"The food here is amazing! I haven't eaten such delicious dishes in a long time!"
Rocky was in an exceptionally good mood, likely because he had just broken through a bottleneck that had held him back for years.
Faced with the delicacies that Yuli and the others had prepared with great care, he had no resistance at all and began to devour them voraciously.
Most of the food that night ended up in Rocky's stomach. Keep in mind, Rex had asked Yuli to prepare twice the usual amount of food, and it turned out to be just enough to satisfy Rocky's appetite.
"Brother Rocky, I'm glad you liked it!"
Rex handed a glass of juice to Rocky, smiling as he spoke.
"Mm, this juice is great, but if there was some wine, it would be even better!"
Rocky took a sip of the juice and nodded in satisfaction, though he preferred alcohol over juice.
"Now that I'm full, I'm off to train. I'll teach you the All Star Fitness Body Training Technique tomorrow!"
After downing the juice, Rocky stood up and walked outside, disappearing into the night. Rex had no idea where his senior brother had gone to train.
Shaking his head in slight disbelief, Rex decided not to go after Rocky. After all, Rocky had been surviving in the wild for years, and it was unlikely that anything bad would happen to him.
After helping Yuli and the others clean up the dishes, Rex returned to the breeding house. After checking on the condition of the incubators, he lay down and started playing on his phone.
Meanwhile, Rocky, who had run off, looked back to ensure Rex wasn't following him. Then, his demeanor completely changed. As he continued running, he suddenly leaped into the air, performing a 720-degree flip before landing back on the ground.
In the pitch-dark night, one could see him alternating between walking on his hands, performing flips, and shouting out loud, venting his emotions.
Rocky had been holding back for so long. When he broke through earlier in the afternoon, he'd suppressed his emotions to maintain his image in front of Rex. But now, after the meal, he couldn't contain himself anymore and ran out under the guise of training to release his feelings.
It was akin to a Magikarp's evolution. Magikarp long for the day they can evolve into Gyarados, but many spend ages stuck in that stage. When they finally transform into the powerful Gyarados, the feelings are indescribable.
Unbeknownst to Rocky, his actions had already been noticed by the Taillows scattered throughout the farm. However, knowing that Rocky was a guest, they made no moves against him.
"Why are you calling this old man again? Didn't we already talk this morning?"
Layton spoke in a slightly annoyed tone.
Rocky was one of Layton's earliest disciples. Layton had poured a lot of effort into him, though he wasn't great at expressing it, often maintaining a stern mentor's attitude.
"Master, I broke through!"
Rocky choked out his words.
In front of Rex, Rocky had to maintain his image. But with his master, Layton, Rocky allowed himself to be completely vulnerable.
He didn't want his graying master to continue worrying about him, so he immediately called to share the good news.
"What? Don't you dare pull this old man's leg, you rascal!"
Layton's eyes moistened at the news, though he feared Rocky might be joking.
"It's true! This afternoon, I broke through thanks to an opportunity given to me by my junior brother, Rex!"
Rocky spoke earnestly.
He then explained in detail how he had broken through earlier and suggested that Layton train a group of Grass-type Pokémon to master the Grassy Terrain technique.
"You think you're the first to come up with that idea? Our All Star Fitness Club has been around for ages. That approach was attempted long ago by our predecessors, but they failed."
Layton sighed as he responded.
Rocky's idea had indeed been considered by an earlier master of the All Star Fitness Club. Unfortunately, after spending significant time and resources, that master only managed to raise a few Grass-type Pokémon that knew Grassy Terrain.
The energy generated by those Pokémon was not significantly greater than the natural energy found in some famous mountains and rivers, rendering the technique's effects minimal.
In the end, that master wasted a lot of time and resources without ever increasing the natural energy to the concentration needed for a fighter to break through.
This was a case where quantity could trigger a qualitative change. Without enough Grass-type Pokémon using Grassy Terrain together, the energy concentration was too low to be of any help for breakthroughs. It was more effective to find a naturally energy-rich place in the wilderness.
Since then, no one had tried this approach again. After all, without seeing concrete results, the All Star Fitness Club couldn't afford to endlessly pour resources into such research. It was just too much to ask from fighters who trained primarily in physical prowess.
For members of the All Star Fitness Club, self-reliance and individual breakthroughs were paramount. They trusted in their own insights and believed more firmly in themselves.
It was this unwavering belief that allowed people like Rocky to keep grinding, honing themselves while traveling in the hopes that they would one day break through.
After hearing Rocky's breakthrough story, Layton started considering the idea of raising Grass-type Pokémon again, though it would take some time to execute.
After all, most of the disciples in the All Star Fitness Club were rugged warriors. They generally raised Fighting-type Pokémon, so suddenly asking them to raise Grass-types would be quite challenging, even for Layton.
As for asking Rex to help raise the Pokémon, neither master nor student brought it up. It wouldn't have been appropriate, given that Rex had only just joined the All Star Fitness Club. They didn't want to burden him with such a tough task so early on.
The bond between Rex and the All Star Fitness Club wasn't deep yet, and they didn't want to jeopardize that relationship over something like this. Perhaps once Rex felt a stronger sense of belonging to the club, they could ask him for help.
After chatting a bit more, Layton ended the call. However, he was in high spirits, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Rocky, too, felt calmer after sharing his breakthrough with his master. He found a large stone, sat down cross-legged, and entered a deep meditation.
Now that he had sensed Qi, Rocky could absorb the surrounding natural energy through meditation, converting it into Qi.
However, this process of accumulating Qi was slow, nothing like the feeling he'd had during his breakthrough earlier in the day, when energy had poured into him like rivers converging into an ocean.
Still, Rocky was thrilled by any progress he made. After all, the torment of being stuck at a bottleneck for years had been unbearable.