A new day, a new beginning.
The encounter with Gary last night seemed to have never happened. If not for the change in Bellsprout's attitude, Ace might have thought he was dreaming.
"Bellsprout, before we start our formal training, have some of this."
Ace fed Bellsprout the high-grade Energy Cube he had bought at a great expense. Bellsprout took just one bite and was instantly captivated by the taste.
"Your physical condition is currently very weak, so I need to maximize your nutrient intake to improve your physical fitness as quickly as possible."
Bellsprout nodded somewhat bewilderedly at Ace's words, though it wasn't sure how to enhance its nutrition.
But Bellsprout didn't need to worry about that. Ace, while learning about Bellsprout's characteristics, combined it with his own knowledge and began customizing Energy Cubes through the system.
Bellsprout was used to hunting insect Pokémon for food in the wild, but its efficiency in utilizing nutrients from these sources was too low.
Ace first let Zubat practice flying. There was no end to flight techniques; each practice session brought new insights and understandings for Zubat.
Afterward, Ace began to try his best to help Bellsprout learn a particular move.
This move was Sweet Scent.
In the games, Sweet Scent lowers the target's evasiveness by two stages.
Outside of battle, in areas where Pokémon can be encountered, using Sweet Scent can make wild Pokémon appear. Sweet Scent cannot be used out of battle in abnormal weather conditions.
After thoroughly reading the manual and combining it with Victreebel's scent for luring prey, Ace thought of this move.
Sweet Scent and Acid could be fused to effectively enhance the potency of Bellsprout's Acid, greatly aiding Bellsprout's strength improvement.
After explaining this to Bellsprout, Bellsprout seemed to ponder. Just as Ace was about to reassure Bellsprout not to rush and take its time, Bellsprout, deep in thought, suddenly had a look of realization on its face.
As Ace wondered why Bellsprout was acting this way, a faint, ethereal scent slowly diffused from in front of him.
"It... learned it just like that?"
Ace was somewhat incredulous. In the games, Bellsprout had to be at least level 29 to learn Sweet Scent.
Considering that Bellsprout evolves into Weepinbell at level 21, this was a skill that was extremely difficult to master before evolution.
But how could it be as simple as drinking water or breathing for Ace's Bellsprout?
"Even with specifically customized high-grade Energy Cubes, even Zubat took three days for its poison glands to fully develop. How could Bellsprout be so fast?"
Ace asked the system about this, and the system quickly provided an answer.
"Pokémon aptitude will affect a Pokémon's upper limit and greatly restrict its mastery of moves and learning ability."
"...So, because Bellsprout's aptitude is Superior, which is better than Zubat's Average, Bellsprout's comprehension ability is stronger when it comes to learning moves, right?"
"Correct."
Having received the system's answer, Ace nodded, then looked at his task points.
Having received two consecutive S-rank evaluations, Ace's total task points had long exceeded 100.
However, continuous use of Perfect Body Repair consumed task points extremely quickly.
Currently, Ace had 98 task points, meaning he only needed two more to reach 100 task points.
And the exchange condition for Aptitude Enhancement was 100 task points.
This meant he had a chance to upgrade Zubat's aptitude.
"...Let's wait."
But Ace quickly reconsidered and decided to temporarily give up.
After all, Perfect Body Repair was too useful. If he poured all his task points into Zubat, Ace wouldn't have enough task points to sustain the use of Perfect Body Repair.
"At least ensure I have five... fifty task points freely available, otherwise I shouldn't easily consume too many task points!"
Cautious Ace originally only wanted to keep five points, but when he thought about the dangers of this world, he decisively increased it tenfold.
He couldn't help it; there were too many dangerous situations. If he didn't have enough trump cards, how could he expect to get by?
Bellsprout quickly mastered Sweet Scent.
However, just like Zubat's Toxic, it was still only a semi-finished product. It only made things smell a bit sweet, far from the skill's description of directly luring Pokémon over.
But for Ace, it was a good start.
Next, Ace had Bellsprout infuse the scent into its Acid, aiming for the Acid's scent to linger for at least a few minutes.
This fusion proved somewhat difficult for Bellsprout.
Acid and Sweet Scent were two different moves; forcibly fusing them was very challenging.
But a high difficulty coefficient didn't matter. Imagine Bellsprout spitting out a mouthful of Acid, the Acid emitting an incredibly attractive scent, making Pokémon instinctively walk towards the fragrance.
And then...
The Acid directly hits the target, the strong acid instantly corroding flesh, causing extremely terrible damage.
Just thinking about such a scene made Ace tremble with excitement at his own idea for this fused skill.
The idea was wonderful, but actually implementing it was indeed quite difficult.
Bellsprout's final evolution, Victreebel, doesn't use Sweet Scent; it uses the inherent scent of Acid itself.
Furthermore, the more prey Victreebel catches, the stronger its own scent becomes.
If you encounter a Victreebel with a strong scent in the wild, quickly go around it, otherwise, you might just lose your life there.
However, that kind of scent doesn't compare to the Sweet Scent move.
Under Ace's guidance, Bellsprout closed its mouth, forcefully sealing the scent within, then secreted Acid, allowing the Acid to fully fuse with the scent.
After about two minutes, Bellsprout finally opened its mouth, spitting out a stream of Acid onto a nearby rock. The rock immediately corroded with a sizzling sound.
Ace picked up a twig, dipped it in some Acid, and brought it close to sniff. Amidst the corrosive fumes, there was indeed a faint, ethereal scent.
"Theoretically feasible. Now, it's just a matter of slowly refining and practicing."
Ace stroked Bellsprout's head and said with a smile, "Increase the concentration of the Sweet Scent, and then shorten the mixing time of the two. We need to be able to fuse these two moves routinely and then use them directly in battle."
Bellsprout nodded, understanding Ace's meaning.