After challenging Champion Cynthia, Paul wasted no time in taking his Pokémon to the Pokémon Center to recover their strength.
To allow his Pokémon to heal and fully absorb the experience of battle, he specifically gave them a full day of rest—no training, no exertion, just time to process their growth.
The following day, training resumed near Celestic Town, making the most of their time to reinforce what they had learned before the insights faded.
Refining Strategies and Battle Modes
Garchomp's training was straightforward—it built upon its battles against Bertha and Cynthia, further honing the Sandstorm and Ancestral Awakening techniques.
The goal for Sandstorm was to reach a level where it functioned like Bertha's Hippowdon's storm or the quicksand vortex of Sand Tomb—turning a typical weather effect into a tool of both offense and control. Rather than merely affecting the battlefield, it needed to actively damage opponents especially those of Ground, Steel, and Rock types, making Sandstorm an all-purpose technique for attack, defense, and battlefield manipulation.
So far, only a select few had demonstrated mastery of this level—Bertha's Pokémon and Cynthia's Garchomp.
As for Ancestral Awakening, Garchomp continued refining the technique, attempting to trigger it without relying on Dragon Dance as a prerequisite.
Meanwhile, Ursaring stuck to its usual endurance-based training. It continued the painstaking practice of tricking its Guts Ability and Endure move into recognizing a burn status—simulating the benefits of a status boost without actually taking damage.
If perfected, this would make battles significantly longer and allow Ursaring to stay in the fight while maximizing its power output.
During their break, Paul still hadn't given up on teaching Ursaring Slack Off.
Though the move wasn't something Ursaring could normally learn in the games, reality was different—there was always a chance!
If Ursaring could master Slack Off, it could restore its HP right after using Belly Drum, recovering lost stamina and allowing it to sustain peak performance in extended battles.
Electivire's training was more straightforward—it continued studying Natural Meditation while incorporating Psychic into practical combat.
By refining its use of Psychic, Electivire aimed to scan opponents' movements in advance, developing a form of predictive combat similar to Maylene's Meditite ability to read an opponent's next move.
For this, its sparring partner was Dewott, which was diligently sharpening its Swordsmanship and Blade Intent through relentless practice.
Torterra was focused on mastering Solar Beam and Frenzy Plant, working toward a seamless execution where both moves could be launched without charging time or suffering any recoil effects.
At the same time, its Growth ability remained active without pause, constantly increasing its potential.
Torterra's sparring partner was Froslass, which was refining its Phantom Tactics.
With Snow Cloak, Double Team, and Illusions, Froslass created a battlefield where even a powerhouse like Torterra struggled to land a hit—as long as it didn't use Magical Leaf or the psychic-tracking techniques derived from it.
Instead of engaging in direct offense, Froslass focused on heavy debuffs—utilizing moves like Fake Tears, Charm, Scary Face, Attract, and Captivate, while occasionally throwing in Will-O-Wisp for added disruption.
Despite Torterra launching dozens, even hundreds of Solar Beams and Frenzy Plants, none of them connected.
Meanwhile, Froslass continuously drained Torterra's stamina with its status-inflicting techniques.
If not for Torterra's ability to heal itself, it might have been outright defeated during the training session.
This battle reinforced an undeniable truth—no matter how strong an attack is, if it can't hit, victory is impossible.
Finally, after nearly half an hour of relentless effort, Froslass finally made a misstep due to exhaustion and was struck—bringing the battle to an end.
Another lesson was learned—even if you can't land a hit, as long as you endure long enough, victory is still within reach.
"Not bad. Aside from lacking raw power, your overall improvement is remarkable."
Paul commented while treating Froslass' injuries.
"Eeno~"
Froslass rested in Paul's arms, letting out a satisfied hum, her pure gaze reflecting his image with a faint smile.
However, once her wounds were healed, Paul gently patted her head, standing up as he shared his next set of instructions.
"Try using Double Team to launch debuff moves like Charm, Attract, and Scary Face. Don't always rely on your real body—strong opponents will catch on quickly. Also, focus on increasing your proficiency to enhance the effectiveness of your debuffs."
Since Double Team clones had no physical substance, attacking with them was nearly impossible.
Of course, Paul had ideas on how to make that a reality—it would require mastering Substitute and Double Team to an extreme degree, allowing illusionary copies to act as solid bodies.
However, the time investment and natural talent required were far too high. Unless a strategy specifically demanded turning clones into solid attackers, there was no point in pursuing such a difficult path.
On the other hand, using illusions to perform Scary Face or Captivate was much simpler. With a bit of psychic manipulation, Froslass could make it appear as though multiple clones were launching debuffs at once.
"Eeno~"
Froslass nodded—she had already experimented with this during her battle against Garchomp.
However, the debuffs had taken too long to apply, making little difference compared to using them directly. Paul's suggestion was valid—it needed focused training.
As for the issue of lacking raw power, the only solution was continued training, Natural Meditation, and Yoga to improve overall strength.
"You're allowed to use psychic-tracking techniques to locate Froslass, but you may only attack using Solar Beam and Frenzy Plant."
Paul instructed Torterra.
At this point, Torterra was already near perfection—there were no major weaknesses left to address, except for improving the precision of its attacks.
"Raaaa~"
Torterra responded enthusiastically, though its gaze drifted toward Paul's hands clearly expecting something.
At that moment, Garchomp and Ursaring—both battered from their own training—approached with similar expectant looks.
"Alright, heal them up."
Paul placed a hand on Torterra's head, issuing the command.
"Raaa~"
With a pleased rumble, Torterra activated Forest's Healing, converting stored energy into a radiant glow that spread over its teammates.
Within moments, Garchomp and Ursaring's wounds visibly faded, and their stamina was quickly restored.
"During training, don't just mindlessly rely on brute force. Treat every session as a real battle—attack fiercely, strike quickly, and aim precisely. Unless I've restricted certain moves, fight with everything you've got."
Paul instructed as their recovery continued.
"Ursa~"
"Gaaa~"
Ursaring and Garchomp exchanged glances before breaking into mischievous grins.
Did Paul really need to remind them?
Among all of his Pokémon, they were the last ones he needed to worry about holding back.
Once their battle modes activated, they fought to the limit with no hesitation and no mercy—striking as if every match was life or death.
"Once you're fully healed, resume training."
Paul's gaze shifted toward Dewott.
Electivire was progressing steadily, but Dewott—having undergone a transformation in its swordsmanship—was different.
After yesterday's battle, it had grown colder, sharper, and resembling a true blade more than ever.
Paul couldn't help but be slightly concerned about its psychological state.
Still, with only a few days left before returning to the Pokemon facility, there wasn't much to worry about—Reggie and the others would handle any lingering issues.
For now, his priority was seizing this breakthrough and pushing their growth to the next level.
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