Chapter 104: Flame Whirlpool

After unlocking Incinerate, Lian mastered this Fire-type move the following day, although not yet proficiently.

He discovered that even without fluency in Incinerate, he could effortlessly unleash it twice within a short span, albeit at a slower pace but with minimal cooldown time between uses.

This was likely due to the high level of fire energy within Lian's body. Based on the amount consumed by one Flamethrower, he could easily execute Incinerate more than twice.

Thus, despite his lack of proficiency, using Incinerate in combat posed no issues.

The quantity of energy within a Pokemon typically increases gradually through continuous consumption and recovery, along with leveling up.

As usual, Lian accompanied Kalia to the Battle Tower during the day, concluding their sessions in the evening before heading back to the library.

At night, Lian continued practicing moves with Vulpix. This time, he had Vulpix attempt Fire Spin and Will-O-Wisp, but unfortunately, these proved too challenging for Vulpix, leaving it utterly perplexed.

It was evident that Vulpix couldn't execute these moves yet due to its limited understanding of Fire-type attacks. Struggling even with Ember, how could it possibly manage the complex Fire Spin or Will-O-Wisp?

Lian could only patiently wait as Vulpix gradually practiced and improved its proficiency with Fire-type moves. Eventually, it should be able to unleash Fire Spin.

While Vulpix was training, Lian also attempted to practice Incinerate, hoping to increase his own move proficiency independently.

If he could enhance move proficiency on his own, there would be no need to rely solely on the system. Each upgrade to mastery requires 600 Combat Points, so saving those points for other enhancements seemed advantageous.

The principle behind Incinerate involves dispersing emitted flames over a wider area, resulting in weaker power compared to Flamethrower.

Concentrating the flames from Incinerate creates a different move, but achieving precise control over fire is not easy.

Lian's ability to manipulate flames was quite poor. Among Fire-type moves, Fire Blast best exemplifies control requirements. It entails forming flames into a large letter shape before releasing them, which is far from simple. The second most demanding is Fire Spin, needing control to create a swirling vortex that traps and continuously burns opponents.

Lian recalled another move called X-Scorch, seemingly exclusive to legendary Pokemon, which also demands exceptional flame control.

Proficiency seemed unrelated to control; it only improved the speed and frequency of move execution. Mastery required specialized practice, not merely repetitive use of the move.

Although Lian had only played the game, as a transmigrator, he naturally understood many aspects beyond mere proficiency. Commanding a move effectively also demanded a certain level of control.

For instance, with Flamethrower, Lian had reached its maximum proficiency, executing it effortlessly now. However, if he needed to change the direction of the flames mid-move or cause them to suddenly explode, he couldn't achieve that yet.

This pertained to higher-level application of moves, which was currently beyond Lian's grasp. It would likely require encountering more advanced Trainers like Kalia before witnessing such sophisticated move usage.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

One evening, outside the library:

"Vulpix has nearly mastered Incinerate. Let's give Fire Spin a try now," Lian suggested to Vulpix.

Over these few days, Vulpix gradually realized that being by Kalia's side meant inevitable battles ahead, prompting her to diligently practice her moves even more.

Over these five days, Vulpix had become proficient with the Incinerate move. Lian felt it was now time for Vulpix to attempt Fire Spin, hoping to expedite its mastery.

Vulpix already knew Fire Spin but lacked sufficient understanding of the move, preventing its successful execution.

Lian took the effort to explain the principle behind Fire Spin, relying on the game's description, which may not be entirely accurate but could serve as inspiration.

Throughout most of the evening, Vulpix failed to grasp the technique for releasing Fire Spin. Eventually, Lian decided to give up and patiently wait. Since the system acknowledged that Vulpix had learned it, there must be no issue.

Late at night, within the System space.

Currently, Lian had accumulated over 10,000 additional Combat Points, reaching a total of 11,203 points. He still had a significant way to go before hitting 20,000, but given some more time, he should manage to reach that goal.

Resisting the urge to spend his Combat Points, Lian remained determined to save them until after the system upgrade; otherwise, all this waiting would be futile.

Next, he checked the Incinerate move. His proactive practice during this period proved fruitful indeed. Without spending any Combat Points to enhance proficiency, the Incinerate move had significantly improved in skill level.

Incinerate (17/30)

Lian noticed that proficiency increased rapidly at the initial stages, likely due to his deepening understanding of Fire-type moves. As he learned more Fire-type moves, mastering them became faster.

In just five days, Lian raised Incinerate's proficiency to 17 points. However, the remaining 10 points would be significantly costlier, with each point requiring 50 Combat Points.

He planned to increase Incinerate to 20 points and then stop further practice, as time should be spent on more meaningful activities—like sleeping.

The next day, at dusk.

As usual, Lian arrived outside the library, and Vulpix, accustomed to daily training, was ready to begin practicing.

"Today, let's continue working on Fire Spin. Try making the flames spin, forming a whirlpool," Lian instructed. Although he wasn't fully knowledgeable about Fire Spin, they had to give it a try.

Vulpix nodded uncertainly but, upon attempting release, only managed a single flame. Trying to make it spin, the flame quickly dissipated.

"That's not how you unleash a Fire Spin."

A crisp voice chimed in, and Lian saw Kalia approaching. Apparently, she had been observing their training all along.

In reality, Kalia had been closely observing what her two Pokemon were doing over these days. She noticed their attempts earlier but was delighted that they took initiative to practice moves on their own, so she didn't interfere.

Today, witnessing Vulpix repeatedly failing to execute Fire Spin, she felt compelled to provide guidance. Ideally, purchasing a Move Disk would be best, allowing the Pokemon to learn directly from it.

However, since Vulpix could grasp the move independently, there was no need for a Move Disk. A bit of coaching should suffice.

Executing Fire Spin requires external force or exceptional control. Clearly, Vulpix lacked sufficient mastery, necessitating the use of external influence.

What is this external force? It's essentially spiritual power, a unique attribute found in many Psychic-type Pokemon. Vulpix has the ability to self-learn Psychic-type moves, such as Extrasensory, indicating its latent spiritual strength.

By harnessing this spiritual power to guide Fire-type energy into rotation, Vulpix can achieve Fire Spin more swiftly than relying solely on its innate control over fire.

After some time...

Having listened to Kalia's explanation, Lian now understood why Charmeleons typically take longer to master Fire Spin, while Vulpix can quickly grasp it.

Vulpix also began to understand; there indeed was a mystical force at play, which turned out to be Inner Focus. However, its current level of Inner Focus remained quite weak.

Lian felt slightly troubled, realizing that mastering Fire Spin seemed impossible for him without having Inner Focus. Unless he could somehow harness Psychic-type energy.

Unfortunately, Charmeleon had limited access to Psychic-type moves, with only one available - Rest, which utilized Psychic power to induce forced sleep.

Wait, no need to worry! With the system, there's nothing to fear.

After pondering briefly, Lian realized he shouldn't concern himself about learning it. By observing more closely and relying on the system's display, everything would fall into place.

Under Kalia's guidance, Vulpix first sensed the presence of Inner Focus, then used this energy to aid in forming the Fire Spin. Once grasping the concept, it became much easier.

Soon enough, a miniature Fire Spin took shape.

"Excellent! Next, practice controlling the size of the Fire Spin," Kalia praised, visibly satisfied.