and observation of the world, Xiu found that things were not as simple as he had initially thought. The best example of this was the specialized Gym system.
Focusing on one series or type of Pokémon allowed Gym Leaders and their families to gain a much deeper understanding of those specific Pokémon than ordinary Trainers could ever hope to achieve.
The Pokémon they trained tended to be more powerful and more attuned to their specific strengths.
In addition, this specialized understanding was often passed down through family traditions or other established inheritance systems.
After so many generations of focused development, it had long become a distinct, powerful system of its own. For example, the Bug-type Pokémon bred and trained in the legacy of the Viridian Gym were stronger than others of their kind found elsewhere.
The gap was not just one or two minor points; it was often very terrifyingly significant. This was not only due to unique local resources like the Purple Flower, but also due to the Gym Owners who had passed down their accumulated knowledge and incremental improvements from generation to generation.
This was the benefit of focusing on one thing: the depth and breadth of specialized exploration were unmatched by ordinary people with more generalized approaches. After all, human energy and attention are limited.
However, Xiu himself was an exception to this. He took another path, a more eclectic one. His method of collecting Pokémon depended entirely on fate, on circumstance.
And then, once a Pokémon was in his care, he did his absolute best to be responsible for its well-being and development.
Xiu was the kind of person who knew a little bit about everything, but perhaps only a little bit about most things. He could talk about many subjects, but he often couldn't articulate them at a truly profound, expert level. To describe it in one phrase, it would be "jack of all trades, master of none."
"I know you have a point," Rinko said, "but…" She was clearly shaken by his reasoning, convinced to a degree, but she still seemed to lack a little push, a little confidence.
"How about this," Xiu offered, "I'll find a time to accompany you into the forest. We'll see if you're destined to meet any new companions then." Xiu knew what she was worried about – her own inexperience in the wild – but with him around, it wouldn't be a big problem.
The only thing he had to be more particular about was choosing the right place. At least, he definitely couldn't go into the Viridian Forest right now; that area, which was originally the best choice for finding diverse Grass-types, was still too unstable.
It seems I still need to ask Professor Oak to find out the current situation in other nearby natural habitats.
"Okay," Rinko agreed, a little relieved. After all, Xiu had said he would accompany her.
In truth, she was mostly worried that she couldn't take good care of any new Pokémon properly, especially one captured from the wild.
"Let's do this for now," Xiu said, changing tack. "We'll make future training and team arrangements based on your Vileplume's current skills." He took out a small notebook and looked at her. "Tell me about the skills Vileplume has now."
Rinko thought for a moment and slowly said, "Energy Ball, Solar Beam, Stun Spore, and Synthesis… these seem to be the only ones it uses regularly."
"I think you're missing one," Xiu said, stopping his writing. He looked up at her. "There's another one it uses effectively: Grass Knot."
"Eh?" Rinko looked at Xiu in confusion. She herself didn't consciously know that her Gloom knew this move, so how did he know?
"Like I just said," Xiu explained, "a skill's name is just a label. You have to see its essence, how it actually functions." He tapped the pen in his hand on the notebook, leaving a few light marks on the page. "I'm going to test you now. What is the essence of the skill Grass Knot? How does it work?"
Faced with Xiu's direct question, Rinko was obviously stumped. She stood there thinking hard, but had no clue at all beyond the move's basic description.
When Xiu saw her like this, he knew that he was pushing her too fast. Rinko had not reached that point of intuitive tactical understanding yet, and it was too early to design complex battle tactics specifically for her.
"Well, let's leave this question for now," Xiu said. "My homework for you today is to choose ten common Grass-type skills and then study the underlying principles of how they work and their various external manifestations or applications. I'll come over to check on your progress later."
Teaching others did not mean simply telling them everything. It was more important to cultivate their habit of independent thinking and let them find information and understanding on their own.
That was more useful in the long run than him just talking for hours.
"Hmm," Rinko murmured, a little dejected. She also knew that she seemed to have failed to satisfy Xiu's expectations with her lack of an immediate answer, and she felt a little frustrated for a moment.
Xiu saw her disappointment but did not choose to comfort her directly.
Instead, he ignored it, letting her sit with that feeling. In his eyes, Rinko was not fragile; she would not be defeated by such a small intellectual challenge.
This kind of feeling now, this minor frustration, would become her motivation to learn and improve. Acknowledging one's shortcomings leads to courage and diligence.
"Okay, this class is almost over for today," Xiu said. He looked up at the stairs, then turned back to Rinko. "I need to use the computer upstairs."
"Yeah," Rinko nodded casually. Her attention was now focused on digesting the knowledge she had just learned, already thinking about the homework assignment.
After going upstairs, Xiu first took a look at the situation with Xiaochun and Sol.
He found that the two of them were indeed quietly doing their own things in Sol's room – Sol reading, Xiaochun observing or perhaps playing with Ditto.
Neither of them seemed to have any intention of disturbing the other. Xiu chatted with them briefly and then went to the study.
As soon as he entered, he found something different. Many books on the an advanced research bookshelf were missing. These must have been taken away by Sol to read.
A moment later, an incoming call prompt sounded on the computer, and the screen switched. Xiaoyuan, dressed in a sharp professional suit, sat in front of her camera, her face serious.
She had an air of quiet authority about her without being overtly angry or imposing, yet Xiu noticed that she looked a little tired, faint shadows under her eyes.
"Relax," Xiu said gently. "What's this formality for?"
Xiaoyuan seemed to realize she was still in "business mode" and visibly relaxed. Her originally straight posture slowly softened, her shoulders slumping slightly.
She put her hands on her neck and twisted it, sighing while complaining, "I just finished a few incredibly long meetings. I'm so tired."
"Ah! It's almost ten o'clock and you're still working overtime?" Xiu asked, concerned.
"What do you think?" Xiaoyuan rolled her eyes at Xiu with a hint of dissatisfaction. "These past few days, I've been dealing with all kinds of problems and crises as soon as I opened my eyes. Now, I have a mountain of things still waiting for me."
"You should put your work aside for a bit," Xiu advised. "If you really can't, at least delay some of it for a while. You have to take care of your health, Xiaoyuan."
Xiu knew he was partly responsible for her current workload, so he didn't continue the topic of her overworking after giving his reminder. Instead, he asked, "I assume none of our core people were seriously injured or killed in this recent incident, right?"
Speaking of this, Xiaoyuan's expression became a little more focused again. "According to your prior arrangements and warnings, we managed to avoid the worst impacts.
Neither our assets in Viridian City nor Celadon City suffered much direct damage. However, a few lower-level employees in Viridian City panicked and ran away during the chaos, and some others were accidentally injured while at work.
But these are all relatively minor matters in the grand scheme of things."