"Ding——"
The alarm clock rang, causing Kai to slowly open his eyes and glance at the time: 6:55 AM.
"Time to head out for training." He grabbed his phone, sent a message to Mira, and then got up to wash.
After preparing some bread and milk for himself and Pokémon pills for Charmander, they both began to eat.
Kai bit into his bread and sighed. "Mira's breakfast is much better. A pity she doesn't wake up this early."
Mira had been helping take care of his meals at his mother's request. He was already very thankful for her making him breakfast; complaining about the timing would only make him seem ungrateful.
Charmander's meal was the same as the previous day—refined fire-type Pokémon food. Judging by his joyous expression, he seemed quite satisfied.
After breakfast, Kai packed his bag and headed out to the nearby sports center for training.
After five minutes of brisk walking, he finally arrived and calmly looked at the blue asphalt floor of the track before taking out his Pokéball.
"Alright, let's start with some endurance training." He summoned Charmander and began jogging.
Charmander, who was usually unresponsive, did not resist Kai's suggestion this time. In fact, he seemed eager, following along without complaint as they jogged around the track.
Kai chose jogging over sprinting. Unlike sprinting, which is anaerobic exercise, jogging improves physical fitness and, given enough time, provides an immense boost to endurance.
Sprints enhance explosiveness and speed, but they weren't necessary for Charmander at this stage.
According to his research last night, newly-hatched Pokémon weren't suited for high-intensity exercise.
After about an hour of jogging, Kai checked the time and stopped. "Alright."
"Grr," Charmander sat down on the ground, panting heavily.
Kai took out a towel from his bag and crouched down to wipe Charmander's sweat. "Good job, Charmander."
Charmander gave him a blank stare for a moment before turning his head away.
"It's past ten now. We need to train a bit more before heading back for lunch." Kai checked the training schedule he'd made the previous night. "Next is skill training. Can you handle it, Charmander?"
"Grr," Charmander stood up.
Kai patted his head and smiled. "Good boy."
"Grr," Charmander didn't struggle and let Kai pat his head.
Skill training couldn't be done on the track, as damaging public facilities would incur heavy fines. Fortunately, the sports center had a dedicated Pokémon training room with various training equipment, which cost about fifteen coins per hour.
"If you plan to use it long-term, I recommend getting a monthly pass," the staff suggested with a professional smile. "It's more cost-effective."
"How much is the monthly pass?" Kai asked hesitantly. Since there was still a month until the entrance exam, getting a pass would indeed be more economical.
"3,000 coins for a month. You can use it for eight hours a day. If you have a Trainer League card, you get a 10% discount."
After thinking for a bit, Kai made up his mind and took out his phone to pay. "Then please get me a monthly pass."
After completing the transaction, he received a green rectangular card with a smooth surface. The staff member then guided him to a hall about 100 square meters in area, equipped with various facilities such as dumbbells for strength training and automatic disc machines for skill accuracy training.
As he looked around the hall, Kai's eyes lit up. There was everything he needed to train Charmander.
"Charmander, the moves you've learned so far seem to be Scratch and Growl, with Ember being a gifted move," Kai searched for Charmander's information on his phone. Since Charmander had used Ember before, his talent could be considered good.
However, since Charmander's father was a powerful Salamence, Charmander might have inherited some of his talent
Kai looked at Charmander by his side. "Charmander, show me all the moves you've mastered."
Charmander glanced at Kai before lifting his arm and swinging it fiercely. A soft white glow enveloped his claws, causing a slicing sound to ring in Kai's ears.
Scratch!
Charmander then let out a growl. Despite the attack not being targeted at him, the sound waves alone made Kai's body feel numb.
Growl!
Finally, Charmander released Ember, igniting a target on the other end of the hall.
"Indeed, Scratch, Growl, and Ember—" Kai was stopped mid-sentence as Charmander's body suddenly began to radiate a mix of purple and red light in his perception.
In an instant, Charmander's aura intensified!
"What's this?" Kai was caught off guard by the sudden change and blinked his eyes in surprise. "Dragon Dance?"
Kai wasn't unfamiliar with this move and its effects. Dragon Dance temporarily boosted a Pokémon's attack and speed stats for a short interval of time.
Usually, Charmander wouldn't have the talent to learn Dragon Dance. However, it seemed that due to his Dragon-type heritage, he had surprisingly inherited this skill.
Kai nodded in satisfaction. "Even though Charizard's final form is more suited for long-range attacks and doesn't quite match the power boost from Dragon Dance, it's an extra skill and an unexpected gain."
Dragon Dance lasted about ten seconds before Charmander collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. It was clear to Kai that this skill was very taxing for Charmander.
Kai didn't want to push Charmander too hard, so he decided to call it a day. Since this was their first day of training together, Kai didn't want to rush things.
Returning home, Kai realized it was already twelve. He sent a few messages to Mira but got no response.
"She must be busy preparing lunch," Kai thought, still a bit doubtful since Mira usually replied immediately.
Shaking his head, Kai climbed to the first floor of his apartment and jumped into Mira's room through the balcony. As soon as he opened the door, he bumped into something round.
"Bu!"
Looking down, he saw it was Rowlet, whose face was covered by a white piece of cloth with soft fabric.
"What's this?" Kai crouched down and took the cloth off Rowlet's face before realizing that it was a white panty with Pikachu design printed all over it.
Kai: "…"
"Rowlet, why are you taking so long to bring me my panty?" Suddenly, the bathroom door at the corner of the room opened, and Mira walked out with a towel wrapped around her body, having just showered. Her long black hair was still damp and clung to her snow-white skin in an alluring manner.
The next moment, Kai and Mira's eyes met.
"…" Mira stared at Kai, absolutely dumbfounded, while Kai turned around and began to climb back to his room.
Wrong timing!