After three battles, Kebi discovered something quite magical.
The lv70s of all four of his Pokémon had increased, especially Seedot and Treecko, who had performed a two-Pokémon sweep, showed significant improvement.
Kebi knew that Pokémon battles could raise a Pokémon's lv70 and ability values, but the improvement he saw today was far greater than when he previously sparred with Trainer:s in the park.
Kebi couldn't think of anyone else suitable to ask, and the person he had been discussing the Sandstorm Attribute with happened to be a seasoned rock-type Pokémon expert.
So, he posed this question to the other party, trying to understand the secret behind the rapid increase in Pokémon lv70s.
The other party directly replied, "Are you participating in a relatively large-scale Pokémon battle competition?"
Kebi quickly typed back, "Yes, is it because of the competition I'm participating in?"
After a while, the other side responded.
The other party typed slowly, which is common for Trainer:s who are not familiar with computer use.
"Nowadays, when various places hold festivals, they always include Pokémon battles. In ancient times, however, when Pokémon battle rituals were held, festivals were held as an accompaniment."
"The festival was part of the battle ritual, used to gather the Psychic power of Trainer:s and spectators onto the victor, helping the Pokémon quickly grow stronger."
"The rituals used in ancient times were much darker and bloodier. As civilization progressed, they gradually evolved into the current town harvest festivals, regional conferences, and other battle competitions."
A flash of insight struck Kebi. He recalled the ancient text Dr. Mei Mu had given him, which recorded a ritual that involved two Pokémon engaging in a bloody duel, with the victor's strength skyrocketing.
But not to mention the ritualistic spell portion, Kebi hadn't even thought to look at the item crafting section.
He had only acquired this book recently, and all his energy had been focused on the final and most important part: Psychic cultivation.
Although he hadn't yet learned Teleport or Future Sight,
he had already mastered Confusion, Psybeam, Hypnosis, and Agility, and had achieved a considerable level of proficiency.
That feeling of gradually growing stronger was indeed somewhat addicting.
Moreover, the crafting process for those items was extremely complex, making it very difficult and costly for Kebi, a novice, to get started.
All in all, it was better to buy than to make.
And now, it seemed, instead of painstakingly crafting items, Kebi would be better off taking his Pokémon to participate in more large-scale competitions like the Electricity Cup.
Kebi's friend, named A Ye, sent another message.
"There's one more thing: for young Trainer:s like you, challenging Gym:s and participating in regional conferences will provide your Pokémon with sufficient improvement."
"As for the competitions held in various towns, just participate as you wish; there's no need to chase after competitions all over the place. Fighting ten harvest festivals might not even yield as much improvement as challenging one Gym."
"The Gym:s established by the Alliance are fixed ritual sites. Every Trainer who goes to challenge leaves their mark, and the badges given out by the Gym Leader also form an invisible connection."
"The higher the quality of previous challengers, the greater the improvement subsequent challengers will receive."
Kebi suddenly understood. So, even though the Cerulean Gym was in such a state, it was still one of Kanto's Eight Gym:s because the previous Gym Leaders had managed the Gym well!
Challengers need high-quality Gym:s, and Gym:s need high-quality challengers.
This is a process of mutual achievement.
Trainer:s stationed at Gym:s must also gain ineffable benefits from these fixed ritual sites.
Kebi decided that after the Electricity Cup ended, he would challenge the Zǐjǐn Gym.
Even if he couldn't participate in the Hoenn Conference, challenging more Gym:s would greatly benefit his Pokémon's growth.
"A Ye, is the rule of the ritual that the victor gets all the experience, and the loser gets nothing?"
A Ye replied, "No, although the loser gains very little, it cannot be said to be nothing at all. Theoretically, even if one continuously fails, as long as they don't give up and continue to challenge,"
"if the battles are not meaningless, the Pokémon can become stronger."
Through Ash's example, Kebi concluded that losers do indeed gain some growth.
For example, Ash, every time he encountered a setback, he was able to undergo a transformation.
A typical example of someone who grows stronger with each setback.
A Ye then said, "You don't need to understand these things too clearly. Just battle more and challenge more Gym:s. Let's continue discussing the development of the Sandstorm Attribute. How effective was the method I told you about after your Tyranitar tried it?"
"Effective. The maximum duration increased from twenty minutes to forty minutes, and the maximum range increased from forty meters to one hundred meters."
The training method A Ye mentioned was very simple: continuously recall Tyranitar into its Poké Ball and then release it.
The activation of the Sandstorm Attribute is when a Pokémon uses its own energy field to invade the surrounding natural energy field.
When a Pokémon first emerges from a Poké Ball, its energy field tends to expand outward.
Leveraging this tendency, a Pokémon can effortlessly activate its Sandstorm Attribute.
By using the expanding energy field to sense the activation of its own Sandstorm Attribute, only by knowing where the Sandstorm Attribute activates can one control and train it.
A Ye then advised, "Attribute development should be moderate. No matter how strong your weather training becomes, a skilled Trainer can break it with a single move."
"lv70, ability values, and moves are the fundamentals of a Pokémon. Don't put the cart before the horse. When you come to the Sinnoh region, I'll give you some in-person guidance."
"Okay, in about half a year, I'll return to the Sinnoh region. I'm going offline now to train my Pokémon."
A Ye was very enthusiastic; her comments were often seen under topics related to Ground-type and rock-type Pokémon.
Kebi also roughly guessed who she was.
Kikuno, the Sinnoh Elite Four, whose ace is Hippowdon and who excels in Ground-type Pokémon!
Because there was a competition the next day, except for Fearow, who wasn't participating, Tyranitar had a relatively high training intensity, while Piplup and the other three only did routine training to maintain their condition.
The next day, Kebi won the 32-to-16, 16-to-8, and 8-to-4 matches without any suspense.
That damned mayor actually held the matches one by one.
A total of 24 matches, from early morning until dark.
Fortunately, there were only two rounds and three battles tomorrow, so it wouldn't drag on until evening like today.
Through today's three battles, Kebi noticed that after winning a match, the Pokémon's greatest improvement was in lv70, while the increase in ability values was not as significant.
It seemed like in the game, it was just the ability value increase that came with a lv70 up.
To significantly increase ability values, specialized training was still necessary.
In the morning, Kebi arrived at the arena and found that his opponent was none other than that dissolute second-generation heir.
He sneered, staring at Kebi with a death glare, saying:
"Meeting me now, it seems your luck is very bad. After being crushed by Metagross, you won't even get the third-place prize."
"If you kneel and apologize to me now, perhaps I'll consider being merciful and leave your Pokémon with some breath."
Kebi ignored him and walked directly onto the battle arena.
"Referee, can the match begin?"
The referee waved the flag: "Ma Liu contestant, please take your position. The match is about to begin."
Ma Liu was very annoyed. Everyone else would feel flustered and fearful when they saw his Metagross.
Only Kebi, after an expressionless glance, paid no more attention, completely disregarding him.
Such a person must be hit hard!