Morning came slowly.
Not with soft birdsong or drifting sunlight, but with the deep, grinding roar of the volcano stretching like a creature waking from slumber. Ash drifted gently from above, catching the first rays of dawn like dying embers. The air felt heavy, charged, as if the entire island held its breath.
Alex rose stiffly from the cold ground. Every muscle in his body ached from yesterday's training—the stances, the footwork, the run, the encounter with Primeape. His legs trembled as he stood, and his back popped loudly when he stretched.
"Roshi never warned anyone about how much this hurts…"
Poliwag blinked awake from its resting place in the small pond, letting out a soft "Waaag" as it adjusted its fins. It watched Alex with the passive curiosity of a wild creature evaluating a larger animal sharing its territory.
Alex crouched beside it, checking the injury on its side. The raw scrape had healed a bit from soaking in water. Not fully. But it was no longer frantic or in pain.
"You're tougher than you look," he murmured.
The Water-type flicked its tail dismissively and swam in circles.
Alex took a long breath.
He needed food. Water. Shelter. And training.Especially training.
He turned toward a cluster of large volcanic boulders near the clearing. One in particular—a squat, round stone the size of a small stool—caught his eye. Smooth on one side. Rough on the other. Lopsided. Imperfect.
The perfect weight.
Master Roshi often had his students move heavy objects—milk crates, boulders, plow rigs—not to build muscles alone, but to build balance, core strength, and mental resilience.
Alex approached the stone and placed his hands on it.
"This is going to suck," he whispered.
He tightened his stance.Engaged his core.Breathed slowly.
And lifted.
The rock shifted a few centimeters before his arms gave out. His back trembled violently, knees wobbling. He dropped the stone with a thud that kicked up a cloud of dust.
Poliwag stared at him as if questioning his sanity.
"Don't… look at me like that…" Alex panted. "Roshi made Goku do stuff like this when he was older, so there's no reason a ten-year-old shouldn't try."
Poliwag blinked—Waaag?
Alex wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Okay. Maybe there is a reason."
The system chimed:
[TRAINING DRILL UNLOCKED: Turtle School Strength Conditioning Lv. 1][Goal: Move the stone 10 steps. Not lift—move.][WARNING: Host cannot perform advanced weightlifting at current age and condition.]
"…Thanks for clarifying."
Moving a stone wasn't the same as lifting it.
He crouched again, placing his hands on the smoother side and pushing with his legs instead of his arms. The boulder resisted, grinding against the soil. Alex strained, muscles shaking.
Inch by inch, the stone shifted.
One step.Two.Three.
By the fourth step, his entire body burned.
By the sixth step, he nearly collapsed.
At the eighth step, Poliwag swam out of the pond and chirped loudly, as if urging him to stop before he crushed himself.
"No quitting," Alex gasped. "Roshi would yell at me."
He pushed again.
Nine steps.
And finally—
Ten.
Alex fell backward, arms limp, lungs screaming for air. Sweat poured down his face and neck, dripping onto the grass.
The system chimed approvingly:
[Training Completed][+0.4 Level][HOST LEVEL: 5.2 → 5.6][Improved: Leg Strength, Ki Acceptance Rate +2%]
Slow progress.Painful progress.But real.
Poliwag nosed his knee gently, checking if he was still breathing.
"I'm fine," Alex groaned. "Just… dying. Slowly."
Poliwag made a gurgling noise—something between sympathy and confusion—and returned to the pond.
Alex forced himself up again.Training wasn't supposed to be glamorous. It wasn't flashy beams or gravity chambers. Those came later, built on foundations like these—blood, sweat, discipline.
Roshi's Rule #3: No shortcuts.
As Alex caught his breath, the ground shuddered.A deep vibration rolled beneath the clearing, rippling through water and soil alike.
Poliwag dove underwater instantly.
Alex stood still, eyes fixed on the ashfall drifting from the volcano.
The rumbling continued longer this time—fifteen seconds, maybe more. Then it stopped abruptly, leaving only a smoking plume rising into the sky.
"Something's happening inside that thing…" he whispered.
He wasn't wrong.
The island felt alive.Listening.Waiting.
The Second Training: Precision Over Power
After the tremors ceased, Alex decided to attempt the next drill.
"System," he whispered, "what's next?"
[TRAINING 2: Ki Control – Finger Flick Exercise][Purpose: Develop micro-precision, increase ki output stability.][Goal: Flick a leaf into the air using controlled ki.]
Alex stared blankly.
"…Finger flicking leaves. Sure. Why not."
He found a dry leaf on the ground and placed it on a flat stone. Then he sat, legs folded, hands resting gently at his sides. He took a long breath.
He tried to feel the energy inside him—warm, thin, flowing like a small stream rather than a river.
He focused that stream into his right index finger.
Slowly.Carefully.With absolute concentration.
His muscles tensed as he curled the finger back.Then he released a light flick—
The leaf twitched.Barely.
Poliwag made a tiny bubbling sound, unimpressed.
Alex scowled.
"Again."
Flick.
Again.
Flick.
Again.
The leaf bounced slightly.A small improvement.
He kept at it—flicking, redirecting ki, adjusting breath. Each time the leaf moved a little more. The sun rose higher, casting orange light across the clearing.
Finally, on the thirtieth attempt, the leaf lifted two inches off the stone.
Alex nearly shouted in triumph.
Poliwag blinked at him.
[Skill Improvement: Ki Precision +0.1][HOST LEVEL: 5.6 → 5.7][Progress remains slow due to host's age]
"It'll take years at this rate," he muttered.
But years… he could live with that.Better than dying here weak.
The Island Watches
As Alex trained, a shadow moved above the clearing.
High in the branches of a twisted tree, something watched him. Eyes gleamed through the leaves—wide, sharp, intelligent. The creature crouched low, swaying slightly as if studying his movements with growing curiosity.
It wasn't Primeape.It wasn't Fearow.It wasn't anything Alex recognized.
Not yet.
But it watched him with silent focus.
Poliwag sensed it first.
The Water-type froze mid-swim, body stiffening. The spiral on its belly brightened faintly, a sign of stress. Alex noticed and turned his head slowly.
Something rustled.Something climbed higher.
But it didn't attack.
Not today.
Alex stood, wiping sweat from his brow, unaware of the silent observer slipping deeper into the canopy.
A Moment of Rest
As afternoon approached, Alex gathered fallen branches and old leaves from the clearing, constructing a crude shelter beneath an overhanging stone shelf. Poliwag remained in its pond, occasionally glancing his way but not offering help—Pokémon didn't assist humans unless trained or bonded.
Alex liked it that way.It made the world feel real.
He sat under the shelter, exhaustion finally hitting him. His limbs felt like lead. His hands trembled with fatigue. The training, the fight, the fear—they all caught up at once.
Poliwag swam closer and rested halfway out of the water, studying him.
Alex smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. I'm not quitting."
The system chimed softly:
[END OF DAY SUMMARY]Level: 5.7Ki Capacity: Slightly increasedMartial Foundations: Stable but weakOverall Progress: Slow – Expected for host age
Alex closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the jungle envelop him.
He wasn't strong.He wasn't fast.He was barely even competent.
But he was improving.Slowly.Painfully.Steadily.
Master Roshi would have approved.
And as the sky darkened and the first stars emerged above the volcanic island, Alex Mercer—the boy meant for another universe—prepared for the long road ahead.
The island wasn't done with him.
And he wasn't done with it.