"Pidgey! Woohoo!"
It was another morning. Icarus and Bellsprout, already awake, were doing their usual physical training—running laps around the garbage dump.
"Hah… hah… I feel a little lighter than before."
Icarus glanced at Bellsprout, who was actively running its fourth lap, and noticed his own body didn't feel as exhausted as usual.
He understood this was feedback from Bellsprout's gradual increase in strength. Of course, it was only a small accumulation. If he hadn't exercised daily and paid close attention to his physical condition, he might not have noticed it at all.
After all, Bellsprout was still only at the beginner level.
The three-lap warm-up soon ended. After breakfast and a half-hour rest, training resumed.
Icarus practiced boxing and throwing knives. Beside him, Bellsprout raised its two vines, now much thicker than before.
It closed its eyes, immersing itself in its bloodline memory, carefully sensing the energy flow trajectory of Bind.
"Sprout!"
Suddenly, Bellsprout opened its eyes. A faint green glow gathered on the vines, and wooden thorns began growing from the tips.
"Spri…"
Seeing that only a few thorns had formed, Bellsprout let out a frustrated cry.
"Don't get discouraged, Bellsprout. You're already amazing. You comprehended this move in the wild and completed it once. What you lack is proficiency. Keep going."
Noticing the change, Icarus immediately encouraged it.
"Spri."
Hearing his words, Bellsprout raised its leaf-hands to cheer itself on and threw itself back into practice, repeating the move again and again.
In the blink of an eye, it was noon.
After lunch, Bellsprout was supposed to nap. Instead, it looked at the still-sleeping Icarus, and the scene at the city gate flashed through its mind.
Though it had been overwhelmed by Captain Sam's strength that day, it had silently observed everything. From their conversation, it roughly understood what had happened.
Icarus had given away that Little Rattata in exchange for the Absorb TM—for its sake.
Moreover, most of the nutrient-rich Pokémon meat had gone to it. Icarus himself rarely ate any.
"I must work harder. Break through sooner. Help Icarus more."
Quietly, Bellsprout slipped out the back door.
Every time they entered the wild, they searched cautiously. If battles grew too loud, they retreated immediately.
All of it was because it wasn't strong enough.
If they had kept that Little Rattata, at least Icarus wouldn't have needed to be so careful.
Memories surfaced one by one:
The first person it saw after hatching was Icarus.
The one who applied wound medicine in the wild was Icarus.
The one who pretended to fight over meat but actually let it eat most of it was still Icarus.
Its determination deepened.
"Spri?"
No… the energy should disperse here.
"Spri spri!"
That didn't work either. The thorns were too blunt because the energy spread incorrectly.
Again and again, it tried.
Though it kept failing, it was certain it would succeed.
Because its energy ran low, it secretly grabbed a bag of Grass-type Pokémon feed from inside and ate it. It disliked the taste, but it replenished energy faster than rooting into the ground and absorbing sunlight.
Time passed quickly.
Looking at the thicker wooden thorns now covering its vines, Bellsprout nodded firmly.
"Sprout."
It would definitely succeed within three days.
Before Icarus woke up, Bellsprout quietly returned to the room. It wanted to surprise him.
"Ding-ling! Ding-ling!"
More than twenty minutes later, the alarm clock rang, waking both Icarus and the Bellsprout pretending to sleep.
"Alright, Bellsprout, afternoon training starts now."
He patted its head and walked outside.
"Spri."
Days passed.
By noon on the third day, Bellsprout was once again practicing secretly at the back door.
"Spri?"
"Spri~"
This time, sharp wooden thorns covered at least half of the vines. Bellsprout let out a quiet, delighted cry.
It had succeeded.
Still, to be safe, it continued practicing, reinforcing the energy flow pattern in its mind.
After another round of unpleasant feed, imagining Icarus's surprised expression later made its eyes narrow happily.
That afternoon, in the open yard, Icarus watched nervously.
"I guess it won't work yet. I'll need to encourage it more."
Since this move depended purely on energy control rather than technique, he couldn't help much. It all relied on Bellsprout's own understanding.
For the past two days, he had mostly focused on his own training, trusting Bellsprout to handle the move.
"Sprout."
Bellsprout called confidently.
Two vines extended.
This time, the moment they appeared, sharp wooden thorns rapidly spread upward from the tips.
"This is—!"
Icarus's eyes widened in shock.
"Spri spri!"
With a swift motion, the thorn-covered vines lashed toward the large tree ahead.
"Whoosh!"
The air split sharply.
"Crack!"
Wood chips scattered everywhere.
The power was clearly greater than before.
"Haha! Bellsprout, you did it! You're a genius!"
Icarus rushed forward, lifted Bellsprout, and spun it around twice in excitement.
"Spri spri!"
All that extra noon training—it had been for this moment.
"Alright, let's test it a bit more and stabilize it."
Putting Bellsprout down, Icarus immediately continued.
"Sprout! Spri spri!"
Bellsprout proudly demonstrated the move twice more in succession, proving it had fully mastered it.
(End of Chapter)
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