"Brother Icarus, sorry—I'm a bit late."
Seeing Icarus already waiting outside,
Shitou (Stone) scratched his head awkwardly.
"It's fine. I just got up early."
Icarus waved it off and started walking forward with Houndour.
"Let's go. I want to see how strong you've gotten, Shitou."
"Alright. Let's go, Geodude."
"Hey-cha~"
Geodude responded and followed at his side.
Icarus couldn't help noticing how similar Geodude had become to Shitou—quiet, steady, and action-oriented. A Pokémon really did take after its Trainer.
At the City Gate
Since Houndour hated staying in a Poké Ball, it was immediately noticed by the guards.
"Where'd you get that Houndour? Looks good!"
"I bought it," Icarus replied casually. "Training mid-level Pokémon takes too long, so I wanted a main attacker. Fire-type fits well."
A guard stepped forward, examining Houndour with envy.
"Nice choice. Good quality too. Plus, dog Pokémon are great for tracking."
Icarus nodded.
"That's exactly why I picked it."
Entering the Wild
As soon as they left the city, Houndour became restless, sniffing everywhere.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Houndour, quiet," Icarus warned. "Too much noise will expose your position."
"Woof…"
Houndour immediately lowered its voice.
First Target: Caterpie
At the forest entrance, Icarus took out a piece of Caterpie meat.
"Houndour, smell this. Find more like it."
Houndour sniffed, then lowered its nose to the ground, tracking.
Soon—
"Woof!"
It found them.
Through binoculars, Shitou counted.
"Six Caterpie. How do we handle this?"
Icarus didn't answer directly.
"If you were alone, what would you do?"
Shitou thought for a moment.
"I'd use Magnitude to stun them, then Rock Throw to take out two, and finish the rest with rolling attacks. Geodude might get slightly injured, but it should work."
Icarus nodded.
"Not bad. You've improved."
Then he adjusted the plan.
"But now we have Houndour. Geodude opens with Magnitude, then keeps up Rock Throw. The rest—leave to Houndour."
"Got it."
Battle Begins
"Geodude, Magnitude!"
"Boom!"
The ground shook violently, stunning the Caterpie.
"Houndour, Ember!"
"Rock Throw!"
Flames and rocks split the battlefield.
Two Caterpie burned down.
Two were crushed.
The remaining two tried to escape—
"Houndour, Roar! Then Thunder Fang!"
"ROAR!"
The Caterpie froze in fear.
Houndour lunged—
Crunch. Crackle.
Electricity surged through its fangs.
One Caterpie went down instantly.
But the last one counterattacked—
Tackle!
"Bang!"
Houndour was knocked back.
The Caterpie, emboldened, charged again.
"Houndour, Ember!"
Flames engulfed it mid-charge.
It collapsed, defeated.
Battle Review
Icarus nodded.
"Well done. Your Ember was excellent."
Then his tone sharpened.
"But you hesitated in close combat. You don't need to hold one target for so long. Hit, release, move on. Understand?"
"Woof!"
Houndour nodded seriously.
Second Target: Weedle
"Three targets this time," Icarus said. "We try something new."
"Magnitude first," Shitou nodded.
"Houndour, Smog after."
"Boom!"
"Fwoosh—!"
The battlefield filled with thick, dark mist.
Inside the fog, Weedle panicked, firing Poison Sting blindly.
"Houndour, Ember—aim through scent!"
"Geodude, Rock Throw into the mist!"
Within seconds—
All three Weedle dropped.
Growing Experience
By afternoon, Houndour had fought multiple battles.
Its movements became sharper. Faster. More decisive.
This wasn't just training anymore.
It was real combat experience.
Final Target: Rattata
"Next—Rattata," Icarus said. "This time, Geodude tanks."
Shitou nodded.
"These guys are fast. I struggled with them before."
Geodude clenched its fists angrily.
"Let's settle it today."
Houndour tracked the scent quickly.
Two Rattata appeared.
"Same start—Magnitude!"
"Boom!"
The Rattata lost balance.
"Houndour, Ember!"
Flames hit—but didn't finish them.
They rolled, extinguishing the fire, then charged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Houndour hesitated.
"Geodude, block!"
"Bang! Bang!"
The Rattata bit into stone—then got knocked back.
"Houndour, now—Roar!"
"ROAR!"
They froze.
"Thunder Fang!"
Houndour lunged.
At the same time—
Geodude used Rollout on the other.
The battle ended quickly.
Houndour bit down—
Electricity surged—
Then—
Crunch.
This time, there was no energy left to protect the target.
Blood dripped from Houndour's jaws.
Drop by drop.
For a moment, the young Houndour looked like a true wild predator.
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