After testing Murkrow's Hidden Power type, it was time for the second team member, Slowpoke.
Like Murkrow, Slowpoke also took three minutes to successfully use the Hidden Power move for the first time.
Unlike the yellow, electrically charged energy sphere Murkrow used, the energy sphere Slowpoke created was red and emitted an intense heat.
Upon seeing Slowpoke's Hidden Power, Cain immediately knew it was Fire type.
Compared to Murkrow's Electric-type, Slowpoke's Fire-type Hidden Power was simply perfect. Not only did it enhance Slowpoke's offensive capabilities, but it also compensated for some of its weaknesses.
Indeed, this Fire-type Hidden Power is, at least for now, the most suitable for Slowpoke.
Slowpoke is a Water- and Psychic-type Pokémon, making it vulnerable to Bug, Ghost, Grass, Electric, and Dark types. However, thanks to this Fire-type Hidden Power, Slowpoke will no longer be as vulnerable against Bug and Grass-type Pokémon.
Though it can't completely eliminate the disadvantage against Bug and Grass types, it at least gives Slowpoke an effective attack method, preventing it from being just an easy target.
The Fire-type Hidden Power is also effective against Steel and Ice types, meaning Cain won't have trouble facing those Pokémon in the future, thus enhancing the team's versatility.
However, it's foreseeable that in future battles, Cain will avoid having Slowpoke face Electric and Dark-type Pokémon directly, as these two types are extremely dangerous for Slowpoke.
Gastly's Hidden Power came as a surprise to Cain: it turned out to be Grass type.
Although the nature of Hidden Power is unrelated to a Pokémon's type, Cain didn't expect it to be Grass.
Among the 18 existing types, Grass is the most vulnerable, being weak against five different types. However, it also has several types it can counter.
Even though Gastly is an intangible being, it is vulnerable to Ground-type moves. With this Grass-type Hidden Power, Gastly now has the ability to defend against Ground-type Pokémon.
Combining this power with its Hypnosis and other moves to buy time, the Grass-type Hidden Power increases its offensive capabilities.
After verifying the nature of his three Pokémon's Hidden Power, Cain was quite satisfied with the results. Besides Murkrow, Slowpoke and Gastly had mitigated some of their weaknesses thanks to Hidden Power.
And since each had a Hidden Power of a different type, the entire team's offensive capacity was greatly expanded, allowing Cain to devise more effective strategies against Pokémon outside their usual strengths.
Since they had finished assessing Hidden Power, Cain decided not to waste the rental time for the room and began training in this safe environment without worrying about revealing their abilities.
Cain set up a training plan for his Pokémon.
First, Murkrow and Slowpoke focused on perfecting the Hidden Power move they had just learned.
Gastly, on the other hand, underwent specialized training under Cain's supervision.
Since Gastly had been captured recently, Cain had only had the chance to measure its stamina and energy during prior training sessions and a few battles against low-level Pokémon.
However, Cain was already quite familiar with Gastly's characteristics.
The immediate goal was not to perfect the newly acquired Hidden Power, but to learn to master the Sleep Talk move.
Sleep Talk allows the Pokémon to use any of its known moves while asleep, but Cain had seen a powerful Gengar in his past life that could select a specific move to use while sleeping.
Although Cain didn't know how it had been trained, the fact that it was possible meant that the Sleep Talk move could be controlled. Therefore, Gastly's first training objective was to attempt to select a specific move while using Sleep Talk.
At first, Cain didn't have overly high expectations; he didn't demand that Gastly use a specific move, just that it could select one at random within a set range.
So, in the training room, Murkrow and Slowpoke practiced Hidden Power by attacking targets in the room while trying to dodge the random moves Gastly would unleash while sleeping.
Initially, Gastly's moves were disordered and unpredictable, but Cain gradually adjusted the environment and conditions under which Gastly used Sleep Talk. Eventually, Gastly managed to restrict the selection to five moves.
This progress was a significant breakthrough, confirming Cain's hypothesis that, with special methods, Sleep Talk could be controlled to select specific moves.
If Cain could fully implement this plan, both Gastly and Gengar in the future would see a significant increase in their combat power.
However, fully mastering Sleep Talk would be extremely difficult.
Cain began speculating on what could motivate a Pokémon to use the Sleep Talk move.
Could it be related to the dream scenario?
Gastly's first test was unsuccessful, leading Cain to conclude it wasn't due to dream scenes, as it was impossible for a meaningful dream to form in such a short time.
The first attempt had failed.
Then, Cain wondered if the trainer's voice could influence the use of the Sleep Talk move.
On the second attempt, Cain tried giving commands while Gastly used Sleep Talk. Although Gastly could execute the move, there was no control over which move was selected.
The second attempt also failed.
Cain's final hypothesis was that before sleeping, Gastly should mentally rehearse the move it wanted to use.
Although concentrating was difficult and random thoughts often arose, this time, the direction was correct.
Before using Sleep Talk, Gastly focused on remembering the Hidden Power move.
Upon sleeping and using Sleep Talk, the Hidden Power move appeared much more frequently.
Cain was pleased with this confirmation. Though challenging, at least he had found a direction to work towards, hadn't he?
Excited by this discovery, Cain even speculated about the idea of using telepathy to strengthen Gastly's conscious focus when using Sleep Talk.
This was another training direction worth exploring.
(End of chapter)