Chapter 250: Precision and Power
Daisy watched, mesmerized as Scizor faced the relentless barrage of incoming spheres. With incredible speed and precision, it met each projectile with a perfectly timed kick and a sharp jab there.
Each impact was powerful, the spheres exploding into showers of dirt and debris upon contact. However, an even stranger sight occurred: the scattered mud and earth seemed to halt in mid-air, then reversed in direction, flowing back towards above the stream.
There, it coalesced around Abra, who floated serenely with eyes closed, reforming into new spheres for the next volley. Daisy stared, speechless. This… this isn't normal...
"Conserve your energy, Scizor!" Xiu's voice cut through the rhythmic thud of attacks and exploding mud. He stood off to the side, observing Scizor's movements with intense focus, occasionally calling out instructions. "More control in your kicks! Maintain your balance through the follow-through! Two more sets of leg strikes, then we switch focus!"
Daisy's attention shifted to Xiu. He was completely absorbed, gaze unwavering and commands precise and targeted. This was a side of him she hadn't seen before – a focused, demanding Trainer, pushing his Pokémon to its limits.
Intrigued, but also mindful of Oak's cryptic warnings, she found a shady spot beneath a nearby tree and settled down to watch.
Xiu, peripherally aware of Daisy's arrival, felt a brief flicker of annoyance. Is she going to bother me again? But seeing her settle down quietly, content to observe from a distance, he relaxed. Perhaps last night's encounter had some effect after all. He returned his full attention to the training.
Scizor had made significant progress. It had largely mastered the static balance drills. Now, it was in the next phase: applying that balance to strike moving targets and Abra's telekinetically controlled mud spheres provided the perfect, endlessly renewable targets.
Fortunate to have Abra, Xiu mused. Without its psychic abilities, finding suitable targets for Scizor's powerful kicks would be a nightmare.
This joint training was mutually beneficial: it pushed Scizor to refine its new techniques against unpredictable targets, while simultaneously providing Abra with an intense, practical application for its psychic powers, forcing it to maintain precise control over multiple objects under pressure.
And as a bonus, Xiu noted with satisfaction, Abra's constant dredging of mud from the stream bank is slowly but surely expanding the small pond, giving the resident Water-type Pokémon more room to swim. A win-win-win situation.
"Alright, Abra!" Xiu called out after a particularly intense volley. "Switch it up! Scizor, we're moving to integrated strikes – alternating punches and kicks. Two sets of basic combinations, then we'll increase complexity."
As he spoke, the cloud of mud spheres around Abra converged, swirling and reshaping under its psychic command, solidifying into a rough, two-meter-tall golem of wet earth.
Scizor then shifted its stance before it exploded into action with a devastating punch, pincer shearing through the air as it obliterated the golem's head, sending mud spraying in all directions.
And before the golem could fully destabilize, Scizor followed with a powerful kick to its lower torso, blasting a gaping hole through the packed earth. The sheer force of its strikes was terrifying.
But then, the splattered mud seemed to freeze in their trajectory, reversing back towards the damaged golem. The golem writhed, form shifting, the shattered head and torso rapidly reforming under Abra's relentless psychic control.
Within seconds, the golem stood intact once more, ready for the next assault.
"Abra, increase your control!" Xiu commanded. "Reinforce the structure. Make it tougher."
He didn't need to elaborate. Scizor launched another furious assault. This time, however, its powerful punches and kicks didn't shatter the golem. Instead, they met with a dull, thudding resistance.
The clay doll, now infused with Abra's concentrated psychic energy, its internal structure hardened and its exterior in an almost invisible psychic field, absorbed the blows, deforming like dense jelly but not breaking.
Scizor, its steel body impervious to such impacts, seemed to relish the challenge. It could unleash its full power now, without holding back— without fear of instantly destroying its target.
Its movements became a blur, a relentless storm of punches and kicks with each blow seemingly faster, harder than the last. A guttural roar ripped from Scizor's throat as it hammered the golem, the sheer ferocity of its assault causing some of the Pokémon lazing in the nearby corrals to look up in alarm, fear flickering in their eyes.
The golem, though battered and constantly deforming, impressively held together despite Scizor's onslaught.
"Two more sets!" Xiu yelled over. "Focus Energy! Channel that power! Train your explosive force!" He continued to bark commands, pushing Scizor harder. "Now! Find the rhythm between your punches and kicks! Flow, Scizor, flow!"
The training was incredibly complex, far more than just simple striking drills. It involved intricate combinations and precise energy control within Scizor's body to constantly adapt to the golem's shifting defenses.
The entire process, from warm-up to cool-down, would typically last one to two hours. Xiu couldn't, and didn't need to, supervise every moment. So, he focused on the critical phases, the introduction of new techniques, and the points where Scizor struggled.
Once it found its rhythm and understood the exercise, it would continue on its own, driven by its own relentless pursuit of perfection.
"Alright, that's enough for now!" Xiu finally called, estimating the time. "Break!"
High-intensity attacks like this were draining, not just for Scizor, but for Abra as well. Maintaining such precise, powerful telekinetic control over the golem for an extended period was immensely taxing.
So, Xiu deliberately scheduled these joint training sessions for the morning, when Abra's psychic reserves were at their peak after a night's rest and its control over psychic energy more refined. As the day wore on, Abra's ability to maintain that high-precision state would inevitably decline.
Then it was Xiu's responsibility to monitor Abra's condition, to sense the subtle fluctuations in its psychic output, and to make adjustments accordingly, ending the session before Abra pushed itself too far.
As Abra released its control, the clay golem lost its 'vitality,' its form dissolving, collapsing back into a shapeless mound of wet mud on the riverbank. Abra, visibly tired, drifted back towards its withered tree, its psychic aura dimming.
Xiu and Scizor remained by the stream. Xiu picked up a stiff-bristled brush and a bucket he'd prepared earlier. He scooped water from the stream and doused Scizor with it.
Steam hissed from the Pokémon's superheated metallic carapace, a visible testament to the intensity of the exercise.
After the initial cool-down, Xiu began to scrub the caked-on mud from Scizor's armor, rinsing it clean with more stream water. "Alright, all done," he said, stepping back to examine his handiwork.
He ran a hand over Scizor's pincers and legs. He could feel numerous small scratches and abrasions on the surface of its armor, inevitable consequences of striking the sand-and-gravel-laced golem repeatedly. Invisible against the black carapace, but they're there.
However, to Scizor's incredibly durable metallic shell, it was like a human getting a few minor fingernail scratches. It likely hadn't even felt them.
"Eat up," Xiu said, offering Scizor a container of its specialized nutrient paste. "Then rest."
He then went over to Abra, offering it a small vial of his own stabilizing potion and some water. After a brief telepathic conversation, confirming Abra was fatigued but not overly strained, Xiu finally allowed himself to relax.
The morning's training session was complete.