On the third day after returning home.
Eevee finally overcame its hesitations and approached training with a serious attitude.
However, whenever Eevee remembered being banned from shows for a week, it felt inexplicably sad.
You only understand the value of something once it's gone….
Eevee wants to watch shows!
Even just two hours a day, snuggled in bed with the Silk Scarf and phone, was precious.
Kai hadn't expected this… His original intention was to cultivate Eevee's interest in battling through media, but it had backfired slightly.
Though Eevee had been influenced and wanted to grow stronger, it had also developed another passion…
Whether movies, anime, TV series, or event highlights, it loved experiencing stories through a screen.
Perhaps because it didn't want to disappoint Kai. On the fourth day, Eevee—deprived of its shows—channeled grief into motivation and trained even more seriously.
More importantly, Eevee didn't want Kai to skip meals because of its laziness.
Thus, that day's training was far more effective. Without using Tackle for an initial burst, Eevee could now navigate the dense woods more easily, almost reaching its normal speed limit.
And because of this success, Eevee grew slightly less afraid of training.
Now, looking at the dense forest was like looking at the Sandshrew's sandcastle—only competitive spirit remained.
Freed from the Anticipation Ability's grip on its mindset, Eevee returned to the competitive little Pokémon Kai knew.
That day, they visited the Pokémon Center as usual, finally leaving under the trainee nurse's curious gaze.
The fifth day.
Kai said to Eevee: "Next, we begin training for the Quick Attack move."
"Vee!" Eevee was full of confidence, though unsure what Kai meant.
"You experienced the Tackle move two days ago, right?"
Eevee nodded.
Back then, Eevee's movements were timid, afraid to sprint at high speed. Kai had simply made it start with Tackle and forbade slowing down—even if Eevee wanted to stop, it was difficult.
This proved effective, though Eevee took a beating.
After Eevee's mindset shifted, they resumed ordinary sprints. Training should progress step by step.
"If Tackle gives you a burst of speed at the start to rapidly accelerate and strike a target, Quick Attack lets you chain that burst to attack repeatedly at high speed."
"Quick Attack requires much more stamina, strength, power, and coordination, but once mastered, it grants faster movement speed."
Eevee began to understand.
"So next, we repeat the training from two days ago—continuously using Tackle to sprint through the woods while avoiding obstacles. If you can adapt gradually, you won't be far from learning Quick Attack."
In such a dense place… continuously using Tackle?!
Eevee was psychologically prepared but still startled, looking at Kai with suspicious eyes.
"Ahem… What's with that look!"
Kai flushed slightly. Though he devised this training, it was absolutely reliable.
Eevee turned its head, wore an "I believe you" expression, and ran to the white line.
On the fourth day, Eevee could travel smoothly through the woods at normal speed. Now it wanted to see if it could push its limits and go faster.
At Kai's command, Eevee's body filled with white light, becoming a white streak that dashed out. Seconds later, the light faded—energy dissipated. This showed that in battle, Eevee's Tackle could only strike close opponents. From too far, the move would fail before connecting.
After a moment, Kai stopped the timer.
Eevee failed.
When Tackle's energy dissipated, it had to gather energy again for another Tackle, continuing the burst sprint. Clearly, Eevee couldn't control the speed well and soon hit a tree, just like on day three.
Fortunately, after two days of training, Eevee was no longer a crying child. Getting up, it simply shook off dust and resumed running. Its physical fortitude had improved significantly.
Thick skin really does come from repeated knocks….
Due to repeatedly using moves, Eevee's energy consumption was high, so this training couldn't last all day. Learning new moves was difficult, and Kai wasn't rushing. After a try, he switched Eevee to ordinary conditioning or rest.
Training continued for three more days.
On their seventh day in the Gnarled Woods, Eevee had changed notably.
Its energy control improved, and its trained stamina allowed high-speed movement for longer. Hundreds of collisions also made it more proficient with Tackle, finding the move's explosive force easier to manage.
Only coordination was still lacking.
But this didn't stop Eevee from learning Quick Attack.
After enough accumulation, Eevee naturally combined its training results and mastered the move. Watching Eevee, glowing with white light, darting effortlessly across the clearing, Kai almost teared up.
It wasn't easy. Quick Attack was harder than Sand Attack. Sand Attack might have been a fortunate accident, but Quick Attack was earned through Eevee's sweat.
After Eevee demonstrated the move, Kai picked it up and said the words Eevee had most wanted to hear these past days:
"Starting tonight, you can watch shows for two hours again…"
Eevee: I've been waiting for this!
Seeing Eevee's expression, Kai felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint it, so he just scratched his head.
"Also, to celebrate, let's end training early today."
Kai laughed. Everything was progressing smoothly. If this momentum continued, they'd put on a good show at the Rising Star Cup.