Chapter 151: Slaking
The moment Kenji saw the passive effect of [Silvermere Dawn], the first Pokémon that came to his mind was Slaking.
After all, Slaking's inherent ability was Truant, meaning equipping [Silvermere Dawn] (which changes the ability to Truant) had essentially zero downside.
Apart from Slaking, perhaps the only other Pokémon in the world best suited for this item was Regigigas.
Truant and Slow Start were truly brothers in suffering.
Slaking lay on the ground, utterly devoid of the desire to move. It yawned expressionlessly, then casually grabbed a handful of grass nearest to it and stuffed it into its mouth, too lazy to even extend its arm a bit further to grab the berries nearby.
However, Kenji had anticipated Slaking's laziness. Knowing it was unlikely this guy would walk back on its own, he took out its Pokéball and recalled it.
Expecting his Slaking to be like Norman's—able to almost completely ignore the drawbacks of Truant in battle—was nearly impossible.
Slaking's laziness was carved into its bones, as instinctive as breathing for humans. The difficulty of defying biological instinct was immense.
But even if he couldn't completely ignore Truant, through reasonable and proper training, he could train Slaking to attack as frequently as possible during battle.
Kenji walked back to the center of the clearing. Mia and Leo had already returned from the lake.
Leo still had an excited look on his face as he grabbed a skewer and started eating.
"Where did you go, Kenji? Why did you come from over there?" Leo asked while eating.
Kenji shook the Pokéball in his hand. "Nothing much. Vigoroth just evolved suddenly."
As soon as Kenji said this, Leo and Mia's interest was piqued. They both clamored to see the evolved Slaking.
With a flash of red light, Kenji released Slaking again.
Slaking maintained its posture of lying on its side, propping its head up with one hand. Its tiny pupils slowly swept over everyone present, and then it let out a slow yawn.
"Can this... really be used for battle?" Mia looked skeptical, and Leo looked Slaking up and down doubtfully.
Mainly because in their education, Slaking had always been taught as a Pokémon unsuitable for battle.
Kenji smiled faintly and didn't explain. Instead, he looked at Slaking and commanded, "Slaking! Use Hammer Arm on the ground!"
Hearing the command, Slaking looked at Kenji, then slowly climbed up from the ground.
Then... there was nothing.
Slaking stood there, making no further move.
Mia and Leo looked at each other. Kenji wasn't in a hurry; he knew Slaking was gathering strength.
One second... two seconds...
Ten seconds later, Slaking finally raised its hands slowly, clenching them into fists in mid-air. The next moment, terrifying Fighting-type energy erupted from its fists, and it slammed them down violently.
The speed of the strike contrasted sharply with Slaking's lazy demeanor.
Motionless until it strikes.
"BOOM!!!!—"
"CRACK—"
As Slaking's fists smashed heavily into the ground, a cracking sound rang out. The impacted ground instantly spiderwebbed with dense cracks.
The earth shook violently and began to fracture. For a moment, it was impossible to tell if Slaking had used Hammer Arm or Earthquake.
Leo was completely unprepared. He stumbled and fell flat on his butt. Mia and Kenji swayed unsteadily but managed to stay on their feet.
A moment later, the tremors ceased.
Looking in the direction of Slaking's attack, the spot directly hit by Hammer Arm had caved in, forming a large crater. The surrounding ground could only be described as a disaster zone; the once-solid earth was now as fragile as tofu dregs.
The cracks extended far, causing tremors within a radius of twenty to thirty meters centered on Slaking.
This was just a level 36 Slaking, not even at the Elite level yet, and its destructive power could already be described as explosive.
It was hard to imagine what it would be like when Slaking reached the Elite Four or even Champion level in the future.
At that time, it might truly be able to pulverize a mountain with a single punch.
"Holy crap..."
Leo swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke.
Mia's eyes widened as she stared at Kenji's Slaking in disbelief.
Was Slaking really this strong? Why was it different from the Slaking in her impression?
Slaking's punch hadn't just cracked the ground; it had shattered Mia and Leo's preconceived notions.
After completing Kenji's command, Slaking swayed and lay down again, yawning lazily.
Kenji was quite satisfied with Slaking's performance.
Although it had evolved, Slaking was still willing to obey his commands. The next step was to minimize Slaking's rest time as much as possible.
After all, for just that one Hammer Arm, Slaking had dawdled for a full ten-plus seconds.
After this small demonstration, Mia and Leo dared not question Slaking's combat ability anymore.
With this, among Kenji's Pokémon, only Elekid and Pupitar hadn't reached their final evolutionary forms.
Elekid's level had reached 34, far exceeding the level 30 requirement for evolving into Electabuzz. But for some reason, it hadn't evolved. Health checks showed nothing abnormal; it was surprisingly healthy.
As for Pupitar, its level had reached 48, very close to the level 55 required to evolve into its final form, Tyranitar.
Kenji was confident that Pupitar would evolve into Tyranitar before the National Collegiate League.
A table was set up by the river, laden with skewers, snacks, fruits, and other assorted foods.
Kenji and the other two sat around it, enjoying this rare time together.
"Wow, you've already collected three Provincial Gym Badges." Mia's eyes widened as she looked at the three badges in Kenji's case, her gaze full of envy.
Current Mia had a long way to go before she could challenge a Provincial Gym.
She wouldn't even think about it before her sophomore year.
In fact, even at top institutions like Metropolis Academy and Imperial Academy, someone like Kenji, collecting Provincial Gym Badges in their first semester, was an absolute anomaly.
As for Leo, needless to say, he was struggling even with City Gyms.
...
"Ding-dong-ding, ding-dong-ding..."
A ringtone suddenly rang out. Kenji fished his phone from his pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Tyson Tang.
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