The following morning, Silas woke earlier than usual.
For a moment, he simply lay still, listening to the forest around him. The sounds were different from the caves and tunnels they had spent so much time surviving. There was no grinding stone, no distant buzzing, no sense of something waiting to ambush them from the dark. Instead, there was rustling foliage, moving water, and the occasional cry of wild Pokémon somewhere deeper in the rainforest.
It was peaceful.
Silas sat up and looked around the camp. Madam was already awake, of course. She sat near the remains of the previous night's cooking area, checking supplies with the same disciplined focus she brought to everything. Some of the Eeveelutions were still nearby, though most had retreated deeper into the forest before dawn.
His Pokémon were resting close by.
Monferno opened one eye when Silas moved, then sat up and stretched. Electabuzz followed soon after, sparks briefly crackling around its horns as it shook off sleep. Froakie was already near the lake's edge, half-submerged and looking far healthier than it had before arriving in this place.
That sight alone was enough to sharpen Silas's mood. He began his morning routine without wasting time.
His body's response to training was now distinctly different but in a good way.
Normally, his body would resist after the first stretch of exertion, especially after the previous days of fighting, running, and near-death experiences. Now, however, fatigue came slowly. His muscles worked harder than usual, but the burning sensation never built the way it should have. Every time his breathing grew heavy, the typeless energy in the environment seemed to flow through him, easing the strain and accelerating recovery.
Hermes had already explained the basics, but feeling it directly was different. Exercising here was like using a recovery item while training, except the effect was constant and passive.
His Pokémon experienced similar benefits.
Monferno moved through physical drills with more intensity than usual, chaining footwork, Flame Wheel movement, and close-range strikes without needing long breaks between sets. Electabuzz trained its reaction speed and punching motions, repeatedly generating elemental energy around its fists before releasing it in short bursts. Froakie spent most of the morning in the water, swimming, diving, and resurfacing with steadily improving coordination.
Taking advantage of Phoenix Forest was imperative. Opportunities like this rarely appeared twice.Silas understood that clearly. The lake water accelerated healing, the air supported recovery, and the food made with local ingredients enhanced the effect further. In this environment, training efficiency increased several times over, and wasting even a day would be foolish.
Later that morning, Silas and Madam explored more of the surrounding space.
The forest was larger than it first appeared. The lake and clearing were only one part of it, while the deeper rainforest stretched outward in multiple directions. The Eeveelutions had territories throughout the area, and although most were peaceful, that did not mean the entire forest lacked conflict.
There was a hierarchy here.
For the most part, the Eeveelutions avoided unnecessary violence, but Silas quickly learned that certain groups were far more willing to fight than others. The Leafeon, in particular, carried themselves differently. Their movements were calm, but not passive, and many of them treated combat almost like a natural part of communication.
Among them, one Leafeon stood above the rest.
Silas only saw it briefly from a distance, but the pressure it gave off was unmistakable. It was powerful enough that even the other Eeveelutions deferred to it, and its presence explained why the forest remained so orderly despite the number of tribes living within it.
That dominant Leafeon had become one of the strongest forces in Phoenix Forest. Silas kept that information in mind.
Whenever they came across groups of Leafeon willing to spar, Electabuzz used them as training partners. They were excellent opponents for testing his punching moves since they favored physical combat.
Electabuzz's main weakness with both moves had been activation speed.
Before, it needed several seconds to build up the necessary ice or fire energy around its fist. In a controlled setting, that was fine. In real combat, several seconds was far too long. A skilled opponent would interrupt the move before it could be released.
The Leafeon forced improvement.
They attacked quickly, using sharp movement and sudden changes in direction to punish hesitation. Electabuzz had no choice but to reduce the delay or be struck repeatedly before the move formed.
By the end of multiple exchanges, the difference was obvious.
What once took several seconds could now be released in roughly half a second.
That might sound minor, but in battle, it changed everything. Electabuzz could now use Fire Punch or Ice Punch as true counters rather than prepared attacks. Any opponent trying to engage at close range would have to account for the possibility of an immediate elemental strike.
That made Electabuzz much more dangerous at close range.
The Umbreon were surprisingly aggressive as well.
Unlike the Leafeon, who treated sparring like disciplined training, the Umbreon moved with a sharper edge. They struck from angles, used feints, and rarely approached directly unless they had already created an opening.
Silas learned that lesson the hard way.
Several times, he was forced to dodge or block as wild Umbreon tested him personally, using Quick Attack, Iron Tail, and Shadow Ball with enough control to avoid serious injury but enough force to make the threat real.
They were excellent training partners.
Their resilience made the battles difficult to end quickly, and their defensive instincts forced Silas and his Pokémon to think carefully rather than rely on raw power.
Apart from the Leafeon and Umbreon, most of the Eeveelutions did not attack unless provoked. The Jolteon were energetic but cooperative, the Flareon were warm and competitive, and the Sylveon seemed more interested in observing than battling.
Monferno naturally gravitated toward the Flareon.
Whenever he had the chance, he trained with them, focusing on Flamethrower and Flame Wheel. The Flareon were particularly skilled with Flame Wheel, moving in ways that Monferno had never managed before. They could change direction almost instantly while maintaining speed, using tiny shifts in body position and flame output to redirect themselves without losing momentum.
Monferno studied them carefully.
At first, he tried to imitate the movement and failed repeatedly, either overcorrecting or losing speed during turns. The Flareon did not mock him. Instead, they demonstrated again and again, forcing him to recognize that the move was not just about rotation and speed, but balance.
By the end of the training period, Monferno's Flame Wheel underwent a qualitative improvement. It still wasn't enough to raise the move to B-rank mastery, but the difference in control was significant.
His Flamethrower improved as well.
There was no major increase in raw firepower, but the move became much more usable. Monferno could unleash it faster while maintaining the same output, and his accuracy improved enough to make it more reliable during mid-range exchanges. That mattered because Monferno's greatest strength was mobility. Faster Flamethrower activation allowed him to pressure opponents without sacrificing movement.
Electabuzz also made progress beyond its punching moves.
The wild Jolteon, along with Madam's Jolteon, helped him develop Charge Beam. Like the punching techniques, the focus was firing speed. Charge Beam had strong potential, but the delay made it risky.
Initially, Electabuzz needed around three seconds to fire it properly.
After repeated practice, he reduced that time to two seconds.
For most people, cutting one second might not seem dramatic. For a trainer, it was massive. In a real fight, one second could decide whether a move landed, missed, or got interrupted entirely.
Silas was confident that with enough practice, Charge Beam could eventually be fired in half a second or less, just like the surrounding Jolteon.
Training was not the only thing occupying his time.
Silas continued negotiating with the Eeveelutions, producing poffins and Pokéblocks in exchange for materials, information, and training access. Using Hermes' autopilot function, he could produce up to 75 poffins and Pokéblocks each every few hours if the ingredients were prepared properly.
Even with that assistance, fulfilling requests was exhausting.
For two days, Silas worked almost nonstop, only stopping for his morning exercises and necessary rest. The process was repetitive, but valuable. Every batch improved his understanding, and every adjustment gave Hermes more data to refine future production.
He reminded himself constantly that Hermes was a tool, not a replacement for his own judgment.
If he relied entirely on the system, he would become dull. That was unacceptable. Only through training himself could he truly improve. The system would be a guiding tool, not a crutch.
The longer they stayed in Phoenix Forest, the clearer its value became.
Trace amounts of typeless energy saturated everything—the air, the water, the plants, and even the food chain. Hermes confirmed that the recovery rate of everyone present had increased dramatically. For a human exercising in this environment, the effect was almost absurd, like using powerful performance enhancers without the usual side effects.
Silas grew stronger quickly.
Not in a flashy way, but steadily. His stamina increased, his recovery improved, and his body felt more stable with every passing day.
Madam changed as well.
The effect on her was more visible. Her posture sharpened, her movements became lighter, and the fatigue of age seemed to recede from her body. She looked several years younger, filled with a vigor that made her appear closer to her forties.
She didn't comment on it much but he saw how happy Madam had become.
They remained in Phoenix Forest for almost a week.
By then, the results were undeniable.
Monferno and Electabuzz had both reached Level 38. Madam's Pokémon, except for Dragonair, reached Level 65. Dragonair itself reached Level 60, crossing into the pseudo-elite class.
That kind of growth would have taken far longer under normal conditions. Phoenix Forest accelerated everything.
The Sun God Festival would soon begin.
Silas didn't know exactly what that meant yet, but the name had come up more than once among the Eeveelutions. There was reverence attached to it, though not fear. It sounded less like a danger and more like a sacred event.
That evening, Silas went for a run through one of the safer routes near the lake.
The forest was quiet, but not unnaturally so. The air carried the familiar warmth of typeless energy, and the path beneath his feet was soft with moss and fallen leaves.
Then the space ahead distorted. Silas slowed to a halt.
A ripple formed in the air above the forest, twisting the light around it as if reality itself had been folded. The distortion widened into a spatial rift, and from within it emerged a giant multicolored bird Pokémon.
Its wings were enormous, each movement scattering radiant colors through the air. The presence it carried was overwhelming, but not hostile. It felt ancient, dignified, and impossibly heavy, as if the forest itself had been waiting for its arrival.
The bird flew forward, passing over the rainforest before descending toward a set of massive stone pillars arranged around a raised platform.
It landed there with absolute authority.
Silas remained still, watching from a distance as the glow from the rift faded behind it. For the first time since entering Phoenix Forest, he understood why the place carried that name.
And he had a feeling the Sun God Festival would soon commence.