He picked up the dark purple hm disc and walked in front of Deino.
"Little guy, this is for you."
Deino leaned in curiously, nuzzling the disc with its not-yet-nimble head, and then opened its mouth, wanting to gnaw on it.
"This isn't food."
Ariel pushed its small head away with a chuckle and then activated the Exp. Share.
The hm disc turned into a stream of pure data and merged into Deino's forehead.
The little guy's body trembled violently, and it closed its eyes, seemingly digesting something.
A moment later, it suddenly snapped its eyes open and opened its mouth toward the empty space in front of it.
A dark purple Energy Ball the size of a basketball condensed, but it was extremely unstable, with chaotic electric sparks flickering around the edges.
"Wu?"
Deino was startled by its own power; the Energy Ball dissipated in mid-air with a "poof," leaving behind only a few wisps of black smoke.
It lowered its head in a bit of frustration.
"Don't lose heart; it's always like this the first time."
Ariel walked over and stroked its head.
"Feel that power. Don't push it out with brute force; instead, guide it and release it."
Ariel didn't say more, but instead looked at Malamar.
Malamar understood immediately. Its figure flashed, and a small Dark Pulse condensed on its tentacles. Its movements were as smooth as flowing water, successfully launching the attack.
Deino tilted its head, watching intently, seemingly using Mimic.
It condensed energy again. This time, the Energy Ball was significantly more stable. Although its trajectory was wobbly, it was finally released successfully.
"Yes, just like that!"
Having received praise, Deino looked very excited, as if it had found the correct way to use the skill.
It opened its mouth wide.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three dark purple Energy Balls the size of basketballs shot straight out!
They even blasted three black marks onto the wall!
Seeing this outrageous scene, even Ariel was somewhat speechless.
Isn't this rate of progress a bit too fast?
It wasn't over yet!
Immediately after, Deino seemed to sense something else, and Dark-type energy gathered within its body.
Deino roared and charged toward a target, slamming into it!
This time it wasn't a Dark Pulse, but an attack launched by coating itself in Dark-type energy!
Yet another new skill.
Assurance!
A Dark-type skill with a power of 60 points.
If the opponent has already taken damage within a short period, its power doubles.
It's a very powerful Dark-type skill.
Looking at Deino, Ariel couldn't help but fall silent.
Is this the talent of the Elite Four Level?
It would even become powerful enough in the future just by being supplied with resources.
Deino came to Ariel's feet, looking like it was seeking praise.
When it came to praising Pokémon, Ariel was never stingy.
Ariel stroked Deino's head and murmured.
"Well done."
Feeling Ariel's praise, Deino was very excited and bit half of Ariel's arm in one go.
Feeling the pain from his arm, the corner of Ariel's mouth twitched.
"Fine, I guess I was too nice to you."
Ariel pulled his arm out, shook it, and then punched Deino on the head.
"Bang!"
The force was just right—enough to daze it without hurting its brain.
"Krookodile, Malamar, Weavile, step up the intensity for this guy."
For the next period of time, the entire training room became Deino's practice ground.
Under Ariel's guidance and the other Pokémon's sparring, its progress was Extreme Speed.
"Malamar, use Psychic to control that moving target."
"Weavile, use Ice Shard to interfere with its vision."
"Krookodile, use Dig to approach it from underground."
"Deino, listen to my command, use Assurance!"
Ariel's voice echoed in the training room. He commanded Deino with one hand while flipping through a training notebook on how dragon-type juvenile pokémon can overcome visual blind spots with the other.
His brain was working at high speed, simulating various complex combat scenarios.
What he wanted to teach Deino wasn't just a skill, but combat instinct and wisdom.
Deino cannot see what's in front of it.
Therefore, hearing, smell, and intuition became the areas Deino needed to pay attention to in battle.
One could say this directly determined the accuracy of its skills and its judgment during combat!
Clearly, this training notebook was very useful; at the very least, Ariel used the methods inside to successfully improve Deino's skill accuracy significantly.
When Deino successfully predicted Krookodile's Dig and used a precise Dark Pulse to force it out of the ground, Ariel knew it had preliminary mastery over this skill.
By now, Deino had reached level 18!
The increase in level was just a number, but Ariel could clearly feel that this little guy's gaze had changed; it was no longer as ignorant as when they first met, but had gained a bit of wildness and confidence.
The training didn't end there.
"Krookodile, open the gravity field, practice the accuracy of Rock Slide, and prepare for learning Stone Edge later."
"Malamar, divide your attention and control eight targets simultaneously for evasion training."
"Weavile, use Shadow Claw at maximum speed; the targets are the core red dots of those floating targets."
"Frogadier, compress Water Pulse, compress it more! See if you can make it into the shape of a shuriken!"
The high-intensity training had every Pokémon dripping with sweat. Their energy was being consumed rapidly, but their eyes grew brighter and brighter.
The energy provided by advanced energy cubes continuously replenished their consumption, allowing this extreme, squeezing-style training to continue.
Several hours later, when Ariel called for a stop, the entire training room was filled with a burning battle intent.
Krookodile lay on the ground, panting heavily, but its aura had climbed to a new peak, its level steadily staying at 44.
Malamar floated in mid-air; though its mental fluctuations were somewhat disordered, its intensity had increased by a large margin compared to before, level 42.
As for Weavile, a faint energy halo flickered around its body, its aura sharp as a blade.
During the training just now, it broke through that barrier and officially stepped into level 40, becoming the third Superior-level pokémon in the team after Krookodile and Malamar!
Frogadier stood by the pool, its body lines becoming increasingly smooth, its eyes flashing with sharp light.
This training session had raised it to level 35, leaving only one final threshold before that critical evolution level.
It suddenly turned around, its azure eyes staring intently at Ariel.
There was no pleading in that gaze, only the purest battle intent, a longing to burn itself to ashes, and a hint of uncontrollable madness.
It needed an opponent, an opponent that could push it to the brink.
Ariel read its gaze.
He didn't waste any words, simply turning his gaze toward the big brother on the field.
"Krookodile, play with it for a bit."
Ariel's voice was very calm.
"Don't hold back."