It took Eevee less than two months to figure out how to use Substitute, far exceeding Owen's expectations.
Owen thought about it carefully. While the foundation laid by Double Team certainly helped, the real catalyst was likely the changes brought about by the Return Training Method.
He reached out and touched Eevee's substitute—it felt identical to the original. Under Owen's command, the substitute used a Tackle move, and Owen observed the way energy flowed across its surface.
"Perfect..."
To achieve this level of detail, Eevee had to have a deep understanding of her own body. It sounded simple, but it was actually incredibly difficult.
Mastering the inner workings of a living organism wasn't easy. Eevee's only way to truly understand herself was through the Return move.
In the process of using Return, Eevee's physical stats had improved significantly, and by unearthing her latent potential, she had gained a much better grasp of her internal structure.
If it weren't for this, who knows how long it would have taken for Eevee to bridge the gap between Double Team and Substitute.
"Let Eevee try it, then," Owen said. "By the way, Eevee, how long can you maintain this substitute?"
"Vee..." Eevee's expression turned sheepish as she explained the difficulty.
A substitute isn't like a simple afterimage; it has substantial stamina, roughly one-fourth of the original's. As long as she didn't overextend herself, she could maintain it for a long time. Time wasn't the issue. But there was one problem...
"Ah... I see. After Eevee uses Substitute, she can't seem to control both her body and the substitute to fight at the same time."
Lynnea crouched down, watching the substitute's eyes flick between being lively and vacant, and it finally clicked.
"That's normal, isn't it? Unless you have a split personality, how could you control two bodies at once?" Leo muttered.
"..." Owen. "What does a split personality have to do with anything?"
Owen said, "It seems the main issue is that she can't truly do two things at once."
This "two things at once" was very different from when Owen had Eevee practice Counter Shield while watching TV.
Most people think multitasking is just switching attention rapidly between two tasks through habit, but that isn't true multitasking.
In reality, the brain of a normal organism has a hard time doing two things simultaneously. Given the current situation, Eevee couldn't control both her body and her substitute at once.
So, Eevee's current mastery of Substitute was only at the entry level. She couldn't perform any complex maneuvers, and the limitations were significant.
"Even if Pokémon are amazing, their brains aren't enough to allow for true multitasking. Scientific research suggests that only those with deeply developed mental regions—like powerful psychics and Psychic-type Pokémon—can achieve it."
Could the Return Training Method tap into the brain's potential and build mental power? Owen had considered this for a while, but he didn't dare let Eevee try.
Overloading her limbs and tail could be recovered from with simple medical care and nutrition—that was what the Pokémon Center was for, and Owen felt confident in that.
But the brain was a mysterious place, and the Center didn't offer any medical services for that. If Eevee turned into a "Dim-witted Eevee," Owen would never forgive himself.
Owen rubbed his chin. Well, the current level of Substitute was enough. As long as Eevee's main body was protected, there would be no problem.
"I understand. When your substitute lures away the Beedrill, Growlithe, and Munchlax will protect your main body. You can focus on using your substitute to fight without worrying about this side," Owen said.
Eevee hesitated for a moment, then agreed. That should be fine.
4:30 PM. The Forest Ranger's defensive line on the back mountain of Southview Nanwu Town.
Zoe, who was monitoring the trio's performance via drone footage, suddenly widened her eyes.
Half an hour later, Forest Ranger Captain Arthur hurried over and told Zoe, "The rangers following them say... the venom has been collected."
"And the whole time... they didn't even have to step in. The Beedrill were led on a wild goose chase from start to finish, and they weren't a threat at all."
Zoe was silent. She pointed at Eevee on the screen and said, "I see it. This was my mistake. I didn't think this Eevee would already know Substitute.
They used the substitute to lure away the Beedrill in groups. Even though the substitute was eventually taken out, it gave the three of them the perfect opportunity to take the venom..."
"Substitute... how on earth did Owen's Eevee learn that? It's not a move you can just pick up like Double Team." Zoe's brow furrowed.
"So, Ms. Zoe, your plan failed? They completed such a difficult mission so easily. Far from recognizing their own shortcomings, they're probably even more full of themselves now." Arthur laughed. It was too amusing to see a professional trainer get outplayed by a rookie.
Zoe huffed, but she found herself looking at Owen with more and more approval. He truly was a genius rookie... he really had some tricks up his sleeve.
"If it failed, it failed. There will be plenty of other opportunities in the future," Zoe said. She didn't believe Owen could keep creating miracles. A fluke like this wouldn't happen a second time.
"Hahaha, Eevee, that was incredible! Your substitute's performance was so lifelike. Those Beedrill were so mad they chased you halfway across the mountain—it was hilarious."
After returning to Fairview, Leo treated Owen and Lynnea to dinner. The field training had been much easier than he'd imagined, and he was overjoyed. And it was all thanks to Eevee.
"Eat up, eat up! It's on me!" Leo said. Eevee didn't hold back, wearing a look that said, "Don't mind if I do."
"Well... this mission was purely down to luck. We can't let our guard down." Thinking of Zoe's unpleasant look before they left, Owen felt a lot of pressure. Had Eevee overdone it? If the difficulty of the next mission increased because of this, they'd be in trouble.
"Lynnea, can your Growlithe learn Flamethrower within a week?" Owen asked. Next time, they couldn't rely solely on Eevee; they'd run into problems.
"Flamethrower... it shouldn't be a problem within a week." Lynnea nodded. With her family's traditional training methods, teaching moves to her Pokémon wasn't a difficult task.
"Leo, what about your Munchlax? How's the progress with Rest and Sleep Talk..."
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