"Gabite, bring me a rock."
After resolving the Feebas situation, Paul pointed at a towering stone pillar nearby.
"Gaaaa—"
Gabite immediately launched into a Dragon Rush, ramming straight into the nearest pillar and snapping it in half. With a powerful grasp, it picked up the broken fragment and hurled it onto the shore before leaping back onto land itself.
"Ursaring, Hyper Beam. Gabite, Dragon Pulse. Drapion, Pin Missile."
Paul studied the peculiar rock, which was emitting energy waves. He then instructed his Pokémon to unleash their attacks skyward before recalling the rest of his team.
BOOM!
Three distinct moves shot into the sky, colliding at their peak and triggering a violent explosion. The spectacle instantly drew the attention of nearby Pokémon.
"See if you can tap into the energy within, or at least sense the difference in its energy flow."
Once the Pokémon had gathered, Paul continued analyzing the rock before turning to Electabuzz.
Since these rocks could release energy waves capable of disrupting radar signals, it meant they had some level of influence over the surrounding magnetic field. And among all Pokémon types, Electric-types had the closest affinity to magnetic forces.
Perhaps Electabuzz could gain some insight from it.
"Buzz—Buzz~"
Electabuzz let out a casual grunt and strutted forward with exaggerated confidence. It then started touching and stroking the rock absentmindedly—almost like it was goofing off.
"This method doesn't seem effective. Wear this, then lift the rock and practice Magnet Rise over the ocean. Floating while simultaneously sensing the energy should yield better results."
As he spoke, Paul tossed a Power Item to Electabuzz.
"Buzz-Buzz~"
Electabuzz put on its "new outfit," straightened its face, and lifted the hundreds-of-pounds-heavy rock above its head. As electricity surged around its body, it slowly began to levitate over the water.
"Ninetales, stand under the waterfall and use Psychic to gather all the flowing water into a single sphere. The moment you reach the limit, throw it forward and completely evaporate it with either Fire Blast or Flamethrower. Repeat this process."
Though the waterfall wasn't particularly large, the training itself posed a considerable challenge.
For a Pokémon like Ninetales, which hated water, it would need to multitask flawlessly to avoid getting drenched. Otherwise, the moment it launched Fire Blast, it risked being washed away.
"Woo~"
'So, all I have to do is form a water sphere and blast it? Easy!'
Ninetales confidently accepted the challenge and approached the waterfall—only to realize something was off.
Had it misheard?
Paul's instructions weren't about destroying the water sphere. They were about completely evaporating it.
Simply shattering the water sphere was easy. Any decently powerful attack could do that. But evaporation?
In other words…
Paul was asking it to completely burn away the water flowing from the waterfall!
And on top of that, it had to use Psychic to control the water and prevent it from flowing back into the sea.
This level of difficulty…
For a moment, Ninetales felt as if the sky had gone dark. It hesitated, stealing a glance at Paul, silently hoping its trainer would lower the difficulty just a bit.
Noticing Ninetales' pleading look, Paul flatly added:
"You can only rest if you run out of stamina and get washed away. After every cycle, you're allowed to use Nasty Plot once as an aid."
"Woo~"
Ninetales let out a pitiful whimper before turning away from the demon in front of it. With a face full of reluctant determination, it stepped under the waterfall and began its training.
"Ursaring… put on the training gear, carry a rock, and start running laps around the island. Throughout the run, continuously use Stomping Tantrum and Earthquake."
"Additionally, try to activate your Guts ability without getting completely burned."
"Ursaaa~"
Ursaring caught the training device Paul tossed over, strapped it on, and eagerly dove straight into the ocean. It found a massive stone pillar at the seafloor, tore it out at its base, then carried it onto land and began its run.
With each step, Ursaring triggered Earthquake and Stomping Tantrum, causing the entire island to tremble as if a natural disaster was occurring.
Nearby wild Pokémon—completely unaware of Paul's training—panicked, convinced that something catastrophic was about to happen.
"I need all of you to master one thing: the ability to see through your opponent's weaknesses."
"Without relying on held items or moves like Focus Energy, you need to develop the ability to naturally target an opponent's weak spots. The ultimate goal is to land critical hits with every single attack."
Paul had once naively believed that Dewott could achieve guaranteed critical hits simply by maximizing its critical-hit rate or instantly using Focus Energy upon entering battle.
However, Drapion had changed his perspective.
Landing a critical hit wasn't just about probability. It was a skill—not some unreliable 'rate' like accuracy, which was inherently flawed.
Instead of fixating on instant activation of Focus Energy, it was better to train at the core level and learn how to directly identify and exploit an opponent's weak points.
"At this initial stage, you two can use any techniques you believe will help improve your ability to perceive weaknesses. However, during training, you are forbidden from using Toxic or any stat-boosting moves."
"Once training is over, discuss your findings, summarize your experiences, and give it your all in battle."
After finishing his explanation, Paul took out a Scope Lens he had recently purchased from Canalave City and tossed it to Dewott.
This item would be a highly effective training aid.
"Chaa-chaa~"
The moment Dewott put on the Scope Lens, it felt as if it had gained a new perspective of the world.
Focus Energy allowed it to mentally concentrate, making an opponent's weak points more perceivable. But Scope Lens directly enabled it to see these weak points—though they appeared unstable, shifting in size and flickering unpredictably.
By cross-referencing Focus Energy, Scope Lens, and its own high-crit moves, Dewott was confident that mastering the ability to see through an opponent's vulnerabilities was only a matter of time.
"Raaah~"
Though Drapion hadn't fully mastered Focus Energy, it had previously entered a "Seeing Through" state before evolving. This training would allow it to refine and perfect that ability.
The moment they took their battle stances, both Pokémon's auras shifted.
Drapion radiated a cold, ruthless aura.
Dewott emanated a merciless, cutting presence.
In some ways… the two Pokémon were very similar.
"Chaa!"
"Raaah!"
The battle erupted in an instant, both Pokémon charging forward to strike at each other's weak points.
One was fast and technical.
The other wielded multiple "blades" and had a sharp sense of perception.
For now… neither could gain the upper hand.
Meanwhile, Gabite, temporarily unoccupied, continued training its stances as it waited for Paul to finish brewing a special Dragon Fang soup—the key to further unlocking its Dragon Bloodline Revival Plan.
And on the ocean's surface…
Electabuzz, still lugging the massive rock, was struggling to fine-tune the strength of its magnetic force.
Then, at a certain moment, when its magnetic field reached a critical point—
It felt something shift in its surroundings.
A surge of energy flowed into its body, and the strange energy wave seemed to enhance its magnetic field.
"Buzzz~"
Electabuzz froze for a moment. As it adjusted the effect of its electricity on the magnetic field, the energy wave vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
This discovery felt intriguing to Electabuzz, and it eagerly began experimenting with it.
Days passed in the blink of an eye...
Each Pokémon gained something from their respective training, their abilities improving in various ways, whether slightly or significantly.
Electabuzz, too, had learned from the meteorite's energy waves—an advanced method to strengthen the magnetic field generated by its electricity.
Perhaps, once it fully mastered this technique, it would be able to fly freely even under Ninetales' gravity.
Outside of training, Paul had Drapion practice its acupressure conditioning technique on other Pokémon to relieve fatigue.
As a result, for several days, the island was filled with "beautiful" howls so chilling they could shake heaven and earth, causing many Pokémon to suffer from sleepless nights.
With trainings complete, Paul set off from Devil's Sea aboard on his Gyarados.
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