"Beartic, use Ice Punch!"
Brimming with confidence, Bai Shi pointed at the ice boulder several meters tall ahead of him and shouted to Beartic.
"Bear~"
Beartic roared and followed Bai Shi's command, raising a massive fist wrapped in ice and snow before smashing it into the target.
Bang!
With a thunderous crash, the towering ice boulder shattered under Beartic's blow.
"Excellent!"
At the sight, the corners of Bai Shi's mouth lifted, and he nodded in satisfaction.
According to his tests, Beartic's raw physical strength surpassed even Seismitoad's, falling only slightly short of Buzzwole's.
It had perfectly made up for the weakness Beartic had suffered before evolving.
Combined with its already terrifying Ice-type special moves, Beartic's actual combat strength had shot straight to the top of the team.
After its recent intensive training, Beartic could now largely control the surging Ice-type energy within its body.
It was also losing control less frequently, so it no longer caused much disruption to everyday life.
"It'll be hard to make another major breakthrough anytime soon. Let's put this aside for now and look for a new Z-Crystal!"
After some thought, Bai Shi decided to suspend the intensive training and shift his main focus back to the Totem Pokémon.
From what he remembered, an ice cave somewhere on Mount Lanakila was home to a Totem Sandshrew.
And so, Bai Shi took several Pokémon with him and began a thorough search of Mount Lanakila.
However, Mount Lanakila covered a vast area, and Bai Shi's search did not go smoothly.
Several days passed, yet he still found no trace of the Totem Sandshrew.
Left with no other choice, Bai Shi changed his approach and sought help from Mount Lanakila's native Pokémon.
Although Beartic's earlier evolution had affected quite a few wild Pokémon,
Bai Shi had promptly won