The next day at the Hammerlocke Stadium.
Inside an intermediate-level training room, Shiro pushed himself through a grueling workout, performing frog jumps with weights strapped to his back. Each movement sent sharp pain coursing through his legs, his muscles burning as if filled with acid.
Even so, he pushed on, jumping forward one step at a time, determined to complete two laps around the training room.
Above him, Rookidee perched on an alloy bar, its eyes closed in rest. A thin, grayish-black film coated its beak, slowly melding into it—a process that would take a few hours. Since Rookidee rarely relied on its beak for attacks and focused more on improving its flight speed and Air Cutter, the Metal Coat's integration didn't interfere with its training. Still, Shiro had decided to let it rest for the morning.
Gastly, on the other hand, was hard at work. Its task was simple—force out every inherited move, no matter how weak the results were.
It had just reached the Beginner-level. Its talent was strong, and it had inherited many moves, but with its current abilities, some were still unusable.
"Gaass..."
A ghostly purple flame flickered around Gastly, its dark face full of determination. Sinister, inky-black Dark-type energy surged from its body, forming rippling waves that shattered against the alloy Pokémon target before dissipating into the air.
"Gass~"
Seeing that its attack still left no mark on the target, Gastly sighed in frustration. But the thought of the strange berry waiting for it after training reignited its motivation.
With Rookidee resting, Gastly had grown a little lax. If Shiro simply stood back and watched, it wouldn't push itself as hard—no matter how tempting the reward was. But after days of rigorous training, Gastly hadn't yet realized just how much its energy reserves had grown.
Just now, it had managed to release Dark Pulse—a high-level move—with only a brief charge-up, and without showing any obvious signs of exhaustion.
A few days ago, it couldn't even use proper moves. Even attempting unfinished moves left it drained.
Rookidee had been watching all of this.
It understood that Gastly's natural talent allowed it to grow stronger just through training. While it, despite having strengthened its Flying-type potential with the Fly Berry, still wasn't on the same level.
Watching Gastly improve so quickly made Rookidee anxious—not just because it wanted to keep up through sheer effort, but because it refused to lose its position as the stronger one..
There was no way Rookidee would allow itself to become Gastly's underling.
Hours later, as the sticky sensation on its beak finally faded, Rookidee stretched its wings and chirped, flapping urgently as it flew to where Shiro was resting against the wall.
"Rook! Rook!"
It beat its wings rapidly.
"Gaass…"
At the same time, Gastly was also exhausted, barely holding on. The purple flames around its body had dimmed significantly as it lay weakly beside Shiro, letting out faint cries.
"Alright, that's enough."
Shiro carefully inspected Rookidee's beak and gave a small nod. "Looks like it's done. You can resume training."
Rookidee's beak had become even glossier than before. Previously, it still had the color and texture of a regular bird's beak, but now it looked like a solid steel spike. Just the sight of it sent a chill down Shiro's spine.
Grant truly lived up to his reputation as a seasoned breeder of Rookidee. His experience and methods had proven highly effective.
Satisfied, Shiro patted Rookidee's head, prompting it to take off immediately to resume training. Then, reaching into his backpack, he pulled out the berry he had purchased the day before and handed it to Gastly.
The moment Gastly saw the long-awaited special berry, its drowsiness vanished.
Its eyes widened with excitement, and a grin spread across its face.
It devoured the berry in a few quick bites, then, as soon as the taste settled in, its eyelids drooped, and it slumped into Shiro's arms, fast asleep.
Shiro gently stroked Gastly while closing his own eyes to rest. He planned to wait until the stadium's break time before heading out for a meal to replenish his energy.
...
Time passed quickly—before he knew it, ten days had gone by.
During this time, Shiro focused entirely on training with Rookidee and Gastly. His routine was simple and low-profile, strictly moving between three locations.
His past experiences from school and work on Earth helped him endure the repetitive, monotonous lifestyle. While others might find it dull, Shiro saw it as steady progress.
Most trainers didn't stay in one place for long. After spending a couple of days battling at Hammerlocke Stadium, they would head out on adventures in the Wild Area, returning only for supplies and battles.
This kind of restless lifestyle was common in Galar, along with the dangers that came with it.
Shiro's plan, however, was different. He intended to push both Rookidee and Gastly past the Intermediate level before leaving Hammerlocke.
Right now, even though Rookidee had been steadily improving, it was still at Level 17. It could evolve at any time—just one step away from Level 18. However, after thorough research and consulting others, Shiro decided to hold off on its evolution.
A Pokémon's evolution wasn't just a change in appearance and physical attributes—it also rapidly converted all pre-evolution training into newfound strength. If a Pokémon's foundation was solid, evolving at the right time could result in a massive leap in power.
Many trainers take advantage of this, using evolution as a way to break past strength barriers and boost their Pokémon's overall power.
For instance, experienced trainers often hold off on evolving their Corvisquire when it reaches Advanced-level, around level 37, choosing instead to let it accumulate more strength. By doing so, once it finally evolves, the stored power could propel it straight into Gym-level.
Shiro aimed for Rookidee to break into the Intermediate-level upon evolution.
Once Rookidee evolved into Corvisquire, Shiro would need to use a new Pokémon for the sparring partner job. This period of controlled growth was also beneficial for Gastly, allowing it to develop enough strength to challenge the sparring partner position.
Currently, Gastly had reached a stable position within the Beginner-level, sitting around Level 15.
Over the past ten days, Shiro received quite a few sparring requests. The Pokémon sent out by the challengers were mostly in their initial forms, but Shiro and Rookidee didn't lose a single match.
The stadium's payout system was straightforward. Earnings from battles were handed out immediately, and bets were settled on the spot. Thanks to his solid skills, Shiro had gained some recognition, drawing in more challengers. In just ten days, he had earned around 30,000 Pokédollars.
"Phew... At this rate, making 100,000 a month is easy. If I focus on training both of them, could I even push them to Advanced-level before leaving the city?"
As the day neared its end, Shiro sat in an intermediate training room, counting his earnings.
Of course, he knew it was just wishful thinking. Reaching Advanced-level before leaving was unrealistic.
The resources needed to raise Pokémon from Intermediate to Advanced level were insanely expensive. Daily Intermediate Pokéblocks wouldn't be enough.
On top of that, without strong opponents in Hammerlocke to push his Pokémon further, their growth would inevitably slow down or stagnate.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Your support means a lot, thank you!