"It doesn't matter. I doubt this kid will stay here for very long anyway. After all, if he can't teach us anything in the end, he'll probably be too embarrassed to stick around."
Elliot grinned as he said this.
Meanwhile, Nathan spent over half an hour working through the information of just one hundred people. He really had no choice—most of these soldiers' Pokémon were completely different from one another.
Every single Pokémon possessed its own traits, strengths, and weaknesses. If one wanted to draw out a Pokémon's maximum potential, it wasn't as simple as giving it routine training.
What was truly needed was targeted training.
Although he had come here with the main purpose of teaching them the Navy Six Styles, since he was already here, there were some additional things he felt obligated to do.
"Form up!"
Nathan finally set down his pen, satisfied as he glanced at the now densely written notes before him, then barked the order.
Upon hearing his words, the hundred-man unit quickly gathered together.
"Next, the ones I call by name will step forward and stand to the side."
"Elliot Nurwick! …"
One name after another was called. Before long, the hundred-man squad had been divided neatly into two groups of fifty each.
For a moment, the soldiers didn't quite understand what Nathan was planning.
"I won't be staying here for too long. So, starting tomorrow, mornings will be for class, and afternoons will be for battles."
"Crane Watson, you pick one team to lead. I'll lead the other. From today onward, you hundred men will be divided into two teams."
His voice wasn't particularly loud, but it carried clearly, and everyone heard him.
This sort of team split wasn't anything new—they'd undergone similar types of training before. But if that was all this was, then why was there any need for Nathan to personally oversee it? They could have done it themselves.
"Dismissed. Crane, come collect the teaching materials."
Nathan didn't bother saying too much. He had already decided that the teaching of the Navy Six Styles would officially begin tomorrow. For today, his goal was to familiarize himself with the men and let them first take a look at the fundamentals of the technique.
Crane followed Nathan to the printing room. The notes Nathan had written yesterday had already been transcribed into the computer system.
A hundred sets of the Navy Six Styles manual were printed out and handed directly to Crane.
"This is the Pokémon Six Styles—my original creation. Distribute them when you return and have everyone memorize the material by tomorrow."
The time was short, and the task was heavy. Nathan had no choice but to push them hard from the very beginning.
The handouts were three pages each, adding up to at least four to five thousand words. Memorizing them all would probably take seven or eight hours of work.
Crane had seen the materials himself when they were printed. Every page was crammed full of tiny, dense writing.
He felt like this was deliberately making things difficult for them. Forcing them to memorize so much in less than a single day—if this wasn't troublemaking, then what was it?
"Teach… Instructor, this much material, to memorize it all in under a day… isn't that a little…"
Crane couldn't help but plead on behalf of his team. He had a good relationship with his men, and now, on the very first day, Nathan was demanding something so unreasonable—it was hard for him to accept.
Nathan, however, was unmoved.
"Too much? Compared to the time we have, this is nothing. Instead of wasting time complaining to me, you'd be better off taking these back and making sure they start memorizing right away."
His voice was firm and merciless.
With that, Nathan left, no longer caring about what Crane thought.
Disappointed, Crane carried the stack of papers back to the barracks. Soon, the hundred copies were distributed among the men.
"These must all be memorized before training tomorrow."
He spoke without energy, holding onto his own copy as he prepared to leave. He didn't even need to look to know that his soldiers were all scowling in dismay.
But just as he was about to turn away, a sudden exclamation rang out.
"This…! These moves are incredible! I never thought Pokémon could fight like this!"
A soldier stared at his manual in shock.
That was only the beginning.
Before the first voice had even faded, another followed:
"Forget one day—if you asked me to memorize this every day, I'd still be willing!"
One astonished shout after another rang out.
Crane froze in place, dumbfounded.
Weren't they all supposed to hate memorizing manuals? In the past, whenever they'd been ordered to memorize material, everyone resisted it bitterly. Yet this time… they all loved it?
Puzzled, he glanced down at the papers in his hands. At first, he didn't understand the fuss. But after reading through a portion, he suddenly realized it himself.
Before he knew it, he had joined the ranks of those muttering in awe—another convert to the "smells so good after all" camp.
By ten-thirty that night, lights-out had arrived.
But Crane and his squad were still immersed in studying the manual, mulling over every word.
The shrill whistle finally snapped them out of their thoughts, and when they saw the time, they were stunned.
Unknowingly, the hours had flown by.
Just then, someone's stomach gave a loud growl.
The hunger spread through the squad all at once. So immersed in the manuals, they had missed dinner entirely.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll ask for extra food to be prepared. Tonight, you'll just have to go hungry."
With that, Crane retired to his own quarters.
The next morning, while eating breakfast, his mind was still filled with the techniques from the manual. By now, he had completely forgotten his resentment about being forced to memorize everything in a single night.
…
"Did you finish memorizing the manuals from yesterday?"
Standing before the reinvigorated hundred-man squad, Nathan raised his voice.
"Yes, sir!"
The difference from yesterday was night and day. Today, each soldier's face was brimming with excitement.
To them, obtaining that kind of precious manual was like being given priceless treasure.
Even Nathan himself was surprised at how energetic they looked.
"Good. Then today, I'll explain some of the concepts in more detail."
By noon, Nathan set his cup of water down and announced:
"That concludes this morning's lesson. After you eat and rest, we'll meet at the training field."
But no one moved.
They hadn't had nearly enough.
Whether it was strategies for Pokémon battles or explanations of new techniques, they wanted more.
"Instructor, could you keep teaching us a little longer?"
Crane, who knew his men well, immediately guessed what they were thinking from their expressions.
As soon as he spoke, the others nodded in agreement.
"Enough. We'll continue during the afternoon battle session. You've been sitting motionless all morning—if you're not exhausted yet, I certainly am."
Nathan gave a weary smile.
In just that one morning, he had lectured for over three hours without pause, drinking two full bottles of water to keep his throat going.
When the soldiers heard that there would be more during the afternoon battles, they reluctantly dispersed.
After lunch and a short rest, Nathan headed for the training grounds.
The squad was already assembled, waiting eagerly.
Seeing their high spirits, Nathan couldn't help but laugh.
He was genuinely happy—because what he had in front of him was a group of sparring partners.
And not just any sparring partners, but strong ones.
Many of his own Pokémon needed opponents to practice against—like Mewtwo, Pangoro, or Zeraora.
Now, this squad was like a tailor-made sparring team for him. And the best part? They were asking to serve as his partners.
"Come out, Mewtwo."
Nathan released his Mewtwo on the field.
At the sight of such an awe-inspiring Pokémon, the squad members could only gaze in envy.
So powerful, so magnificent—when would they ever have Pokémon like that of their own?
"This is my Mewtwo. Who wants to be the sparring partner for a demonstration of the Pokémon Six Styles?"
Nathan's eyes swept over them.
"Me, me, me!!"
"Let me do it!"
The moment the words left his mouth, over a hundred soldiers shouted at once, jostling to volunteer.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Nathan chuckled softly, then pointed at Crane.
"You'll do."
(End of Chapter)