Chapter 135: The Possibility of Dual-Wielding Abilities
After witnessing the terrifying power erupted from Quilava, Shi Fan and Hu Wenjun were green with envy.
They both approached Lorze, practically begging to "buy some hacks" from him.
Facing their sincere requests, Lorze reluctantly put on a troubled face before pointing out a clear path for them.
In reality, even if they hadn't asked, Lorze had intended to help them to ensure they wouldn't be a liability when they went to "kick the door" of other schools.
Since they had spoken up first, he decided to take the opportunity to sell them a favor and solidify his absolute authority within the team.
"Fine. I'll show you the way. I recall Frogadier and Ariados also possess abilities similar to Blaze, right?" Lorze said.
"They do, but you know my Frogadier has Protean; it can't trigger Torrent." Shi Fan shook his head.
His Frogadier couldn't follow the same "berserker" power-up route as Quilava.
"My Ariados has the Sniper Ability too, not Swarm." Hu Wenjun also expressed her regret.
After seeing Quilava's Blaze, she felt that Swarm might be more useful than Sniper.
After all, if you can't land a critical hit, Sniper is basically a dead Ability.
"Who told you a Pokémon can only have one Ability at a time?" Lorze countered with a question.
"Uh... isn't that common sense?" Hu Wenjun tilted her head.
She had never heard of a Pokémon possessing two Abilities simultaneously.
"Call me 'Husband,' and today I'll rewrite that common sense for you." Lorze teased her.
"Oh... Husband." Hu Wenjun blushed instantly, but she whispered the words out loud.
Although her voice was small, everyone in the immediate vicinity heard it clearly.
Shi Fan was dumbfounded. Are girls really this easy to get?
Lorze is being completely shameless, and you still like him?
Or is being a shameless bastard the secret to getting a girlfriend?
I've learned something today...
"Good. I can't let that 'Husband' go to waste, so I'll share a bit of my latest research with you."
Lorze didn't hesitate; seeing she actually called him that, he pulled her unceremoniously into his arms.
"My research shows that a Pokémon carries more than one Ability. Take your Ariados, for example."
"It likely possesses Swarm, Insomnia, and Sniper—all three known traits—at the same time."
Lorze explained while pulling her tighter against his chest.
"Then why has Swarm never appeared on Ariados?"
Hu Wenjun was blushing so hard she could barely focus on his words, her heart racing and her mind growing dizzy.
"It's simple. You've heard of 'Dominant' and 'Recessive' genes, right? When one Ability manifests, the others are suppressed and hidden."
Lorze tightened his embrace.
By now, Hu Wenjun was too flustered to listen; she just felt her heart fluttering in her chest.
Shi Fan stared at Hu Wenjun in disbelief. She really let him conquer her that easily?
But since it was consensual, he had no right to comment. He picked up the topic instead:
"These are just your theories, aren't they? Do you have any proof?"
Lorze rolled his eyes at him. "If I had hard proof, I would have published it. Would I be wasting my breath explaining it to you?"
"Is this... really okay?"
"Relax. I don't talk out of my ass. It's up to you whether you want to learn or not." Lorze shrugged, not bothering to explain further.
He couldn't exactly tell them his theory was based on the "Ability Capsule" from the games.
In the Pokémon games, an Ability Capsule can switch a Pokémon's Ability.
Note: it says "switch," not "grant."
If a Pokémon only had one Ability in its body, how could you switch it?
This alone proved that Pokémon carried multiple latent traits.
"I'll learn! I'll trust you this once!"
Shi Fan looked over at Quilava. The last person who trusted Lorze's "ghost stories" had successfully activated a cheat code. How could he refuse?
But despite his trust, Shi Fan was still confused. According to the theory, Torrent was recessive; how was he supposed to train for it?
Shi Fan voiced his doubt, and Lorze's answer was incredibly straightforward.
"If you don't have Torrent, I'll just give you a Torrent, won't I?"
Don't forget that Kirlia has the Trace Ability.
She just needs to copy a Torrent, then use Skill Swap to give it to Frogadier. Wouldn't that change his trait?
Moves like Torrent or Blaze are unique; their essence is about exploding with potential in a crisis.
But no one said potential only explodes when you're dying.
As long as you possess that potential and master the method of drawing it out, you can eventually trigger that "explosion" even without the Ability's help while using Protean.
Lorze believed it was possible, but the execution depended on Shi Fan and Frogadier's talent.
Similarly, Hu Wenjun's Ariados could use this method to unlock its potential.
Once successful, Ariados could utilize the power of Swarm while still retaining Sniper.
This was the concept of "Dual-Wielding Abilities"!
Lorze didn't know if Ariados could pull it off, but since she was his "wife's" partner, he'd use Telepathic Resonance to give her a boost.
In that case, Ariados might actually be the first of the three to master the "Dual Trait" system.
Regardless, the training plan was set. Success depended on their hard work over the winter break.
Lorze still had his own urgent business. He turned his attention back to Mawile.
Watching Quilava's Blaze erupt like rocket exhaust had given him an idea to solve Mawile's speed issues.
He just needed to install a jet engine on Mawile and launch her like a rocket, didn't he?
Items are allowed in official matches. Carrying a jet engine shouldn't be against the rules, right?
Cough, cough.
Okay, jokes aside. A physical engine was out, but Lorze could turn Mawile herself into a jet engine.
Look at that "twin-tailed massive jaw" on her head—leaving it unused was a criminal waste.
If he could pump enough fuel into that "engine," Mawile could surely fly using the counter-thrust.
As for where to get the fuel... wasn't True Qi a perfect propellant?
However, Mawile could only produce a tiny amount of True Qi right now. Using it as fuel would be far too extravagant.
So Lorze thought of Mawile's other signature combo.
Any player who used Mawile knew she had a unique but often "useless" set of moves: Stockpile, Spit Up, and Swallow.
Stockpile didn't just store energy; it buffed her Defense and Special Defense.
When fully charged with three stacks, the power of Spit Up reached a staggering 300. Was that enough force for you?
The only tragedy was that Stockpile took forever and required the user to remain stationary, making it a death trap in a real match.
But with Lorze, things were different. With Telepathic Resonance, he could boost the charging speed and strengthen Mawile's control so the state wouldn't be easily broken.
Meaning, Mawile could move while stockpiling energy.
Once full, she could blast it all out of the "jaw-engine" on her head, transforming herself into a high-powered Jet-Propelled Battle Maid!
A 300-power Spit Up... the amount of counter-thrust it would generate was mind-boggling.
Extreme Speed only has a power of 80. Wouldn't Spit Up be three times faster?
Well, the math probably wasn't that simple since Extreme Speed isn't based on raw power for its utility.
But either way, the "Jet Battle Maid" project was worth a shot!