After clarifying each other's feelings, Chen Mo agreed to let Gible continue participating in the tournament.
However, because Chen Mo still had other responsibilities to handle during the Pikachu Cup, gengar would continue acting as Gible's trainer in the upcoming matches.
But before that—
Chen Mo and Gible made an agreement.
Considering that Gible was still very young, Chen Mo forbade it from using Outrage during battles, since the move placed an enormous burden on the body.
Of course.
In battle, getting carried away happened all the time. If Gible encountered an opponent it truly wished to fight with everything it had, Chen Mo could not completely seal away its move either.
Thus, Chen Mo proposed a condition.
Using Outrage was allowed, but after that battle, regardless of the outcome, Gible would have to rest completely for at least one full day.
Gible happily accepted the condition.
For Dragon-type Pokémon, Outrage was already considered a desperate trump-card move. Having used Outrage once shortly after birth, Gible deeply disliked the feeling of losing its rationality.
So under normal circumstances, Gible had no intention of using Outrage unless it truly could not hold back and desperately wanted to win a match.
A new day.
Inside the Sand Park, Chen Mo looked at Gible, who had newly joined the morning training routine, and slowly said,
"Although Sand Tomb and Dig are both very versatile moves, if you want to make it into the main tournament—or even the elimination rounds—Gible, there's still a lot you need to train."
"You used two battles yesterday. One against Snubbull and one against Bellsprout. Including your earlier battles against Nidorino, all three revealed the same problem."
"You still haven't mastered sandstorm conditions."
"Ka-ao?"
Gible looked completely confused.
Seeing this, Chen Mo patiently continued explaining.
If Gible wanted to defeat stronger and stronger opponents without relying on Outrage, then there was one thing it absolutely needed to do—
Learn how to fully utilize its advantages.
Especially Sand Tomb, a move that could function both offensively and defensively.
However, every time Gible stirred up a sandstorm, Chen Mo had carefully observed something. Especially during yesterday afternoon's battle against Bellsprout, Chen Mo—using Aura abilities while secretly watching from the scene—could clearly sense that while Gible used Sand Tomb, it itself was also being affected by the swirling sand to a certain degree.
Naturally, this "effect" did not refer to the damage caused by Sand Tomb itself.
Rather, it referred to the impact on vision, hearing, touch, smell, and various forms of perception during battle.
"…And Gible, what you need to train now is overcoming those effects."
Squatting in front of Gible, Chen Mo's expression turned serious.
"The training may be very difficult. You need to prepare yourself mentally."
"Ka-ao…"
Gible nodded heavily.
Meanwhile.
The livestream audience, watching this scene through the camera, immediately began discussing excitedly.
[Although Teacher Mo never really hid his Pokémon training before, most of it was just ordinary practice. But this kind of specialized training… are we really allowed to watch it for free?]
[Already took out my notebook and preparing to write down every detail of Gible's special training. If I ever catch a Ground-type Pokémon in the future, I'm definitely making it try this too.]
[Teacher Mo is so generous!]
Chen Mo rubbed the little shark Pokémon's head, then stood up and glanced at the comments with a smile.
"Of course there's no problem with learning from these training methods. But whether they'll actually work, I can't guarantee."
"Every Pokémon has its own unique traits. Only by tailoring training to the individual can you achieve the best results."
Although Gible did not possess the Sand Veil Ability, it had demonstrated extraordinary sensory perception ever since before it was born.
Therefore—
The core purpose of Chen Mo's training was to help the little shark fully utilize that exceptional perception during battle, especially under sandstorm conditions.
"So then, next up…"
Chen Mo walked over to the nearby backpack and pulled out an orange-and-white Poké Ball.
The livestream viewers instantly became confused.
They had clearly seen Chen Mo release all his Pokémon from their Poké Balls earlier.
[What's Teacher Mo doing? Did he bring Magikarp too? But this is Sand Park—there's nowhere to put Magikarp here.]
[Maybe he's putting Gible back into its Poké Ball?]
[No way. Teacher Mo literally just said he was about to begin Gible's training. How could he train it after recalling it? I think Teacher Mo probably caught a new Pokémon and wants to surprise us!]
[Yeah, it definitely doesn't look like an empty Poké Ball…]
Glancing at the scrolling comments, Chen Mo shook his head.
"This Poké Ball isn't empty, but it's not a newly caught Pokémon either."
"I borrowed a Ground-type Pokémon from the Special Countermeasures Bureau. I'm planning to have it help train Gible."
After a brief explanation, Chen Mo wasted no time opening the Poké Ball.
"Come out."
A flash of white light appeared.
A Pokémon whose body was mainly light yellow, patterned with darker earthy markings, shaped like a hippopotamus, and possessing two large prominent nostrils appeared before everyone.
After realizing it was in an unfamiliar environment, the pale-yellow hippo Pokémon did not panic.
Having already received instructions beforehand, it simply turned its gaze toward the only human present.
"Sha-heh."
A low, heavy cry emerged from the Pokémon's mouth, as if asking Chen Mo what it should do next.
Having already learned about this Pokémon's personality from Hu Chengliang, Chen Mo didn't stand on ceremony and directly gave instructions.
"Hippopotas, use Sandstorm here and surround yourself and Gible with it."
"Sha-heh!"
Hippopotas nodded its somewhat clumsy-looking head.
After Chen Mo retreated to a safer distance, Hippopotas let out a deep roar. Instantly, massive amounts of sand burst from both its huge nostrils and the holes on its back like erupting sand pillars.
The wind and sand rose violently, growing fiercer and fiercer.
Under Gible's curious gaze, both it and Hippopotas were quickly swallowed by the raging sandstorm.
"Sha-heh…"
The training officially began.
Following Chen Mo's instructions, Hippopotas began using its abilities to silently manipulate the sand and attack Gible from within the storm.
As for Gible—
It only had one option.
Dodge.
Once Gible could fully rely on its perception to evade every attack from Hippopotas inside the sandstorm, the first stage of training would be considered largely successful.
[What a simple and brutal training method…]
[Simple and brutal, yes, but undeniably effective. If Gible can adapt to the rhythm of sandstorms, its strength will definitely improve rapidly in a short time. Plus, sensing Ground-type energy within the sandstorm will greatly help Gible's future growth too.]
[The guy above sounds super professional.]
[Heh, check his profile. He's a researcher working for the Special Countermeasures Bureau. Of course he's professional.]
[Why does it feel like the Sand Tomb used by this Pokémon called Hippopotas is a little different from the one Gible uses?]
[Isn't it all just sand flying everywhere? Pretty much the same thing.]
The comments continued flowing nonstop.
Watching Gible and Hippopotas train, Chen Mo finally had some spare time to answer the viewers' questions.
"How should I put this… your instincts are actually correct."
"The move Hippopotas is using right now really is Sand Tomb. However, Hippopotas is a rather special Pokémon. This Sand Tomb is combined with its own unique ability, which is why it looks somewhat different."
The moment those words were spoken, the livestream exploded with excitement.
[What unique ability? Teacher Mo, you're doing it again, aren't you? Stop teasing us and just explain already!]
[Yes! I love Teacher Mo's educational segments.]
[Let me guess, Teacher Mo. Is this so-called unique ability related to the Ability listed in the Pokédex for Hippopotas called "Sand Stream"?]
"Looks like some viewers already noticed."
Chen Mo glanced at the comments and smiled.
"Since we have plenty of time right now, let me explain a bit more thoroughly."
"Every Pokémon inherits special abilities from its species' bloodline from the moment it's born. We generally refer to these as Abilities. I've mentioned this many times already."
"Although different Pokémon can sometimes share the same Ability, generally speaking, a Pokémon's Ability originates from its species' habits and living environment."
"For example, Hippopotas usually live in groups in dry environments, such as deserts."
"In daily life, Hippopotas coat their bodies with sand to protect themselves from bacteria. Due to their large and cumbersome bodies, they also bury themselves beneath sand to avoid predators. Over countless years, they even evolved the ability to close their nostrils and move beneath the sand."
"What's even more interesting is that, perhaps due to adapting to their environment, Hippopotas don't secrete sweat from their bodies. Instead, they secrete tiny grains of sand."
"And because of these habits and environmental adaptations, the Hippopotas species developed two sand-related special abilities."
"One is Sand Stream."
"The other is Sand Force."
The moment Chen Mo paused there, the livestream comments exploded again.
[Hippopotas, your body is literally made of sand, isn't it?]
[Interesting. Yesterday I kept seeing Pokémon like Geodude and Rhyhorn helping repair battlefields damaged during matches. But after hearing Teacher Mo's explanation, I feel like Hippopotas would be even better suited for that kind of work.]
"Honestly, that's not a bad idea. Most battlefields in Anping City are made from sand and dirt, so having Hippopotas repair them would indeed be very efficient."
"But this particular Hippopotas is rather special. Although the Bureau's field investigators discovered it in the northwestern desert region, it had become separated from its herd at the time."
"After spending several days unsuccessfully trying to reunite it with its group, the investigators eventually captured it and brought it back to the Bureau for care."
"So currently, the Bureau only has this one Hippopotas. There's no way they'd let it do manual labor like repairing battlefields."
The livestream viewers burst into laughter.
[Geodude clan and Rhyhorn clan: So you're saying you're willing to make us do that work? We trusted you for nothing.]
[Honestly, I'm thinking… if you encountered Hippopotas in a desert, it'd probably be extremely troublesome to deal with.]
[Definitely. Based on Teacher Mo's description, it doesn't sound easy to handle at all.]
Seeing the comments, Chen Mo's expression also became slightly serious.
"Yes. If you encounter a group of Hippopotas in the desert, my recommendation is to avoid them whenever possible."
"Hippopotas itself is manageable. But you never know whether there's an evolved form among the herd—Hippowdon."
"That's an extremely violent Pokémon with a very explosive temper. Even Drapion, known as the 'Demon of the Desert,' usually avoids provoking it."
"Ahem… anyway, I got sidetracked."
"I've already covered the important safety points, so let's return to the two Abilities of the Hippopotas species."
"We won't discuss Sand Force today. Interested viewers can check the Pokédex themselves later. Right now, let's focus on Hippopotas's Sand Stream Ability."
Chen Mo looked at the raging sandstorm before him and spoke softly.
"Changing the weather has always been considered something almost mythical."
"Although modern technology allows us to artificially create rain in certain regions, compared to Pokémon, it still falls a bit short."
"You all remember, right?"
"The torrential rain Suicune summoned during its battle against Hydreigon."
"And also the scene at Mount Zangqing, where the Pokémon desperately used Sunny Day during their battle against the clone Suicune in order to suppress the rain it brought."
"Most Pokémon need to learn specific moves in order to alter the weather."
"But some Pokémon are different."
"Their special environments and innate bloodline talents allow them to manipulate weather naturally from birth."
"The Sand Stream Ability possessed by the Hippopotas line is one such example."
"Pokémon with Sand Stream can effortlessly create sandstorm conditions across an area, transforming an unfavorable environment into one advantageous for themselves."
The viewers listening to the explanation were stunned.
[Holy crap, so this is literally a Child of Weather?!]
[Hippopotas is this strong?! Damn… it's kinda ugly, but now I kinda want one.]
[With that attitude, there's no way you'd ever successfully catch a Hippopotas.]
[Besides sandstorms, there must be other Pokémon that can naturally change weather too, right?]
"Children of Weather… that's actually a pretty good title."
"There are many Pokémon worthy of that name. You can all look them up yourselves later."
"As for Hippopotas, the reason this Sand Tomb appears somewhat different is because it integrates its innate talent—namely, the sandstorm generated through Sand Stream—into the move itself."
Chen Mo continued explaining calmly.
This Hippopotas picked up by the Bureau possessed extremely impressive talent.
What stood before them now was essentially an enhanced version of a sandstorm.
If Gible could successfully overcome this challenge, what awaited it would be an entirely new transformation.
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