After seven days of bitter cultivation, Ariel's team had undergone a complete transformation.
By the gloomy shores of the Lake of Rage, the air was permeated with a lingering, damp, and cold mist, mixed with the faint scent of blood.
The sky here was always a dull gray, as if weighed down by a massive block of lead, making it hard to breathe.
Ariel stood atop a jagged black rock, his gaze calm as he watched the scene ahead.
Krookodile let out a low growl, its crimson pupils flickering with a light that craved battle.
It opened its massive jaws, not to roar, but to condense a surge of power.
A second later, yellow sand manifested out of thin air. It was no longer the crude, all-encompassing field of the past that blinded friend and foe alike; instead, it was forcibly compressed, twisted, and shaped by an invisible force.
"Compress the Sandstorm into a blade."
Ariel's voice wasn't loud, but it reached Krookodile's ears clearly.
Before his voice had even faded, that highly condensed mass of yellow sand instantly transformed into a crescent-shaped sand blade. With a piercing whistle of breaking air, it slashed fiercely toward a half-person-tall reef by the lake.
"Squelch—"
The hard reef was sliced open like tofu, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror.
The sand blade's momentum didn't stop there; it plunged into the lake, kicking up a turbid wave of water.
Level 43.
Krookodile's control over Sandstorm was now effortless.
Offense and defense in one, moving according to its will.
Over these seven days, it had poured nearly all its energy into developing the forms of its skills, with remarkable results.
Ariel was very satisfied; this was the style of combat he wanted—precise and lethal.
In a nearby clearing, Malamar floated in mid-air, a translucent barrier shimmering with iridescent light expanding around its body.
The spiral patterns in its eyes rotated slowly. Its mental power spread out like flowing mercury, exquisitely controlling every energy node of the Light Screen.
A Goldeen leapt from the lake and spat a Water Gun at the Light Screen. Unfortunately, the attack vanished without a trace the moment it entered the barrier.
Light Screen was already capable of weakening special attacks; an attack of this caliber simply disappeared upon contact.
Malamar waved its tentacles and exerted its mental power. The Goldeen traced a graceful arc through the air, falling back into the water with a splash, floating belly-up and unconscious.
Level 40, Superior rank.
Malamar was the second Pokémon in the team to cross this threshold. Its mental power had become increasingly profound, and the defensive strength of its Light Screen could now withstand some quite formidable attacks.
Ariel even felt that with proper training, it could eventually use its mental power to interfere with reality and achieve incredible feats.
Meanwhile, Weavile's figure darted and flickered through a pile of rocks on the other side. Specially made lead weights were bound to its limbs; every time it leapt and landed, it left a clear imprint on the ground.
Its speed might have slowed a fraction under the weight, but the sound of the wind with every claw swipe was heavier and sharper than ever before.
At level 38, it was undergoing a new round of fusion between strength and speed.
Frogadier sat cross-legged on Ariel's shoulder, eyes closed, feeling the flow of energy within its body. That foam scarf was more solid than it had been five days ago, giving off a faint sensation that it was about to undergo a transformation.
Level 33. It was getting closer and closer to its final evolutionary form.
Ariel's gaze swept over each of his Pokémon before finally resting on the Pokémon egg in his arms.
Throughout the training, Ariel had kept this egg with him at all times.
After all, Pokémon had a psychological tendency to bond with their masters. A ferocious Pokémon like Hydreigon required even more attention.
Ariel wanted to ensure that the moment Deino hatched, he would be the first thing it noticed.
The eggshell's temperature was significantly higher than before. He could clearly feel the pulse of the small life inside—thump, thump—strong and vigorous.
It was almost time.
He withdrew his gaze and looked toward the center of the lake.
The sky there was dyed into a chaotic mess of firelight and water pillars almost every day.
The training methods of that burly man, Corona, were simple and crude to the extreme.
He had his subordinates use special equipment to cordone off an area of the lake, threw his Charizard and Blaziken inside, and then drove several wild Gyarados into the pen.
It was a fight between caged beasts, a bloody battle against elemental disadvantages.
Charizard's Dragon Rage and Blaziken's Blaze Kick faced off against the furious Hydro Pumps and Twisters of the Gyarados.
Almost every day, Ariel could hear the desperate shrieks of dying Gyarados and the unyielding roars of Charizard.
He couldn't judge whether this training method was right or wrong; he could only admit that its results were terrifyingly effective.
Corona's Charizard grew more domineering and powerful by the day.
If Corona was a raging fire, then Viper was a cold, lingering venom.
This woman's training methods were second to none in terms of sheer brutality.
Her training ground was in a valley at the rear, shrouded all day in a purple poisonous mist that would make any ordinary person dizzy just by stepping near.
Ariel had once caught a glimpse from afar and felt his scalp go numb.
Viper's Drapion and Scolipede were like two greedy gluttons, devouring other Poison-type pokémon sent in every day.
Their auras became increasingly sinister and treacherous through the killing and devouring.
What made Ariel feel even more chilled was the so-called 'Gu Pit.'
A massive deep pit into which hundreds of various Poison-type pokémon were thrown—Ekans, Koffing, Grimer, Nidoran♂... They engaged in the most primitive and bloody slaughter inside just to survive.
In the end, only a single Arbok survived, covered in blood.
Ariel had seen that Arbok.
It was a size larger than its kin, and the patterns on its belly were a strange, eerie dark purple. Its eyes lacked the usual liveliness of a pokémon, containing only dead silence and a crazed killing intent.
Viper seemed very satisfied with this creation and had already begun cultivating it as a new main force.
Ariel withdrew his thoughts and let out a soft breath of turbid air.
Compared to these people, Dar's training methods could almost be considered gentle.
His Froslass simply fought constantly against various opponents.
But Ariel knew that in Dar's so-called battles, there was no such thing as stopping when the point was made.
None of his opponents just lost the ability to fight; they lost their lives.
Furthermore, unlike Corona and Viper, Dar had also specially trained his other Pokémon besides his main Froslass.
Dar's Gengar, Banette, and Mismagius each radiated an ominous aura.
Especially that Gengar; Ariel had seen it several times after a battle, dragging ethereal things out of an opponent's shadow and then licking its lips with satisfaction.
These people were complete lunatics, monsters.
But it was precisely this that gave Ariel the motivation to compete.
If his opponents were too mediocre, Ariel would actually be somewhat disappointed.
"Yo, finished training?"
A slightly raspy voice came from behind.
Ariel turned to see Dar leaning against a withered tree. His Froslass floated like a ghost by his side, its ice-blue eyes looking over indifferently.
"Just about," Ariel replied calmly.
"Your Pokémon are quite good."
Dar's gaze swept over Krookodile and Malamar.
"They grow quickly, and their foundations are very solid."
"Yours aren't bad either." Ariel's gaze fell on Froslass.
"Heh,"
Dar gave a light chuckle, his laugh devoid of any discernible emotion.
"Just some petty tricks that can't be shown in public. Unlike Corona and Viper—they are the ones who truly know how to breed monsters."
His words sounded like self-deprecation, but Ariel detected a different flavor in them.