Greatest Pokémon Trainer

Fang Yuan came to Manafei to collect special water sources.

After thinking for a long time, of all the places he had been to, it was on Deep Sea Island, led by the wise Slowking, that he found the most Slowpoke.

Perhaps there was a water source with the same composition as the Dizzy Beast Well Water in the original work.

So, Fang Yuan came...

"Dumb..."

When Fang Yuan returned to Deep Sea Island with Manafei ten months later, he saw the Wise Man of the Sea, Slowking, once again.

At that moment, it was still pondering.

During Fang Yuan's last visit here, he had asked Slowking, whom Manafei greatly respected, some questions about the ZI Wan prophecy.

Now, Fang Yuan had already found the answers himself, yet, Slowking was still deep in thought!

It seemed as if matters concerning the survival of the world were worth pondering over for ten months.

Fang Yuan: "..."

"Mehna (Its head's not working well; we don't need to bother with it)..."

Manafei pulled Fang Yuan away, telling him to just find the water source directly.

"Okay, but you can tell it not to overthink for now; disasters and such are not that big of a deal."

"I've figured it out; when the disaster comes, if I'm well-developed by then, an Eevee and a Monferno can flatten anything in their path, even if Groudon shows up, it won't be of any use!"

After dropping those words, Fang Yuan swiftly called out Dragonite and went to search for the special water source, leaving Manafei behind to ponder alone.

Fang Yuan has become so confident, who gave him the courage.

Dream, perhaps!

......

Due to his previous experience training on Deep Sea Island, Fang Yuan was quite familiar with the place, which greatly expedited his search for special water sources.

In the process of collecting special water sources, Fang Yuan also inquired about the history of these waters with the nearby Pokémon.

It wasn't until he arrived at an underground cave brimming with water flow that he suddenly remembered something.

This place also counted as a special water source, for the water was sweet and had a unique composition, often attracting many Slowpoke to drink here.

The origin of the cave's water source was particularly special, and its uniqueness triggered some memories for Fang Yuan.

This cave water source was accidentally created many years ago when the wise Slowking was still a Slowpoke, using the Rain Dance move.

Even during his Slowpoke days, Slowking exhibited impressive talent, being able to cause rain with just a yawn while asleep.

Having lived here for who knows how long, the rainwater eventually formed a cave lake.

Later, the lake dried up more than once, but fortunately, it was restored by other Slowpoke using Rain Dance. Mysteriously, the taste of the well water never changed.

"I remember now, the games mentioned it too."

"According to the legend in Azalea Town, 400 years ago, a Slowpoke yawned, and heavy rain fell, ending a long drought and thus forming Slowpoke Well!"

It's been so long, Fang Yuan couldn't remember some of the key details clearly.

But now, with a similar hint, Fang Yuan immediately recalled the origin of Slowpoke Well.

The reason why Slowpoke Well in Azalea Town was named after Slowpoke wasn't because the place was inhabited by many Slowpoke.

Rather, it was because a Slowpoke used Rain Dance to save the town from drought, and the well was named after Slowpoke to honor that.

This information was crucial... It confirmed for Fang Yuan that there indeed was a connection between Slowpoke Well Water and the Slowpoke species!

Different Pokémon's use of Rain Dance would result in rainwater with varying compositions.

Fang Yuan felt it was worth studying the special aspects of the "rainwater" brought down by Slowpoke's "yawn."

Perhaps, the water source before him was completely identical to the composition of the Slowpoke Well Water.

Although he was more inclined to believe scientifically that Slowpoke Well Water contained special metal ions that could catalyze a reaction with Apricorns, it didn't stop him from putting forward some guesses for Rotom to test.

He just had to wait for the results...

As a qualified world-class researcher, he should learn to boldly propose hypotheses and cautiously let assistants verify them.

Someday, he would serendipitously stumble upon the solution!

"Continue," Fang Yuan said expectantly.

After a series of operations, Fang Yuan acquired 14 other types of special water sources from Deep Sea Island, each unique due to various reasons.

Having collected all the special water sources, Fang Yuan's purpose for this trip was accomplished.

Meanwhile, with Manafei's reminder, Slowking had already switched to pondering a new question.

Why did Fang Yuan think that just an Eevee and a Monferno could steamroll the world-level disaster he had been trying to solve for ten months...

Who gave Fang Yuan such confidence?

Was it Manafei!

......

"There are still 4 months left until the Pokémon World Exposition, and during this period, whether it's the Special Fairy Ball or Fairy Transport Tech, we must develop one!"

After leaving Deep Sea Island, Fang Yuan muttered to himself.

Time was pressing.

So pressing that Fang Yuan now dared not take Rotom with him when going out, fearing it would delay Rotom's research progress.

Now, Rotom and 3D Dragon were diligently working on new technologies in the lab, while he aided Rotom in the outside world by finding research materials. With their combined efforts, there was no reason they couldn't succeed in four months!

Fang Yuan kept mentally encouraging himself.

"Mehna~"

After coming out of Deep Sea Island, Manafei asked Fang Yuan (Victini) if it wanted to stay and play for a while.

Manafei really adored the cute little Victini.

Although their attributes were in opposition, Manafei felt that the sensation of being powered up by Victini was just too comfortable.

Not long ago, it had tried Victini's power boost and that had given Manafei many new insights.

With Victini around, Manafei felt as if it could pilot the Temple of the Sea across all the Earth's oceans without any issues.

The Earth was much larger than the Pokémon World, which had made Manafei's global exploration somewhat challenging; however, with Victini, there was no problem at all.

Moreover, in collaboration with the adorable Victini, it could exert 100% of the power of the Temple of the Sea and its own authority, even summoning an army of Water Series Pokémon that numbered in the millions!!

In short, Fang Yuan's ability to subdue Victini made Manafei envy him to death.

"Bimi..."

Lil Bikitini was touched by how much Manafei adored it, and while holding Manafei's little hand with longing eyes, it painfully rejected it.

"Bimi..."

Sorry, there's poor reception here, I won't come again next time.

Manafei: ???

Fang Yuan, Eevee: "...Well done."

And so, Fang Yuan came that day, and that same day, he returned.

When he got back to the research institute, it wasn't even dark yet.

Upon returning, Fang Yuan immediately rushed to analyze the components of the water sources with 15 special ingredients and then started his experiments.

......

Three days later.

After spending three days on research, Fang Yuan realized:

The 15 types of special water sources he brought from Deep Sea Island were still of no use; he still couldn't complete the quenching step.

Upon contact with the water source, the intricately forged net-like capture structure inside the Apricorn shattered.

Fang Yuan: T~T

Luckily, Fang Yuan had plenty of patience.

Next, Fang Yuan centered his efforts on the special water source formed by Slowpoke's Rain Dance and tirelessly mixed it with special components required for modern Poké Ball crafting in the great mixing operation!

Half a month later, one day, after Fang Yuan integrated a certain component absent from the Apricorn but necessary for modern Poké Balls into a new water source, the quenching step seemed to succeed.

The rainwater brought down by Slowpoke's Yawn contained a weak Mental Fluctuation. This Mental Fluctuation, alongside some metal ions and the high-temperature Apricorn, triggered a special energy reaction that fully activated the intrinsic qualities of the Apricorn, that is, the special effects that a Special Poké Ball might possess.

Fang Yuan could clearly perceive the difference between the internal structure of this Special Poké Ball and an ordinary Poké Ball.

However, the Special Poké Ball wasn't considered complete at this stage.

The final step was tempering.

The last step, tempering, was relatively simple.

After quenching, tempering the Apricorn at different temperatures ensured the outer toughness and ductility and the internal microstructure were all stabilized.

At this point, the Apricorn could also possess the special shrinking and enlarging mechanism like modern Poké Balls.

This confirmation led Fang Yuan to believe... he might have truly succeeded in creating a Special Poké Ball.

About a month after Fang Yuan returned from Deep Sea Island, the first Special Poké Ball made from a Black Apricorn, the "Heavy Ball," was completed in his hands.

"Hmm..."

In the sweltering, cramped craftsman's shop, Fang Yuan held the unsightly, uncolored black "Heavy Ball" and fell into deep thought.

"It's a bit heavier than a normal Poké Ball; I just don't know yet if it can be used to capture Pokémon normally..."

"If it can capture Pokémon just like a normal Poké Ball, I wonder if it's like in the game, more suitable for capturing very heavy Pokémon..."

Although he had gone through the correct process and observed its internal structure with Aura, Fang Yuan was not sure about the effectiveness of the "Heavy Ball" until he officially used it to capture a Pokémon and compared it with a normal Poké Ball.

So next, he planned to take this "Heavy Ball" to the mountains of the Sun and Moon Forest to test it out on an Onix or a Rolling Rock!!

No sooner said than done!

Fang Yuan quickly pushed open the door of the craftsman's shop, thinking to call out a Pokémon to join him on his trip.

After all, by himself, he might not be able to defeat Pokémon like Onix.

"Woof!!!"

Just as Fang Yuan was about to randomly choose a Pokémon, a ragged dog dashed frantically past him.

Fang Yuan: ???

"Stop right there!!!"

Fang Yuan shouted to halt the Mane Rock Werewolf and asked, "Weren't you training at the World Tree, why did you run out again??"

"Got chased out again??!"

Mane Rock Werewolf: Σ(°△°|||)︴

Seeing Fang Yuan, the Mane Rock Werewolf quickly hid behind him.

Soon after, another canine Pokémon came running at full speed.

Fang Yuan recognized him at once; it was Luo Kuo.

He didn't know what the Mane Rock Werewolf did to anger Luo Kuo, causing Luo Kuo to abandon using Illusion Technique and pursue him in his true form.

"Woof..."

Hiding behind Fang Yuan, the Mane Rock Werewolf trembled with fear and peeked cautiously at Luo Kuo.

"Er..."

Fang Yuan saw Luo Kuo staring angrily at the Mane Rock Werewolf without understanding the reason.

So, what exactly happened?

Seeing Luo Kuo so enraged and chasing after his "student" made Fang Yuan suspect, it wasn't some trivial matter... did the Mane Rock Werewolf knock down the library?