Seeing Corvisquire and Gastly respond so eagerly, Shiro nodded in satisfaction.
Training was the best part of the day—for both trainers and Pokémon.
"Good. Looks like you two are full of energy," Shiro rubbed his chin, thinking about the training plan. "Corvisquire, let's focus on your speed today. I'll strap a weight to you. As for Gastly… keep practicing your moves. Try to master every single one you know."
"Coor!"
"Gaass!"
The two Pokémon called out enthusiastically.
Shiro then grabbed a 20-kilogram weight and fastened it securely to Corvisquire. The bird took off excitedly, flying to the horizontal bar on the wall to start its training. Gastly, on the other hand, floated over to the Pokémon training dummies, launching moves one after another.
With an endless supply of Pokéblocks, they didn't need to worry about running out of energy.
Off to the side, Dreepy and Drakloak stretched their necks, tilting their heads curiously. They watched the two Pokémon train with wide eyes.
They had never seen a trainer put Pokémon through training before. Usually, they just ate, slept, and somehow got stronger over time.
Shiro didn't bother them. He wasn't experienced enough to train Dragon-types properly anyway—not yet. For now, he just wanted them to get used to this lifestyle. Once they settled into the rhythm, everything else would fall into place.
As for Growlithe...
"Groow!"
The Fire-type seemed to think everyone was playing a game. It wasn't familiar with the others yet, but that didn't stop it from bouncing around Shiro, tongue wagging happily.
'This one's a bit slow on the uptake. Looks like it won't get into the training mood anytime soon,' Shiro thought to himself, exhaling softly. He reached down and gave Growlithe a gentle pat on the head.
Then he noticed Drakloak staring with wide, curious eyes, floating over and circling around the dog.
Growlithe, a little nervous at first, quickly became fixated on Drakloak's semi-transparent tail. Without thinking, it started chasing after it. Soon enough, the dragon and dog were running in circles together, spinning around like a pair of hyper kids.
Shiro sighed, tapping his forehead lightly.
'Well, at least Drakloak won't be bored. Let it drag Growlithe around for a bit.'
With that settled, he could finally start his own training.
As a trainer, leading by example mattered. He didn't expect to fight like a humanoid Pokémon, but at the very least, he wanted to be physically stronger than other trainers.
In the wild, if two trainers' Pokémon ended up in a stalemate, sometimes the fastest way to settle things... was to take the other trainer down yourself.
If his Pokémon were locked in a tough battle, Shiro thought it was perfectly reasonable to win by taking the opponent out directly.
He grabbed a dozen weights, strapping them to his arms, legs, waist, and back, practically covering himself in a layer of iron.
Altogether, it weighed about 50 kilograms.
His body strained under the load, but thanks to relentless training, good nutrition, and his naturally sturdy build, he could manage—barely.
He forced himself through a dozen push-ups before collapsing to the floor, panting.
After a moment to catch his breath, he pushed on.
Shiro didn't care about fancy training methods. At the end of the day, fighting boiled down to two things: strength and speed.
He drilled squats and push-ups like a madman, imagining the day he'd be strong enough to take down an Elite-level Pokémon with his own hands.
...
Noon came quickly.
Macro Cosmos Headquarters, 9th floor.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime. Marvin stepped out first, followed by Allister.
"Hey, you sure Shiro and that woman are here?" Marvin asked, one hand stuffed in his pocket as he glanced sideways at the boy next to him. Not that he expected an answer.
Ever since Allister arrived, he wandered alone between the training rooms and the cafeteria. Sometimes, he didn't even return to his room. Every day was just him and his Pokémon training endlessly.
Just like his quiet, eerie personality, Allister specialized in Ghost-types.
Marvin wasn't a fan of those spooky little things—especially since most of them were rumored to drain a person's life force.
Allister didn't reply. He simply walked straight to a training room door lit with a red indicator, then tilted his head toward another room nearby.
Marvin followed his gaze. The other room's light was red too, meaning it was occupied.
"They both came to the ninth-floor training rooms this early?" Marvin muttered, raising a brow. "That in sync? Don't tell me they knew each other before this... but Shiro never mentioned—"
Before he could finish mumbling, Allister suddenly raised his hand and knocked on the metal door. The dull, rhythmic sound echoed through the hall.
"Uh…" Marvin froze for a second, then reached out and pressed the indicator button of the other room.
A crisp chime rang out, followed by a smooth, gentle female voice:
"Mr. Shiro, currently in training—you have visitors."
Click!
Panting slightly, Shiro cracked the door open. When he saw it was Marvin, he pulled it the rest of the way open.
"What's up?" Shiro leaned out, glancing around. He spotted Allister standing not far away.
Marvin wasted no time, grabbing Shiro's arm and dragging him out.
"Forget training for now. Squad A5 scored a batch of Exp. Candy. Plus, our whole team's here now. Come meet everyone."
While he spoke, the door in front of Allister clicked open too.
Nessa stepped out, her eyes landing on the boy in front of her before shifting to Shiro and Marvin, looking puzzled.
All she cared about was training, getting stronger, and eventually challenging the Gym Challenge competitors. She didn't get why everyone was gathering instead of focusing on their own training.
"We're all here now!" Marvin raised his voice, pulling out a small, sky-blue candy from his pocket. "You know what this is, right? Exp. Candy—helps Pokémon get stronger fast."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nessa leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "You saying it's for us?"
"Yep!"
Marvin tucked the candy away again, sighing in frustration.
"If you guys actually checked your room for updates or grabbed a comms device, you'd already know. But nooo, I gotta round everyone up one by one… Pack your stuff. Let's hit the elevator."
...
A while later, everyone stepped into the elevator one after another. And with Marvin's explanation, they understood the situation.
There were two hunting teams assigned specifically to support their special mission squad—A5 and B5. These were also the strongest teams within Macro Cosmos' Pokémon hunting division.
The A5 squad had only two members, both of whom were elite-level trainers, widely known in the Galar region before they were recruited into the company.
One of them was the trainer who used Mamoswine and Vanilluxe to intercept Drakloak the day before.
"A5 found those Exp. Candies near the ruins in Stow-on-Side," Marvin added, keeping it brief. "You either extract these from Pokémon or dig them out of old ruins. Either way, they're rare."
"How many are there exactly?" Nessa asked from the side. "Is there enough for everyone?"
Ding~
The elevator reached the first floor. As the dark gray alloy doors opened, Marvin scratched his short, orange hair and answered helplessly.
"Of course not. There's no way it's enough for all of us."
With that, he led the group out of the elevator, heading towards the left side of the lobby, where an old, hunched woman stood silently beside a tall green plant.
"This is Granny Shae," Marvin introduced. "She's an elite-level trainer specializing in Ice-type Pokémon, one of A5's members."
"Heh heh..." Granny Shae chuckled softly. She wore plain white clothes, and leaned on a black iron cane. "So, it's you all... and that boy from yesterday too."
Her eyes settled on Shiro, as if she could see straight through him to the Drakloak hiding in his shadow.
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