The ground sucked under his boots with every step. Too soft. Too wet. Too full of moss pretending to be something solid.
Orion kept walking anyway.
He hadn't said a word since Grotle evolved. Not because he was mad. Not because he was shocked. Because he was tired. And trying to process the fact that his team was now officially too big to hide, too strong to bluff with, and somehow still too green to trust in a real Gym fight.
Shinx trotted beside him, tail flicking like he was listening to music only cats could hear.
Grotle trudged just behind, his weight audibly pressing into the earth.
Tyrunt brought up the rear, head low, eyes scanning for food, danger, or anything worth breaking.
Orion adjusted his pack, wiped sweat off his brow, and muttered, "Okay. Let's plan."
Training Phase Two – Real Development
He started with Tyrunt.
Tyrunt, the baby dragon with impulse issues.
Right now, Tyrunt could crush rocks, bite through bone, and flip a boulder if it annoyed him. But strength wasn't the problem. Control was.
If Tyrunt was going to become something more than a war beast, he needed tactics.
Orion tapped his fingers against his hip and started muttering aloud.
"Stealth Rock first. Anchor-based training. Get him to place and retreat. No throwing. Just set and forget."
Tyrunt glanced at him, snorted, then flicked a pebble off the trail like a moody teenager.
"We start with field layouts. I'll mark them with sticks. If he can drop Rock energy into the zone without alerting Shinx, that's a pass."
He paused.
"Then: Dragon Tail. Needs precision. No more wild sweeps. Start training against moving logs—simulate opponents."
He looked back at Tyrunt.
"And you need to stop biting everything. Start choosing targets. Limb? Hold. Throat? Finish. Make it a decision, not an accident."
Tyrunt yawned. Loudly.
Orion flipped him off without turning around.
Next: Grotle.
Still adjusting to his new body. Still walking like his knees were surprised to be knees.
But the raw power? It was obvious now.
Orion glanced back.
Grotle was like a low-slung tank. He looked like he could stop a car. Maybe flip one if he got a running start.
"First thing," Orion muttered, "is balance. You're slower now. So we start with mobility under pressure. Tight turns. Tree weaving. Maybe add weight training if you somehow aren't heavy enough already."
He made a face.
"And we need to redo your entire energy draw pattern. Your Absorb is probably five times stronger, but your anchor points are new. Need to test if you can feed mid-fight without pausing."
Then came offense.
"Razor Leaf is stronger now. But less stable. Need arc drills. And terrain targeting."
And finally…
"Anchor training. You're not fast, but you're unstoppable. Teach you how to hold a line. Intercept, block, redirect. You're going to become the wall they crash into."
Behind him, Grotle grunted. A low, deep sound that rattled Orion's boots.
He didn't turn.
"Yeah. That's right. You're terrifying now."
And finally… Shinx.
Who was currently trying to balance on a tree stump and failing because his own tail wouldn't stop twitching.
Orion sighed.
"Where do I even start with you?"
Shinx jumped off the stump, ran a circle around Orion's leg, and purred.
"I don't want to like you."
Purr.
"Stop that."
Purr.
"Fine. You win. I'll train you."
Shinx chirped like he'd won the lottery.
"First up: ambush drills," Orion muttered, mostly to himself. "You're fast, small, and annoying. I need you to hide and strike. Not warn people with your little anime sound effects."
Shinx tried to climb onto Grotle's back.
Grotle didn't notice.
"You'll learn to time your shock with the exact moment your Bite lands. We'll use logs first. Maybe padded packs if I want to keep my nerves intact."
"And then," Orion said, pausing, "we're doing follow-ups. One-two strikes. Tackle into Bite. Scratch into Spark. Whatever feels natural."
He looked down.
Shinx was now curled on his boot.
"Impulse control, too. You're cute. You're electric. But you shock early and run late. We train stillness. I'll use berries. You move before I whistle, you don't eat."
Shinx flattened his ears.
"You heard me."
He pulled out his journal and scribbled while walking:
Tyrunt: Stealth Rock placement drills. Dragon Tail + hazard redirection. Bite training—disarm/disable.
Grotle: Mobility correction. Enhanced Absorb (mid-fight draw). Anchor training. Interception techniques.
Shinx: Ambush + shock timing. Tethered Bite. Follow-up strikes. Stillness drills. Patience → reward.
And then he added:
Whistle Training – Begin Phase One.
Three tones.
Low whistle = regroup at Orion.
Sharp double chirp = prepare for ambush.
Long single tone = fall back.
He pulled the small metal whistle from his belt. It wasn't fancy. Just a clean, silver loop with a sharp tone.
He blew the first tone.
Low. Steady.
Tyrunt stopped and looked back.
Grotle kept walking for four steps, then realized the others weren't beside him and paused.
Shinx ran directly into Orion's shin like he'd just discovered gravity.
"…Okay," Orion said. "We're going to be here a while."
They spent the next hour drilling just that.
Low whistle.
Regroup.
Low whistle.
Regroup.
Orion didn't expect perfection. He just wanted instinct to form.
By the third round, Tyrunt was already walking back without command.
Grotle grunted like he hated the sound but complied.
Shinx… well.
At one point he ran the wrong direction, jumped into a bush, and tased a poor Caterpie that had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Orion walked over, picked him up by the scruff, and sighed.
"You are both a crime and the evidence."
By sunset, the training was over.
They camped near the edge of a narrow hill basin, no fire, just a soft bed of pine needles and silence.
Tyrunt curled into a low trench and stared at the sky.
Grotle lay like a boulder at Orion's back.
Shinx nuzzled up under his arm and purred like a machine that ran on pure affection.
Orion looked up at the canopy and breathed in the scent of bark, soil, and exhaustion.
"Alright," he whispered. "Now we build."