Time passed quickly. Five days had already gone by since Kael arrived at this beach for special training. With only two days left, the week-long vacation was nearing its end.
The weather today was once again clear and bright. Sea winds howled as the tides rose and fell. From afar, just off the shoreline, two dark figures could be seen rising and plunging amid the waves. At times they surged up to the crest, only to rocket downward the next moment, a sight stirring excitement in anyone watching.
After five days of intense training, Sneasel had fully mastered the fundamentals of surfing. When riding the waves, she was no less skilled than Kael himself, a seasoned surfer. With dynamic vision far superior to humans and a naturally agile body, she possessed an innate advantage when learning this kind of movement-based move.
Two additional gravity beads had been added to each mechanical ring. At this point, Sneasel's total load had reached a staggering 120 kilograms. Considering her own body weight was barely around 30 kilograms, this meant she was training under a burden four times her weight—while still being required to complete high-difficulty exercises. It was anything but easy.
Click.
Kael unlocked the mechanical rings from Sneasel's wrists and legs.
He crouched down, smiling as he looked at her now visibly relaxed posture.
"Move around a bit. Tell me how it feels."
"Snea~ Snea~"
Sneasel rolled her wrists and bounced lightly in place. A look of delight spread across her face as she chirped excitedly at Kael.
"She says her body feels lighter," Lulu translated, floating in midair. "And her arms feel stronger than before."
"Snea~!"
Sneasel's excitement only grew. She bent her knees deeply, then exploded upward with all her strength—
Boom!
Two shallow craters burst open in the sand as she shot skyward like a rocket.
Kael raised a hand to shade his eyes and looked up. Sneasel reached a height of roughly fifteen meters before beginning her descent. While falling at high speed, she adjusted her posture midair, using flips and twists to disperse the impact. The moment she touched down, she rolled cleanly across the sand, flawlessly dissipating all remaining force.
Fifteen meters was equivalent to a five-story drop. Falling straight down from that height without any technique would almost certainly cause serious injury—unless one possessed exceptionally high defensive capabilities.
...
"Focus. Carefully draw out the restless power inside your body," Kael called out encouragingly from behind her.
"Once more—use Night Slash!"
Facing the sun- and wind-weathered rock before her, Sneasel let out a slow breath. Then she opened her eyes, which had been tightly shut.
Bloodshot veins spread across the whites, and her crimson vertical pupils gleamed with an indescribable malice—the unmistakable sign of Dark-type energy being pushed to a high concentration.
"Snea—!"
A harsh hiss erupted from deep in her throat. Sneasel flipped backward, retreating rapidly. When she reached roughly six meters away from the rock, the muscles in her legs detonated with power.
Her body became a streak of black lightning as she surged forward again. Her left claw rose high, black, malevolent energy condensing from mist into something solid and obsidian-like.
A pitch-black crescent formed along her claw.
She charged.
The dark arc swept across the man-height rock—utterly silent, as though the sharpest blade in existence were slicing through soft tofu.
Thud.
The upper half of the rock slid slowly down onto the sand. The remaining portion was left with a cut so smooth it resembled polished glass.
"So this is the power of Night Slash…"
Kael ran his fingers along the flawless cut, disbelief creeping into his expression.
He had expected it to be strong—but not this sharp.
Unlike moves such as Hyper Beam or Fire Blast, which relied on overwhelming destructive force, Night Slash carried a different kind of dominance: the resolve to cut through anything.
This was the aggression of the Dark type—pure, terrifying cutting power.
"Nice!"
Kael couldn't help giving Sneasel a thumbs-up as she panted lightly.
"Snea~!"
Sneasel happily mimicked her Trainer, raising her claws in response. Unfortunately, with only two claws extended, it ended up looking suspiciously like she was flipping him off.
...
A peculiar Pidgeotto, wearing a tiny courier's cap and carrying a satchel, flapped out from the holiday lodge.
"Ugh… broke again," Kael sighed as he opened the package on the table.
That Pidgeotto had been a delivery Pokémon—using Flying-types to deliver newspapers and small parcels was standard practice in this world's logistics industry.
Three days ago, Kael had managed to win an item at auction—one that was critically important for Sneasel.
The box opened to reveal a sharp, curved claw resting quietly amid soft padding.
Razor Claw.
An offensive held item that made it easier for Pokémon to strike an opponent's vital points. Naturally formed special items like this often carried subtle, almost mystical effects—much like type advantages themselves, these hidden properties seemed to be part of the world's fundamental rules.
But what most people didn't know was that Razor Claw's effect went far beyond increased critical hits.
It was, in fact, a key item required for Sneasel's evolution—a secret currently known only to a small research institute in the Sinnoh Region.
Researchers in Kanto and Johto still firmly believed that Sneasel had no evolutionary form at all.
When Sneasel holds a Razor Claw and is bathed in peak Dark-type energy at midnight, she can finally evolve into—
Weavile.