There were all kinds of couriers in the Pokémon World, thanks to the Pokémon that lived there and their incredible abilities.
So when a Pidgeot set a travel backpack down in front of him the next day, Yong wasn't surprised. Aside from Dragonite, Pidgeot were the fastest-flying Pokémon that could be raised on a large scale.
With the supplies here, this round of special training could begin.
Yong left one backpack in his room, slung the other over his shoulders, and left the Pokémon Center for his chosen training spot on the coast in Mauville City's East District.
Riding his newly purchased Mach Bike, he savored the thrill of speed as he followed the bike path. He soon reached the East District, passed through the walkway in the city wall, and rode for quite a while longer before arriving at the shore.
He had come outside the city rather than heading straight to the East District's harbor because this place was sparsely populated and far from town, making it better suited to training powerful moves.
Yes, it was time for Steelix to start mastering Ground-type power!
He reached the spot he had picked out beforehand. As usual, it had a mountain on one side and the sea on the other.
He raised his hand and tossed out three Luxury Balls. White light flashed!
"Roar!"
"Marsh!"
"Aron?"
With their different cries, Steelix, Marshtomp, and Aron appeared before Yong. All three Pokémon were happy to see him.
Aron even came forward and rubbed affectionately against his leg. Yong happily stroked the little one's head, then grew serious.
"Partners, we're starting another round of special training!"
Steelix and the others nodded, their eyes brimming with fighting spirit. Even Aron looked up and listened attentively.
Pleased with their attitude, Yong continued.
"Now, Steelix, it's time to begin some targeted training."
"Roar!"
"Good. While you're training your resistance to water, I need you to use Earthquake at its lowest power. Feel how the Ground-type energy changes and improve your proficiency with Earthquake! That's the first step!"
Looking at his longtime partner, Yong walked over and patted Steelix's enormous body.
"We used to focus too much on improving your Steel-type and Rock-type moves, neglecting your Ground-type abilities a little. That will have a negative effect on how you control and use energy in the future."
"Roar..."
Steelix nodded seriously and answered with a low rumble.
"I know. We're partners who are going to reach the top, aren't we? So from now on, pay close attention to how Ground-type energy changes when you use your moves. You can alternate between Earthquake and Sand Tomb to see how they differ."
"Once you can control the power of your Ground-type moves proficiently, you'll have mastered the basics!"
"Then comes step two: get proficient with Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, and Crunch as soon as possible. When you go deep underground at night, find some hard rocks to practice on. Improve the power of your moves and how quickly you unleash them! Broaden your coverage!"
After carefully going through every aspect and making sure Steelix understood, Yong took some Pokémon food out of his backpack, added a drop of Primordial Stone Milk, and mixed it thoroughly. Then he tipped nearly 300 kilograms of iron ore and rare ores out of the large backpack sent from home. The ground jolted as though a natural earthquake had struck, sending dust flying everywhere.
"Cough, cough! Steelix, first... cough! Eat this Pokémon food, then you can go train. Cough! When you feel you've hit a bottleneck, come back and absorb these minerals. Keep repeating that... train until you're completely exhausted. Cough!"
Choking on the dust, Yong gave his instructions in fits and starts.
Steelix didn't hesitate, swallowing the energy-rich Pokémon food in one mouthful before slithering toward a distant stretch of beach. It was best to practice Earthquake a little farther from camp.
Watching Steelix lie quietly in the seawater as before, with tremors coming from the distance every now and then as training began, Yong turned to Marshtomp.
"Marshtomp, your training this time will still focus primarily on strength, with moves as a secondary priority!"
"Marsh!"
Marshtomp nodded confidently.
Yong walked over and set the forced-training device on Marshtomp's body to 150 kilograms. The sudden increase in pressure nearly flattened Marshtomp, but after gradually adjusting, Marshtomp could still just barely move.
"Good, hang in there! You have to overcome this pressure, Marshtomp!"
"Marsh!"
Gazing firmly at Yong, Marshtomp looked increasingly manly!
"First, get into the sea. Under the combined pressure of the training device and the seawater, keep practicing splitting the waves until you've fully adapted to the pressure. Improve your whole body's strength as much as possible without using any moves!"
"Once you've done that, you can start practicing Superpower. You need to gather energy quickly and release it. The ultimate goal is for the destructive force of your move to whip up waves and contend with nature itself!"
"Marsh!"
Undaunted by the difficulty, Marshtomp listened intently, then nodded firmly.
"Good."
Stroking Marshtomp's head, Yong continued softly.
"There's one final step in your training, Marshtomp: improve the quality of your Water-type energy!"
"Keep feeling the changes in the seawater and take in the vastness of the ocean. This is power on the level of awareness and spirit. Feel it, adapt to it, learn from it, and make the ocean's power your own. Put your heart into sensing it. With your ability to grasp things, you have a good chance of succeeding!"
Marshtomp nodded thoughtfully and quickly ate the Pokémon food prepared for the training. Although Marshtomp couldn't absorb Primordial Stone Milk yet, plenty of Pokéblocks could still provide all the necessary nutrients.
Soon, Marshtomp dove into the sea and disappeared.
Finally, only Aron remained. The little one gazed at him with shining eyes, waiting for his instructions.
Yet this little one was the biggest headache. Steelix and Marshtomp already had their own paths of development, but Aron didn't really need much training at this stage. All Aron needed to do was eat! Eat nonstop, then level up and accumulate energy!
After all, Aron couldn't evolve into Lairon until level 32. That was a very long process.
After thinking it over, Yong still gave Aron instructions so the little one wouldn't start worrying.
"Aron, you'll train right here. First, familiarize yourself with your current moves and learn to use them proficiently. If you're hungry, eat as much as you like. All that iron ore is yours!"
Looking at the mountain of ore, Aron's eyes narrowed with delight.
"At night, you can follow Steelix underground and learn from him."
"Later, I'll play a rock-throwing game with you. We'll see if you can learn Rock Slide on your own. Rock Throw would work too. How does that sound?"
"Aron!"
Aron nodded happily. At Yong's signal, the little one found a large rock and charged into it with Iron Head!
"That's right! Just like that! Well done, Aron!"
"Keep it up! Hang in there!"
"Ar! Ar!"
"Steelix, you can increase Earthquake's power a little more!"
"Roar!"
"Why not practice Iron Tail while you're at it? That's your ace in the hole! Ah... you don't want to? Never mind, then!"
"Marshtomp, Surf! Crush that big wave coming toward you! Oh... how did you fall into the sea again?"
"Marsh!!"
"Keep going, everyone!"
The setting sun shone over the beach.
The Pokémon training hard, the boy staying by their side, and the cries rising one after another-this was the bond between a Trainer and Pokémon!
Growing together, keeping each other company!