Masamune suddenly shot out from behind Muramasa and rushed toward the base of the Waterfall.
Remaining at the bottom for ten seconds, Masamune suddenly opened its eyes and looked upward, its body radiating a sky-piercing aura. Waves of energy rippled through the air, creating a powerful wind that rushed toward Eichi and Muramasa. As expected of an Elite Four rank Pokémon, its presence was truly extraordinary.
Masamune charged upward against the falling water. Holding its twin claws above its head, it vibrated its wings and shot forth. Within two seconds, it had ascended from the bottom to the very top.
From a distance, Masamune looked like a pair of scissors cutting the Waterfall in half.
It did not use any moves. It broke through the Waterfall relying solely on its raw, fundamental strength.
The water only reconnected after three seconds. This incredibly shocking sight stunned Eichi; Masamune was simply too powerful.
Muramasa turned around and said, "This is your next training task. Without using any moves, rely entirely on your own impact force to charge from the bottom to the top of the Waterfall. Eight days have passed, and you have 22 days left. While breaking through completely in that time might be unrealistic, reaching the halfway point shouldn't be a problem. We will proceed to the next training method in one week."
Having finished his piece, Muramasa led Masamune away, leaving Eichi to figure out the rest.
Only Eichi and Scizor remained. Scizor had been staring at the Waterfall since the demonstration.
"Teacher Muramasa thinks you can only reach the middle of the Waterfall in 22 days," Eichi noted. "What do you think?"
Scizor didn't claim it could definitely break through in the allotted time, but its reply was firm. Sciz-cha! (I want to try!)
"Go ahead," Eichi encouraged. "Give it a try."
Scizor nodded and vibrated its wings to charge toward the Waterfall. It imitated Masamune by raising its claws above its head. Once under the lashing water, it vibrated its wings frantically and surged upward. It started off well enough; despite the heavy pressure, it maintained a steady ascent.
However, the higher it went, the heavier the pressure became. Scizor began to struggle. It felt its stamina dropping rapidly, yet it continued to push through.
When it reached the one-third mark, Scizor came to a halt. No matter how much strength it exerted or how fast its wings vibrated, it could not move up another inch. It felt as if its entire body were filled with lead. Under the constant flow of the water, the vibration frequency of its wings began to slow down.
It could only barely maintain its position. Its stamina continued to drain until it reached its absolute limit. Scizor felt unwilling to give up after making it only this far.
Seeing its struggle from afar, Eichi shouted, "That's enough! Come back, Scizor. Don't overexert yourself."
Scizor acted as if it hadn't heard and continued to endure. Eichi felt a bit helpless; this fellow was ignoring his words again.
A moment later, Scizor finally reached its breaking point. Its mind went blank as it lost consciousness. Its wings stopped moving, and the Waterfall swept the Pokémon downward.
This is bad, Eichi thought. He quickly released Beedrill. "Beedrill, save Scizor!"
Beedrill shot forward at extreme speed and caught Scizor on a Rock at the base of the Waterfall. It then carried Scizor back to the Riverbank. Once placed on the Ground, Scizor regained consciousness.
Eichi didn't know whether to scold it or praise it. "Scizor, this was just an attempt. There's no need to be so desperate. You'll have plenty of opportunities later. Reaching that height is already impressive, but let me tell you, there are techniques to breaking through a Waterfall. You won't succeed just by charging blindly."
Realizing it had been reckless, Scizor sat quietly to rest without a word.
After addressing Scizor, Eichi turned to Beedrill. "Beedrill, you try too. Remember, it's just a test. Don't force yourself."
Beedrill nodded and flew out. Crossing its twin needles above its head, it observed the Waterfall from the base for ten seconds before suddenly vibrating its wings to charge upward. Like Scizor, it felt the immense pressure and the water slowing its wing vibration.
When Beedrill reached the one-third mark, the pressure increased significantly. However, Beedrill was different from Scizor. Its strength was already much higher, meaning it hadn't reached its limit yet. It had only used eighty percent of its strength initially, saving the last twenty percent for this exact moment.
Beedrill suddenly accelerated, surging upward a significant distance in an instant.
However, as it approached the halfway point, Beedrill also hit its limit. Rising even a single centimeter became extremely difficult.
Resting on the Riverbank, Scizor watched Beedrill's attempt. Seeing that Beedrill had only managed to go a bit further than itself, Scizor felt a visible sense of relief. Beedrill also realized it couldn't go any higher and decisively gave up, flying out of the Waterfall to rest by Eichi.
While the two Pokémon rested, Eichi released Heracross to let it try. Heracross was clearly unsuited for this training. Its weight and speed were insufficient, as breaking through a Waterfall required extreme explosive power and velocity. It reached the one-quarter mark before giving up and flying back.
Eichi looked at the Waterfall, recalling the image of Masamune's breakthrough. After reflecting, he realized Masamune hadn't used any special techniques; it had simply relied on its overwhelming power to charge straight up. Masamune was a Pokémon at the peak of the Elite Four Rank, and this small Waterfall was trivial for it.
While Eichi was preoccupied with his training, the selection tournament for the Two-Academy Exchange Match was being held far away at Silver Academy.
Most students had gathered on the first floor of the Battle Hall. Kelly and Tetsu had also arrived. Tetsu felt confident in securing a spot given his strength.
Kelly, however, was a different story. She was incredibly nervous, and her palms were sweating.
Eichi, Sato, and Konan were absent because they had already been granted direct entry.
Tetsu looked around and noticed many new faces compared to last time. By his rough estimate, there were nearly thirty students present. The atmosphere was heavy with tension.