Eichi watched the humanoid target fall to the ground and shatter into pieces. Walking over to inspect it, he saw the target was in a truly pathetic state; it was completely scrapped. Scizor had broken yet another one, and these targets were becoming increasingly less durable as its strength grew.
Noticing the shattered pieces, Scizor glanced at Eichi with a hint of worry. Eichi sensed its concern and comforted it. "This isn't your fault. Breaking it just means you've become stronger," Eichi said.
Originally, Eichi had planned to wait a while before having Scizor wear gloves, but it seemed he had miscalculated. Scizor was ready to use them now.
Eichi pulled a pair of gloves with a metallic luster from his backpack. The exterior was made of an extremely hard metal, while the interior was lined with soft material to prevent any injury to Scizor. Much like Beedrill's needle covers, this pair of gloves weighed 50kg.
As soon as Scizor put them on, it tried to raise its claws but immediately let them drop. The gloves were incredibly heavy. Scizor exerted its strength and managed to lift its claws, which was still relatively easy, but launching an attack would be difficult.
Eichi took a brand-new humanoid target from his bag and set it up in front of Scizor. The Pokémon tried to buzz its wings to fly, but the weight of the gloves made the movement strained. It then settled into an attacking stance, aimed at the target, and swung with all its might. It felt as though its arms were moving through a thick obstruction.
The strike landed with difficulty, and the humanoid target only swayed slightly. It was clear how weak that attack had been. Refusing to accept this, Scizor swung its claws again.
This time, it mobilized its internal energy and used Bullet Punch. A white light emanated from the claws hidden within the gloves. However, the attack didn't whip out with its usual extreme speed to smash the target. Instead, it felt countless times slower as it connected.
A dull thud echoed, and the target began to wobble. This attempt was slightly better than the last, but Scizor was still unsatisfied and swung its claws once more.
Eichi watched as Scizor continuously threw strikes, sweat appearing on its forehead. It was more serious than ever before. Seeing Scizor enter this focused state, Eichi stopped watching and went to supervise Heracross's training. In just that short time, it had already started slacking off again.
When Eichi walked over, Heracross was also hitting a humanoid target. Its blows made a loud thwack, but it was all sound and no substance; there was no actual impact.
"Heracross, stop for a second," Eichi called out.
Heracross stopped, looking confused. It's even learned how to act now, Eichi thought to himself.
He placed a humanoid target in front of a tree and spoke to Heracross. "Your task for today is to use Horn Attack against this target. If you don't break it, you won't get any dinner."
Hearing that it wouldn't get dinner, Heracross immediately panicked. It realized it had messed up and couldn't slack off anymore. It became serious, eyes fixed on the target. Suddenly, its wings vibrated, and it lunged forward, pointing its single horn at the target.
It moved so fast that slight ripples appeared in the air. Heracross slammed into the target with a heavy thud. The target swayed slightly, and the force of the impact was transferred directly into the tree.
Nothing else changed. Heracross glanced at Eichi, then buzzed its wings and charged again. Eichi smirked inwardly. This wasn't a standard target; it was a brand-new, high-durability model.
The old targets would have been scrapped after a few hits like that, but with Heracross's current strength, it would take an entire afternoon of serious Horn Attack practice without slacking to break this one. For the sake of Heracross's progress, a single target was a small price to pay.
Seeing Heracross training seriously, Eichi left it be and returned to the riverbank. Wimpod was still practicing Aqua Jet. In that short time, it had improved a bit more. However, Wimpod was clearly exhausted, so Eichi let it rest.
While resting, Eichi noticed several upperclassmen passing by. They didn't disturb him, simply glancing over before moving on. A while later, as Eichi was preparing a bowl of Moomoo Milk and three Pokéblocks for Wimpod, a massive roar erupted from the back of the mountain.
The sound was incredibly loud. In his past life, Eichi had heard a massive boom at school when people were blasting a mountain to build a bridge several kilometers away. This was just as intense. The roar had clearly traveled from a very long distance. He had heard similar noises while at the Academy before, so he didn't think much of it.
After a moment, the roar sounded again, but it was different this time—it came from two different Pokémon. Eichi found it strange and sensed that something was about to happen. However, he didn't feel any sense of danger, so he assumed it didn't involve him.
Soon, a series of roars rose and fell one after another. In the Director's office at the Academy, Director Yanagi opened his window. He had also heard the roars and muttered to himself, "Did something happen? They're certainly being lively."
This didn't affect Eichi, who kept his four Pokémon training. Time passed quickly, and the afternoon session soon came to an end. Heracross did not disappoint; it managed to smash the humanoid target. When it saw the target was broken, it felt a wave of relief. However, the effort had exhausted it, and it lay on the ground, unwilling to get up.
Eichi recalled his four Pokémon and headed home.
Meanwhile, Archie was riding on his Skarmory, flying through Mount Silver in search of an opponent. He had come to Mount Silver for special training. Just last week, while challenging someone his own age, he had been soundly defeated. It was the first time Archie had ever lost to a peer, and it had served as a wake-up call.
With his family background, he never lacked resources, and his talent meant he had almost never lost. But this time was different; he had been completely outclassed. He came here to train hard so he could win the next time.
Hmm? Suddenly, Archie spotted a familiar figure. He was overjoyed. "I didn't expect to run into you here! This time, I'm definitely going to catch you. I brought my strongest lineup today—I don't believe I can't beat you!"