Gravity Training

Xinhai returned to his room and casually grabbed a few Pokémon toys for Torchic, letting him play on the bed for a while. Then he glanced at the time.

"Only a little past three? There's still plenty of time."

He then reviewed today's battle from start to finish and noted down several problems he had discovered.

He calmed himself and carefully replayed the battle in his mind, recording every issue he found.

Next, he dug out the notes he had accumulated over the past few years, specifically picking out the sections related to Fire-type Pokémon—especially records concerning Torchic's evolutionary line—and studied them again.

He read through them line by line, copying out anything useful for his Torchic, repeatedly sorting through it, thinking it over, and compiling it all.

Looking at the densely packed notes in his hands, Xinhai still found them somewhat complicated, so he devoted more effort to simplifying them.

At last, a concise training and nurturing plan tailored specifically for Torchic lay before him. He nodded in satisfaction.

When he turned to look at the bed, he found that Torchic had fallen asleep at some point.

Checking the time again, he realized it was already past five. Xinhai quietly walked over to the bedside, and the sight of Torchic sleeping so soundly brought an involuntary smile to his lips.

He knew that next, he would follow this carefully prepared plan and help Torchic grow stronger.

"But now isn't the time to think about that. It's time to get dinner started."

Xinhai did not wake Torchic. Instead, he gently picked him up and carefully carried him downstairs.

When he reached the first floor, he found that his father, Yantai, was not in the living room. Hearing movement from the kitchen, he placed Torchic on the living room sofa. Perhaps because he had carried him quite a distance, and his movement this time was a little too large, Torchic woke up.

"Chamo~ Chamo! (*･ω-q)" Torchic rubbed his eyes with his little wings, still half-asleep.

"Sorry, Torchic. I woke you up. Do you want to sleep a little longer?" Xinhai asked apologetically.

Torchic patted his chest and answered energetically, "Chamo~"

"Alright, then let's go take a look in the kitchen."

The moment Torchic heard the word "kitchen," he thought it was time to eat. He instantly perked up and leaped off the sofa.

"Chamo~"

Seeing how excited Torchic was, Xinhai smiled. As he led him toward the kitchen, he called out.

"Dad, are you cooking?"

Yantai Bai Mu's voice came from the kitchen. "Xinhai, you're down. Perfect timing—come give me a hand. Your mother will be back soon."

"Okay, Dad. Are we making curry rice?"

As he spoke, Xinhai entered the kitchen and started helping. Looking at the food in the pot, he saw that it really was curry rice.

"Right. We're having beef curry over rice today. The rice should be ready soon, so check it." As Yantai spoke, he turned the heat down a little.

Looking at the display on the rice cooker, Xinhai said, "It'll be done soon. Four minutes left."

"Good. Once I finish reducing the sauce, the rice should be ready too." Yantai replied with a smile.

At that moment, Torchic jumped onto the counter and stared eagerly at the beef curry in the pot, letting out urgent cries of "Chamo, chamo."

Xinhai patted his head and said with a smile, "Don't rush. You'll be able to eat soon."

Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang. "That should be your mother," Yantai said.

Xinhai hurried to open the door. The moment his mother entered, she smiled and said, "I could smell the curry rice the second I came in."

Xinhai ladled the finished beef curry over the rice. The golden curry gave off a rich fragrance, and the chunks of beef looked tender and juicy.

Everyone gathered around the dining table and began enjoying their delicious dinner. Torchic ate with great relish too, his little head bobbing up and down.

After dinner, the family sat in the living room chatting, their laughter echoing through the house.

Looking at the warm scene before him, Xinhai's heart was filled with happiness.

The next morning, the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window and spilled into the room.

Xinhai got up early and gently woke the still-sleeping Torchic.

"Torchic, wake up. Official training starts today."

Torchic rubbed his sleepy eyes. The moment he heard the word "training," he excitedly jumped off the bed.

"Chamo~"

Xinhai took Torchic downstairs to wash up. His parents were already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

After the family finished breakfast, Xinhai took Torchic to the Trainer School.

They ran for more than ten minutes before finally arriving outside a gate that stood a full five meters tall.

Xinhai walked to the access control panel beside the gate and swiped his father Yantai's teacher card. With a creak, the iron gate in front of them slowly opened.

Xinhai led Torchic into the familiar campus. The first thing they saw was a huge fountain built around a Milotic statue.

Refracted by the sunlight, the flowing water glimmered in dazzling colors as it gathered around the Milotic statue, seeming to breathe life into it and making it look lifelike.

A path wound out from both sides of the fountain, while rooftops of vastly different styles dotted the distance.

To the left stood a small security booth.

Xinhai looked at the completely motionless security booth, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Looks like Brother Hatake is slacking off again. He's really fallen low. Torchic, let's go give him a scare."

With that, Xinhai picked Torchic up, lightened his steps, and quietly crept toward the security booth.

When they reached it, Xinhai looked through the window and saw someone sprawled across the desk, sleeping soundly.

With a mischievous grin, Xinhai knocked on the window and pulled a face.

Hatake Changlin, who had been sleeping peacefully inside the booth, heard the noise and raised his head, groggily looking toward where it had come from.

"Damn, what the hell is that?"

In his haze, he seemed to see something terrifying. He was so frightened that he toppled over backward with his chair.

"Hahaha, long time no see, Brother Hatake!" Seeing Hatake Changlin's bedraggled state, Xinhai could not help bursting into laughter.

"So it's you, you brat! If you came to use the training rooms, then just use them. Why did you have to come scare me?" Hatake Changlin opened the security booth window and looked at Xinhai with a gloomy expression.

Leaning against the window, Xinhai said with a grin, "You can't blame me for that. You were sleeping so deeply—you didn't have a shred of vigilance."

"I guard this place every day, and nothing ever happens. I'm bored to death every day. What else am I supposed to do if not sleep?" Hatake Changlin said, rolling his eyes.

"How about coming to the training room with me, Brother Hatake? You could give Torchic and me some pointers while you're at it." Xinhai looked at Hatake Changlin.

"Fine. The school's on break anyway, so hardly anyone comes around. Let's go." After thinking it over and deciding he had nothing better to do, Hatake Changlin agreed.

With that, he led Xinhai and Torchic toward the buildings in the distance.

Hatake Changlin led Xinhai and Torchic to a luxurious three-story building.

After opening the main doors, the two went straight up to the second floor.

Hatake Changlin stopped outside a room whose walls were made of special transparent glass. As he operated the equipment in front of him, he said to Xinhai and Torchic, "I'll test your Torchic's physical condition first. Your Torchic is only level five or six right now, right?"

Xinhai replied, "That's right. I checked on the way here. He's level six now."

Hatake Changlin nodded and explained, "Newborn-level Pokémon can generally only withstand one times Gravity, at most two. Any more than that can easily damage their bodies. Your Torchic is level six now, so we'll start by testing one times Gravity."

Xinhai had no objections. He had seen plenty of Pokémon undergo Gravity testing, and he had personally experienced the power of this training room as well. Starting at one times Gravity was indeed the safer choice.

It was worth mentioning that humans could use this kind of training room too, though their ability to endure it was far inferior to that of Pokémon.

"Alright, then I'll turn on the Gravity machine." Hatake Changlin flipped a switch as he spoke.

Xinhai could clearly feel the room changing. He put the measuring device from the table onto Torchic and looked at him seriously. "Torchic, we're starting. In a moment, follow me into the room. Once we pass through the glass, we'll enter the Gravity field, so be careful."

"Once you cross the red line on the other side of the room, you'll be out of the Gravity field. Later, you must give it everything you have to cross that red line, understand?"

Torchic looked up, listened to Xinhai's words, and nodded hard.

"Chamo!"

"Alright, you can go in now," Hatake Changlin said when he saw that both trainer and Pokémon were ready.

"Okay." "Chamo~"