The training suggestions given by the breeding system were never random. By scanning a Pokémon, the system could find the best direction of growth for that particular Pokémon.
The breeding system must have noticed that Swampert had a special way of thinking that let it understand the secrets of the vortex. That was why it had pushed Nova toward this training direction.
In truth, "Hard Vortex" was Swampert's own hidden gift. The breeding system had simply found this talent and let Nova train it properly.
Even so, Nova could not help but praise Swampert. Because it was so clever, its training gave twice the result for half the effort. Managing to unlock its own power after only one day of hard training was truly amazing.
Looking closely at Swampert's traits, the useless move "Whirlpool" had finally grown into the "Hard Vortex" that Nova had wanted for so long. But that was not the only change. Many things about Swampert were different now compared to before it evolved.
First, the "Thinker" trait, which Nova was a little sad to lose, had disappeared.
Since Swampert had already reached the goal of its deep thinking, it no longer needed to stay lost in thought all the time.
This could be seen clearly in its daily behavior. The current Swampert was far more lively than it had been as a Mudkip or a Marshtomp. Its face no longer showed only calm wisdom. Now it showed real emotion.
Of course, this change had both good and bad sides. Swampert no longer zoned out every day, which saved Nova a lot of worry. But the experience bonus that came from the "Thinker" trait was gone for good.
On top of that, the "Swamp Hunter" trait had clearly split into two paths.
The main Ground-type path had become "Swamp Beast." This meant Swampert was fiercer and more aggressive than before its evolution, and its physical attacks in battle would hit even harder.
Its tracking ability had grown into "Hydrological Detector," which made Swampert's sensing range even clearer and more precise.
However, after Swampert's sudden evolution, Nova's recent run of good luck seemed to stop.
The training that followed did not go as smoothly.
Since Swampert had already reached most of Nova's training goals, Nova turned his attention to Growlithe. During this time, Nova visited every corner of the Layered Peaks Gym, looking for Elite Trainers to battle. He mostly sent out Archie, Azir, and Aqua, the three partners who still needed to grow stronger.
There were some results, but the pace of leveling up was slow.
Nidoking's training was also not going well. Master Ramsey taught with great care, and Nidoking listened just as seriously. But asking this huge, powerful Pokémon to use its brain for delicate tasks was truly difficult for it.
Nova had faced the same problem before, back when he trained Nidoking himself. Take the move Earthquake as an example. If Nidoking was told to use all its strength, it always performed well, sometimes even beyond what Nova asked for.
But when fine control was needed, such as holding back power or using the smallest possible output, Nidoking often struggled.
This could not be helped. In the Pokémon world, the Nidoking species was not exactly foolish, but those built mostly of muscle were only a little smarter than that. No one would call them clever.
Still, Nidoking's battle instincts were among the very best Nova had ever seen. It could spot the smallest opening in a fast-changing battle and crush its opponent in a single strike.
It reminded Nova of the basketball games he used to watch in his past life. Some players had excellent basketball sense and could run complex plays on the court, yet if you asked them to solve a math problem, they would be completely lost.
For Nidoking, charging forward and finishing the job was enough. Why bother with anything complicated?
But this world demanded more than brute strength. To grow stronger, to stand at the top of the battlefield, and to earn the highest honors, raw power alone was never enough.
Precise control, sharp battle instincts, good judgment, and truly powerful offense and defense all mattered. None of these could be missing.
Nova was now having Nidoking practice new ways of using its Psychic power, hoping to awaken talents it currently could not use, and to sharpen its control and combat skill at the same time.
Of course, even though Nidoking had not yet fully combined its "Psychic Heritage" and "Special Force" traits, that did not mean the past few days of special training were wasted.
Master Ramsey understood Psychic power very deeply. After his special coaching, Nidoking became much better at handling its own Psychic energy. It could even use Psychic power to lift its own body and hover for a short time.
Just from this one result, the large training fee Nova paid to Master Ramsey was well worth it. This small trick using the move Confusion even carried real strategic value.
In the wild, in places too rough for Nidoking to cross easily, it could now move past the limits of the terrain. Its movement became freer, and its tactics more flexible.
In battle, if Nidoking suddenly used this trick, it could dodge an opponent's carefully planned finishing blow.
This was especially useful in matches between two Ground-type Pokémon. Some Ground-type moves only work if the target is standing on the ground or staying very close to it.
Take Earthquake, for example. Its shockwaves usually reach no higher than two meters above the ground. If Nidoking used Confusion to rise to a height of two and a half meters, similar Ground-type moves would fail to hit it.
Even though Nidoking was itself part Ground type, because its main type was Poison, it could still be hit hard by Ground-type moves in battle. This trick taught by Master Ramsey was a real strategic gain for Nidoking.
As for fully merging the two traits, Nova did not feel it needed to happen right away. He had also spent a long time helping Nidoking get used to controlling the strength of Earthquake, and in the end, practice paid off. Nidoking could now manage its combat power very well.
Nova never ran out of patience for his very first partner. He was willing to wait as long as it took for Nidoking to finish growing into its full strength.