Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another month had quietly passed.
It had to be said that Hisoka's judgment was sound; this Sneasel's talent was truly remarkable. Within a month, she had completely mastered Ice Punch and Swords Dance. Unfortunately, her progress with Night Slash her own type's skill was still a bit lacking.
Theoretically, it should be easier for a Pokémon to learn moves of their own type, but Night Slash required extremely high speed from the user. Sneasel's current inability to master it wasn't due to a lack of talent, but rather a slight deficiency in her physical conditioning.
If Sneasel could evolve into Weavile now, she would surely master Night Slash instantly.
"Sneasel, use Swords Dance!" Hisoka shouted to the Sneasel on the training ground. "Then use Brick Break!"
"Snea~"
Sneasel gave a slight nod. She brought her claws together in front of her chest and began to spin rapidly in place. This was the preparation for Swords Dance, a ritualistic battle dance.
During the dance, the user's body remains immobile for a short time, which makes Swords Dance somewhat impractical in high-level trainer matches. No trainer would stand idly by and watch as you set up a sweep.
However, this move could be devastatingly powerful when used in a team setting. With teammates providing cover, Sneasel could safely perform multiple Swords Dances, pushing her attack power to the limit.
As the dance concluded, Sneasel's expression became noticeably more excited. Her fur stood on end slightly as she raised her right claw high, clenched into a fist. Before her sat a marble slab over twenty centimeters thick.
Swish!
Like a bolt of lightning, her claw slammed down. With a sharp crack, the thick marble slab instantly split into two.
"Ice Punch!" Hisoka commanded again.
Sneasel immediately performed a flip and landed in front of a wooden dummy as thick as an adult's waist. With a stylish straight punch, a frigid Ice Punch hammered into the wood. Following a dull thud, a spiderweb of cracks appeared on the dummy.
Frost spread rapidly until the entire wooden dummy was encased in ice. Sneasel extended one claw, flicked an icy finger against the surface, and the dummy shattered into a heap of frozen splinters a testament to the move's terrifying power.
Hisoka nodded with satisfaction, then turned to look at the Kirlia who was already poised and ready. "Lulu, Magical Leaf!"
Kirlia bowed her head slightly and opened her hands. Ten purple energy leaves began to orbit above her. Lulu stood in the center of the field, surrounded by ten half-height targets, each placed thirty meters away.
"Ha-ya!"
With a sharp cry, her slender hands thrust outward. The ten purple energy leaves shot forth like meteors. In the next second, a series of rhythmic thuds rang out as each leaf buried itself deep into the bullseye of a target. The force was so great that fine cracks appeared around the center of each target.
After a month of training and synchronizing, both Kirlia and Sneasel had seen qualitative improvements in their strength. Kirlia had not only fully mastered the mental power that had surged during her evolution,
but her control over Magical Leaf had also reached a point where she could manipulate it at will. Meanwhile, Sneasel had mastered two critical moves, giving her an incredibly wide range of attack coverage.
With the team's strength greatly bolstered, Sneasel was now more than capable of handling the role of a speed-attacker. With Kirlia providing support, it was finally time to take on some difficult, high-bounty missions.
Viridian City was a good place for rest and vacation, but it didn't offer many lucrative assignments. Only metropolises like Saffron City and Celadon City released the top-tier bounty missions.
"It's finally time to leave the city I've lived in for fifteen years," Hisoka mused with a touch of sentimentality and a bit of reluctance. After all, Viridian City was his second home. But in truth, he was on the verge of a financial crisis.
To turn Sneasel into a viable combatant in such a short time, his investment over the past month had been enormous. Between Pokéblocks, food, and training equipment, he had spent a small fortune. Between the Ice Punch and Swords Dance TMs and the million-Poké-Dollar medicinal herbs he'd used when Sneasel was injured,
the savings Hisoka had accumulated over two years were almost gone. His bank account held roughly 20,000 Poké Dollars just enough to cover the food expenses for one human and two Pokémon for a month.
For another trainer, 20,000 might be enough to maintain six Pokémon for three months. But for Hisoka, it wasn't nearly enough. There was an old saying: "Three parts training, seven parts eating." To improve a Pokémon's strength, training was essential, but the diet could not be ignored.
Hisoka made his own Pokéblocks and Pokémon food, but the ingredients he used were the finest available on the market. Consequently, his spending on food alone was far higher than that of other trainers.
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