At six in the morning, Xia Huna'ao was woken by his phone. Carrying Froakie, he went to the training room. The sooner he finished training, the sooner he could leave, and perhaps he could buy an overnight train ticket to enjoy the benefits of the Pokémon League branch for another twenty-four hours.
Froakie and Xia Huna'ao sat facing each other in the training room. Xia Huna'ao looked at Froakie with a serious expression, "Froakie, the energy in your body is sufficient for Bubble, do you understand that we are going to learn Bubble now?"
Seeing Xia Huna'ao's expression, Froakie also felt the gravity of the situation and nodded, indicating that he would study Bubble diligently.
So, what comes to mind first when one mentions Bubble?
Xia Huna'ao's first thought was of a foam fire extinguisher. Although Ling Yao Star was a world centered around Pokémon, there weren't always Water-type Pokémon present to handle fires. Therefore, many public places were equipped with various types of fire extinguishers. The training room at the Pokémon League branch also had one.
Xia Huna'ao went to the side, picked up a foam fire extinguisher, and said to Froakie, "Look here, this is the effect of Bubble."
With that, Xia Huna'ao released the safety catch on the foam fire extinguisher, but nothing happened.
Xia Huna'ao shook the foam fire extinguisher vigorously, but still, nothing happened.
Xia Huna'ao frowned at the foam fire extinguisher and finally realized it was expired. This darn foam fire extinguisher should have been scrapped ten years ago…
Xia Huna'ao kicked the foam fire extinguisher aside and then clutched his foot, gasping in pain on the ground, "Hiss, that really hurts."
Even the system couldn't stand it: "No, aren't you asking for trouble? Kicking a fire extinguisher can? What kind of way is this to vent anger?"
Xia Huna'ao went over and picked up another fire extinguisher canister. He checked the date and thankfully, it was still usable, expiring in two days…
"This difference is a bit too much."
Xia Huna'ao used the foam fire extinguisher again to teach Froakie how to use Bubble. This time, the foam fire extinguisher was a great success, spraying out a large amount of foam, burying Froakie completely.
Xia Huna'ao quickly threw the fire extinguisher aside and dug Froakie out of the foam. Froakie was completely dazed. Did Bubble really have this effect?
Xia Huna'ao thought that this method wouldn't work either, so he decided to try a different approach.
"System, in the game, how is Bubble described?"
"Attacks the opponent with countless bubbles. Sometimes lowers the opponent's Speed."
Xia Huna'ao studied the description for a while, then said to Froakie, "Wait a moment, I'll be right back."
With that, Xia Huna'ao ran out of the training room and returned a few minutes later, holding a bubble wand.
Many children on the plaza were playing with these. Xia Huna'ao pulled the bubble wand out of the tube, took a deep breath, and blew. Countless bubbles flew out of the bubble wand. Illuminated by the training room lights, they appeared colorful and quite magical.
Seeing this, Froakie probably grasped the idea of what Bubble looked like. He then mobilized the energy within his body, placed one hand in front of his mouth, and began to blow.
Although Froakie's cheeks turned red from blowing, not a single bubble came out.
Xia Huna'ao also felt that this was not working. After all, if it were really mastered, and he had to raise a hand every time to use Bubble, that would be a hidden danger.
Xia Huna'ao began to ponder again. How could he blow bubbles without a bubble wand? Drink bubble solution and spit out bubbles? That was absolutely out of the question. If it accidentally went into his stomach, he couldn't exactly go for a stomach pump, could he?
But without putting it in his mouth, how could he blow out bubbles? Then he needed to have some bubble-producing substance in his mouth, and a large amount of it at that.
So, what would be the best way?
Xia Huna'ao quickly thought of a method and ran out of the training room again. Meanwhile, Froakie picked up the discarded bubble wand and started blowing bubbles for fun.
A few minutes later, Xia Huna'ao returned with a plastic bag. He approached Froakie, took out a bottle of soda from the plastic bag, and said, "Froakie, look at this!"
Froakie, engrossed in blowing bubbles, looked back to see Xia Huna'ao holding a bottle and looking at him. Froakie watched as Xia Huna'ao opened the bottle, poured the liquid into his mouth, and then spat it out forcefully.
Froakie quickly jumped back, narrowly avoiding being drenched. The system, watching Xia Huna'ao wipe his mouth after spitting out a mouthful of water, said, "No, is this thing even Bubble? It looks more like a water gun to me."
Xia Huna'ao rubbed his cheeks. Spitting out such a large amount of carbonated drink made his cheeks rather uncomfortable. But looking at the video he had taken with his phone, it wasn't even as good as a water gun.
A water gun shot out a stream of water, hitting the target precisely. His, on the other hand, could be considered a shower, and that was being generous.
There wasn't the slightest trace of bubbles…
Xia Huna'ao took a deep breath and made a very dangerous decision.
Xia Huna'ao took out a candy bar from the plastic bag, peeled off half of it, stuffed it into his mouth, then picked up the drink bottle and gulped it down.
Xia Huna'ao had often seen this experiment in his previous life. The scene of it spraying foam was indeed spectacular. However, when Xia Huna'ao attempted this experiment himself, he hadn't considered the difference between his mouth and the drink bottle. Moreover, the amount of candy he held in his mouth was simply too much.
Instantly, a large amount of foam erupted. Xia Huna'ao lost control of his jaw, and a torrent of foam spewed out of his mouth. The scene was so chaotic it was unbearable to watch.
The system watched Xia Huna'ao spray himself with a large amount of foam: "This, this host is truly committed. I've never seen a scene like this before."
Froakie was also bewildered. Did using Bubble require such a spectacle?
After Xia Huna'ao cleaned up the mess, he put away the candy and the carbonated drink, stating that he wouldn't touch them for quite some time.
With a slightly distorted accent, Xia Huna'ao asked, "Froakie, did you understand?"
Froakie slowly nodded. If he didn't understand, he would have to. He had a feeling that if he didn't understand, Xia Huna'ao would stuff the carbonated drink into his mouth and make him figure out how to spit it out.
Xia Huna'ao pointed to a target nearby, "Froakie, use Bubble."
Froakie tried his best, but in the end, he only managed to spit out a single water bubble. It wobbled towards the target and burst halfway there.
Xia Huna'ao rubbed his temples, "Your name is Froakie, and you have bubbles around your neck, so why can't you use Bubble?"
As he spoke, Xia Huna'ao's gaze fell upon Froakie. He suddenly realized that Froakie's name was largely due to the bubbles around its neck.
Xia Huna'ao dipped his hand into the bubbles, "Froakie, these bubbles are secreted by you, right? You can secrete them voluntarily, can't you?"
Froakie nodded. This was indeed something he could control himself.
Xia Huna'ao continued, "Then you can also secrete these bubbles into your mouth and spit them out, right?"
Froakie sensed his internal organs and tried to direct the power to secrete bubbles towards his mouth.
Froakie gradually felt moisture in his mouth, and when he opened his mouth, he indeed spat out a cluster of bubbles, which flew out rapidly. Although they didn't hit the target, it was a significant improvement for both Xia Huna'ao and Froakie.
With continuous practice, Froakie gradually gained control over the speed of the bubbles and could hit the target with relative accuracy. However, as we know, the move Bubble has a PP of thirty, and before long, it was depleted.
"Let's take a break, Froakie. We can't train like this all the time."
Froakie and Xia Huna'ao sat in the training room, recovering their stamina. Xia Huna'ao also opened his phone to see if there was any interesting news.
After searching for a long time, he didn't find anything new. He then looked at Froakie and said, "Froakie, are you done resting? We need to continue training."
Froakie jumped up, indicating he was rested. Xia Huna'ao then thought of a problem, "If Froakie's method of using Bubble is the same as secreting bubbles, will depleting PP affect Froakie's physical condition?"
The system promptly replied, "No, PP is a form of energy, and secreting bubbles is also a form of energy. These two forms of energy are not interchangeable. No matter how much you deplete, Froakie's body will retain a portion of its energy to maintain basic life functions."
Xia Huna'ao's lips curved into a sinister smile, "In that case, there's a lot of potential."
Xia Huna'ao picked up Froakie, "Froakie, you will need to learn to distinguish between 'Bubble' and 'bubble' from now on."
Froakie's small head was filled with confusion. What was the difference between 'Bubble' and 'bubble'?
Xia Huna'ao repeated it a few more times, and only then did Froakie vaguely grasp that Xia Huna'ao's two uses of "bubble" had subtle distinctions.
This trick was inspired by Ms. Bai Lan. When giving instructions to her three Dusclops, she relied on the subtle differences in the word "Dusclops" to make them distinguish specific commands.
However, Dusclops were Psychic-type Pokémon, and it was naturally easier for them to discern these differences and react quickly compared to a Water-type Pokémon like Froakie.
After training with Rotom and Froakie for over half an hour, Froakie could barely master distinguishing whether Xia Huna'ao wanted him to use the move Bubble in battle or simply shake off the bubbles from his neck.
Seeing that Froakie had mastered this skill, Xia Huna'ao was pleased, "Next, we'll practice other techniques."
"Froakie, look here. We're going to try the Double Bubble technique next."