Puft!
By the edge of a frozen pond, Fang Yuan and his companions stopped on their journey. Fang Yuan intended to conduct some basic cold resistance training for the Monferno here.
With a Shadow Ball from Eevee, the frozen surface of the pond immediately cracked, revealing the unbearably cold water below.
Splash!
A flash of light, and the Ugly Fish appeared in the water.
It must be said that the Ugly Fish's adaptability was quite strong, perhaps also related to its mastery of the Ice-based Spell. In such cold water, it did not feel the slightest discomfort.
After releasing the Ugly Fish, Fang Yuan let it move freely. With its strong adaptability, as long as it was kept here, its affinity for the Ice Type should naturally enhance.
Then.
Fang Yuan turned to the Monferno, who had neatly arranged the luggage, and said to Eevee, "Eevee... the task of sparring with Monferno, I'll leave it to you."
"Bwoo??" Eevee looked completely puzzled.
…
While Eevee was giving Monferno combat training, it was also essentially training itself.
Although the Gratitude 3.5 version could amplify its existing moves, the overwhelming power and effects still required Eevee to adapt gradually.
However, even if Eevee was holding back, Monferno still faced just one thing—getting hit.
Getting hit in such a harsh and cold environment indeed trained Monferno's willpower more than getting hit in a battle arena would.
Even if it was on the brink of life and death, there was no need to worry. Fang Yuan had prepared plenty of Life Energy Blocks, so Monferno wouldn't be beaten to death for real.
Clang—
With much difficulty, Monferno stood on its legs and launched a punch. In front of it, Eevee twirled three hundred and sixty degrees, using Iron Tail to sweep towards it.
Monferno used the Sonic Fist move, Eevee used the Iron Tail move, and when the two moves collided, sparks flew from the contact between the fist and the tail.
Moreover, there was the sound of steel clashing.
The fists of Monferno had hardened successfully after nearly half a year of special training.
At Champion Mountain, a Professional Trainer who served as Fang Yuan's bodyguard taught him how to develop the Iron Fist Trait.
The trainer divided the Iron Fist Trait into two stages.
The first stage of Iron Fist is an undeveloped state. Even if undeveloped, Pokemon with this trait have hands with skin and bones that seem naturally tempered, highly suitable for using punching moves.
As for the second stage of Iron Fist, it is a state where the potential of Iron Fist is fully unleashed, enabling the fists to have the hardness of steel without merging with any energy and possess destructive power on par with Iron Tail and Wing Attack!!
Without using any energy, a punch can shatter rocks and dent steel purely with the hardness of the fist.
This stage is known as Harden Iron Fist.
Fang Yuan had been developing the Monferno's Iron Fist Trait according to the training methods provided, strengthening the hardness of its fists, and even replacing some of the nutritional supplements with more effective Energy Blocks.
Even so, after all this time, the Monferno still hasn't reached the same level as the other Trainer's Anisew.
That Trainer's Anisew, as soon as its strength is gathered, its fists naturally turn the color of steel, and rubbing its palms would produce the sound of clashing metal.
Right now, the Monferno's fists have certainly become very hard, but in terms of color, there has been no change. If the other's Iron Fist gives their fist a layer of physical armor, then Monferno's Iron Fist currently has only an invisible layer of armor.
Although the effect is more or less the same, Fang Yuan always felt something was lacking, so he could only conclude that Monferno's training wasn't sufficient, especially since it had only been training for half a year.
The hardening of the fists obviously amplified the power of punching moves. Now Monferno can casually crush stones in its hand without using any energy, which is quite impressive.
"With Harden Iron Fist for an ordinary punch, Qi Gathering Technique for a Serious Punch, Fury Eruption for a punch exceeding the limit, and Lightning Armor for a brilliant self-immolating strike..."
"With so many trump cards, I hope Monferno can achieve a good result in this Fighting tournament." Monferno is the Pokemon Fang Yuan is most concerned about. Although it has many trump cards, its actual combat record can only be described as somewhat satisfactory. This cannot be blamed on Monferno, but on Fang Yuan's other Pokemon achieving rapid improvements, barely giving the Monkey any time to develop.
...
Fang Yuan trained Pokemon while making his way to Ice Plain City.
In fact, there were many Trainers who made the same decision as Fang Yuan.
These Trainers all wanted to take advantage of the arrival of the Secret Location to toughen themselves and their Pokemon in the harsh environment.
On a snowy path, a female Trainer in her thirties with messy brown hair was leading two young people on foot towards Ice Plain City.
By their side followed two Combat-style Pokemon.
Toxicroak and Conkeldurr.
"This time, only the two of you apprentices from the Qin Yuan Dojo will compete. I don't expect you to get good rankings, but don't lose in the preliminaries. At the very least, make it to the main competition!" The female Trainer's voice was coarse as she seriously addressed the two twenty-something Dojo Apprentices, a man and a woman, beside her.
The female Apprentice with her hair in a bun said, "Teacher... don't pressure us..."
The female Trainer shook her head and said, "It must be achieved."
Zhang Ling was a teacher at Qin Yuan Dojo, a Professional Trainer, and the two apprentices by her side were candidates to be Daoist Successors. They were about to participate in the World's Number One Fighting Tournament, but before attending the tournament, Zhang Ling planned to first take them across the wilderness to adapt to fighting in the Ice Plains. After a week has passed, the results have been reasonably good.
"Stop!!" Zhang Ling suddenly halted, looking at the traces on the ground, and said, "Those are Ring Bear footprints. They could have run out from the Secret Location. Prepare for battle. We're about to enter the area of Ice Plain City. This might be our last battle."
The two apprentices immediately nodded their heads.
Ring Bear, a hibernating Pokemon with a large build and a strong sense of territory, was a powerful and well-suited combatant. Zhang Ling and her companions followed the footprints, hoping to track down the Ring Bear.
Two minutes later... they indeed caught up, but by then the Ring Bear was already confronting another Trainer!
It was a young Trainer holding an Eevee, and in addition, a Monferno was blocking Ring Bear's path.
"This isn't good. Monferno might not be a match for Ring Bear. Conkeldurr, use your Superpower to help the other Trainer soon," the bun-haired girl began to say, but she stopped abruptly because faced with the charging Ring Bear, the Monferno's performance was unexpected!
Whoosh!
Monferno's figure vanished in a flash, landing a High Speed Sonic Fist on the unaware Ring Bear's belly.
Ring Bear's expression turned blank... feeling only a tremendous force in its abdomen before losing consciousness, then the 100+ kg behemoth was sent flying several meters, crashing into a snowbank.
"Wow... such great strength... even the power of Monferno isn't too far off," the male apprentice said instinctively upon seeing this.