Xia Henao was the type of person who acted on impulse, and when he had an idea, his execution was top-notch. He looked around and then headed towards a fairly large Pokémon Center.
As one of the few 24-hour official facilities, the Pokémon Center was brightly lit even at the ungodly hour when everyone else was asleep. Xia Henao walked in and immediately requested a 24-hour training room.
Although Xia Henao didn't have a trainer's license from Fenxue, and the certification system in Minglong Country was different from Fenxue's, he still managed to rent a training room.
Once inside, Xia Henao threw out his Poké Balls, releasing all his Pokémon. As soon as Aipom appeared, it tried to snatch Xia Henao's hat, but was met with a stern glare from Oshawott, who was standing behind Xia Henao, and promptly sat back down.
Xia Henao clapped his hands and said, "For the next while, we're going to give Rockruff some special training."
As he spoke, Xia Henao poured out countless Poké Balls, mixing in Rockruff's Poké Ball as well: "You all should use these Poké Balls to throw at Rockruff. Rockruff, your job is to use your claws to bat all these Poké Balls away, and make sure you don't get caught by your own Poké Ball, understand?"
The Pokémon nodded, indicating they understood, except for Rockruff, whose dog-like eyes remained fixed on Xia Henao, expressing his displeasure.
I'm not human, but you might be a real dog, kid. Is this what you call special training? Throwing Poké Balls at me? Have you seen how big Poké Balls are? If they all hit me randomly, you'll be smashing my brain out of my skull, do you know that!
Xia Henao reached out and ruffled Rockruff's head: "Alright, alright. At the end of today's training, I'll treat you to steak. Fenxue steak, something you can't get in Many-Cherry or even here in Minglong Country."
Mention of steak made Rockruff's eyes light up for a moment, but could a single steak truly buy the unyielding soul of Rockruff?
Xia Henao knew he probably needed to sweeten the deal. So, he pulled out his phone, searched for a picture of a stargazy pie with blue cheese, and began to threaten Rockruff: "If you don't behave, I'll treat you to this."
Rockruff glanced at the stargazy pie. Although the dish looked rather abstract, canine Pokémon were generally omnivorous. Unless it involved ingredients of a type that countered them, they'd eat pretty much anything.
Xia Henao racked his brain, desperately describing the horrific combination of blue cheese and stargazy pie. His silver tongue's verbal assault directly shattered Rockruff's psychological defenses. While Rockruff was willing to endure a lot for food, he had never heard of such bizarre flavors as those described by Xia Henao.
To protect his taste buds from being ruined, Rockruff stoically marched towards his training. Meanwhile, Xia Henao covered his mouth and went to the restroom.
Well, all he could say was that the combination of blue cheese and stargazy pie was too potent. Even Xia Henao, who had only spoken of it, felt a strange taste in his mouth, and his stomach churned intermittently. After a bout of dry heaving in the restroom, he felt slightly better.
After rinsing his mouth, Xia Henao returned to the training ground, vowing never to use that tactic again. A strategy that inflicted a thousand wounds on the enemy while costing oneself twelve thousand was simply too foolish.
He glanced at Rockruff, who was in the midst of training, and found a spot in the corner of the training ground, deciding to take a nap. While he needed to build rapport, a person couldn't resist sleep when they were truly tired.
Xia Henao lay down on the ground, enjoying the good geothermal heating of Fenxue. As soon as he closed his eyes, a Poké Ball precisely hit his head. Dazed, Xia Henao opened his eyes and looked over. Aipom was scratching its head with its tail, putting on a sheepish expression. It had gotten a bit too carried away with its three-handed attack, and one stray Poké Ball had woken Xia Henao up.
Of course, that was Aipom's explanation for the incident. Xia Henao suspected it was revenge. He considered swapping out Aipom, but its high-speed attacks were an indispensable asset for training. So, Xia Henao called Diancie over to his side: "Diancie, could you please keep an eye on me?"
Diancie held out her hand, making a gesture for a hug. Xia Henao obliged, hugging Diancie close and saying, "Go ahead, Diancie, I'm counting on you."
With that directive given, Xia Henao could rest assured. However, he still explained to Oshawott: "Right, Oshawott, the reason I'm not using you is twofold. First, your strength is perfect for Rockruff's special training. Second, you're too strong, and I'm worried you might break the Poké Balls. I don't mind the other Poké Balls, but if you accidentally break Rockruff's Poké Ball, that would be a real problem."
Oshawott nodded with a cool, aloof expression, as if to say, "I understand." Xia Henao nodded back, indeed, a worthy successor to the Oshawott he had raised since childhood.
And so, amidst the clanging and clamor in the training room, Xia Henao began his theoretically brief light sleep.
As for Rockruff, who had started training, his situation was rather dire. Although he was also a fast Pokémon, he was facing opponents who were quite skilled at throwing things.
Take Aipom, for example. With three hands attacking simultaneously, one Pokémon was equivalent to three combatants, and it was clearly enjoying itself. Oshawott, while only having two hands, had trained with Xia Henao in throwing all sorts of Water Shurikens. Xia Henao had even developed a series of moves based on Water Shuriken, all of which Oshawott had learned and applied masterfully. The newly arrived Breloom, though only slightly newer than Oshawott, had a good aptitude for combat-type Pokémon.
Looking around, besides the obedient Diancie leisurely guarding Xia Henao's slumber, only Shedinja seemed relatively easy to overcome with its languid demeanor.
With that thought, Rockruff decisively abandoned his defenses against Shedinja and concentrated on dealing with the attacks from the remaining three Pokémon. Shedinja, despite its laziness, couldn't resist Aipom's mischievous influence. It chattered away to Shedinja, promising to share its portion of the combee honey if it helped out.
The poor Shedinja, no match for a monkey's cunning, was unwittingly drawn into the plot to torment Rockruff. Shedinja had its own strategy. It wasn't particularly willing to move, and even the combee honey couldn't motivate it to go all out. But a lazy Pokémon had its lazy ways: if I can't increase my attack density, I'll increase your evasion intensity.
Shedinja drifted sluggishly in front of Rockruff, blocking his line of sight. As for the Poké Balls flying from all directions, Shedinja didn't care; they were all considered Normal-type attacks unless thrown with the move "Fling." However, if Aipom were to truly use "Fling," it would affect its attack speed, which would be undesirable. Therefore, Shedinja was quite confident.
Shedinja's interference made Rockruff's already difficult situation even more troublesome. The constant barrage of Poké Balls put him under immense pressure, and with his vision obscured, he was hit several times before long. Although he swung his claws to bat away some of the flying Poké Balls, Rockruff dared not go all out.
After all, among this pile of Poké Balls was the one that could capture him. If he got hit by that one, who knew when he'd see them again.
But then again, Rockruff couldn't figure out how Xia Henao would identify his own Poké Ball among so many. If it were accidentally called out, it would be troublesome to return it. He couldn't possibly test them one by one, could he? There were at least five hundred balls on the field.
Xia Henao, already asleep, hadn't considered this question, but he no longer had to, because just a moment ago, Aipom had already given him the ball. Yes, it was the Poké Ball that had hit Xia Henao's head.
But in truth, even if that hadn't happened, Xia Henao wouldn't have tested them one by one; that would be too foolish. Xia Henao, who was adept at leveraging external forces, would have had Rockruff test them himself. If you can't find your own home, that's your problem...
...
Let's disregard the "heartless" Xia Henao for now and focus on Rockruff and the others who were brawling. As the special training continued, Rockruff gradually began to adapt to the attacks coming from all directions. After all, a Pokémon's attack patterns were limited, and the lazy Shedinja couldn't keep up with Rockruff's intentionally increased speed, so it soon withdrew from the special training. Therefore, Rockruff was truly starting to find his footing.
Although Rockruff was gradually feeling better, the Pokémon that understood Xia Henao's thoughts the most, or rather, the one most like Xia Henao, was Oshawott, who had grown up with Xia Henao and appeared aloof.
You've adapted to this pace, have you? Then it's time for me to increase the intensity. You know, I can use Double Team. If I can't handle you, or rather, subdue you, based on physical prowess alone, then I'll resort to clones.
Oshawott's body flickered, splitting into two. Both Pokémon simultaneously threw Poké Balls at Rockruff. The sudden change in pace instantly stunned Rockruff. Aipom's eyes practically sparkled. Coach, what move is that? I want to learn it too!
Aipom's reaction was completely different from Rockruff's. Rockruff was suddenly facing increased intensity, and Rockruff knew full well that with Oshawott's strength, creating a dozen clones to throw Poké Balls at him would be no problem.
Rockruff couldn't help but look at the sleeping Xia Henao. Damn it, hurry up and wake up! I can't take it anymore!