The Dense Forest

"You're going back to live in our hometown?"

That evening, after Father Fang and Mother Fang returned home, Fang Yuan told them about his plans.

"That's good too. Your grandparents must miss you. With them cooking for you, you won't have to order takeout every day. That stuff isn't healthy. How could it be as clean as home-cooked food?" Mother Fang said.

"Yes." Although Fang Yuan knew she had a point, his head still ached.

Fang Yuan had only moved from the countryside to the city when he started elementary school. He had spent his childhood in Nanwu Town, below Flat City, and was very familiar with the place.

He remembered a forest near his old home, where the trees grew extremely close together and were unusually tough. Perhaps because a Secret Realm had once merged with the area in the past, the trees were far denser than any forest he remembered.

This was the place Fang Yuan had carefully chosen for Eevee's special training.

Father Fang and Mother Fang were happy to see Fang Yuan take the initiative to return home. The next day, Fang Yuan called his grandparents and told them about it.

Nanwu Town was not far from Flat City. It took an hour by car, while Fang Yuan and Eevee chose to take the bus. It took a little longer, but only about as long as watching a movie.

Nanwu Town was one of the six towns below Flat City. Urbanization had begun last year, but it had not been completed. Due to various constraints, the project had been halted not long after it began.

At the old house, Fang Yuan's grandparents had already cleared out a room for him and Little Eevee. It was a little simple, but it was the place where Fang Yuan had grown up, and it still felt familiar.

More importantly, it lacked nothing. There was internet, there was air conditioning—it was practically no different from the city. After eating with his grandparents, Fang Yuan spent the afternoon setting up the laptop he had brought over. As for his and Eevee's daily necessities, along with Eevee's food and Nutritional Products, there had been too much to carry all at once, so he would have to make another trip later.

So Fang Yuan planned to begin Eevee's special training tomorrow.

In the countryside, old people woke up early. However, Fang Yuan felt that he and Eevee were people determined to train hard, so they woke up even earlier. When they got out of bed the next day, all of Nanwu Town was still quiet.

"Eevee..."

Standing before the sink and brushing his teeth with a hint of sleepiness, Fang Yuan had not even fully opened his eyes. Yet Eevee, perched atop the Washing Machine nearby, kept calling out, urging Fang Yuan to hurry up.

It must think "special training" is as easy as watching movies, going to amusement parks, and building sandcastles.

Though Fang Yuan's eyes were still half-closed, his mind was fully awake. He knew Eevee faced another difficult problem.

Persistence.

Even he had often planned out his future perfectly and imagined it beautifully. Yet behind every beautiful goal was effort that most people could not persist with...

What should I do... How can I make Eevee willingly stick with it? I wonder how much the hobbies I cultivated for it recently will help. Fang Yuan thought.

Black Forest.

It was an undeveloped forest not far from Nanwu Town, named for its dark and gloomy environment. Adults in town often used it to frighten children—if they did not behave, they would be thrown into Black Forest to feed the bugs.

A while ago, it had been decided that high-rises would be built here as part of some major project. Pokémon had long since stopped living there, and outside the forest was a large open area. Fang Yuan thought it was an excellent training ground. Perhaps because it was in the countryside, not a single Trainer came to train Pokémon in such a good place. It was very quiet.

"That makes sense. Compared to a remote, quiet place like this, most people probably prefer training at lively places like Public Training Grounds or Training Halls."

Besides that, it might also have something to do with the place being slated for logging. But since the construction crew had not shown any intention of starting work yet, Fang Yuan did not mind using it first.

He would use it for as long as he could.

"No wonder no one wants to come here. The atmosphere really is oppressive."

"Eevee..." Sitting on Fang Yuan's shoulder, Little Eevee began to panic. The forest looked dark and eerie at a glance. It did not seem safe at all...

"It's fine. I already scouted it while you were asleep. There won't be any danger." Fang Yuan was fairly bold. Even though the place was gloomy, he had taken the time to explore the outer area. Just as the rumors said, no living creatures remained here.

To make the upcoming Opening Up Wasteland easier, insect repellent had already been applied to the trees inside the forest. Bug-type Pokémon naturally could not live here, and without Bug-type Pokémon, Flying-type Pokémon would not come to such a desolate place either.

Besides, Pokémon permitted by the Trainer Association to live in human residential areas were almost completely nonaggressive.

So before construction officially began, the place was Fang Yuan's to use. He wanted to use these trees to train Eevee's physical qualities.

Thankfully, the Pokémon Center in Nanwu Town was not far away either. Nanwu Town did not have a Trainer Association Branch, but it did have a Pokémon Center. It was simply much more basic than those in the city, both in equipment and services...

In terms of medical care, it was equivalent to a small clinic. It could only treat simple colds, wounds, fatigue, and the like in Pokémon.

But that was already enough for Fang Yuan and Eevee.

The dense tree trunks in Black Forest were why Fang Yuan had chosen it. Only trees packed this tightly together could train Eevee more effectively.

Fang Yuan named this special training the Tree Stump Training Method. It was simple and brutal: Eevee would sprint back and forth at its fastest speed.

First, it would train explosive power.

Second, it would build stamina through prolonged training.

Third, it would train movement speed and reaction speed.

Fourth, it would train Coordination Ability. The tangled, densely packed tree trunks made excellent obstacles.

Fifth, it would train Body Strength. As long as it ran fast enough, colliding with trees would be inevitable. The impact of the recoil could also temper Eevee's will.

Before coming here, Fang Yuan had already explained the training in detail to Eevee. As for the "Back-and-Forth Sprint Training," Eevee looked down upon it.

The little fellow thought it was completely unchallenging.

After Fang Yuan drew a line, the little fellow strutted behind it and got ready. In the dense forest, Fang Yuan had tied a red string across a boundary line. Once Eevee reached the red line, it could turn back. The full distance was around four hundred meters, and Fang Yuan planned to gradually increase it.

Holding a battered old watch he had found somewhere, Fang Yuan made do with it. At his shout to begin, Eevee shot forward.

But...

As it approached the dense trunks, Fang Yuan could clearly sense the little fellow faltering. To avoid crashing into a tree, it instinctively slowed down, giving itself plenty of time to judge its path before entering the forest. Once inside, it became even slower... In this forest where every tree stood close to the next, if Eevee was willing to accelerate and run, collisions were inevitable given its size. This was the best training location Fang Yuan had painstakingly thought up. Used properly, it would be no less effective than the equipment in professional Training Halls.

After all, it could train several basic attributes at once.

"This guy..." When Eevee returned, the total distance was four hundred meters. Including the time it spent dodging the tangled obstacles, it had taken one hundred and thirty-three seconds—more than two minutes and eleven seconds.

"Unacceptable." As Eevee returned, still shaken, Fang Yuan called out helplessly.

"This is without using moves. If you can't keep accelerating throughout the entire course, you won't be able to control the speed of Quick Attack at all. Rest for one minute, then we'll do it again. This time, I'll run alongside you and keep an eye on you."

Fang Yuan was not in too much of a hurry. He planned to let Eevee get used to a few rounds first and build up its stamina.

However, the ultimate purpose of this Training Method was not to train stamina...