With Torchic finally settled, Nova found his schedule unexpectedly quiet.
It wasn't that he was in no hurry to set out on his journey. The problem was timing. Sprigatito had been alive for less than two weeks and hadn't been in a real battle yet. Torchic was brand new to the team. Taking off now would have been rushing things.
On top of that, Aresdra had asked him to wait for the Lapras egg she had arranged — it was still incubating, and meeting that new teammate before heading out felt like the right call. Two weeks, give or take. He could work with that.
Training, in the meantime, could not stop.
Growlithe had reached Level 16 and was firmly out of its baby phase. It had grown noticeably — nearly the size of a fully-grown specimen — and that meant its training needed to keep pace with its body. Nova had been putting it off long enough.
According to the Cultivation System, the priority was accuracy.
Rock was Growlithe's primary type, and Rock-type moves had a well-earned reputation for being unreliable. The strongest move currently in its kit — a powerful Rock-type Egg Move it had inherited — had a base accuracy that left a lot to be desired.
This wasn't a video game, though. Accuracy wasn't just a fixed number on a stat sheet.
A Pokémon that barely understood a move could miss with a technique that should theoretically never go wide. Conversely, one that had drilled a move into muscle memory could land it far more consistently than the base numbers suggested. Practice was the variable that made the difference, and enough of it could close the gap almost entirely.
The Cultivation System gave Nova another option as well — just as he had once added a tag to improve Nidorino's Toxic, he could attach an accuracy-boosting modifier to Growlithe's Rock-type moves directly. But he preferred to build the foundation through real training first. Tags worked better on something that already had shape.
He cleared the backyard for it.
It took most of a morning to drive off the wild Pokémon that had drifted near the property. Once the area was empty, Nova marked out a range roughly the size of a football pitch and designated it Growlithe's training ground.
There was more land available if he wanted it. The South Mountain range sat about two kilometres out, and given enough time and a stable team, a Professional Trainer could gradually push their territory all the way to a natural boundary like that. Wild Pokémon would learn to avoid the area once they understood what lived there.
For now, the backyard was enough.
He ordered a large granite boulder from the Harmony City quarry — top-grade stone, dense and hard. The idea was simple: Growlithe would practice its Rock-type move against the boulder until the motion became reliable, then move on to precision work against moving targets.
By coincidence, Growlithe's own Rock typing made the pairing feel somewhat appropriate. Nova noted this and decided it counted as training with a sparring partner of similar composition.
The Rock Head Ability took recoil entirely off the table, which helped. Growlithe felt no pain from the impacts, did not associate the move with discomfort, and — somewhat alarmingly — appeared to be having a genuinely good time. Each collision produced a satisfying crack. The dog was delighted.
After five consecutive impacts that left a visible fracture running through the boulder, Growlithe dropped onto the grass, tongue out, chest heaving.
The energy was completely gone.
Nova crouched down beside it.
This, he had discovered, was the most reliable method for keeping Growlithe from destroying the house. Run it until it had nothing left. A tired Growlithe was a cooperative Growlithe. The window was narrow, but it existed, and he fully intended to use it.
"Out of steam after five hits?" he said, in a tone of exaggerated concern. "I thought you were supposed to be the terror of the household. Where did all of that go?"
From his shoulder, Sprigatito added a firm "Nyaa" in support. She had an unerring instinct for when Nova was teasing someone and consistently took his side in those moments, regardless of the target.
Growlithe flattened its ears, stared at the sky, and did not move.
Good enough. Nova called the session done.
The plan going forward was straightforward: get Growlithe comfortable with the move through repetition until it could crack the boulder clean through, then move to precision drills on targets that didn't hold still. One step at a time.
It was only mid-afternoon. He snapped the lead onto Growlithe's collar — the dog, entirely depleted, offered no resistance whatsoever — tucked Sprigatito into the crook of his arm, and headed out toward the river path.
Nova found this oddly satisfying.
For as long as he could remember from his previous life, he had wanted exactly this — just walking along somewhere quiet with a Pokémon beside him. His first two partners were wonderful, but taking Nidoking or Corviknight for a casual riverside stroll had a very different energy to it. They looked less like companions on a walk and more like a security detail. This was something else entirely.
The river path through Harmony City was busy in the afternoon. A short distance ahead, a cluster of people had gathered around an open paved area near the water — a battle plaza, informal and well-used. Trainers were running casual matches, calling out moves, rotating through their teams. It had the same relaxed, social atmosphere as a pickup basketball game: anyone could join, skill levels varied widely, and nobody was particularly precious about winning or losing.
Pokémon battles filled that role in this world. The same instinct that once sent people to courts and pitches sent them here instead.
Nova drifted over, Sprigatito in his arms and Growlithe trailing on the lead behind him, and put on his most harmless expression.
"Mind if I join?" he asked the nearest group, keeping his voice easy. "I'm still pretty new to this — not great at battling yet."