Tetsuya nodded again, indicating his satisfaction with the opinions and treatment proposed by the other party as well.
Scyther interpreted the nod as agreement and felt that this human understood him well. The Pokemon beside him, the one called Blaziken, was truly powerful—worthy of learning from.
Tetsuya was pleased. He had come out today just to complete his daily training tasks and earn some extra funds, but he hadn't expected to encounter such a reasonable and experienced veteran.
Guidance on battle techniques was one thing, but the real prize was something greater. Tetsuya suspected that this Scyther could also perform Swords Dance and Hone Claws, not to mention Focus Energy. His goal was clear—he wanted Blaziken to master all three techniques.
Just imagine—a Blaziken with its hidden Speed Boost ability, combined with Focus Energy, Hone Claws, and Swords Dance. The sheer potential of such a combination was staggering.
Tetsuya couldn't help but entertain the thought of repositioning Blaziken as an assassin-style fighter. A true assassin faces enemies head-on—what need is there for hesitation?
And all it would cost him were some energy blocks—not cheap, but the return on investment was simply incredible.
Scyther and Blaziken quickly finished their lunch.
"What a treat~" Scyther murmured, before immediately flying to an open clearing and signaling for Blaziken to follow.
Once Tetsuya gave his approval, Blaziken confidently strode over.
Scyther had always been an excellent teacher. Back in his old tribe, he had guided younger Pokemon. Now, even in exile, he was willing to pass on his knowledge.
With a nostalgic glint in his eyes, Scyther signaled for Blaziken to control its power and begin sparring.
"Ha-ha-ha~" "Cha!" "Ha-ha-ha~" "Cha-mo!"
As Tetsuya watched them train, he couldn't help but feel fortunate. Not every wild Pokemon was this cooperative and responsible—especially prideful ones like Scyther.
For many Pokemon, teaching the one who defeated them was an unbearable humiliation. Most would either flee or lash out in frustration, rather than acknowledge their loss.
Just then, Ishigaki and Pidgeot, standing guard, let out a warning cry—an enemy was approaching.
Tetsuya narrowed his eyes, signaling Scyther and Blaziken to continue training. He had complete confidence in his Pokemon's ability to handle the situation. Scyther hesitated at first, but after a quick glance at Pidgeot, he realized he was overthinking it.
Having lived in this area for so long, he knew its dangers well. And this Pidgeot? It was practically unrivaled in the region.
Tetsuya directed Pidgeot forward. "Use Whirlwind."
A powerful gust swept through the trees, revealing four Mankey hiding among the foliage.
Exposed, the Mankey began breathing heavily—signs of rising aggression.
"Air Slash!" Tetsuya commanded.
This reaction was expected. Mankey, when timid, quickly spiraled into a rage, becoming reckless and uncontrollable. If left unchecked, they would charge headfirst into battle, regardless of their strength.
Pidgeot flapped its wings twice, releasing four sharp air blades that slashed toward the Mankey before they could react.
Tetsuya nodded in approval—Pidgeot's training was paying off. The charge time for Air Slash had noticeably decreased. While it wasn't yet an instant-release move, shaving off even a fraction of a second could shift the odds in battle.
The Mankey were sent flying, two of them crashing into a tree with pained cries.
Before Tetsuya could issue another command, Pidgeot instinctively moved in with blinding speed.
"Steel Wing."
His words were nearly in sync with Pidgeot's actions. Its wings gleamed with a metallic sheen as it struck down all four Mankey in rapid succession.
One of them, however, struggled to stand.
"Whirlwind."
A soft gust swept over the weakened Mankey, toppling it over for good. Its unconscious form lay among its companions in the underbrush.
Tetsuya paid them no further mind. Once they woke up, they would run away—wild Pokemon knew better than to pick fights they couldn't win.
Ishigaki let out a sound, signaling that he, too, wanted to fight.
Tetsuya patted its rough, protruding horn. "Be patient. Once you evolve, you'll get your turn."
He understood Ishigaki's frustration. Since its training began, it had rarely been given the chance to battle—always playing a supporting role. No wonder it was restless.
Turning back to Scyther and Blaziken, Tetsuya marveled at the sight.
High aptitude didn't just mean greater energy reserves—it also meant a sharper mind. Pokemon with superior potential tended to learn new techniques faster than their lesser counterparts.
Still, there were always exceptions. Some Pokemon with king-level potential could surpass those of quasi-champion or even champion caliber when it came to skill comprehension.
"Cha!"
Tetsuya blinked in surprise. Blaziken spun in place, and he could feel its energy shift slightly.
Wait… was that—Swords Dance?!
His breath caught. Though the power boost was subtle, the technique was unmistakable.
He had faith in Blaziken, but he hadn't expected it to learn Swords Dance this quickly. According to the professors, this move had a four-star difficulty rating—just one step below the hardest techniques to master.
And yet, somehow, Blaziken had done it in a single afternoon?
Scyther, too, was surprised. It had only briefly mentioned the technique while giving battle instructions—how had Blaziken picked it up so fast?
"Cha."
Blaziken bowed slightly. "Master, was that correct?"
Scyther hesitated, then gave a slow nod.
"Not bad. Your comprehension speed is… above average among the Pokemon I've seen learn this move."
He tried to sound indifferent, but Tetsuya noticed the faint glint of approval in his eyes.
"Cha!"
Blaziken's respect for its mentor deepened.
Suddenly, Ishigaki launched a Rock Slide toward a nearby bush, sending a small stone flying into the grass.
Tetsuya turned, confused. Pidgeot hadn't issued any warnings—so why had Ishigaki attacked?
Something wasn't right.
Tetsuya shook the two small fossils in his hand with a strange look on his face.
The four Aipom that had just escaped were attacked by the stone balls, and now they were back.
The reason why Pidgeot did not issue a warning was that after dealing with these Aipom so easily, they were no longer a threat. They were too weak.
If they really launched an attack, Pidgeot was confident that it could react in time.
Moreover, it still trusted Rockruff quite a bit. This little guy was always alert. Look, it had already reacted immediately.
After Rockruff attacked them, the Aipom were about to get angry, but Pidgeot glanced over with a cold look.
The hairs that had suddenly stood up immediately smoothed out, as if nothing had happened.
They were experts at bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Aipom are hard to stop when they get angry, but that depends on the strength of their opponent. Wild Pokémon understand survival better than anyone.
It was effortless for Pidgeot to defeat them just now. The pain and fear of being beaten still lingered in their hearts.
If it were an Infernape, it might have an even worse temper and charge forward regardless, but Aipom wouldn't dare.
One of them seemed to be the leader. Urged by the others, it hesitated for a while before slowly moving forward.
It raised the object in its hand from behind its back and motioned for Pidgeot to look at it.
Pidgeot glanced at it—just a boring stone. No interest.
Instead, Tetsuya narrowed his eyes. These were two ancient fossils, albeit very small ones.
The Aipom in front of them began chattering, the gist of which was that they hoped Pidgeot could become their leader.
Because Pidgeot was the strongest being they had ever seen since birth, they believed that with Pidgeot leading them, they could dominate the forest.
They offered their most precious treasures, hoping Pidgeot would accept them.
Glancing at his trainer, who showed no reaction, Pidgeot understood what to do.
He spread his wings and signaled the Aipom to put the fossils on the ground.
A human-like joy appeared on the Aipom's face. It thought this meant Pidgeot had accepted their submission.
With such a powerful boss, they wouldn't have to worry about being hunted by enemies anymore.
As Pidgeot flapped its wings, the Aipom thought their new boss was about to issue commands, so they hurriedly gathered around.
"Whoosh."
With a powerful flap of its wings, Pidgeot created a storm.
The four Aipom were swept into the air, flying directly into the distant forest in shock.
Pidgeot thought he was being quite kind by not blowing them toward the rocky area.
If they landed in the forest, the tree branches could cushion the fall. With their Pokémon resilience, they wouldn't die—just need some time to recover.
What's more, Aipom were quite agile.
If he had blown them toward the rocky area, there would probably be a crater on every stone, each filled with the remains of unfortunate Pokémon.
Tetsuya was a little confused by Pidgeot's actions. Who did he learn this from?
As he absentmindedly tidied Pidgeot's feathers, his movements slowed. Pidgeot cried out and shook its body.
Why are you slacking off, breeder? I brought back something for you. Hurry up and give me a good massage!
Annoyed, Tetsuya knocked Pidgeot on the head, feeling speechless.
Now that he thought about it, Pidgeot's current personality did have something to do with him.
Although in the real world, a Pokémon's personality in battle wouldn't have exaggerated effects like in the games, where they gained percentage bonuses, it still had an influence.
For example, brave Pokémon adapted to combat more easily from a young age, while hot-headed ones were more prone to falling into traps.
Of course, trainers provided commands and adjustments from an outside perspective, which greatly mitigated any negative effects of personality traits during battle.
A Pokémon's personality was mostly shaped after birth, and the person who had the greatest influence on it was, naturally, its trainer.
Take himself as an example—Tetsuya had been taking care of Pidgeot since it hatched from the egg.
At the time, he didn't have many friends to talk to. The only companion he had was a little Rattata, but unfortunately, it died at the claws of a Fearow.
So Pidgeot became his second closest confidant. And, well, at least Pidgeot wouldn't go around spreading his secrets.
In the process, the meaning of words had to be translated between human language and Pokémon language, then back to human language. It completely changed the interpretation.
Somehow, through all of this, Pidgeot's personality became what it was now—talkative and rude.
The scary thing was that Blaziken seemed to be influenced by Pidgeot as well. Thankfully, Rockruff wasn't. Thank goodness.
"Blaze-"
Blaziken suddenly made a mistake in its training.
"Scyther!"
Scyther was very dissatisfied. "What's wrong with you? Why are you slacking off?"
"Blaze."
Blaziken quickly apologized and continued training, though it felt odd. It seemed like its trainer had just called its name. Was it an illusion?
Tetsuya picked up the two small fossils and examined them. After confirming he had no idea what they were, he stuffed them into the bottom of his backpack.
Might as well keep them. Free stuff is always worth holding onto—who knows, maybe they'd skyrocket in value someday.
Leaving some food as an evening reward for Scyther, he checked the time and said goodbye to his Pokémon. He still had a mission to complete today.
Make money, make money!
Tetsuya encouraged himself.
Scyther stared at the retreating figures of the human and his Pokémon for a while before quietly leaving with the food, hoping that Tetsuya and Blaziken would return the next day as promised.
The old warrior looked particularly lonely.
——
Whoosh, the door of the Pokémon Center opened automatically.
Tetsuya stepped inside as the sun set outside.
His luck had been pretty good. After finishing Blaziken's training, he quickly found his mission target, defeated it, collected the materials, and returned to submit the quest—making a decent profit.
After healing his three Pokémon, he suddenly had an idea. Why not visit the Cape Cottage at White Cape Cliff today? He had heard that many couples gathered there and that the sunset view was breathtaking.
He had been in town for several days but hadn't checked it out yet.
After stepping out of the Pokémon Center, he pulled out his electric bike and headed toward the cliffs.
As he rode, he saw couples on tandem bicycles everywhere, and a Furfrou was showing off its tricks by the roadside.
When he arrived at the top of the cliff, he noticed a restricted area, guarded by a rare Clawitzer with its massive claw raised in defense.
Looks like some rich kids from a big family are here to play, Tetsuya thought.
A small, orange-haired figure sat next to Clawitzer's giant claw, barely visible in the fading light.