[Location: Levincia City - Tennis Courts]
"You won't be able to keep up like that, Ralts! Again!"
Colt's voice echoed slightly through the area, and an almost popping sound soon followed. As for the source of that sound, it was produced using the item in Colt's hand and a certain yellow round ball that was now flying through the air.
At the current time, Colt together with Ralts and Zorua could currently be seen occupying what looked to be a tennis court. Despite this world having pokemon, even ordinary sports have been invented, such as baseball, ping pong, and naturally tennis and more.
Although this means of training was rather unorthodox, Colt believed that it could truly produce results. Not only for Ralts, but also for himself.
For Colt, together with the weighted bands he had around his wrists and ankles, would help him train both his stamina and overall strength the longer he wore them, especially if he was going to be in constant movement like he was now.
As for Ralts, the psychic-type was instructed to use his psychic powers to manipulate the racquet to rally against Colt. This would not only train Ralts to better control his psychic powers, assuming training it was similar to a muscle, but it would also train other aspects as well.
Zorua, for the time being, wouldn't really benefit from this kind of training, assuming he could even participate in the first place. Thus, the ghost-type was simply watching from the side while still wrapped in Colt's jacket.
Naturally, if he was going to be doing a lot of things that required constant movement, whether it be going through the tower or training like they were now, Colt made sure to purchase one or two sets of clothing that didn't restrict his movements in any way.
At the current time, Colt's outfit wasn't really anything different to what it was before, having kept most of his previous clothes on aside from the pants, which he had swapped out for a pair of simple black shorts.
"Not bad, you're getting the hang of it!" Colt smiled, a small sweat running down his face as he returned the ball that Ralts managed to hit back. "In that case, let's see if you can deal with this! Be careful... here it comes!"
Compared to his previous hits, Colt put much more power into his hit as the ball flew through the air much faster compared to any other time. Unable to react in time, Ralts could only watch in stunned silence as the ball smashed against the ground before flying back and into the fence.
"Alright, let's take a break..." Colt's voice sounded as Ralts turned to see him walking over. The racquet Ralts had been using slowly lowered to the ground as Colt walked over. "You're still a bit too slow, Ralts. Keep it up, you'll improve in time."
In response, Ralts looked down at the racquet he had been using before rubbing the back of his head in confusion.
"Confused?" Colt chuckled slightly after seeing this. "Your mind needs to multitask, and in this scenario, that means manipulating the racquet while also being focused on the situation of the game. Keep practising, and using your psychic powers should hopefully become essentially autonomous."
Of course, Colt knew that once Ralts evolved his control and overall psychic powers should increase substantially. Even so, he believed that it may still do well for the future to have Ralts go through this kind of training beforehand.
After all, through tennis specifically, it trained more than just basic manipulation. Ralts would need to make minor adjustments to control things like the amount of force, timing of hits, and many others. These alone already train important things like precision control, multi-taking, adaptation and more.
Beyond just psychic powers themselves, Colt believed a high-intensity tennis rally could also help Ralts develop a stable mind when under pressure. The faster the rallies, the greater the pressure placed on Ralts, thus forcing the latter to adapt and respond quickly under pressure.
Although Ralts still looked a bit confused, he ultimately nodded seeing how confident Colt seemed to be.
"Let's take a short break, we'll continue after." Colt suggested before turning his head to see Zorua rushing over while dragging his jacket and a black sports bag across the ground with him. Seeing this, Colt smiled wryly before shaking his head. "Thanks, Zorua. Drink up, Ralts."
From the side compartments in the sports bag, Colt pulled out a two small plastic bottles of water, handing one to Ralts as he began chugging down the other. After chugging the full bottle, Colt gave a satisfied sigh.
'Three kilograms really isn't much, but you sure start to feel them after a while.' Colt thought to himself as he began stretching his limbs. 'What felt like nothing at all now feels like I'm carrying around an extra pair of limbs...'
While Ralts was resting and chatting with Zorua, Colt decided to begin stretching his body.
He neglected to do it prior, and now he was suffering the consequences...
____________
[Location: Levincia City - Battle Aerie]
After training for around two hours, Colt decided to call it quits for the day.
Although getting some decent training in was always good, too much can end up giving the opposite results. Rest was just as important as the training itself, and not to mention together with their Aerie Tower run this morning, rest was definitely needed.
'We still have a bit over five days left to complete the secondary objective. At the very least, I'm glad it's optional.' Colt sighed to himself inwardly as Ralts could be seen standing on his shoulder as he walked through Levincia. As for Zorua, he was back in his ball. 'On another note, money issue...'
Taking out his rotom phone, Colt fiddled around with it for a moment before frowning as he checked his current balance. After everything he's bought today, not to mention later needing to go out on a grocery run, funds were a bit of an issue...
Okay, it was very big issue!
'At this rate, I'll go completely broke by the end of the week at the latest.' Colt could only chuckle to himself, though there was no amusement in his head. 'Hopefully I can start getting some customers. Otherwise, I have no flow of income. Even then, that trial period is also a thing...'
Colt had come to realise, reincarnation was awesome... but it was also a pain in the ass.
'Hm?' Colt blinked as he put away his phone and looked up ahead. In front of the entrance to the Battle Aerie, he could see a few individuals who seemed to be trying to look inside. 'Pray and you may receive it seems...'
With some hope in his heart, Colt quickened his pace.
It was hard to tell whether or not these people were the kinds of trainers, if trainers at all, that he was looking for. Either they were attracted by the advertisement board next to the entrance or were just a bunch of curious kids.
Naturally, he hoped it was the former.
"Mind if I ask what you guys are doing?"
"H-Huh...?"
Seemingly caught off guard by his sudden appearance, the group flinched before turning around to see Colt looking at them curiously. Having turned around, Colt was now able to see the group of three more clearly, all of whom looked to be a number of years younger than him.
If he were to hazard a guess, they were all probably around twelve or so.
The first two were males, one with a head of spiky orange hair and the other with light-blue hair that reached down to his shoulders. The third was a female, with long light-brown hair that was tied into a spiraling ponytail that reached down to her waist.
"Sorry if I scared you." Colt smiled sheepishly. "Seeing you three just made me curious, you guys are kind of getting some eyes, after all."
Glancing over his shoulder, Colt did notice that these three had attracted the attention of people passing by or were in the general area. Hearing this, the group seemed a bit embarrassed as they glanced at each other.
"S-Sorry..." The male with the light-blue hair rubbed the back of his head, a somewhat shy look on his face as well as a red hue of embarrassment. "...We were just curious about this shop."
"Yeah!" The other male, far more energetic compared to the former, also spoke up as he pointed towards the advertisement board next to the door. "It says that we can get super strong here, I wonder if it's true..."
"Well, I'd personally say it is." Colt shrugged. "I mean, I wouldn't have placed it here if it wasn't."
"Wait, this shop belongs to you?!" The orange-haired kid exclaimed after realising the nature of Colt's words. Stepping closer to Colt, the male continued with an excited look on his face. "You can make me stronger then, right?!"
Due to the closeness, Colt unconsciously leaned back as he and Ralts looked at one another in bewilderment.
"Calm down, Marcus." The girl, having spoken up for the first time, spoke in a tired tone as she looked at the orange-haired male with a helpless look on her face. "You're making him uncomfortable by being that close."
"O-Oh...!" Seemingly having realised, the male now identified as Marcus, gave a small laugh as he awkwardly stepped back a few steps. "Sorry about that!"
"No worries at all." Colt waved it off casually before crossing his arms over his chest. "So, am I safe to assume that the reason you two are here as well are the same as his?"
Hearing his question, the two kids who Colt still didn't know the names of both nodded their heads in confirmation. Seeing this, Colt smiled in satisfaction before motioning them to follow him as he unlocked the doors to the store.
"Follow me."
____________
Colt was very pleased to see that the register was very simple to handle, there wasn't anything complicated and the process was very straightforward. It was no wonder he was given no explanation on how the process worked.
The process only required him to fill in some basic information about the customer, along with a picture using some kind of advanced scanner that, from his understanding, analyzed every physical feature, be it their face and even clothing.
The only shame was that he wasn't registering these three as full members.
"Alright, all three of you have been registered for your trial periods." Colt nodded as he handed each of them a card, they were essentially the membership cards but for trial members. "You can now freely use the services here, but keep in mind, it only lasts for three days. After that, the cards become useless."
"This is pretty cool!" Marcus grinned as he looked at the card in his hand, which had all of his information and also his picture in the corner. "The design isn't bland either, it looks all futuristic and techy!"
"You're easily amazed, aren't you?" The girl, who Colt now knew as Hannah, spoke after hearing her friend. Though, despite her words, she too seemed pleased with the card. "So, we just need to scan these cards whenever we want to do something here?"
"Pretty much, yeah. Simple and easy." Colt nodded his head after hearing the question. "Any other questions? Otherwise, I can introduce you three to the main... attraction, I suppose you could say, here at the store."
"Actually..." Shawn, the name of the light-blue haired male, spoke up as Colt nodded at him. "I've been meaning to ask about that device around your ear. O-Of course, if it's inconvenient... I'm just curious is all."
"Hm?" Colt blinked at the unexpected question. "You mean my pokedex?"
Hearing this, the three blinked in confusion. "That's... a pokedex?"
Nowadays, people utilise rotom phones which can then have the pokedex application installed onto it through various ways. Such as educational institutes, laboratories, and more. However, none of them had ever seen a pokedex like Colt's
"That's right, it's a unique model, so you won't find it anywhere else but here." Colt explained simply as the three in front of him listened curiously. "However, unlike conventional ones, this pokedex here provides more in-depth information."
"Really...?" Seemingly very interested, Shawn couldn't help but ask. "In what way?"
"Well, to start off, it doesn't just provide information about a pokemon as a collective species." Colt further explained. "It can also scan a pokemon directly in front of me, and give me detailed information regarding that pokemon specifically. Even if I don't own that pokemon, I can know a lot about it. Such as what moves it knows, and more."
"Oh, then look at mine!"
Without giving anyone else a chance to say anything, Marcus seemed to jump at the opportunity as he quickly took out a pokeball before priming it as he tossed it up. As expected, the ball opened and out came a familiar stream of light.
The pokemon that emerged was one that Colt would call... suitable for someone like Marcus.
Standing tall with its arms acting as natural support on the ground was a chimp-like pokemon with primarily orange fur with the exception of its face, ears, belly, hands, and feet which were a light yellow. The most discerning feature was the obvious flame that kept burning on its rear.
This pokemon was very recognisable to Colt, after all, it was one of the starter pokemon given to new trainers. More specifically, it was the fire-type starter given to new trainers in the Sinnoh region, and its species' name is chimchar.
"This is my partner Chimchar, boss man!" Marcus grinned while Chimchar looked confused, though the latter ultimately looked at Colt with a curious look on its face. "Could you take a look at him?"
"Of course, it'll only take a moment."
With a tap of the Master's Pokedex, a familiar beam of light scanned over Chimchar's body, the latter flinching slightly in response. Before Chimchar could properly react, the light had already disappeared.
They then watched as a screen displaying all of the fire-type's stats projected in front of them out from the Master's Pokedex on Colt's ear. As Colt had stated, the three young trainers could see a ton of information on Chimchar.
____________
[Chimchar]
- Level: 10/200 (Potential: ★★★★☆)
- Classification: Chimp Pokémon
- Type: Fire (Tera: Fire)
- Gender: Male
- Nature: Jolly (+SPD/-SpATK)
- Phenotype: [Height: 0.52m] [Weight: 6.2kg] [Egg Group: Human-Like/Field]
- Moves: [Scratch] [Leer] [Ember] [Fire Punch]
- Ability: Iron Fist (Boosts the power of punching moves)
- Pokedex Entry: A very agile pokemon, and prior to going to sleep will extinguish the flame on its tail to prevent fires. The gas made in its belly burns from its rear end, which becomes weaker when it feels sick
Parameters:
- Health Points: 46 (B)
- Attack: 28 (B)
- Defense: 16 (C)
- Special Attack: 17 (C)
- Special Defense: 24 (B)
- Speed: 44 (A)
____________
"Hoh~? Very impressive!"
Colt couldn't help but compliment after seeing the information, while not the absolute best, would still very much rank among chimchars with the greatest potential. Hearing this, the three naturally leaned in curiously.
"Woah, that's a lot of words!" Marcus gulped slightly after seeing the info screen. "It's kinda hurting my head..."
Unlike Marcus who didn't seem to be the type who was the greatest with overloads of information, Hannah and Shawn were both looking at the screen both curiously and full of astonishment at what was being displayed.
"Incredible!" Shawn exclaimed. "It's like a video game. Are these numbers Chimchar's statistics? I've never heard of a method of calculating things like that in numerical form though, and... what do those letters mean?"
"It even knows what type Chimchar would be if he terastallizes?" Hannah also added as she too shared Shawn's disbelief on the matter. "Hold on... I've heard of pokemon natures before, but never about them having any affect on overall statistics."
Being from Paldea, the three in front of Colt were naturally very familiar with the Terastal phenomenon. Much about it had been researched and even publicized, but unless a pokemon has undergone such transformation, the typing one changes to can't be known.
However, if this device that Colt had was indeed accurate, then this Master's Pokedex was a complete breakthrough.
"Well, there are a lot of things about pokemon we simply don't know about." Colt shrugged his shoulders as he said this. "There is much more to growing stronger than simply battling and training, even the finest details can differentiate elites from champions."
"B-Boss, this pokedex..." Shawn hesitated for a moment before continuing. "...Can we get one as well?"
"You can, but only if you have a full membership. Therefore, I recommend waiting until the end of your trial period, just to get a taste of what my establishment here has to offer you."
Hearing this, they felt a bit doubtful, mainly Hannah and Shawn.
Not because they doubt his words, but mainly because they felt that a full membership even if they cancel it after only one payment, however expensive it is, would be worth it for the Master's Pokedex alone.
"Uhh..." Marcus, after being silent for a time, spoke up again. He, along with Chimchar, were both staring at the screen with looks of bewilderment clear on their faces. "I'm kinda confused at what I'm looking at, I can't lie..."
"That's nothing to be ashamed of." Colt waved it off with a casual flick of his hand. "I'm sure Shawn and Hannah here are no different. If you do decide to pay for a full membership, the Master's Pokedex has a built-in guide to explain certain terminology and functions."
"Oh, that's good!" Marcus sighed in clear relief as any confusion or worry instantly washed away, earning helpless looks from his companions. "If that's the case, what do you think of Chimchar, boss man? He's awesome, huh?!"
"Certainly." Colt nodded without hesitation. "Chimchar here has a lot of potential and a great future for battle. Especially with a move like Fire Punch together with the ability Iron Fist, along with Chimchar's speed, you are set for something truly incredible. You've got a boost from STAB and with an extra kick from that ability."
Although Colt didn't know what means Marcus had met Chimchar through, whether it be given from an official professor or even by a school, he had certainly gotten very lucky in that draw. Chimchar must've had some powerful parents.
"STAB?" Hannah blinked, along with the others. "What does that mean?"
"Same type attack bonus, otherwise known by its acronym of STAB." Colt answered casually as they listened intently. "As the name implies, a pokemon receives a boost in power to the moves they use as long as it matches one of their typings."
"I see, so since Fire Punch is a fire-type move, it receives a boost due to Chimchar also being a fire-type." Shawn nodded understanding. "It's essentially natural affinity for typings then."
Colt shrugged. "Pretty much."
"How much stronger?" Hannah asked curiously. "Do pokemon vary?"
"Not at all, all pokemon receive the same degree of power boost for STAB, that being an increase of 50%. This increase in power is much more noticeable in stronger individuals." Colt explained simply. "As for Chimchar, the move Fire Punch receives that boost from STAB, and around an additional 20% for Iron Fist."
"That means Chimchar's Fire Punch has almost doubled in power!" Shawn couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief at this realisation. "That's an increase of 70%. Those factors also don't change, so wouldn't that mean...?"
"..Chimchar gets that boost all the time." Hannah finished, though he tone didn't seem to be capable of believing the words that came out of her mouth. "That can't be real."
"I don't get it." Marcus scratched the back of his head, though he then grinned. "But, you guys are basically saying Chimchar is super strong, right?! You hear that, Chimchar? You're totally awesome!"
Although Chimchar was mostly as confused as his trainer, he too basically understood the same as Marcus and gave a few proud and happy cries as he raised both his arms up into the air with a cheer.
Seeing this, Colt couldn't help smile with a bit of sweat running down the back of his head.
Obviously, compared to Hannah and Shawn, Marcus was definitely more of a simple minded individual... and one that was probably not the most intelligent of individuals out there. At the very least, he seems to have passion.
"Alright, you three. I think it's time we make our way over."
"Oh, where are we going?!"
"Where? The Aerie Tower, of course."