After dinner, the matches were paused for a break.
But Eichi still went out to train with Scyther and Beedrill.
This time, Akira didn't come along. Grandpa Ishi and Grandma Ishi wouldn't let him go out that late.
So Eichi went to train on his own.
By night, no one else was outside anymore, so Eichi simply found a spacious and quiet area.
Every few meters in town, there was a streetlight. These lights would turn off at eleven, so he had to return before then. Luckily, he hadn't planned to stay out too late anyway.
Tonight, Beedrill and Scyther would warm up by flying ten laps around the town.
Eichi himself only needed to jog three laps. After warming up, they moved on to joint exercises.
Beedrill followed the routine Eichi had designed for it earlier, while Scyther used one that had been refined after a month of practice.
Scyther's body, aside from its scythe-like arms, was somewhat similar to a human's.
First, it raised both scythes, kept its legs together, then stretched upward on tiptoe. Its arms had to be pulled straight to loosen all the joints, preventing stiffness and improving training efficiency.
Next came waist rotations. Scyther's waist was much more flexible than a human's, allowing a wider rotation angle.
Then came head turns, followed by chest expansion, spreading its arms to the sides to open up its chest.
Finally, it worked on leg stretches. It spread its legs apart, planted its scythes on the ground for support, and pressed downward repeatedly.
This was called pressing the hips, or stretching the ligaments.
Once or twice didn't show much effect, but over time, it allowed mastery of difficult moves and techniques with ease.
After the joint warm-ups, they moved on to skill training. Eichi arranged the drills, then let them train on their own.
He stood by, watching. As he watched, the image of the match he'd seen earlier that day flashed in his mind. The way that Arbok had used Poison-type moves had truly opened his eyes.
It also made him realize that he had made a serious mistake.
Take Beedrill, for example. It was a dual Bug and Poison-type Pokémon, yet Eichi had only ever fed it Bug-type Pokéblocks, never Poison-type ones.
He also hadn't paid much attention to its Poison-type move training.
Amelie had never mentioned this to him; she thought he already knew. But the truth was, he didn't.
"I actually made such a beginner mistake. I'm so stupid!"
Eichi silently scolded himself, feeling ashamed. Still, it wasn't too late to fix it.
Scyther was the same; it was a dual Bug and Flying-type Pokémon.
Since its birth, it had only ever eaten Bug-type Pokéblocks, never Flying-type ones.
That wouldn't do. It would waste its potential in that area.
Among Beedrill's current moves, its Poison-type ones were Venoshock, Toxic Spikes, and Poison Jab.
It had just learned Poison Jab yesterday.
Eichi called Beedrill over. The Pokémon flew over quietly, not asking anything, simply trusting him. That trust made Eichi feel guilty.
He said, "Beedrill, I overlooked your Poison-type potential before.
Now I'm going to fix that mistake. But there aren't any stores nearby selling Pokéblocks or Poison-type training tools.
So we'll have to think of ways to train your Poison-type moves properly once we're back."
Beedrill nodded to show understanding, then went back to training.
There weren't many days left; this was the third day, only four more before they would return to Viridian City.
For now, he would keep up the routine. Everything else could wait until they were back. Over the next few days, he needed to plan carefully how to develop Beedrill's Poison-type potential and Scyther's Flying-type potential.
Speaking of which, Beedrill's energy level had already reached around the mid Experienced stage, close to its peak.
In the Pokémon world, Pokémon strength was roughly divided into six tiers, with each tier split into early, mid, and peak stages.
If converted into game terms, Beedrill was around Level 35, while Scyther was only around Level 25.
A ten-level gap. Scyther still had a long way to go to reach Beedrill's level.
With Beedrill's current strength, it could already compete in the Indigo League without issue.
Why had Beedrill's level risen so quickly?
That went back to the poaching group incident. During its evolution, Beedrill had absorbed a huge amount of Bug Force, instantly rising to Level 30.
When it was still a Kakuna, it had been Level 20. Upon evolving, it jumped straight to 30 with no side effects.
Eichi had tried infusing Bug Force into Scyther too, but its improvement had been gradual, not like Beedrill's sudden ten-level leap.
Thinking it over, that day had been a very special situation, which probably explained the effect.
Then there was the matter of aptitude. Comparing the two Pokémon's inner blue flames, it was clear that Beedrill's aptitude had now surpassed Scyther's.
When Scyther was born, its aptitude had been higher. Now Beedrill had overtaken it, though Eichi didn't know why.
They received about the same amount of Bug Force each day, yet Beedrill's aptitude was better. It was truly a mystery.
After watching the powerful Pokémon battles at the Indigo League today, both Beedrill and Scyther had been deeply motivated, training even harder than before.
They trained outside for about three hours before heading back together.
That night, in the dark room, Eichi lay down to cultivate. The Bug Force within him had increased again, and through constant practice, he had started to discover new ways to use it.
Lately, one question had troubled him: his affinity. His Bug Force made his affinity with Bug-type Pokémon off the charts, but it also attracted other types too strongly.
He couldn't have wild Pokémon flocking to him every time he entered the woods. So now, he was learning to control his Bug Force, to stop it from leaking out, while also exploring new abilities it might have.
Speaking of wild Pokémon, he suddenly thought of a way to strengthen Beedrill's Poison-type moves.
He could go into the wild and battle Pokémon, using Poison-type moves repeatedly. It wouldn't be very friendly to them, though.
Oh well, they wouldn't die. He could just compensate them afterward.
That thought immediately lightened his mood.
He went to sleep, letting the Bug Force within him flow into Scyther and Beedrill's bodies.
After absorbing the energy, they both drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.
A good night's dream.