Professor Evergreen had already started recording the process of releasing the Z-Move. By the time Breakneck Blitz was completed, Tauros was defeated and unable to continue battling.
After a moment, Professor Evergreen nodded and said, "Impressive! You successfully executed it on your first attempt."
Achieving this feat so effortlessly was quite remarkable, considering Kalia had never used a Z-Move before.
Kalia removed the Z-crystal and wristband, handing them back to Professor Evergreen with slight excitement, saying, "Z-Moves are truly incredible."
Only by experiencing the release of a Z-Move could one grasp its unique sensation. During the energy resonance burst, Kalia felt as if she herself were executing the move, not just her Charmeleon.
Beyond energy resonance, there was also a subtle connection formed between the Pokemon and Trainer, albeit weak, making it barely perceptible. However, Kalia sensed that if, someday, a strong resonance could be achieved between Trainer and Pokemon, it would undoubtedly unleash extraordinary power.
"Over the next few days, we may need you and your Charmeleon to practice releasing the Z-Move multiple times to assist our research," Professor Evergreen smiled.
Conducting research requires ample experimental data, and a single trial is insufficient. Multiple releases of the Z-Move would allow for comparative analysis and a deeper understanding of its principles.
"No problem."
***
Later that evening, after spending some time at the research institute, Kalia returned to her accommodation. Today's experiences had broadened her perspective immensely, envisioning how widespread adoption of Z-Moves could revolutionize the world for Trainers.
Pokemon battles would become even more unpredictable and exhilarating; however, initially, only the strongest Trainers would likely utilize Z-Moves due to their rarity and difficulty in obtaining them.
Upon returning home, Lian promptly entered his Poké Ball and fell asleep. He remained eager about Z-Moves but ideally hoped to acquire a Fire Z-crystal. Obtaining one, though, seemed quite challenging.
As midnight approached, Lian suddenly found himself in the system space. Checking his combat data, it remained unchanged as usual.
There was still no mention of Z-Move capabilities, leading Lian to suspect either they didn't exist within the system or would require a future update. Nonetheless, Z-Moves' impact on battles wasn't particularly significant.
A Z-Move essentially functioned like a highly powerful special move without any side effects. Its threshold is low, allowing any Pokemon with a compatible Z-Ring and Z-crystal to unleash it. In the future, many Trainers will undoubtedly be able to use Z-Moves effectively.
Despite no changes in his stats, Lian's Combat Points successfully surpassed 8,000, allowing him to increase his Fire Element Mastery to 50%.
Reaching a 50% Fire Energy Control Rate would undoubtedly mark a significant leap forward, elevating Lian to a higher level of proficiency.
However, Lian decided not to enhance his mastery yet, as he planned to enter the Dream World today. Any defeat within the Dream World requires restoring Combat Points for recovery. If he increased his mastery now, with insufficient Combat Points, he would have to exit the Dream World prematurely.
This time, Lian intended to make substantial progress in the Dream World. He surmised that if defeated, regaining full strength would still require starting with at least 10 Combat Points, followed by continuously increasing consumption rates tenfold each time.
Approaching the gate leading to the Dream World, Lian took a deep breath. Battle was inevitable this time; combining daytime battles with those in the Dream World could expedite his leveling up significantly.
Creak.
The gate opened, enveloping Lian in a bright light. This time, without any hesitation, he allowed the dazzling glow to surround him. In the next instant, Lian vanished from the system space.
In the Dream World.
Lian stared at the Slaking before him, feeling utterly bewildered.
Whack!
Before Lian could react, the furious Slaking, woken abruptly, slapped him away with immense force, causing him to crash onto the ground.
Confused, Slaking wondered how this creature could still be active after being killed countless times by its slap. Nonetheless, the sensation of delivering that fatal blow was quite satisfying.
Lying on the ground, Lian couldn't move a muscle.
This was incredibly unfair; he had expected to be transported back to where he left the forest, but it wasn't the case.
Had he known earlier, he would have definitely fled immediately. His momentary carelessness led to another swift death from Slaking's slap, wasting yet another opportunity.
'Would you like to spend 10 Combat Points to restore your condition?'
The system's voice sounded, leaving Lian speechless. Surprisingly, there was no save function, which meant he would always have to start from the same location and travel each time to find battles elsewhere.
Lian waited patiently until Slaking fell asleep, then restored his condition and sprinted away without hesitation, following the path from the previous day to swiftly escape the forest.
Huff, huff.
Lian wasted no time and immediately sprinted towards the wilderness. This time, he couldn't afford to dawdle; he needed to find some easy targets to quickly level up.
After traversing through the woods and across the wild terrain, Lian reached the vicinity of a river where he finally spotted Pokemon that he could easily handle.
On the distant shoreline, a Magikarp had accidentally leaped out of the water and was now weakly struggling, appearing quite helpless.
"Let me help you find peace."
Lian charged forward, launching a fierce onslaught against the defenseless Magikarp.
Moments later, Lian looked with satisfaction at the motionless Magikarp, having achieved a perfect victory. Now, it was time to search for more Magikarp.
This river housed numerous Magikarp, but to expedite his progress, Lian specifically targeted those that inadvertently used Splash, landing on the shore and helplessly flailing.
Surprisingly, there were many such foolish Magikarp. As Lian followed the river, he defeated at least seven Magikarp along the way.
Lian decided to focus on battling Magikarp from now on. Their weak abilities made them easy targets, and he didn't have to worry about their counterattacks since they only knew Splash.
Even if some Magikarp learned basic attack moves, Lian could still effortlessly defeat them without any significant threat.
Spotting another struggling Magikarp, Lian charged forward, ready for another battle.
Just as he was about to finish it off with Dragon Breath, suddenly, Lian vanished.
The struggling Magikarp paused momentarily, then continued its relentless flailing, undeterred by Lian's abrupt disappearance, determined one day to leap back into the water using its own strength.
The next morning, Lian woke up.
His harvest from yesterday had been quite impressive, defeating seven Magikarp in total. Although he hadn't checked, Lian estimated that this should be enough to level up within the Dream World.
Early levels were relatively easy to achieve; unfortunately, just before he could defeat the last Magikarp, time ran out, forcing him out of the Dream World.
Keep going!
Tonight, I'll strive even harder—aiming to defeat over ten Magikarp!