Regarding the question raised by Aoki, Norman was not surprised. As a Trainer specializing in Normal-type Pokémon, he was renowned for his expertise in raising Pokémon and their development. It was no secret among the League's upper echelons that he possessed a Slaking capable of unleashing its full strength, unhindered by its Truant ability. Many people had asked Norman this very question over the years.
A Slaking unaffected by its Truant ability could unleash truly terrifying combat power, but replicating this feat was not so simple. If Norman could reliably train such Slaking, wouldn't he be invincible? He had only succeeded once by chance. Moreover, this particular Slaking wasn't able to burst forth with its power at any time; it required specific, relatively demanding prerequisites to bypass its Truant nature.
Norman smiled slightly, not concealing anything. "In truth, I also succeeded through a fortunate accident, and my understanding of the underlying principles remains vague. However, I believe everyone is focused on how to correct the Slaking's laziness, without considering the alternative of cultivating this very characteristic. Laziness is the Slaking's inherent nature. Since it wants to be lazy, why not let it be lazy to the extreme? If it becomes excessively lazy, perhaps it will produce the opposite effect."
Upon hearing Norman's words, Aoki felt as if a window had been opened in his mind. He was right; why must a Slaking change its lazy nature? He, like everyone else, had been thinking how wonderful it would be if Slaking weren't affected by Truant, so they sought ways to make it stop being lazy.
For instance, using an Ability like Skill Swap to change the Slaking's Ability to that of another Pokémon. But when laziness is ingrained in a Pokémon's very bones, how can it easily shed its lazy habits? Furthermore, Truant is a fundamental characteristic of Pokémon like Slaking; why not cultivate this characteristic instead? Since it is lazy, let it be lazy to its absolute limit. Perhaps, upon reaching an extreme, a rebound effect would occur.
"So, Mr. Norman, your Slaking is able to unleash its full strength for a short period precisely because it has been so incredibly lazy?" Aoki asked, his eyes lighting up. Asking so blatantly about another Trainer's methods was extremely rude and crossed a line, but Aoki couldn't care less now that the answer seemed within reach.
Norman didn't seem to mind. Over the years, hadn't the League asked him enough questions about his Slaking? Yet, aside from him, had anyone else ever managed to train such a Slaking? No, not a single person. This led both Norman and the League to suspect his theory was flawed, especially since Norman himself had never been able to train another Slaking like his first. He had only managed to produce what he considered a semi-finished product—his second Slaking. If someone could now train another Slaking like this, it would be an affirmation and an encouragement for both him and the League.
"That's correct," Norman confirmed. "When I first began training that Slaking, I never anticipated such a situation would occur. I simply thought, since it wants to be lazy, then I will let it be lazy forever. Then, during one League mission, I encountered a crisis, facing a frenzied horde of wild Pokémon. At that time, all my other Pokémon had lost the ability to battle, and only that Slaking remained. So, with an attitude of making a last-ditch effort, I sent it out... I had no idea that this final struggle would become my lifesaver. That Slaking was completely unbound by its Truant ability, and the combat power it unleashed repelled all the wild Pokémon. I survived because of it." Norman's eyes grew distant with memory, and the corners of his mouth turned up unconsciously; he was undoubtedly recalling the formidable presence of that Slaking in its moment of glory.
He continued, "After that battle, the Slaking slept for two days and two nights before it recovered. That's when I realized that the duration it could fight was directly proportional to the time it had spent being lazy beforehand. It was as if it was accumulating strength. The more it accumulated, the stronger the final burst would be and the longer it would last. From then on, I began to study Pokémon like Slaking and Vigoroth. It's just a pity that, since then, among the Slaking I've trained, only one semi-finished product has appeared. The rest are no different from ordinary Slaking. Even when we continue cultivating them based on their lazy nature, they don't end up like that first one." Norman sighed. After more than ten years of research, he had still failed to cultivate a second one. There had to be a key element he was missing.
"Semi-finished product?" Aoki was curious about the term.
Norman laughed self-deprecatingly. "It's the one that came closest to that ideal state. The power it can unleash and the duration of its burst are fixed. It's not like my first Slaking, where the longer it's lazy, the stronger it becomes. This one can only maintain a state unaffected by Truant for a maximum of three minutes. After three minutes, it reverts to its normal state."
This was his second Slaking. Even as a semi-finished product, it was far superior to the average Slaking. It was precisely because of these two Slaking that he had attracted the League's attention. The combat power they could unleash in short bursts was indeed terrifying. Even an Elite Four member like Drake could only defend himself against its explosive power for a short time, simply because the duration was limited. Otherwise, even if Norman was reluctant to take on the responsibility, the Champion would likely have pulled him into the Elite Four, and even intended for him to become Champion eventually.
After hearing Norman's explanation of the semi-finished product, Aoki pressed further, "Since a semi-finished product has appeared, does that mean you have already identified the trigger that causes this change in Slaking?"
Norman pondered for a moment, as if recalling something, or perhaps he himself was still uncertain. "I... actually, I'm still not entirely sure. At that time, not long after I became a Trainer, I captured a Slakoth. It later evolved into a Vigoroth. However, my Vigoroth was incredibly active, had seemingly unlimited energy, and possessed considerable combat power. So I thought, if Vigoroth is so strong, why should it evolve? So I discussed it with my Vigoroth and told it not to evolve. Even when it was time for it to evolve, we forcibly suppressed it. Each suppression was a torment for it. But after being suppressed once, the Vigoroth became even more energetic. Finally, it couldn't hold back any longer and evolved into Slaking. As the saying goes, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. After madly consuming all its energy, the Slaking became extremely lazy. I felt very guilty at the time, so I didn't force the Slaking to overcome its laziness. Perhaps... the key lies there. So I followed this idea and raised a second Vigoroth, also preventing it from evolving for a long time. However, the final result was different from what I expected; it wasn't successful in the end. After that, I tried cultivating it several more times, but failed every time. Finally... I believe I may have identified a potential decisive factor, but I still cannot confirm it."