Scizor opened its eyes and looked at Eichi. "Calm your heart and try one more time," Eichi said softly.
Scizor closed its eyes, took a deep breath, and cast aside all distracting thoughts.
Eichi withdrew his hand and stepped back a short distance. Muramasa joined him, and together they watched Scizor.
Scizor was now completely focused. This time, the roar of the nearby Waterfall did not distract it. Gradually and unknowingly, it entered a strange state of mind.
Within the vast darkness, things slowly began to appear. Gray shapes emerged in front of it. In its mind's eye, they weren't human-shaped but rather clusters of mist-like matter.
There were three clusters of mist in front of it. It knew they were Eichi, Mr. Muramasa, and Masamune.
However, although they were all mist-like, there were differences. Within each cluster of mist, there was a globule of red energy.
One of the red energy globules was extremely dazzling, like a miniature sun. Scizor knew this was Masamune. Next to it was another "sun," though it was several times smaller than Masamune's.
This was Eichi. Scizor knew Eichi possessed special powers. Finally, there was Muramasa, whose red energy cluster was small and not very bright.
Without even turning its neck, it could see all the living beings in every direction.
For now, the Perception was still blurry. In the shadows about five meters away, there were two or three clusters of gray mist constantly shifting positions.
These were Magikarp, but it could not sense anything further away than that.
Scizor opened its eyes and nodded to Eichi. Eichi smiled, knowing that Scizor had succeeded.
Muramasa stepped forward and asked, "Scizor, did you see three gray mist clusters in the darkness?"
Scizor nodded.
"And within those gray clusters, was there a smaller red mist cluster?"
Scizor nodded again.
Muramasa turned to Eichi and said, "Very good. To enter the state and successfully sense surroundings within a single morning is impressive. Your Scizor's talent is truly Excellent. It took Masamune two days to achieve a successful sensing back then."
"It was just luck," Eichi said modestly.
Mr. Muramasa simply shook his head without saying anything. Then he added, "For the next few days, Scizor must undergo Perception training every day."
Afterward, the two went back to eat.
In the afternoon, Muramasa brought Eichi back to the Waterfall. Pointing at the cascading water, Muramasa said, "The place for our next training session is right there."
Following the direction of his finger, Eichi saw that Muramasa was pointing at the Rocks directly under the Waterfall.
"Masamune," Muramasa called out.
Standing behind him, Masamune immediately understood the instruction. It vibrated its wings and charged inside.
Standing on a Rock amidst the lashing of a Waterfall was a scene very familiar to Eichi. In the fantasy novels of his previous life, protagonists loved sitting under Waterfalls to let the water temper their bodies and increase their physical strength.
People did this in the anime as well. Now, Eichi was going to do the same.
Mr. Muramasa took off his outer tunic. Beneath the clothes was a body covered in lean, powerful muscles. Wearing only his trousers, he walked into the Waterfall.
It had to be said that people in the Pokémon world were like superhumans. If an ordinary person from Eichi's old world tried this, the force would snap their neck.
Withstanding the lashing of the Waterfall, Mr. Muramasa walked slowly to Masamune's side and sat down cross-legged.
"You and your Scizor come over as well," Muramasa said to Eichi.
Eichi nodded to Scizor, and they moved. Eichi stepped along the Rocks toward the Waterfall.
The moment he made contact, he felt the immense impact of the Waterfall. It felt as if a powerful force was trying to press him into the Ground.
However, Eichi's entire body was tense. He withstood the pressure and walked step by step to Muramasa's side.
He sat down on a Rock next to Muramasa, while Scizor vibrated its wings, flew in, and sat beside Eichi.
Mr. Muramasa was a bit surprised to see Eichi enter. This kid's physical fitness is quite good.
Neither spoke. They simply sat there, enduring the lashing of the water.
Generally, anyone with decent physical fitness could endure this for a while. Seeing how practiced Mr. Muramasa looked, it was clear he had done this many times before. There was no telling how strong his body had become through this training.
As for Eichi, between the tempering of his Bug Force and his usual exercise, his ten-year-old body was many times stronger than an adult's. He was likely not much inferior to Mr. Muramasa.
An hour passed under the crashing flow of the Waterfall.
After an hour of lashing, Eichi felt his body reaching its limit. He opened his eyes and noticed Mr. Muramasa's body was beginning to tremble slightly. Eichi knew the older man was forcing himself to endure.
Thinking it was enough, Eichi didn't push any further. He stood up slightly, leaped into the water, and swam to the shore.
Mr. Muramasa breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself, This boy is truly gifted. He lasted an hour on his first try.
After another ten minutes or so, Muramasa felt he had reached his limit as well. He jumped into the water and swam ashore.
By the time he got there, Eichi had already built a campfire and was warming himself.
As soon as Muramasa arrived, Eichi took a towel from his Backpack and handed it to him. Muramasa took it, dried himself off, and sat down by the fire.
Meanwhile, the two Pokémon continued to endure under the Waterfall. Their physical limits were far beyond those of humans. Furthermore, Scizor was a Steel-type Pokémon. There was no telling how long they could hold out.
"Eichi, your physical fitness is very impressive," Muramasa said while warming himself. "To last an hour under the Waterfall on your first attempt is remarkable."
"It's alright," Eichi replied. "I usually train on my own."
"With your physical fitness, I can rest easy," Muramasa said. "As a Trainer, your own physical condition is very important. Fighting other Pokémon in the wild is very dangerous. A Pokémon cannot protect its Trainer at all times. A single moment of carelessness could cost you your life."
Eichi nodded solemnly. "I know that, Teacher Muramasa."
"Good that you know," Muramasa replied.
The two sat by the side, watching Scizor continue its training under the Waterfall. Once Eichi and Mr. Muramasa had rested sufficiently, they re-entered the Waterfall to continue.
However, Eichi intentionally hid his true strength. He jumped back into the water after only half an hour, while Mr. Muramasa persisted for an hour before coming out.
Another half hour passed. Scizor's entire body began to tremble. It opened its eyes and looked at Masamune next to it.
Masamune remained as calm and composed as ever, as if the impact of the Waterfall had no effect on it at all.