In the games, the Confused status is a double-edged sword. Emotional energy, specifically rage, is tied to the evolution of certain Pokémon and the mechanics of specific moves—like Frustration, Rage, and Swagger.
Among all the "Heart" or "Emotional" energies, rage is the most common and easily accessible.
Late that night, back at the hotel, Owen and Eevee collapsed onto the bed. It had been an exhausting evening. They hadn't found any hidden treasures in the junk piles, but they had walked away with a rare Move Manual.
"Vee-vui! Vee-vui!"
Suddenly, Eevee sat up, realising a grave reality: she had played herself. Winning a Move Manual wasn't something to celebrate—it just meant she had to spend more of her precious energy and phone time learning a new skill.
"Hey, you won the prize. You have to finish the training, even if you do it through tears," Owen teased.
Eevee glared at him. Unbelievable. This trainer is a monster. She had been on the verge of losing, and only because of his "despicable" psychological shock did she win... and now she had more homework.
Owen ignored the death stare, pulled the manual from his bag, and began to read.
Swagger is classified as a Normal-type move, but it is actually a hybrid application of Rage Energy and Mental Power. Because the threshold for both is relatively low, it's accessible to a wide variety of species.
"The handwriting is so messy..." Owen squinted. "It's a completely hand-written original."
As he flipped through the weathered pages, he noted that beyond the energy requirements, this specific version of Swagger demanded a certain level of acting skill from the Pokémon.
If the user can make themselves look exceptionally punchable or irritating, the move's effectiveness skyrockets.
"That old man wasn't lying. This move really is tailor-made for you," Owen said.
"Vee..." Eevee replied dismissively, her eyes already glued back to her smartphone.
Owen kept reading. This manual was richer than standard TMs because it included a unique advanced technique: Aoe Provocation.
It detailed a method for dispersing emotional and mental energy across a wide area to taunt multiple targets simultaneously.
If Eevee can pull off a mass taunt, the opponents will fall into chaos while we sweep them, Owen thought. But this requires high mental focus. With her current level, she might only be able to handle one or two targets at most.
The next morning, Owen took Eevee and Magnemite to a public battleground for special training. Eevee attempted to practice the Swagger techniques while Magnemite served as her sparring partner.
It... didn't go well.
Magnemite's mental power was higher than Eevee's, and because it knew what was coming, it remained completely indifferent.
"VEE-VUI!!" Eevee bared her teeth, making ridiculous faces and strike-posing to get a rise out of the magnet.
"Kuo-yi..." Magnemite hummed, fascinated by Eevee's facial contortions but otherwise unmoved.
Eevee's waves of irritation were simply dissipated by the electromagnetic field surrounding Magnemite. Frustrated, Eevee pawed at the ground, desperately wanting to just blast the magnet with a Shadow Ball instead of playing this "acting" game.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Owen stopped them. "Okay, Magnemite is too stoic for this. We need targets with lower mental resistance. We need... rookies."
For the next two hours, Owen transformed into the "Great Demon King" once again. He led Eevee through the courts, challenging every rookie trainer he could find.
Eevee: ψ( ` ∇ ´ )ψ Opponent's Makuhita: ( ° д ° )
The "acting" was infectious. Eevee, sporting metaphorical demon horns, taunted the opponents relentlessly. Soon, the opposing Pokémon were losing their cool, ignoring their trainers' commands to launch wild, uncoordinated attacks.
"Makuhita, calm down! Get a hold of yourself!" "Stop! Don't just rush in!"
The rookie trainers' hearts were breaking. They watched helplessly as their partners were led in circles by a smirking Eevee, eventually ending with a point-blank Shadow Ball to the face.
"That's the fourth one," Owen noted. "Who's the next victim? Eevee is getting scary good at this. I wonder who she takes after..."
Just then, a fifth opponent approached him. But this time, Owen wasn't the one issuing the challenge.
"Hello. I've been watching your battles for a while. Care for one more?"
The speaker looked only a few years older than Owen, likely a university student. She stood across from him with a gentle smile, her eyes clear like spring water behind a pair of glasses. She had fluffy, tea-colored short hair and an air of scholarly elegance—much like Siyu.
Owen was about to decline—he preferred "bullying" the easy targets for practice—but then he saw the Pokémon she was cradling.
It had a bushy brown coat, a cream-colored ruff, and a fluffy tail.
An Eevee.
"Alright," Owen said, his competitive spirit flaring. "Let's use that court over there."
"Perfect," the woman smiled. "My name is Cynthia." (Note: Not canon One)
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