Chapter 363: Confusion

Chapter 363: Chapter 363: Confusion

Miraidon was very curious about the change in Blaziken’s state of mind.

Ever since Miraidon was caught by Julian and brought back to Veilstone Gym for training, his mentality had been gradually influenced by everyone around him.

There were battle maniacs like Kommo-o and Annihilape. There were determined Pokémon like Toxicroak and Sirfetch’d, who trained silently without complaining about hardship or fatigue.

There was also the friendship and family-like bond brought to him by Goodra and Bagon.

Especially Bagon.

He had allowed Miraidon to properly experience what it meant to be a big brother.

That interwoven feeling of family and loyalty had driven Miraidon to change.

But Blaziken had merely been given half a day of reduced intensity after undergoing high-intensity training.

It could not even really be counted as rest.

Yet somehow, it had made Blaziken’s will firmer.

Miraidon felt that if he could understand this, then when he returned to the Great Crater of Paldea, he might even dare to fight Koraidon at close range.

Although Miraidon also dared to use Electro Drift at close range now, after one hit, he had to retreat and adjust again.

To keep fighting Koraidon up close, Miraidon did not have that courage.

Nor did he have that strength.

Koraidon’s close-combat ability had been forged through countless intense battles.

If Miraidon wanted to fight Koraidon at close range, he would need to undergo training even more intense than Blaziken’s current routine.

Just thinking about that kind of life made him feel afraid.

Right now, he lacked one final bit of courage.

For this kind of long-term training, he had to walk into it himself.

If Julian forced him, it would only have the opposite effect.

Miraidon asked Blaziken, but Blaziken did not know how to answer.

He could only tell him to ask Sirfetch’d and Toxicroak.

Miraidon went to ask Toxicroak first.

Toxicroak’s answer was a desire for victory.

Toxicroak, no longer obsessive, trained with a desire for victory instead, and he pushed his body to the limit every day.

Once you became obsessive, you would miss the details.

Form was emptiness, emptiness was form,

You thought I wanted nothing,

In truth, I wanted everything!

Miraidon only half understood.

He went to find Sirfetch’d.

Sirfetch’d froze for a moment after hearing the question, then blinked calmly.

Was persisting in training a difficult thing?

Eating, drinking, training, sleeping.

It was simply daily life.

As long as you increased your training volume by a little every day, after enough time, the change would be very promising.

And during daily training, there would not be too much change in pressure.

Miraidon nodded.

That could work.

He had always felt that Gallade’s training philosophy was more profound than everyone else’s.

So he planned to ask his opinion too.

Gallade extended his elbow blades and very slowly slashed out two Psycho Cuts.

Then he asked Miraidon whether he could feel the difference between the two Psycho Cuts.

Miraidon did not think there was any difference.

Gallade then asked whether Miraidon was willing to personally experience the difference between the two Psycho Cuts.

Miraidon nodded directly.

Being cut by Psycho Cut would hurt.

But compared to slowly thinking about it, this would be much more efficient.

In the past, he had believed that not getting injured was wisdom.

Now, he understood that he could get injured, but it had to be exchanged for a greater benefit.

The first Psycho Cut sliced across Miraidon’s body.

Only a small portion of its power pierced through his dragon scales and brought him pain.

Then came the second.

When the Psycho Cut slashed towards him, Miraidon discovered that the second one did seem slightly different.

Once it landed on him, Miraidon could not help screaming.

A powerful cutting sensation.

A sharp blade.

The fear of his body being cut open.

Miraidon’s eyes widened as he looked at the deep wound left behind.

Why was there such a huge difference?

Gallade looked at him calmly.

This was the difference between swinging the sword with your heart and swinging it without your heart.

When you trained with your heart, you could feel the joy of training.

Naturally, you would not feel that training was tiring.

If Miraidon could not passively experience the joy of training like Blaziken, then he should be like Gallade and actively embrace the joy of training.

For Miraidon, who possessed a super brain, this was not difficult.

Miraidon asked Sirfetch’d why he was able to persist in training.

That made Sirfetch’d unable to stop himself from reflecting.

That was right.

Why did he persist in training?

Something that happened naturally was not necessarily something that should be taken for granted.

Sirfetch’d could not help feeling a trace of confusion.

When he practised swordsmanship with Gallade at night, Gallade sensed the confusion in Sirfetch’d’s blade.

Gallade did not expose it directly. Instead, he went to find Julian and explained Sirfetch’d’s situation.

Sirfetch’d saw himself as a knight and viewed Julian as his lord.

In other words, what Sirfetch’d needed now was encouragement from Julian.

Under the brilliant night sky, Julian and Sirfetch’d sat together on the grass.

Sirfetch’d still held his long leek sword and shield, and Julian smiled.

"Sirfetch’d, if high-intensity training is making you unhappy..."

"Then you can stop for a while. Once you find the meaning behind becoming stronger, you can pick up your sword and shield again."

Julian rubbed Sirfetch’d’s head and took out a portion of dried fish seasoned with leek.

Sirfetch’d’s leek was both the weapon of Sirfetch’d and Farfetch’d, but in truth, it was also their favourite food.

"You can’t buy Galarian leeks in Sinnoh, so I could only replace them with local leeks. I hope you like them."

Julian took Sirfetch’d’s sword and shield.

"You’ve always protected me. Occasionally, you can let me protect you too."

"Go on. Try the dried fish."

Sirfetch’d was deeply moved.

Putting down his sword and shield still made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

He picked up a piece of dried fish and placed it in his mouth. After chewing twice and feeling the rich fragrance, Sirfetch’d revealed a look of surprise.

"Sirfetch’d!"

Julian had specially chosen long-stemmed leeks.

Some Trainers, in order to give Farfetch’d greater attack power, pursued longer leeks.

Although they were not held items, replacing a leek with a higher-quality one could still affect Farfetch’d’s battle power.

Where there was demand, there would be a market. Some botanists had begun growing new leeks.

They needed to be thin, long, and sturdy enough.

The leeks Julian had bought were actually failed products.

Although they were not suitable for battle, these leeks were also the most suitable food for Farfetch’d.

The leek growing base southwest of Veilstone City, near the Great Marsh, had attracted quite a few wild Farfetch’d to live there.

Julian took out another piece of sliced raw leek and gave it to Sirfetch’d.

"One bite of dried fish, one bite of leek. Try it."

Following Julian’s eating method, Sirfetch’d’s eyes immediately lit up after tasting it.

This flavour was simply...

Incredible!

Eating the dried fish and leek, Sirfetch’d found the meaning of life.

That was to protect Julian and protect this beautiful life!

Julian looked at Sirfetch’d in relief.

"Since you like this kind of leek, we’ll buy more."

This incident also made Julian realise that he still had to feed Pokémon the foods, and even ingredients, they liked according to their habits.

He could not completely rely on Pokémon food and snacks to drive their emotions.

The next morning, everyone discovered that aside from their usual Pokémon food, there were also some ingredients cut into small pieces.

Sirfetch’d received two sections of leek, while Toxicroak received chopped bitter melon.

Toxicroak took one bite and was instantly attracted by the texture and taste of this food.

Seeing everyone’s expressions, Julian knew this food reform had been the right choice.

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