Sleep Talk

After testing the properties of Murkrow's Hidden Power, it was time to experiment with the second Pokémon in Aoki's team—Slowpoke.

Similar to Murkrow, it took Slowpoke three minutes to successfully use Hidden Power for the first time. Unlike Murkrow's electric-typed Hidden Power, Slowpoke's energy ball was red and radiated a searing heat.

Observing the fire-typed Hidden Power, Aoki couldn't help but feel satisfied. This attribute wasn't just a good addition to Slowpoke's arsenal—it was perfect. It not only expanded Slowpoke's offensive coverage but also compensated for its key weaknesses. For now, at least, fire was the most suitable attribute for Slowpoke.

As a Water/Psychic-type Pokémon, Slowpoke's weaknesses include Bug, Ghost, Grass, Electric, and Dark. The fire-typed Hidden Power would reduce its vulnerability to Bug and Grass Pokémon by giving it an effective means of counterattack. While it didn't completely eliminate the danger posed by these types, it ensured Slowpoke wouldn't be as helpless in such matchups.

Additionally, the fire-typed Hidden Power was effective against Steel and Ice-types, broadening the team's overall offensive versatility. When faced with these types in battle, Slowpoke could now provide effective support.

Still, Aoki was aware of Slowpoke's limitations. In battles against Electric and Dark Pokémon, where its weaknesses were more pronounced, Aoki would avoid deploying Slowpoke unless absolutely necessary.

Next came Gastly's turn to reveal its Hidden Power attribute. Aoki was genuinely surprised when it turned out to be Grass-type.

While Hidden Power attributes are independent of a Pokémon's natural typing, Grass was unexpected. Nevertheless, it proved to be incredibly beneficial for Gastly.

Grass is a versatile type with many strengths, despite being weak to Fire, Flying, Poison, Bug, and Ice. What made it particularly useful for Gastly was its advantage against Ground-types—a type Gastly is naturally weak against. Now, Gastly had a tool to hold its ground in such situations.

Moreover, with Gastly's access to Hypnosis and its time-controlling abilities, the grass-typed Hidden Power could be used strategically to exploit opponents' vulnerabilities.

Having tested all three Pokémon, Aoki was satisfied with the results. While Murkrow's Hidden Power didn't patch up its main weaknesses, it still improved its offensive flexibility. Slowpoke and Gastly, on the other hand, addressed specific shortcomings, making the team's overall attack coverage much more robust.

After completing the Hidden Power testing, Aoki wasn't about to waste the rented training room. The secure environment was perfect for focused practice without fear of revealing his strategies or team strength.

Aoki laid out individual training plans for his Pokémon.

Murkrow and Slowpoke: Both were tasked with practicing their newly learned Hidden Power.

Gastly: Since it was newly captured, its primary focus was on building stamina and endurance. Additionally, it was to master the move Sleep Talk, which it had just learned via TM.

Aoki had specific expectations for Gastly's Sleep Talk training. While the standard effect of the move is to randomly use any known skill during sleep, Aoki had once seen a Gengar in his past life that could use Sleep Talk to specifically choose a move. Though the method was unclear, its existence proved that such control was possible.

Initially, Aoki aimed to train Gastly to select any one move from a range of five during Sleep Talk. Even this small step would be a significant improvement over the default randomness.

In the training room, Murkrow and Slowpoke practiced their Hidden Power attacks on designated targets. Meanwhile, Gastly practiced Sleep Talk, releasing moves at random in its sleep.

At first, Gastly's attempts were chaotic and unpredictable. However, Aoki adjusted the training environment to help Gastly refine its control. Over time, Gastly was able to limit the range of moves it used during Sleep Talk to five specific options.

This improvement reinforced Aoki's belief that, with the right approach, Sleep Talk could be controlled.

If perfected, this technique would elevate Gastly's (and its eventual evolution, Gengar's) combat potential significantly.

Aoki devised several hypotheses to further explore the potential of Sleep Talk:

Dream Influence Hypothesis: Aoki initially theorized that the dream state could influence Sleep Talk. However, Gastly reported that its dreams were too fleeting to provide meaningful control, and this attempt failed.

Trainer Command Hypothesis: Next, Aoki tried issuing commands during Sleep Talk. While this ensured Gastly consistently used Sleep Talk, it didn't influence the move selection, leading to another failure.

Mental Rehearsal Hypothesis: Aoki's final theory was that mental preparation prior to sleep could influence the outcome. By focusing on a specific move (e.g., Hidden Power) before sleeping, Gastly's subconscious could increase the likelihood of using that move during Sleep Talk.

This approach showed promising results. When Gastly focused on Hidden Power before sleeping, its frequency of using the move during Sleep Talk increased significantly.

While this method required intense concentration and practice, it provided a clear direction for further development.

Encouraged by this breakthrough, Aoki considered involving Slowpoke's telepathic abilities in future experiments. Perhaps by strengthening Gastly's focus through telepathy, it could further refine its control over Sleep Talk.

Though difficult, the potential rewards made the effort worthwhile. If this technique could be perfected, Gastly's effectiveness in battle would increase exponentially.

For now, Aoki focused on steady progress, confident that the results would pay off in the long run.