New Mauville?
Yong searched his memories.
"Wasn't that an abandoned power plant?"
"That's right! It used to be a huge power plant, famous alongside the Abandoned Power Plant in Kanto and the Valley Power Plant in the Sinnoh Region!"
Chengjie explained,
"My mom said she went there when she was little. Then, for some reason, they suddenly announced it was shutting down. Even the original site was swallowed by the sea. I heard there's a mysterious Pokémon inside. What a shame!"
It wasn't swallowed by the sea. It was just underground.
Yong knew a little about it. After all, when he played the games in his previous life, he had beaten up those three goofy dogs more than once to catch Ho-Oh.
"What a shame... Catching a goofy dog to ride wouldn't be bad..."
"Huh? What are you talking about? What's a goofy dog? A Pokémon?"
Seeing Yong muttering to himself, Chengjie asked in confusion.
"Ahem! Nothing, nothing! I just said I really wanted a mount!"
Yong hurriedly waved his hands to cover it up. He had almost let something slip!
"Oh! A mount... I want one too! Hey, are there any Fighting-type Pokémon that can fly?"
Fortunately, Chengjie was straightforward and didn't dwell on it. His imagination wandered off again as he indulged in his fantasies.
Yong breathed a sigh of relief. Watching the Pokémon train, he drifted into his own daydreams...
Legendary Pokémon... Would I ever meet one?
While the two boys were lost in thought, lightning raged through a mysterious underground space along the southeastern coast not far from Mauville City!
A yellow dog wreathed in lightning suddenly woke from its slumber and sneezed hard!
"Rroo?"
The dog stood up, the mane on its back stirring without any wind, and looked around in confusion.
"Rroo~? Rroo!!" (P.S. Feel free to imagine what that means! ^_^)
Completely unaware that a certain dog was cranky after waking up, Yong and Chengjie remained fully absorbed in training with their partners.
After several days of training, they had to increase Steelix's training intensity again to get results. The water-resistance training remained unchanged, but they added a sparring partner.
Hitmonlee!
Hitmonlee used speed and attacks to train Steelix's ability to withstand blows. Under the repeated assaults, Steelix's self-recovery stimulated the energy of the Primordial Stone Milk that remained incompletely absorbed within its body, further improving its hardness and physical quality to maximize the benefits!
At the same time, Steelix continuously used small-scale Sand Tombs, reducing the available footholds to train Hitmonlee's movement speed and reactions. Steelix refined its use of Ground-type energy while training its own speed and stamina. Everyone benefited!
Marshtomp's exploration of the ocean's power had reached a stopping point. Though its understanding was still shallow, constantly battling the natural waves had improved both its stamina and strength. Its use of Water-type energy, in particular, had grown from a stream into a river! This laid a foundation for further development in the future.
And Marshtomp hadn't disappointed Yong. In just one night, it had indeed learned Dig!
He couldn't help marveling once again at its aptitude for learning moves!
Over several days of training, Aron gradually shed its inexperience and began to show a hint of a dominant presence. It could use its moves proficiently, and although it lacked battle experience, it now had enough fighting ability to hold its own.
With plenty of iron ore and rare minerals supplied, Aron lacked none of the nutrients needed to grow. It could freely expend its stamina, speed up nutrient absorption, then replenish itself and continue training.
This was actually more effective. It prevented excess energy from building up while allowing full absorption and quick adaptation.
As a result, Aron had grown a whole size larger in just a few days!
Its growth was encouraging!
Compared with Yong's three Pokémon, Chengjie's side was more of a headache.
While Hitmonlee trained strictly under Steelix's guidance and improved its strength, his Sandslash was genuinely baffling.
Ground-types might fear water, but aside from deserts, many Sandshrew actually lived in places with very low humidity, so water was a common part of their lives.
Yet no matter how they coaxed or tempted Chengjie's Sandslash, it flatly refused to approach the sea!
Even Yong felt helpless.
The two could only discuss a different approach: fully bringing out Sandslash's defensive advantages!
The spines formed from its hardened skin gave it a unique defensive system. They could use a combination of Harden, Defense Curl, Rapid Spin, and Rollout to create a strategy that united offense and defense.
That was right-they were borrowing the approach used at the Rustboro Gym.
After all, what else could they do when a Sandslash with the Sand Veil Ability ended up with a Trainer planning to specialize in Fighting-type Pokémon?
If they couldn't change it, they would have to accept it!
To fully exploit its physical advantages and improve the power and execution speed of its moves, Rapid Spin would be the core of this system!
Once Sandslash realized it wouldn't have to enter the water, it returned to normal, and training could finally begin. To improve efficiency, the two even gave it special attention, assigning Marshtomp, whose own training had reached a stopping point, as its sparring partner.
"Marshtomp! Use Water Gun! Block Sandslash's Rollout path!"
Yes, Sandslash had avoided seawater, but it still hadn't escaped Water-type moves!
"Kugaaa~~!!!"
Sandslash's screams did nothing to disrupt everyone's training. Under their Trainers' guidance, the Pokémon carried out their assigned exercises.
After several consecutive days of hard training, Marshtomp finally gained a level, reaching level 22!
Though Yong was happy, he still couldn't help grumbling that battling really was the faster way to level up!
Fortunately, their move proficiency had improved too, and there had even been an unexpected gain!
Just then,
Boom!
Thunder suddenly rang across the sky!
It had still been sunny at noon, yet in the blink of an eye, thick clouds had gathered, their dark mass looming overhead!
"Looks like a downpour is coming!"
Chengjie looked up toward the distant sky, where great banks of rain clouds were gathering.
"Want to take a break, Yong?"
Yong stopped coaching Aron and wiped away his sweat. He, too, turned to look at the sky. After a moment's thought, he replied,
"Yeah, we've trained enough. Let's head back!"
Chengjie nodded and recalled Hitmonlee and Sandslash into their Pokémon Balls. Yong called Steelix and the others over as well, signaling that they could rest. After packing the tent and remaining ore into his backpack, the two mounted their bicycles and hurried back.
Boom!
"Rooooar!!!"
The sky had already darkened, and heavy rain was about to arrive!
Just then, a massive bolt of lightning connected heaven and earth on a mountain not far from the two boys!
Yong slammed on his brakes and turned toward the distant peak.
Mist shrouded the mountain, obscuring his view. He could just make out a streak of golden light that flashed and vanished.
Chengjie stopped his bicycle too and called over,
"What's wrong, Yong? It was just a lightning strike. It's fine!"
"Did you hear any other sounds?"
"Sounds? Just the thunder, right? You must be exhausted from all that training!"
"Really?"
Did I really mishear it?
Yong glanced doubtfully at the lightning flashing in the distance, then shook his head.
Maybe I really am tired!
With that thought, he began pedaling toward Mauville City again.
Far away, amid the rumbling thunder, there seemed to be the roar of a wild beast!
Boom!
"Rooooar!!!"
A golden figure darted between heaven and earth.
Reflected in its brown eyes,
Two boys were riding their bicycles toward Mauville City!