[Life Orb].
Su Qingxue had some impression of that item.
[Life Orb]
[Effect: A held item that boosts the power of all the Pokémon's moves by 30%, but also causes the Pokémon to lose a small amount of HP each turn]
Purely from a power-increase standpoint, the [Life Orb] was undeniably strong.
Other items, like [Charcoal] or [Mystic Water], only boosted moves of a specific type—
but the [Life Orb] had no such restrictions.
In that regard, it should have been one of the most sought-after Pokémon items.
But in reality, that wasn't the case.
Because the [Life Orb] came with one major drawback:
Every time the Pokémon used a move, it would lose a portion of its own health.
Subsequent tests by researchers had shown—
Regardless of how powerful or weak the move was, a Pokémon equipped with a [Life Orb] could only attack around ten times before collapsing from exhaustion—sometimes not even that.
It drastically reduced a Pokémon's ability to sustain combat.
In a typical battle setting, that drawback might still be manageable.
But in wild encounters or free-form matches with no rules?
The [Life Orb] became a chicken rib—a Chinese idiom meaning something that's not worth much, but too wasteful to throw away.
And yet—
When Guo Yi mentioned the [Life Orb], Su Qingxue, ever sharp and perceptive, immediately picked up on the key point.
"Teacher, does [Sheer Force] make a Pokémon immune to the [Life Orb's] downside?"
If it could negate the [Life Orb's] self-damage, then the value of the item would be immeasurable.
Guo Yi nodded.
"It can cancel the downside—but only when the [Sheer Force] ability is actually activated."
Some people assumed that simply having[Sheer Force] meant the [Life Orb's] recoil wouldn't apply.
That wasn't true.
The[Life Orb's] side effect only vanished when[Sheer Force] was triggered—
not just because the Pokémon had the ability.
If Nidoqueen used a move that didn't have a secondary effect, then the [Life Orb] would still deal recoil damage.
That's why move selection on Nidoqueen's skillset was absolutely critical.
"Qingxue, besides [Earth Power] and [Sludge Bomb], does your mother's Nidoqueen know any other moves—like [Flamethrower], [Thunderbolt], or [Ice Beam]?"
What made Nidoqueen and Nidoking such ideal users of [Sheer Force] and the [Life Orb] combo was their incredibly broad movepools.
It gave them the versatility to calmly counter a wide range of types.
Unlike other Pokémon with [Sheer Force], whose viable trigger moves were few and far between.
But to his surprise, Su Qingxue looked at him blankly and replied:
"Teacher... Nidoqueen can learn those kinds of moves?"
In her mind, moves like [Flamethrower] or [Thunderbolt] had nothing to do with Nidoking or Nidoqueen.
Especially [Ice Beam].
Nidoqueen was a Ground-type! How could a Ground-type possibly use an Ice-type move?
That's when Guo Yi remembered—
Ah… right.
This world hasn't even invented TMs yet.
And move instruction is still stuck at the most primitive stage—one Pokémon teaching another.
Still, seeing the wide-eyed disbelief in Su Qingxue's gaze, he couldn't help but scoff inwardly:
A Ground-type using an Ice move? That's nothing.
Wait until you see a Gyarados breathing fire. That'll really blow your mind.
As ridiculous as it sounded—
Yes, Gyarados could actually learn [Flamethrower].
Guo Yi returned to the main topic and carefully asked for more details about her mother's Nidoqueen's skillset.
Eventually, he gave his recommendation.
"Qingxue, from what you've told me, your mother's Nidoqueen currently only has four moves that can trigger Sheer Force and thereby negate the [Life Orb's] recoil:
[Earth Power], [Sludge Bomb], [Body Slam], and [Poison Tai]l."
"You must remember this well."
Guo Yi reminded her firmly as Su Qingxue scribbled down notes by his side.
"Got it, Teacher! I'll make sure to explain it to my mom later."
Good.
Guo Yi nodded, pleased. He continued, "As for the [Life Orb]... I don't have one right now. You may need to find that yourselves."
Technically, the item could be bought from the system shop.
The problem?
Su Qingxue's mother's Nidoqueen was far too powerful.
[Life Orb (Champion Tier): 10,000 Trainer Points.]
A full ten thousand points—far beyond what Guo Yi could afford at the moment.
Fortunately—
Su Qingxue seemed fully prepared for this. She didn't even flinch.
"Don't worry, Teacher. I think my mother can handle that part."
Right now, thanks to its recoil drawbacks, the market price of the [Life Orb] wasn't actually that high.
With the Azure Dragon Society's current financial resources, buying one—or even several—was still doable.
However—
Once the mechanics of [Sheer Force] became public knowledge, the price of Life Orbs would likely skyrocket several times over.
I'll make sure to tell Mom to stock up in advance.
Once Teacher publicly releases this synergy, we'll be able to make a fortune.
Su Qingxue silently plotted her strategy as she took notes— but at the same time, for the first time in her heart, she fully and sincerely accepted Guo Yi as her teacher.
[Ding! Your performance has deepened Su Qingxue's recognition of your role as her teacher. Trainer Points +100.]
Excellent.
Not a waste of breath after all.
And if just raising a student's respect earned rewards—
Then what kind of [Trainer Point] payout would improving their Pokémon's strength unlock?
Guo Yi couldn't help but start looking forward to it.
"Qingxue," he said, "Aside from delivering energy cubes today, my main goal was to teach your Nidoran♀ the move [Hone Claws]."
"Here—this bag of cubes is for you."
With that—
He handed Su Qingxue a pouch of training-specific energy cubes designed to support the learning of [Hone Claws].