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In truth, Sato should've realized it much earlier. Slaking and Slaking's final evolution, Slaking, were completely different in temperament from Vigoroth—as if they were polar opposites, existing at two extremes.
Of course, the reason Sato even began to think this way was largely thanks to the Kecleon on his shoulder. If it weren't for this Kecleon, he might never have considered transferring Vigoroth's Vital Spirit ability onto a Slakoth.
Slakoth's laziness was, to a great extent, due to its Truant ability. Ever since birth, that ability had been influencing it every moment of every day. It could be said that laziness had seeped into its very bones, making it extremely difficult to change later in life.
What Sato wanted to do now was start with newborn Slakoth—imprinting them right from birth by using Kecleon's Role Play and Skill Swap moves to inject the Vital Spirit ability into their bodies.
By doing so, the newborn Slakoth would be deeply affected by Vital Spirit, and would gradually become a hardworking, energetic Pokémon through constant exposure.
Once a Slakoth like that evolved into a Vigoroth and continued to be influenced by Vital Spirit, even if it eventually evolved into a Slaking with Truant again, its hardworking personality might already be so deeply ingrained that it couldn't revert, no matter what.
Sato knew that any creature, when in its infant stage, is the most susceptible to external influences. Even a tiger, if raised like a pig from birth, might really turn into a creature that eats and sleeps all day.
Of course, while this idea sounded good, once Sato thought about it in depth, he realized there was a critical flaw. If he couldn't solve this problem, then the entire concept would be nothing but a pipe dream.
"But... the effect of Skill Swap is extremely limited in duration. Once the time runs out, the Truant ability will return. And using Role Play and Skill Swap consumes a lot of energy for Kecleon—it's not feasible to do this non-stop, 24 hours a day. I'll have to find another method to fill the gaps between swaps and suppress Truant somehow."
As Sato thought further, the excitement on his face gradually faded. The reality of the time-limited ability swap issue left him feeling helpless.
If Vital Spirit couldn't influence Slakoth for long enough and Truant reclaimed dominance, the Slakoth would ultimately revert to being lazy—and all previous efforts would be wasted.
"Well, that's enough for now. Coming up with this approach today is already a major breakthrough. You can't eat a whole meal in one bite. Maybe in time, I'll figure out a way to overcome this hurdle."
Sato wasn't someone who got stuck on one problem forever. Unable to think of a better solution for the moment, he decided to set the idea aside for now and revisit it later.
The Vigoroth simply couldn't keep up with the speed-demon Arcanine. Before long, Arcanine had left the pursuing Vigoroth far behind.
By now, they were nearing the boundary between the Slakoth Forest and the neighboring woodlands. The decreasing number of Slakoth in the area was the clearest sign.
To the west of the Slakoth Forest lay Spider Forest. To the south, Shiftry Forest was separated from it by a river. And to the southwest was Poliwag Lake.
Poliwag Lake was one of the few large lakes in the eastern region of Mystery Island's forest zone, covering at least 2,000 square kilometers.
This lake was home to countless Water-type Pokémon. Several large groups of them made their home here—such as the Magikarp line, the Goldeen line, the Chinchou line, and the Poliwag line.
However, the strongest group in Poliwag Lake was undoubtedly the Poliwag evolutionary line. Thanks to their overwhelming numbers, as well as having a powerful Poliwrath and a Politoed, they had maintained dominance over the lake for a long time.
Because of this, Team Rocket had dubbed the lake with the simple and straightforward name: Poliwag Lake.
Sato had come to Poliwag Lake with a simple goal—to try and find a Poliwag with the hidden ability Swift Swim. Ideally, it would have decent potential too.
His Rain Team already consisted of Swampert, a shiny Pelipper, and Pichu. Now that he'd discovered a lake teeming with Poliwag, he couldn't let the opportunity pass him by.
That's right—Sato's next intended Rain Team member was a Swift Swim Poliwrath. Poliwrath's base stats were relatively balanced, and each stat surpassed the average Pokémon's.
With 90 base HP, 95 Defense, and 95 Special Defense, it had solid bulk. A base Attack stat of 95 and the ability to naturally learn Belly Drum at level 37 gave it impressive offensive potential.
Combine that with a rain-boosted Speed stat of 140, and the muscular Poliwrath could become a low-cost version of Swampert. Within Sato's Rain Team, Poliwrath would serve as the one to clear the path for Swampert.
The reason Sato chose Poliwrath as a team member was largely influenced by the one he'd seen in Viridian Forest—a Poliwrath that walked through the rain like a shadow—and another Poliwrath at the Battle Tower who wielded sword techniques.
It was these two Poliwrath that made Sato realize Poliwrath might possess unknown potential.
Among many Pokémon, Poliwrath was one of the few whose physique closely resembled that of humans. As a result, with the right training, they could learn many human techniques.
Whenever Sato thought about Poliwrath, he couldn't help but wonder: "Just how powerful would a Poliwrath be if it could walk through the rain and wield human weaponry?"
Sato didn't know the answer, but he knew that if he could raise such a Poliwrath, it might just become another ace up his sleeve.
Coming to Poliwag Lake now was his way of chasing a long-held hypothesis. But before anything else, he needed to capture a Poliwag with the hidden ability Swift Swim.
For a Trainer, finding a Pokémon with good potential and a hidden ability was no easy feat—anyone could tell you that.
Even so, Sato was confident in this capture mission.
He'd already seen how high the average potential of Pokémon on Mystery Island was. Most of them had blue-tier potential—but they were at the peak of the blue tier, just a step away from purple-tier quality.
What's more, Sato had both a top-grade Water Stone and a mutated version of it that contained a trace of Kyogre's primal power.
As long as the Swift Swim Poliwag he found didn't have absolutely terrible potential, Sato was confident he could evolve it into a top-tier Pokémon with those stones.
Before long, Saro—riding on Arcanine's back—burst through the woods and arrived at the shores of Poliwag Lake. Pushing through the dense vegetation, he was greeted by the sight of a vast, seemingly endless lake.
Under the sunlight, the lake shimmered with a million sparkles.
At the lakeside, directly in front of Sato, two Pokémon groups were facing off—a group of the Poliwag line and a group of the Seismitoad line. The air was thick with tension, as if a battle was about to break out at any moment.
But before Sato could fully take in the scene, something in his pocket suddenly started to buzz.
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Guys, it's my mom's Birthday in a few days. I'm going to be doing a mini release of about 6 chapters on that day so do look forward to it and if you can, please kindly wish for her well being.
The chapters will be dropped at 4:00 AM (GMT+8) on June 28, 2025.
That's all guys. Have a great day.