Chapter 869: Interlude · The Reason for Practicing That Move So Diligently
Bang!
Accompanied by the resounding thud of a heavy stomp upon the earth.
The very next instant.
Across the flat meadow ahead, sharp pillars of stone erupted violently from the ground one after another.
At the far end of the horizon.
"Maa-wile!!"
A Mawile was launched high into the air atop a jutting stone pillar, letting out a sharp cry of pain.
Yet this was far from over.
Both Meowscarada and Scizor widened their eyes in unison, tracking the verdant green figure that suddenly darted forward.
Leaping and weaving between the stone pillars, he shot toward the airborne Mawile with blistering speed.
The velocity was so extreme.
That even when ordinary eyes strained to track his trajectory, they could only barely catch a lingering afterimage.
Slash!
When an intersecting X-Scissor carved across Mawile's frame.
It signaled the definitive conclusion of this battle.
"Maa..."
Mawile's eyes rolled back, collapsing to the turf with swirling spirals in its eyes.
The green silhouette touched down upon the earth.
Revealing a massive Sceptile standing over three meters tall.
"A Bug-type X-Scissor against a Mawile only deals a quarter of its full damage; that child shouldn't be too badly hurt."
Kazuya muttered under his breath.
His level was simply too high, sitting comfortably at the Elite Four tier.
In this nascent era not long after the founding of the League calendar, the baseline strength of ordinary Trainers and Pokémon was generally modest; he could not afford to fight with his full might.
Kazuya watched as Mawile's Trainer recalled it into its Poké Ball, bowed respectfully, and rushed anxiously toward the Pokémon Center.
Such occurrences were commonplace.
Ever since Kazuya settled in Laverre City.
Trainers drawn by his reputation frequently came knocking to issue challenges.
Just like Mawile's Trainer, a youth named Marie.
Who knew if he shared any connection with Laverre City's future Fairy-type Gym Leader, Valerie.
"Master! That was way too cool!"
Scizor charged over immediately, his eyes brimming with longing: "When will I ever become a cool Pokémon like Master~"
So thrilled he couldn't help flailing his limbs about before Kazuya.
A 1.8-meter-tall Scizor was already classified as a medium-to-large Pokémon in the Pokémon world.
Yet before Kazuya.
He still seemed like a wide-eyed child.
So seeing him act this way didn't look out of place to anyone.
"Shoo! You act just like a toddler! Such a baby."
The corners of Meowscarada's lips curved upward.
Squeezing her way in from behind, she bumped Scizor aside with her hip.
Though she usually slacked off, fishing for three days and drying the nets for two.
She had started training under Kazuya's wing very early on.
Hence, her level still held an absolute suppression over Scizor.
Keeping this junior brother in line.
Was effortless and child's play.
"Work hard, and you can be just as cool as me in the future, maybe even surpass me."
Kazuya raised his hand and patted Scizor on the head.
The gesture caused Scizor's face to flush red.
The current Scizor was still entirely unaccustomed to having an elder rub his head like this.
"Really? Then can I learn that move too?"
Scizor looked up, his tone brimming with anticipation.
A pair of large golden eyes shone with pure, unadulterated earnestness.
Radiating the vigor of youth.
"Ehhh... No, you can't master setup moves like Rock Tomb. Pulling this technique off would be extraordinarily difficult for you; you'd basically have to rely entirely on natural terrain."
Kazuya rubbed his chin, furrowing his brows in thought before continuing: "Besides, with your innate talents, you shouldn't be spending time learning this move. The efficiency is far too low."
He had engineered this technique himself.
He understood its core mechanics better than anyone.
To say nothing of the fact.
Scizor couldn't learn Rock Tomb or similar moves to manufacture his own stepping stones.
Relying solely on his base speed.
It would be nearly impossible to capitalize on the technique's true advantage—preventing the target from predicting the angle of the next incoming assault.
Carrying the Steel typing, speed was inherently Scizor's weak point.
Without sufficient speed.
The intended effect of the technique fell flat.
Even with Agility active.
It remained an uphill battle for Scizor to reach the blistering speed threshold required by this move.
Forcing extra propulsion would only increase the impact force upon landing, which would shatter the stone pillars beneath his feet and expose his position.
If he stubbornly insisted on learning it.
He could certainly pull it off eventually.
Yet it would squander an exorbitant amount of time.
With that same time, Scizor could easily augment his capabilities from countless other angles.
Kazuya had mastered this technique so early on.
Primarily because the Sceptile species was innately blessed with absurd speed.
Not to mention he had inherited a broken move like Extreme Speed, which not only boosted his velocity but also amplified the striking power of other techniques.
"Oh..."
Scizor lowered his head, somewhat crestfallen.
One month later.
In the forested hills near Laverre City.
Rumble——!!
A massive boulder was shattered to pieces by Scizor's flying kick.
Broken stones scattered across the dirt.
Scizor touched down upon the earth once more.
His vision was blurry, his back drenched in sweat, wanting to stay upright to catch his breath.
Yet in the end, overwhelmed by sheer exhaustion, he flopped flat onto his back, panting heavily.
"Hey! Scizor, you're still practicing that move?!"
Meowscarada's voice drifted down from a large rock nearby.
She was currently gnawing happily on a sweet Nanab Berry.
With a casual flick of her wrist.
An Oran Berry was tossed toward Scizor's side.
He reached out, caught it between his pincers, and popped it into his mouth.
Sour.
Scizor turned to glare at Meowscarada, who was covering her mouth and giggling mischievously.
He shook his head helplessly, but chewed and swallowed the berry anyway.
It accelerated the recovery of stamina.
Even if it was sour, down it went.
After resting for a few minutes.
Scizor pushed himself back up, shifting his footing toward an adjacent clearing far more suited for drills.
"Didn't Kazuya already tell you? You aren't built for that move! Why do you keep insisting on copying him?"
Meowscarada shook her head, unable to comprehend it.
She had watched Scizor drill this exact move for an entire month now.
While it wasn't completely devoid of progress.
It could certainly be described as crawling forward at a snail's pace.
"..."
Scizor shot her a glance, his mouth parting slightly, but no words came out.
The answer to that question.
He had already repeated countless times before.
Shaking his head, he immersed himself right back into his training.
Scizor envied Meowscarada deeply.
She was exceptionally fast and light on her feet; learning this technique barely required any effort from her at all.
Rumor had it that after watching Master execute it enough times, she simply picked it up naturally.
Without even specifically drilling it.
Scizor knew envy served no purpose, so he could only bury his head and push through the grueling reps.
As for that question.
Meowscarada never figured out the answer later on.
Still, carefree and joyful every day, she put it out of her mind before long.
Day after day, Scizor drilled the technique relentlessly.
Even without access to the prerequisite setup moves.
He pressed forward all the same.
Stone forests, dense woods, abandoned ruins...
The environments where he could practice this move were practically limitless.
On an ordinary afternoon.
"Hey! Scizor, how's that move coming along?"
Meowscarada bounded over, bursting with curiosity.
"I can pull it off now."
A faint smile hung on Scizor's face.
Though it was still rough around the edges.
He had pulled it off.
He had pushed his speed training to the limit, all just to master this single technique.
Now, relying on the boost from Agility, he could execute it decently well.
It was just that modulating his landing force was still inconsistent.
If he stepped on brittle rocks or weak branches, it was still prone to disrupting the momentum of the sequence.
"Really? Then let's have a spar! Let me see how far you've come!"
Meowscarada swished her tail.
Striking the pose of an overbearing senior sister ready to bully her junior brother.
"Sure."
The honest Scizor agreed immediately.
He never turned down a battle invitation.
The two quickly shifted locations.
Arriving at an open, flat meadow.
"How am I supposed to use that move here?"
Scizor furrowed his brows.
He couldn't fathom why Meowscarada would pick a spot like this.
There were zero footholds for him to leap off of.
Furthermore.
As far as he knew.
Meowscarada couldn't manufacture those kinds of platforms either.
Master had said it himself.
Meowscarada was just like him, unable to learn prerequisite moves like Rock Tomb.
"Hehehe, watch closely!"
Meowscarada grinned.
She pressed both paws firmly against the soil beneath her feet.
Swish——!!
Towering pillars of woven grass erupted from the earth one after another.
Footholds.
Weren't they right here?
"This..."
Scizor lifted his brows, pure shock written across his face.
"How's that? I modified this using Grass Pledge! Now you've got your footholds, haven't you?"
"You..."
"Heheh, researched it specifically for this! That way, no matter what terrain we're in, as long as we coordinate, we can both pull this move off together."
Meowscarada flashed a radiant, sunny smile, even offering Scizor a cheeky wink.
"...Thank you."
Scizor pursed his lips, nodding softly.
A warm glow spread through his chest.
Turns out, aside from Master, this fellow cared about him too.
"Alright, give it a shot! The density of these grass pillars is super sturdy, don't worry about snapping them!"
"Right!"
The two locked eyes.
The amusement on their faces faded, their gazes turning razor-sharp.
Lowering their stances simultaneously.
They shot straight into the grove of grass pillars.
Crimson and emerald silhouettes darted back and forth between the woven trunks, their speed not entirely blinding, yet already bearing quite a resemblance to Kazuya's former execution.
At a pivotal moment.
The two figures converged.
Scizor's Bullet Punch grazed past Meowscarada's shoulder.
While the latter's claw struck squarely against his chest carapace.
Bang!
Scizor's frame was sent hurtling backward.
Crashing against a grass pillar before tumbling to the turf below.
He had lost.
Despite drilling relentlessly for so long.
When it came to this move, his mastery still fell short of Meowscarada's.
"Sigh..."
Lying on the ground, Scizor couldn't help letting out a long, wistful sigh.
When would he ever.
Be able to wield this technique with the effortless elegance of Master?
When that day came...
He would probably be a step closer to his dream, wouldn't he?
"Hehehe, looks like I'm still the better one! You've still got a lot of catching up to do, little Scizor."
Meowscarada trotted off with playful giggles, not bothering to offer comfort.
Of course.
Scizor didn't need comforting to begin with.
Taking a brief breather, he pushed himself back to his feet.
Gazing at the forest of grass pillars before him.
Scizor's gaze turned resolute; stepping forward, he began weaving and leaping through the pillars once more, his pace growing faster and faster...
Master.
I want to become a cool Pokémon.
Just like you.
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