"Cubone, Bone Boomerang!"
"Cu!"
At Leo's command, Cubone let out a sharp cry and suddenly hurled the thick bone club in its hands.
The bone spun rapidly through the air. After striking the target in front of it, it curved back as if pulled by an invisible force, returning neatly to Cubone's grasp.
Bang...bang...bang...bang...
Standing at the rear, Leo couldn't help but clap. Cubone's performance over this period had far exceeded his expectations.
Especially after learning Bone Boomerang, Leo had started seriously considering exploring the nearby rocky mountains.
"My Cubone is amazing!"
Leo walked up and praised it without hesitation.
Cubone looked indifferent as always, but the faint blush spreading beneath its skull helmet gave it away.
Leo didn't mind. After spending so much time together, he had come to understand Cubone's personality well.
Cold on the outside, silent pride on the inside.
Pokémon grew especially fast in their early stages. In just a month and a half, Cubone had grown nearly ten centimeters taller, and its strength had increased dramatically.
Although it still hadn't reached the excellent tier, if this growth continued, breaking through within another month wouldn't be unrealistic.
By the time training ended, it was already past midnight when Leo returned to the ramen shop.
The customers and staff were gone, but faint sounds of training could still be heard from the backyard.
Although Captain Yusaku loved making ramen, he never neglected his own training.
"I'm back. I came back late today, probably because Cubone finally mastered Bone Boomerang."
"…Mm. Cubone worked hard."
Leo smiled, then said, "Boss, I'm planning to walk around Ironrock Town tomorrow and let Cubone try some real battles."
"Go if you want," Yusaku replied calmly. "Just don't go too deep. Be careful."
"Got it. Thanks, boss!"
Leo answered, feeling unexpectedly emotional.
Over the past month of working together, Yusaku had rarely interfered with him. Aside from occasionally checking whether the information Leo collected had any mistakes, he made no other demands and allowed Leo complete freedom.
It was obvious that Yusaku's heart wasn't really in Team Rocket anymore.
The ramen shop, that was his true calling.
…
Early the next morning, Leo packed his equipment and headed toward Rocky Mountain.
Cubone followed closely behind. Despite its small frame, it gave Leo an inexplicable sense of security.
Today's Cubone was no longer the same as before.
After passing through the sparse woodland at the mountain's base, exposed stone cliffs gradually appeared ahead.
Rocky Mountain lived up to its name, a barren land of stone and gravel.
Leo raised his head, scanning the surroundings carefully.
Because two ordinary-looking rocks to the front right were, in fact, small Geodude, curled up tightly.
If you didn't look closely, they blended perfectly into the environment.
"Cubone, Curse."
When a non-Ghost-type Pokémon uses Curse, the move becomes pure self-enhancement,
Physical Attack and Defense increase, Speed decreases.
As for Cubone's speed… that hardly mattered.
Cubone lowered its head, drawing circles on the ground with its bone club while muttering something under its breath.
Red and blue light flashed across its body as the move took effect.
"Alright," Leo said calmly. "Let's approach slowly."
Geodude wasn't particularly strong, and it was also naturally countered by Cubone. It was perfect for building real combat confidence.
Sensing faint vibrations through the ground, one of the Geodude immediately noticed Cubone's approach.
Their eyes met.
The short-tempered Geodude rolled toward them without hesitation.
Rollout!
"Now, Bone Club!"
More than a month of training paid off. Despite never having fought real opponents before, neither Leo nor Cubone panicked.
Cubone stepped in front of Leo, adjusted its stance, and held the bone club horizontally, bracing for impact.
Rollout grew stronger the longer it continued. At full momentum, its power could even surpass Take Down.
But at the beginning?
It wasn't much stronger than a simple Tackle.
And what Cubone excelled at most was,
Defense.
The rolling Geodude slammed straight into the solid bone club, pushing Cubone back barely two centimeters.
Then it stopped.
Curse boosted Cubone's Defense, its typing reduced the damage, and the thick bone club absorbed most of the impact.
What looked like a powerful attack caused almost no real harm.
The next instant, Cubone shoved Geodude aside slightly, then swung the bone club downward in a clean, practiced arc.
Crack!
A dull impact echoed through the rocky terrain. Cracks spread visibly across Geodude's body as its hard shell shattered open. Its eyes spun, and it collapsed, completely unable to fight.
One-hit knockout.
Curse boosted Attack. Type advantage applied. And what many people overlooked,
A Cubone wielding its thick bone club effectively doubled its attack power.
Under all three effects, an instant defeat was inevitable.
"Cu!"
After winning its first real battle, even the usually calm Cubone couldn't help but roar in excitement.
It wasn't intimidating at all.
If anything, it was kind of cute.
Seeing its companion fall, the second Geodude panicked and tried to flee.
Leo, who had been watching the battlefield the entire time, reacted instantly.
"Bone Boomerang! Don't let it escape!"
Geodude often lived in groups. If one escaped, Leo wouldn't dare return to Rocky Mountain anytime soon.
The first victory had filled Cubone with confidence. Without hesitation, it hurled the bone club.
Thud!
Another heavy blow.
This Geodude met the same fate.
Ignoring the fallen Pokémon, Leo led Cubone past them and continued climbing.
The injuries looked severe, but for Geodude, consuming a few rocks would gradually restore their bodies.
As long as their core wasn't destroyed, their vitality was astonishingly strong.
When they eventually woke up and realized Leo and Cubone were gone, revenge wasn't their first thought.
Recovering came first.
Meanwhile, Leo and Cubone continued upward. More Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon began appearing.
Geodude were the most common, usually one bone club per encounter, with no real pressure.
Occasionally, a massive Onix could be seen crawling slowly in the distance. Each time, Leo immediately pulled Cubone into hiding, avoiding direct confrontation.
At this stage, Onix was still far too dangerous.
Now and then, a few Sandshrew appeared, but they quickly burrowed underground and vanished, timid by nature.
As for other Rock- or Ground-types Leo remembered, such as Diglett, Gligar, or Phanpy, they were almost nowhere to be seen.
Rocky Mountain was simply too close to town. Its outer areas had been cleared countless times, and any Pokémon with higher value had long since been captured.
Being here made Leo understand even more clearly why the League encouraged trainers to travel.
Maintaining regional diversity, avoiding overexploitation of a single area, this brought far more possibilities to the Pokémon world.
So…
Would a shiny Metagross ever appear in a place like Rocky Mountain?