4 Chapter 4 Skill Training

"Come on, Tailow, you can do it! Don't give up easily!"

It was already the fifth day of Tailow's weighted flight training. In these five days, the weight Tailow carried had increased from five kilograms to twenty kilograms.

Although this weight was still somewhat challenging for Tailow, it had indeed managed to fly with the stone tied to it. It was believed that with a few more days, it would adapt.

These days of training had given Rex a deeper impression of Pokémon. These creatures could truly push their limits. With Tailow's incredible perseverance and unwillingness to give up, training was not daunting or tiring.

With Rex's healing ability available, Tailow was able to push itself to the limit in training, often ending up bruised and battered. However, this was also why its strength had grown significantly in just a few days.

Now, Tailow needed to catch at least three Weedles every day to provide food for both itself and Rex. Of course, Rex only needed half a Weedle's meat a day, with the rest going into Tailow's belly.

This was unavoidable. In this place, there was no other way to replenish energy except by eating meat.

Now, when they went to the riverside to fetch water, Rex could feel the decrease in the number of Weedles. After all, Pokémon, like any other creatures, sought to avoid danger and seek advantage.

"Chirp, chirp!"

That was the sound of Tailow returning from its hunt.

To Rex's surprise, this time Tailow brought back not Weedles, but a Spearow.

Spearows were hot-tempered Pokémon that liked to attack humans and their Pokémon, and they often lived in flocks.

For most novice trainers, Spearows were one of the biggest dangers in the forest.

"Tailow, how did you catch a Spearow today? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Rex examined Tailow and found that aside from some ruffled feathers, it hadn't sustained any injuries.

After eating Weedle meat for so long, Rex was a bit tired of it, so the change in taste was welcome.

Not only was Tailow training these days, but Rex also kept busy with exercises. However, he had to leave the healing opportunities for Tailow, so he didn't push himself too hard.

Rex took the Spearow to the beach for processing. Since it was a bird, he didn't discard the innards but cleaned them thoroughly. He planned to make soup with some wild vegetables he had found.

Perhaps because they were tired of Weedle meat, both Rex and Tailow found Spearow meat much tastier.

After lunch, both Rex and Tailow rested for a while before starting the afternoon training session.

"Tailow, starting today, you'll do weighted flight training in the morning and skill training in the afternoon!"

Rex felt that Tailow's physical fitness had reached its limit in a short time, so he shortened the training sessions.

He intended to focus on skill training in the afternoon because, in battles, skill usage was the key factor in determining victory.

"Chirp, chirp!"

Tailow now completely trusted Rex. After all, its strength had improved significantly in just a few days of training. The Spearow it hunted today was one of the culprits that had almost killed it before.

Although it had been surrounded and heavily injured by three Spearows at that time, with its previous strength, it could only fight them evenly, unable to gain an upper hand.

But today, it killed a Spearow with just a few strikes.

This change was real.

"Tailow, use Quick Attack to dash through the forest with agility, then use Peck when you're close to the target!"

Now, this forest area near the beach could be considered Tailow's territory. Except for insect Pokémon, other Pokémon had been driven out by it, so there was some assurance of safety.

Rex utilized the complex terrain of the jungle to create a simple training ground and used a plastic bottle as a target for Tailow to attack.

At the beginning, when Tailow used Quick Attack to fly swiftly, it often couldn't control its direction, resulting in collisions with trees. Due to the high speed, Tailow would often become dizzy from the impact.

However, Tailow would shake its head and continue training each time, only stopping when it couldn't fly anymore, at which point Rex would heal it.

While Tailow practiced, Rex also began his own training, running back and forth in the complex jungle environment to improve his agility.

A true trainer couldn't just stand by and watch their Pokémon train. Without effort to improve alongside their Pokémon, there would come a time when the trainer's level couldn't match their Pokémon's strength, leading to disobedience in battles.

Just like Ash's Charmeleon in the anime, it obeyed him well as a Charmander. However, after evolving into Charizard, it acted according to its own will.

It was only after a long time, when Ash gained Charizard's trust through his actions, that he could command Charizard in battles again.

Pokémon had their own thoughts. If a trainer couldn't meet their expectations, why should they obey?

So, while training Tailow, Rex also worked on improving himself. It

 wasn't just physical exercise but also understanding Tailow's personality, mastering skills, and coordinating them effectively.

Only with enough understanding of Tailow could he give accurate commands in battles, assisting Tailow in defeating opponents more quickly and effectively.

Many novice trainers, when they first received their starter Pokémon, couldn't give correct commands in battles due to lack of understanding of their Pokémon's personality and abilities, leading to failures.

The more failures there were, the more the Pokémon would distrust the trainer, leading to disobedience in battles, following their own will instead.

Fortunately, Tailow's strength had grown rapidly under Rex's training, so even though its strength had increased quickly, it wouldn't look down on its trainer.

This kind of training continued for about half a month, with both Rex and Tailow living fulfilling days. Especially for Tailow, its rapid growth in strength left it insatiable.

"Tailow, the meat is ready, dig in!"

After breakfast that day, Rex and Tailow decided to leave this place and head to the human town.

Through this period of training, Tailow's size had increased significantly. From its original height of about 0.3 meters, it had grown to about 0.5 meters, almost catching up to poorly developed Staraptors.

Now, Tailow could fly with a stone weighing around 25 kilograms, and its flying speed was not slow.

In terms of skills, Rex focused on training Tailow's combination of Quick Attack and Peck.

Now, even in dense forests, Tailow could use Quick Attack to fly swiftly without colliding with trees as it did at the beginning.

Moreover, with the speed boost from Quick Attack, the power of Peck had greatly increased.

Now, when hunting Weedles, Tailow only needed to use Quick Attack to approach them and then finish them off with a deadly Peck without any response from the Weedles.

Counting the days from Rex waking up until today, it had been more than 20 days, so he didn't plan to stay here any longer.

Humans were social animals. If it weren't for Tailow's company, Rex didn't know if he could have survived for so many days. Perhaps loneliness would have overwhelmed him!

To leave this secluded place as soon as possible, Rex made many preparations.

He had Tailow catch more prey every day and turn the surplus into jerky, which could be preserved for a long time and eaten on the road.

Then, he let Tailow find the way out. Tailow often flew out multiple times a day and, after exploring in different directions, finally found the way out of the forest.

After completing these preparations, Rex finally made up his mind to set off for the human town.

Although he didn't know what difficulties he would encounter on the way, he believed that with Tailow's current strength, he would definitely be able to make it out.

Not only did Tailow trust him, but he also trusted Tailow.

(End of Chapter)