Once the idea took root, Owen immediately had Eevee put it into action.
"First, gather the energy, but don't attack yet."
"Vee..." Eevee focused, entering the state she held just before striking.
Energy surged through her entire body, making her feel warm and brimming with power—the distinct sensation of latent potential being unearthed. In this state, the upper limit of Eevee's physical strength was significantly raised.
"Vee...!"
After holding this state for eight or nine seconds, Eevee began to tremble, her expression turning strained. She felt like her body was reaching its limit. Tapping into physical potential through emotional energy provided a burst of explosive power, but the burden on the body was immense.
"Attack!"
Seeing the strain, Owen gave the command. Eevee breathed a sigh of relief and released the pent-up energy all at once, instinctively slamming into the rubber wall in a standard tackle formation.
Breaking the Mold
As Eevee trotted back slowly, Owen asked hesitantly, "Just now, when I said 'attack,' did you feel like you were performing a 'Tackle' move?"
"Vee." Eevee thought back and nodded.
During the surge, she couldn't sense any other energy, and even her own body became difficult to control. She had defaulted to a full-body slam to vent the energy. It was natural—with her potential suddenly spiked, her fine motor control couldn't keep up with the raw power.
Still, the power of Return was undeniable. It was currently Eevee's strongest move, surpassing Quick Attack and Bite in terms of raw destructive force.
"Is there a way to direct that emotional energy to specific parts of your body?" Owen mused. "Like your limbs? Or your tail?"
Eevee shook her head, unsure, but willing to try.
She entered the state again... The Soothe Bell jingled rhythmically as her expression grew solemn.
"VEE!!" She glanced at a pebble by her feet and swung her body with force, whipping her tail toward the target. The pebble flew off, hitting the rubber wall.
The impact... wasn't even as strong as Owen throwing it by hand.
However, this small experiment was enough to prove a point. Through conscious control, the form of the Return attack could be changed! There was no way Eevee's tail would have had that much power after less than a week of general training.
This wasn't Iron Tail—it was Return.
It was just that, for Eevee, using a full-body slam to manifest Return was far easier and more powerful than using her tail.
Just as Lopunny uses its ears as natural weapons and media for Return, Eevee's "default" was her whole body. Asking her to use her ears for it would be pure fantasy, but the tail and legs were a different story.
"There's no doubt about it. Emotional energy can dig out the potential of specific body parts, granting that area temporary, extraordinary strength." Owen smiled. His theory was halfway proven.
The Vertical Leap
"Next, the legs," Owen commanded.
Eevee nodded, trying to channel the emotional energy into her four limbs before attacking. However, the anticipated burst of Quick Attack-like speed didn't happen.
Instead, in a moment of panic, Eevee launched herself straight up into the air.
It was like a charged high jump. Eevee found herself eye-to-eye with Owen in mid-air.
Owen: "..."
Eevee: "..."
Having not prepared for a vertical launch, Eevee lost her balance in the air and crashed back down to the ground.
"Vee..."
She climbed up painfully and shot Owen a reproachful glare. This was nothing like what they had planned.
"I didn't tell you to use Splash! Don't exert the force upward!" Owen said helplessly. "Once your legs are powered up, you need to kick back against the ground as you do for Quick Attack. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction—kick the ground back, and it pushes you forward."
He understood the issue: Eevee simply couldn't control the surge yet. But there was no rush. Given how she'd managed the tail-flick, she would eventually master the control. Once she did, her Return wouldn't be so one-dimensional.
If her Frustration was a Tackle, then her current Return was a Take Down.
Once she adapted to directing that energy into her legs, Return would evolve into a move with "Quick Attack speed and Take Down power." Speed and power combined would make Return her next true trump card.
"Vee..." Eevee cried out piteously.
She could already feel her tail and legs beginning to ache. Those two attempts had clearly pushed her into "overload" territory. Her tail, especially, was throbbing.
"Is it starting to hurt? I'll take you to the Pokémon Center right away."
The Price of Efficiency
Owen didn't hesitate and brought Eevee to the Center. When the results came back, his theory was fully confirmed.
The "form-breaking" Return had an excellent training effect on the specific body parts used! Eevee wasn't seriously injured—it was just the physical manifestation of extreme training. The report told Owen that Eevee was in urgent need of massive nutritional supplementation.
"It's just as I thought. Eevee's tail isn't as naturally conditioned as the rest of her body, so its adaptability is lower. By digging out its potential instantly, it caused an effect similar to Overload Training."
Overload training is common in athletes: once they adapt to a certain stimulus, the load must be increased to force further growth. Eevee was currently in that overloaded state. With enough nutrition and rest, the pain would fade, and her leg and tail strength would increase significantly.
This was the benefit of breaking the move's form to dig out potential. It saved hours of traditional training—the efficiency was off the charts!
However, the cost was high. While Pokémon adapt much faster than humans, failing to provide enough nutrition would lead to hidden, long-term injuries. Increased efficiency meant Owen had to invest even more resources.
"I'll take it as a good thing for now..."
"This way, by utilizing Return correctly, Eevee can master Iron Tail in no time. And once her leg strength increases, her speed will be even scarier!"
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