As it was the first day of training, and Eevee needed time to adapt, Kai didn't push too hard. He focused on exercising various foundational qualities, ending with physical conditioning.
A little in the morning, a little in the afternoon, and a little in the evening—Eevee and Kai ran back and forth 100 times.
Kai was about to collapse, his legs sore. But to set an example for Eevee, he couldn't give up first. He clenched his teeth and accompanied Eevee through the day.
After returning home…
Eevee was exhausted.
Since there were no injuries and there had been rest periods, a trip to the Pokémon Center wasn't necessary.
Kai gave it an Oran Berry—purchased in advance—to restore its stamina, followed by plenty of milk for nutrition. After a hot bath, Eevee quickly curled up in its Silk Scarf and fell asleep.
After a full day of exercise, Eevee slept soundly. Though Kai was also sleepy and tired, he still needed to summarize the day's training and plan for tomorrow.
"Progress is too slow…"
Looking at the messy notes in his notebook, Kai felt a headache.
After 100 rounds, Eevee managed a round trip under two minutes, but it wasn't enough.
It was still too slow.
"We'll have to step it up tomorrow."
With that, Kai put down his notebook, collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep.
The next day, as the sun rose, the alarm woke Kai and Eevee from deep sleep.
Upon waking, Kai felt sore all over. He glanced at Eevee—the little guy was fine and lively, clearly thanks to the Oran Berry.
Oran Berries were a type of Berry originating from Secret Realms, which held many plants with magical effects. Berries were a prime example. The Oran Berry restored a Pokémon's stamina. Though the recovery wasn't huge, it was sufficient for Eevee's low-intensity training.
However, even though Oran Berries were among the most widely cultivated, demand was high, making them expensive—more so than common Berries. For Kai and Eevee, this training was burning through money.
And when they eventually needed the Pokémon Center, costs would rise further…
It could be said they were betting most of their resources on the Rising Star Cup.
This was also why Kai was worried.
On this new day, according to schedule, Kai would take Eevee to the same spot for training. But Eevee suddenly balked.
Its reluctance was obvious—yesterday's work had tired it out, and now it didn't want to repeat the boring routine.
"Eevee!"
Kai looked at Eevee, who had curled up inside the Silk Scarf. He pretended to be angry. "We made an agreement."
"You said you were going to take part in the Rising Star Cup."
"Vee…"
As Kai spoke, Eevee slowly poked its head out, wearing an "I'm desperate too" expression.
Keeping enthusiasm for a whole day is already pretty good, okay? Vee!
But remembering its promise to Kai and the cool Pokémon from the movies, Eevee's expression shifted as if making a major decision. It reluctantly hopped onto Kai's shoulder.
"That's more like it… We have to work hard today! Together!"
On this day, Kai and Eevee began the second round of training. Without special emphasis like yesterday, Eevee still unconsciously slowed to avoid obstacles. Watching for a while, Kai sighed.
Well, looks like I need to use the trump card.
"Eevee, come here."
"Listen, to stop you from slowing down instinctively, we'll change the starting method today."
"Vee?" Eevee was puzzled.
Kai drew a white line. "From here, use the 'Tackle' move to launch forward. Use Tackle's burst to accelerate, and from start to finish, don't slow down until you hit an obstacle. Of course, if you can avoid it, even better."
"Vee!!!!!"
Kai made it very clear. Eevee's hopeful mindset shattered instantly.
"Here, look at this." Then Kai took a white spray bottle from his backpack.
"I've got medicine ready for you."
Eevee: :(*￣︿￣), I'm even more worried.
Training continued. Eevee carefully prepared, then used Tackle as instructed. Dashing out, it accelerated into the dense woods. Within seconds—bang—it collided with a tree. The strange trees in this forest were very hard. With Eevee's small frame, even using Tackle only left a faint white mark. Knocking one down was impossible; its impact wasn't lethal yet.
At that moment, Eevee was like a pancake stuck to the trunk. As it slid slowly to the ground, it nearly cried out in pain, immediately looking back with tear-filled eyes.
Kai facepalmed. Though he'd intended to train Eevee's physical fortitude, seeing an accident, he immediately ran over with the medicine.
He now felt uneasy about letting Eevee battle. If hitting a tree was like this, taking a Flamethrower or Thunderbolt could be fatal.
No wonder people said Eevee wasn't suited for battle—the experts weren't lying.
Kai's problem was this: though he'd reduced Eevee's resistance to training through movies and shows, it was still hard for it to overcome fear of pain and fatigue. If he'd started with a stubborn, irritable, battle-hungry wild Pokémon, this wouldn't be an issue. But for a newcomer Trainer choosing a gentle Eevee like Kai, it was a hellishly difficult start.
"Nothing to be done." In fact, Kai had done plenty of research and consulted seniors. Eevee's training intensity wasn't abnormally high. Pokémon's adaptability surpassed human imagination, but Eevee's mindset hadn't shifted yet, so he had to be firm.
Actually… it wasn't just mindset.
There was a reason Kai's start was harder than 99.9% of newcomer Trainers.
Earlier, he'd vaguely discovered Eevee's Ability… It was Anticipation.
Abilities were special traits every Pokémon possessed. For example, the Overgrow Ability boosted Grass-type move power when the Pokémon's stamina was low. Guts increased Attack when the Pokémon had a status condition like burn or poison.
Most Abilities benefited Pokémon in battle, but some were detrimental, like Truant or Slow Start. Using a Pokémon's Ability flexibly could yield unexpected battle results. Currently, Eevee's Anticipation was like a double-edged sword.
At present, Pokémon Abilities weren't fully understood—at least Eevee's Anticipation wasn't publicly documented.
The Anticipation Ability held great tactical value, allowing a Pokémon to sense an opponent's dangerous moves in advance and use subconscious perception to reduce danger.
However, the prerequisite was that the Pokémon mastered this Ability.
Eevee, for instance, clearly hadn't mastered Anticipation. Now, the Ability was a burden, constantly affecting it.
Every time before encountering danger… like when about to hit a tree, it would instinctively shrink back—clearly due to its unmastered Anticipation.
The Ability could be considered part of the Pokémon itself, and a Pokémon's personality could be influenced by its Ability, which Kai didn't find strange.
Therefore, for Kai to help Eevee overcome certain psychological barriers, he'd also need to indirectly help it overcome the drawbacks of its Ability.
This Stump Sprint Method could be said to kill multiple birds with one stone. In Kai's training plan, besides foundational qualities and moves, he also intended to use this method to help Eevee exercise its Ability.
But that was for later—only after Eevee adapted to current training. The main method would be to blindfold it and repeat the drills, no longer relying on sight but on the instinct from the Anticipation Ability, thereby training the Ability effectively.
"Eevee…." Kai sprayed medicine on Eevee, watching the bruises fade almost instantly. He said helplessly, "We've got a long way to go…"
Oran Berry: A Berry that restores a Pokémon's stamina, highlighted as an essential but costly part of the training regimen.