While Mawile and Seaking each took a break.
Adam once again raised a question.
"What do you think are the key points in attacking in place of defense?"
"Mastery of timing, control of moves…" Baimu responded softly, paused for a moment, and then asked, "And sufficient experience?"
The middle-aged gentleman showed an approving smile, "That's right. To master your opponent's moves at will, you must understand the moves of various attributes and the differences in the same move when released by different Pokémon as much as possible."
He suddenly tossed out a Pokeball.
Bang!
Light flickered.
A fish with a blue body and yellow belly, thick lips, and a W-shaped pattern between the eyebrows plopped into the pool.
"Use Itching on the water surface."
"Mumble!"
Whiscash manipulated its glowing white whiskers to start stirring the water.
Adam said, "See? Milotic uses its tail fin for itching, while Whiscash uses its whiskers."
Whiskers? This looks nothing like whiskers! They're obviously tentacles!
Baimu watched Whiscash nonchalantly toy with its "whiskers," remembering how it had bound Swellow in the animation, while micro-controlling the lower part using Itching.
"Understanding these aspects is crucial for mastering attack in place of defense."
Adam said softly and took out a USB drive from his pocket, "Inside here is a multi-angle video comparing how different Pokémon use different moves, which I had someone specially edit for practicing attack in place of defense. Keep it safe."
"Thank you, teacher."
He accepted it, feeling honored.
Porygon II always showed him similar footage, but it's nowhere near as specialized as Adam's edited version for this purpose.
"Video footage can never be as impactful as real experience, which is one of the reasons I became a Gym Leader."
Adam crossed his arms and reminded, "Don't be too impatient. For Trainers, encountering more Pokémon and battling them is a long journey that you must embark on… Hmm?"
He suddenly turned his head.
Baimu followed along and immediately saw two sneaky little heads at the entrance — who else could it be but Liuqia and Altaria?
Liuqia smiled with embarrassment when she met his gaze.
"Uncle Master! Baimu! Good morning!"
The melodious voice of a yellow warbler resounded in their ears, and then she and Altaria disappeared, evidently thinking they were interrupting the lesson and quickly slipped away.
Adam chuckled, initially planning to stop them for assistance, but recalling that the Mikoli Club was just days away and Liuqia needed to adjust her state, he thought better of making her a sparring partner.
—The same goes for Baimu.
Thus, he said, "You and Mawile need a good state to prepare for the Mikoli Club, so I won't push you and your Pokémon too hard in these two days.
"Considering the environment of the Mikoli Club, let's start training based on the moves of Water-type Pokémon."
Due to Mikoli's influence, the Mikoli Club has an unwritten habit — coordinator trainers mostly use Water Attribute Pokémon for the competition.
Using other attributes of Pokémon won't interfere with the final results, but in such an atmosphere, the psychology of following the crowd affects everyone.
For Baimu, this sameness is undoubtedly a good thing.
"Yes!"
He nodded in agreement, starting the uninteresting yet necessary accumulation process of move practice under Adam's guidance.
—
Afternoon.
After a lunch break.
The old butler Sebastian brought Baimu to a massive glass greenhouse.
No doubt, this is the place where Adam and Mikoli's Pokémon reside daily, similar to Dr. Da Mu's backyard.
His gaze swept over Water-type Pokémon that looked strong or weak, gazing at him like a panda, thinking that the variety was immense, spanning from the first generation to the eighth.
But why does it seem like there's no Padia…
Huh? Wait!
What is that? Tauros!?
Baimu was stunned to see a muddy black bull in the distance, wondering why there's a Tauros here.
Then he recalled Padia Region's Tauros has a special regional form — Water Wave Species.
With high fat content, it can float easily and swim by shooting water from its double horns...
A water buffalo.
"Moo!"
As if hearing his thoughts, the Padia Tauros bellowed.
"Oh ho ho, full of spirit today too." The old butler laughed and greeted it, clearly involved in Pokémon care regularly.
Passing through the dense rainforest.
A vast pool connected to the outer river appeared before Baimu.
He soon saw Adam and the lively Liuqia by the edge that seemed connected to Glazed City's inland sea.
"Baimu!"
Liuqia, who also spotted him, waved happily, with Altaria pacing like a hen, raising its head and chirping in response.
"Tweet~~"
A voice to envy.
Baimu inherited a bit of musical appreciation from a musician, otherwise he wouldn't have whimsically had Blissey perform songs.
For a Pokémon like Altaria that naturally excels at singing, Blissey has a hard time catching up despite its effort.
"Good afternoon, teacher… Liuqia."
He greeted them, watched Liuqia's eyes open wide in shock then sighed in relief, with a pout after realizing Baimu was joking, and tugged at his mouth.
Their relationship as mentor and student with mutual banter caused the recent scare by thinking he was calling her, almost scaring her head off, and indeed not taking kindly to it afterward.