"This move is ingrained deep within your genes. In theory, even if you don't deliberately train for it, as your strength grows, you should be able to learn it naturally. So, it shouldn't be too difficult."
Maki analyzed the situation. As for why they needed to rush training a move that was destined to be learned later anyway, the answer was simple—times had changed. Maki now desperately needed power.
Who knew what dangers lurked deeper within this island? Even if they eventually managed to leave this uninhabited island and reach one of the four main islands of the Alola region, establishing contact with Team Rocket wouldn't be easy.
After all, Kanto had only recently established formal relations with Alola, and Team Rocket neither had the time nor resources to set up operations there.
When that time came, surviving in Alola would be entirely up to Maki.
While training Cottonee, Maki also assigned tasks to Charmeleon and Mawile—Mawile was to teach Charmeleon Thunder Punch, while Charmeleon would help Mawile learn Crunch.
Since Mawile already knew Bite, learning Crunch should be relatively easy. Charmeleon's task would be a bit more troublesome, but with enough practice and grasping the right techniques, it shouldn't be too difficult either.
Pokémon learning moves from each other was far more effective than Maki's theoretical explanations—after all, no matter how much he talked, he couldn't exactly demonstrate Sunny Day for Cottonee.
"First, try to feel the sunlight. The essence of Sunny Day is releasing a large amount of Fire-type energy into the sky, forming a miniature sun. You've used Smokescreen before, so you should be familiar with Fire-type energy. Plus, as a Grass-type Pokémon, you should have a strong sensitivity to sunlight."
In reality, whether it was Sunny Day, Rain Dance, or Hail, or even abilities like Drought, Drizzle, and Snow Warning, none of them could truly affect real-world weather.
Unless the Pokémon was extraordinarily powerful—like a Champion-level Torkoal with Drought—only then could it influence the climate of an entire city.
More extreme cases included Kyogre and Groudon. Their mere presence, even without actively using their abilities, would immediately alter the surrounding weather.
But for ordinary Pokémon, their influence was limited to the battlefield. Even those strong enough to genuinely impact the climate wouldn't go out of their way to do so during battle.
Because, honestly, what's the point? If you're just having a fight, does making an entire city rain serve any purpose? Not to mention the backlash—it would be a massive waste of energy.
As long as the move influenced the immediate battlefield, it was enough.
That was Maki's goal for Cottonee—if it could enhance Charmeleon's ability with Sunny Day, that would be sufficient.
Following Maki's instructions, Cottonee floated higher into the sky to absorb more sunlight.
However, after hovering in place for a moment, it drifted back down, shaking its head at Maki in frustration.
This isn't working at all, cotton!!
Relying solely on its Grass-type instincts to absorb solar energy without using a move was extremely difficult. Even worse, the absorbed energy was instantly converted into pure Grass-type energy.
That was simply a Grass-type Pokémon's nature. Theoretically, solar energy should belong to Fire-types, but moves like Solar Beam, Solar Blade, and Synthesis were all Grass-type due to this natural conversion process.
Maki frowned. Asking Cottonee to resist its own instincts was almost impossible. Moreover, pure Fire-type energy wasn't naturally compatible with a Grass-type Pokémon like Cottonee—forcing it could lead to unexpected consequences.
After pondering for a moment, Maki came up with another idea. If one path didn't work, they would try another—there was no need to get stuck on a single approach.
"Remember how it feels when you use Nature Power? Try using that method instead."
There was more than one way to absorb solar energy. Since Fire-type energy was involved, it could theoretically be harnessed through Nature Power.
The problem, however, was obvious—while this method would allow Cottonee to absorb surrounding Fire-type energy, controlling it would be difficult. Most likely, as soon as it absorbed the energy, it would instantly release it as a Smokescreen attack.
Cottonee rubbed its fluffy white cotton with a leaf, recalling how it nearly got burned the last time it tried this. That experience was still fresh in its mind.
"Cotton?" Cottonee eyed Maki warily.
"Ahem, that was because you didn't control it properly last time. Now that you have experience, it'll be fine."
Maki sounded slightly unconvincing, even averting his gaze as he spoke.
The moment his eyes shifted, Cottonee puffed up in outrage.
Easy for you to say when you're not the one getting burned!
"Alright, alright! Every challenge requires taking the first step. Once you succeed the first time, the second time will be easier, and after a few more tries, you'll get the hang of it."
Maki patiently reassured Cottonee, finally convincing it to take to the sky again.
"Hmm... Fly a little higher! We don't want to set the trees on fire!"
Maki shouted up at Cottonee. They had no idea how long they'd be stranded here—if they accidentally caused a wildfire, they'd be in serious trouble.
Cotton! Cotton!
Stupid trainer! You care more about the trees than me!
Cottonee pouted in frustration but obediently floated higher.
"That should be good. Now, try to find the feeling of Nature Power and gather the surrounding Fire-type energy."
Maki called up to Cottonee from the ground. He realized that having it fly so high had an unintended downside—it made communication difficult. He had to shout, or else Cottonee might not hear him.
For regular training, this wasn't a big deal. But in critical moments, mishearing instructions could be dangerous.
Cottonee resumed its stance, absorbing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—wait, no—absorbing sunlight.
On the surface, it looked the same as before, but in reality, it was a completely different process.
However, Maki had overlooked one crucial detail—absorbing and converting sunlight was a Grass-type Pokémon's natural instinct. And for Cottonee, its Prankster ability was just as instinctive.
In other words… it was too fast!
The moment it tried using Nature Power to absorb Fire-type energy, Prankster activated instantly—causing it to release Smokescreen right away.
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