With ample energy and no worries about injuries.
Battles were the fastest and most efficient way for Pokémon to grow.
And Lugia had undoubtedly refined this method to the extreme, then applied it to Greninja.
Whenever its energy ran low, it went to the Deep Sea Trench to absorb more.
Whenever it was injured in battle, support Pokémon lined up to treat it.
Whenever it hit a bottleneck, it simply kept battling, battling without pause, battling desperately.
And then, naturally... it broke through.
Who knew how long had passed? After Greninja successfully defeated the Half-step Champion Azumarill, it saw Lugia arrive before it as it waited for its next opponent.
"Eeyah!!!"
After letting out a long cry, Lugia lowered its head and stared intently at Greninja for a long while. Then, with a slight movement of its body, a Silver Feather fell into Greninja's palm.
The next moment, the feather gave off a dazzling silver glow, startling Greninja into reflexively opening its hand.
But the Silver Feather did not fall. Instead, it turned into a pool of Silver White Liquid and quickly seeped into Greninja's body.
"Gren?"
Greninja lightly clapped its hands together, curious about where the Silver Feather—or perhaps the silver liquid—had gone.
But Lugia clearly had no intention of explaining further. It directly brought over an enormous Wailord.
Lead the way, leave!
Greninja was surprised that it had actually completed the training Lugia had set for it. Then came extreme excitement, agitation, and impatience!
It, Greninja, could finally go home!...
Kanto Alliance headquarters, Chairman's office.
Alder swung his short legs as he handled official business, occasionally taking a sip of the orange juice beside him. He looked quite at ease.
Suddenly, Alder sat upright, raised the document in his hand, and carefully read every word on it.