Ace, still somewhat skeptical, led his Gardevoir through the entire forest. Gardevoir, arm hooked around Ace's, smiled sweetly as she accompanied him on the stroll.
In the end, however, Ace had to admit that there was no fruit tree of any kind in the forest.
Despite this, their time wasn't wasted. The forest was home to a large number of wild Pokémon. Ace thoroughly familiarized himself with the general situation, so when it came time for practical combat training, they could bother these Pokémon and hone Zinnia's battle skills.
By the time Ace returned to the grassy area, Zinnia had already collapsed.
The training methods used by Chansey and the others were not something just anyone could endure, a fact obvious from their own routines.
When Chansey and the others rolled out their training regimen, Zinnia and her Pokémon were promptly defeated.
Chansey and her crew now looked at Zinnia and her Pokémon with disdain, their expressions conveying a single thought: What's the matter? We barely tried, and you're already giving up?
"Alright, take a break first, then we'll continue."
Seeing their state, Ace told Chansey and the others to relax, giving Zinnia a moment to catch her breath. He immediately began treating her Pokémon.
Ace took a look at Zinnia's Pokémon.
She had two—Salamence and Goodra. As for Noivern, it was an orphan from her late mother and didn't synergize well with Zinnia in combat.
"And Whismur was purely a mascot, possessing negligible combat power."
"You have too few tactical options. Zinnia, you should first get used to controlling other types of Pokémon."
Ace told Zinnia. She nodded readily, agreeing with the advice, but as a member of the Draconid people, her targets for capture would undoubtedly be Dragon-type Pokémon.
Ace considered this, then pointed at his Blastoise and said, "I'll lend you my Blastoise. You use my Blastoise to battle me."
Blastoise: ???
Seeing Zinnia immediately agree, Blastoise looked utterly tragic.
After a short rest, Zinnia signaled to Ace that her stamina had recovered.
Ace nodded and sent out his Garchomp.
Blastoise sighed in relief when he saw Ace use Garchomp.
I have a slight type advantage over him, and he's my junior.
Instantly, Blastoise was filled with confidence.
The two separated. Zinnia called out first: "Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"
Blastoise aimed its cannons, and two Hydro Pumps violently blasted towards Garchomp.
"Dual Chop."
Garchomp roared, surging forward. The plate-like fins on its arms glowed, and it charged fearlessly toward the Hydro Pumps.
Its fins swung out, cleaving the streams from Blastoise's Hydro Pump instantly into two halves. Garchomp pushed off with its feet, its speed skyrocketing as it rushed toward Blastoise.
"Iron Defense."
Seeing Garchomp rapidly closing in, Zinnia immediately had Blastoise defend.
Blastoise suddenly retracted into its shell. The entire surface of the shell instantly took on a metallic sheen. Garchomp's fin-chops struck the shell, instantly sending Garchomp flying backward.
The shell landed heavily. Blastoise emerged from its shell, having suffered no significant damage.
"Hydro Pump!"
Two more Hydro Pumps blasted out. Garchomp spun rapidly, its fins slashing continuously, instantly slicing the Hydro Pumps to shreds.
Stopping its spin, and using the momentum, Garchomp violently punched the ground.
"Woong!"
The ground shook violently. The powerful tremors instantly destabilized Blastoise's footing, causing it to tumble onto the ground.
"Oh no..."
Blastoise looked at Garchomp, its face instantly turning grim.
Loss of balance, an exposed weakness. The result is...
"Stone Edge!"
As Ace's voice rang out, numerous sharp spikes burst from the ground beneath Blastoise, launching it directly into the air.
Unable to gain purchase mid-air, Blastoise watched as Garchomp rapidly charged forward, large amounts of Dragon-type energy spreading around it. A single Dragon Rush violently smashed into Blastoise.
"Dong!"
A dull thud sounded. Blastoise was embedded in the ground, and cracks spread across the surrounding earth, showing the force of the blow.
Despite this, Blastoise hadn't fainted. Its rigorous daily training had given it extremely high durability, but even so, it was at its limit.
"Ice Beam!"
Zinnia finally countered, seeing Blastoise take continuous hits.
But the exhausted Blastoise couldn't manage much of a fight now.
The Ice Beam shot out. Garchomp blocked with its fins. Though the fins froze over, the thin layer of ice shattered instantly upon contact.
Garchomp abruptly opened its mouth, sending a Dragon Rage down onto the momentarily immobilized Blastoise.
"Boom!"
With a burst of sound, Blastoise lost its ability to battle.
"How does that feel?"
Ace walked over to Blastoise. Aura flowed, healing the Pokémon.
"Lord Ace's strength is truly immense..."
"I don't need flattery. I want to know what it feels like to command a different type of Pokémon."
Faced with Ace's question, Zinnia lowered her head in thought for a moment, then looked up at Ace and said, "It felt very awkward. Compared to Water-type Pokémon, I'm much better at commanding Dragon-type Pokémon."
"Specializing in one type, huh..."
Ace was silent for a moment, his mind gradually outlining the contents of the upcoming special training.
Zinnia needed to master as many combat techniques as possible for Water-type Pokémon. After all, in Ace's plan, Kyogre's actions would be controlled by her.
If she couldn't properly control Kyogre, it would significantly impact Ace's subsequent actions.
"Fortunately, we've come to the Mirage Island. This gives Zinnia plenty of time to slowly master it. If we were outside, a year might not even be enough to complete the special training."
Ace let out a breath. He quickly thought of a Pokémon somewhat similar to Kyogre.
"Wailord..."
Ace smiled slightly. Although Wailord and Kyogre are completely different Pokémon, in terms of sheer size and body shape, they share some vague similarities.
If Zinnia could command a large-bodied Pokémon like Wailord, then letting her control Kyogre later would at least give her some experience and keep her from being completely lost.
Having figured this out, Ace decided to leave the Mirage Island first and capture a Wailord for Zinnia in the nearby sea.
Holding the two feathers, Ace slowly flew out of the Mirage Island with the help of Aerodactyl.
As Ace flew outward, he turned his head to look behind him, wanting to see just how large the extent of the Mirage Island was.
"Wait, what is that?"
As Ace was observing, a slanted branch suddenly flashed into existence on a cliff face of the Mirage Island.
But the branch appeared and vanished in an instant. By the time Aerodactyl stopped, the branch had already disappeared without a trace!
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
I only share the most exquisite and beautiful novels. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon DaoistWujinzi