The blinding white pillar of evolution light slowly began to contract, condensing into a much wider, bulkier silhouette.
The slender, circular fra of Poliwhirl was gone, replaced by a broad-shouldered, muscular powerhouse.
The light shattered like glass, revealing the stoic form of Poliwrath.
He stood nearly five feet tall, his upper body packed with thick, dense muscle. His powerful arms, covered in pristine white gloves, were crossed tightly over his swirling chest.
His gaze, once eager and energetic, had transford into the stern, disciplined look of a veteran martial artist.
"Rrath..." Poliwrath let out a deep, rumbling growl that vibrated the walls of the training room.
Eric opened his system to check the results.
---
Pokémon: Poliwrath
Gender: Male
Level: 33
Type: Water/Fighting
Ability: Swift Swim
Held Item: None
Potential: Purple
Energy Grade:
Water type - Mid-Grade 3(Excellent)
Fighting type - Initial Grade 2 (Refined)
Moves: Water Gun (I), Hypnosis (B ), Mud Shot (B ), Pound (B ), Bubble Beam (B ), Muddy Water (B ), Water Pulse (B ), Protect (I), Rain Dance (B ), Ice Beam (B ), Surf (B ), Brick Break (B ), Submission (B)
---
'It worked,' Eric thought, a wave of satisfaction washing over him.
The top-quality Water Stone had successfully triggered a core mutation during evolution, upgrading Poliwrath's potential from Blue to Purple.
His water-type energy had also broken through to Mid-Grade 3, while his newly awakened fighting-type energy sat comfortably at Grade 2.
"Good job," Eric said, walking up to him.
Poliwrath uncrossed his arms, looked Eric in the eye, and bowed respectfully in a traditional martial arts stance.
He was stoic and quiet, but the absolute trust and respect he held for Eric were unmistakable.
To test his new strength, Eric had Poliwrath strike a heavy iron training dummy in the corner of the room.
With a simple, non-amplified punch, Poliwrath's gloved fist slamd into the iron block.
BANG!
The iron deford instantly under the sheer kinetic force, leaving a deep fist-sized crater.
Poliwrath didn't even flinch. His natural bulk and newly gained fighting-type muscles made him a terrifying close-quarters combatant.
With Poliwrath excitedly testing out his new strength, Eric turned his attention to his future plans.
He pulled out the two remaining Poké Balls on his belt, releasing Ralts and the injured Gardevoir.
A flash of light revealed the two psychic types. Ralts imdiately hid behind her mother's dress, her red eyes peeking out warily.
Gardevoir, sitting weakly on the floor, offered Eric a soft, tired smile.
Eric decided against starting Ralts's training imdiately.
She had gone through a massive
emotional ordeal, and forcing her into battle right now would only damage her ntal state.
'She needs to be in top condition first, both physically and ntally,' Eric decided.
He reached into his spatial watch and brought out a container of advanced-level custom Poke blocks.
Yes, Advanced-level! After gaining Bill's information and upgrading, his system had created a crafting thod that allowed Eric to craft advanced pokeblocks even at his level.
He had spent a fortune on high-grade psychic and fairy-type ingredients to craft these, specifically designed to soothe damaged cores and nourish growing infant Pokémon.
He placed a few blocks in front of them.
"Eat. It will help you recover."
Ralts sniffed the pink, star-shaped block. Encouraged by her mother's gentle nod, she took a tiny bite.
Her eyes imdiately lit up. Having spent her entire short life running from wild predators and human gangs, she had never tasted anything so pure and condensed with energy. She happily grabbed the block with both hands and began devouring it.
Gardevoir took a block as well, eating it gracefully. As the high-grade psychic energy dissolved in her mouth, her eyes widened in surprise. She felt a soothing, warm current flow straight to her cracked energy core, dulling the constant, aching pressure she had been enduring. She looked at Eric with a gaze full of profound gratitude.
Leaving them to rest, Eric focused the next few days on his other Pokémon.
Growlithe's training was progressing at a breakneck pace. Now at level 12 and possessing Grade-1 peak fire energy, the pup's physical maneuvers were becoming sharper by the day.
But the most fascinating progress ca from Haunter's special training.
---
3 days later.
In a secluded forest clearing outside Saffron City, Eric watched as Haunter prepared to demonstrate what they've been working on.
"Show ," Eric said.
"Kekeke!"
Haunter laughed wickedly and sank straight into the dirt, disappearing completely.
Using his dense Ghost-type energy, Haunter forcibly injected his power into the ground.
Suddenly, a dark, circular, artificial shadow erupted outward from the spot where he had subrged, rapidly expanding to cover a ten-ter radius.
The air within this artificial shadow domain grew freezing cold, and the grass withered instantly.
Suddenly, Haunter erged from the far-left edge of the shadow. He then dipped back and, in less than a second, his form vanished and instantly reappeared on the far-right edge.
He could erge from any single point within this artificial shadow field
instantly, giving him a terrifying mobility advantage.
'This is incredible,' Eric thought, his eyes shining.
This maneuver was only possible because Haunter's ghost-type energy had reached the middle of Grade 4.
The density of his energy allowed him to temporarily claim the surrounding ground as his personal shadow domain.
He was suddenly looking forward to when Haunter reached Grade 5.
The gap between each grade was bigger than the previous one. Grade-5 was the standard of a King-level Pokémon. Even for prodigies, reaching that level with a Pokémon before the Pseudo-King level was incredibly rare.
"Good job, Haunter. Now keep this field active. I want to see how long you can maintain it."
"Haunt."
Haunter shouted excitedly, wanting to show off.
30 seconds later.
Pant. Pant.
"30 seconds, huh. We have to work on that."
"Haunt..."
"Don't look so glum. You made good progress."
This move exhausted Haunter too much after 30 seconds, so it could only be used as a last resort.
--------------------------------
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