Chương 50: Chapter 50: Mental Power
Kane postponed the special training he had for ditto for a full half month due to it's injury, forcing a pause in Kane's relentless training schedule. But that didn't mean Gastly had time to relax. In fact, during this entire period, Kane refrained from giving him any new tasks, choosing instead to let him focus on refining the moves he already knew. Gastly's sole focus for the past few weeks had been perfecting the Shadow Ball technique. Day in and day out, the Pokémon repeated the same move, honing and polishing it like a blade sharpened over and over until it gleamed.
Now, the result of that persistent grind was clear for all to see. Gastly's Shadow Ball had taken on an unmistakably refined shape, like a dark, ominous shuttle of energy. It wasn't just for show either. The iron darts Kane had purchased for training purposes had been ground down to a mere sliver of metal through countless hours of practice. No longer did Gastly need to condense the Shadow Ball around the iron for balance—he had moved beyond that crutch. This advancement was equivalent to lifting a weight off his back, allowing him to unleash the attack at full power, unhindered.
The new, fusiform shape of the Shadow Ball, with its tapered front, significantly reduced air resistance, which made a remarkable difference. The speed at which it now shot through the air, combined with its raw power, was notably superior to how it had been before. Both Kane and Gastly knew they had reached a new level of efficiency and force in their attacks.
Sludge Bomb, another crucial move in Gastly's arsenal, had similarly benefited from this constant practice. The execution of Sludge Bomb was almost identical to that of Shadow Ball, and as a result, its flight speed now rivaled the improved Shadow Ball. However, despite the similarities in technique, Gastly's ghost type energy was naturally much stronger than his poison type energy. Adding to this, the Spell tag around his neck provided a significant boost to its ghost-type moves. So while the Sludge Bomb's poison effect was deadly, its speed and force still fell short of the perfected Shadow Ball.
Yet, this wasn't a simple case of one move being better than the other. The true power of each attack couldn't be quantified with mere numbers. While the Shadow Ball had become faster and more destructive, the Sludge Bomb's toxic effects still provided a unique edge that could be devastating in the right situation.
Finally, after weeks of patience, Ditto was ready to be reintegrated into the training schedule. Yet, despite half a month of healing, it was clear that Ditto struggled to adapt to Gastly's newly sharpened attacks. Ditto was now behind in training and had a lot of catching up to do, especially given Gastly's advancements.
In contrast, Komatsu and the others had moved ahead, each working on new moves. After clearing the fourth floor of the Bell Tower, the group had been rewarded with TMs, and each of them had selected one. It had been a full half month since then, and by now, Komatsu and the others had almost completely mastered their chosen skill moves.
Kane, too, had selected a TM at that time—a "Psychic" TM—but unlike the others, he hadn't used it yet. Instead, Kane chose to focus on pushing Gastly through endless repetition of its existing skill moves. This decision baffled Komatsu and the rest of the group, who couldn't understand why Kane wasn't taking advantage of the new skill move. But Kane wasn't someone who concerned himself with their opinions. They couldn't grasp what he understood: that simply "learning" a new skill move wasn't enough. If you wanted to rely on a move during critical moments, you had to make it second nature you have to make your Pokémon master it first you have to make that move, instinctual—something that only came through relentless practice.
And the reality was that learning the skill "Psychic" wasn't a matter of just watching a TM and repeating a few actions. Psychic-type moves were built on immense mental strength, something Gastly didn't yet have. The move "Psychic" involved unleashing a powerful force that invaded the opponent's mind. To do that, the user needed to develop significant mental power. Gastly was far from that level. If Kane pushed him too early, it could lead to a mental backlash that could be as damaging to Gastly as any attack from an opponent.
Right now, the priority was simple: perfect the skill moves Gastly already knew. Once those were honed to their absolute limit, they would start training the coordination between those skills. Mastery came from layering strengths, not just from learning new moves.
But that didn't mean the "Psychic" TM was a waste. Kane was many things, but wasteful wasn't one of them. He had no intention of allowing the TM to sit unused forever. The truth was, Kane had plans for Gastly to learn the move, but that process would take time, patience, and effort. They could only take the first steps now by starting to exercise Gastly's mental power. Learning how to wield the power of the mind wasn't an overnight task, nor was it a simple one.
For a Pokémon like Gastly, who lacked any innate psychic abilities, the road from learning "Psychic" to being able to use it effectively in battle would take years. Gastly had no natural affinity for this kind of power, and for Kane, that meant the journey would likely stretch out to at least three years of diligent training before the move could be used in a real fight.
Gastly's grueling training with Ditto continued until dinner. After the meal, Kane took Gastly to the lecture hall where the Psychic TM
could be played. The TM disc ran for an entire hour—almost the length of a short movie. The Pokémon featured on the TM was an Alakazam, a Pokémon renowned for its psychic prowess and a perfect model to demonstrate the power of the mind. Though Kane couldn't fully understand the words Alakazam spoke, its body movements and expressions were enough to convey what was important. The video meticulously showed how to develop mental strength, from the basics of training one's psychic energy to eventually using it as a potent weapon. Kane glanced at Gastly, whose fixed expression showed how intently it was absorbing every detail.
When the video finally ended, Gastly wasted no time. It immediately closed its eyes and entered a meditative state, focused on internalizing everything it had just learned. This was a critical moment.
Kane remained silent, knowing not to disturb Gastly now. The Pokémon was digesting the lesson, starting its first real attempts at cultivating its mental strength. But as expected, Gastly could only maintain its meditation for about ten minutes before it began to falter. For a ghost-type Pokémon with a poison attribute, learning Psychic was particularly grueling. The poison attribute was inherently weak to psychic powers, which meant Gastly had to be even more careful. Pushing too hard or too fast could lead to serious consequences, harming itself more than it helped.
Kane's mind wandered to another case of extraordinary mental power—the terrifying strength of Will's Slowbro. In his previous life, after becoming a gym leader, Kane had come across Will multiple times. Will's Slowbro was a legend in its own right. It wasn't just any Slowbro; it had a history.
This Slowbro originated from the Slowpoke Temple near Blackthorn City. The temple was known for cultivating Slowpoke with remarkable mental powers, especially those that lived near the temple's Lake of Enlightenment. The water Pokémon there, particularly the Slowpoke, possessed extraordinary psychic abilities, but only those with pure, desireless hearts could capture them.
Will had been a young man plagued by failure, struggling through countless league competitions and always falling short of the championship. It was during one of these low points that he retreated to the Slowpoke Temple. There, he found a Slowpoke that seemed utterly useless—slow even for its species and with only a single move, telekinesis. But Will saw a reflection of his own struggles in that Slowpoke and, with the temple's permission,He took it under his wing.
That Slowpoke turned out to be a treasure in disguise. By chance,Will took it to the Lake of Enlightenment, where the Slowpoke caught a Shellder and evolved into a Slowbro—an event that hadn't occurred in over a century. The evolution was miraculous, but what made Slowbro truly extraordinary was its unparalleled mental power. From birth, it had been in a constant state of meditation, and its psychic strength was beyond comprehension. Despite only knowing one move, telekinesis, its raw psychic power was enough to devastate anything in its path.
Will's fortunes changed with Slowbro by his side, and in just a few years, he rose to become the strongest Elite Four member in Johto.
Will's story was rare, and Kane knew that kind of luck wouldn't be handed to him. Gastly would never have the mental strength of Will's Slowbro, even if it learned "Psychic." But that wasn't the point. Kane didn't expect Gastly to have godlike psychic powers—he needed practical protection. "Psychic" was a move that could provide that, especially against humans. Psychic-type moves had a terrifyingly direct effect on the human mind. Kane knew from personal experience how weak human mental power truly was. One strong mental attack could easily incapacitate even the strongest of the strongest.
Of course, there were rare exceptions. Some humans, like Sabrina, were born with extraordinary psychic abilities. That woman could face an army of men and women and regard them as nothing more than air. But those people were rare, and Kane wasn't worried about them.
What mattered was that once Gastly mastered "Psychic," it could protect Kane from most human threat's. More importantly, it would help train future poison-type Pokémon to build their resistance to psychic attacks, a crucial skill in the long run.
Kane nodded seemingly agreeing with himself as he continued to observe gastly who was still in a meditative state
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