Chapter 16: Black Friday

"The strength of an intermediate Trainer should be comparable to those champions. If I want to reach that level in two months, it looks like I'll need to train hard!"

With a decision in mind, Ryoma did not linger in the Pokémon Shop. After purchasing a large bottle of Miltank milk, he left the store and headed toward the Starry Sky Pokémon Club.

After paying the 300 yen for an overnight fee, he smoothly entered the underground training area.

The training area was arranged like a gym, equipped with various training equipment. Surrounding the training area were dedicated training rooms where Pokémon and Trainers could train or rest separately.

Upon reaching the training area, Ryoma immediately released Sandshrew. After some rest, Sandshrew was looking a bit more energized.

"Sandshrew, this is Miltank milk. Let's see if it suits your taste." After releasing Sandshrew, Ryoma took out the Miltank milk.

"Shashasha!"

Seeing the Miltank milk, Sandshrew's eyes lit up, and it nodded eagerly, reaching out to grab it.

"Wash your hands first."

Seeing this, Ryoma pulled a bottle of mineral water from his backpack.

"Sha?"

Sandshrew looked at the mineral water, then at the bottle of milk, tilting its little head in confusion.

I can drink milk without using my paws, so why do I need to wash my hands?

"Then just rinse your mouth."

Ryoma thought for a moment and nodded.

Sandshrew: …

After Sandshrew obediently rinsed its mouth, Ryoma handed over the Miltank milk.

Strangely enough, the Sandshrew that was once deathly afraid of water showed no fear at all while drinking the Miltank milk, making Ryoma feel a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps mixing some Miltank milk into the water could work?

After finishing the bottle of Miltank milk, Sandshrew became lively and darted around the training area, playing with great enthusiasm.

After having some fun with Sandshrew, Ryoma led it directly to a Rapid Spin machine.

"Sandshrew, the next move we're going to train is Rapid Spin."

"This move is Normal-type, and its purpose is to attack the opponent by spinning while also serving as a defensive maneuver…"

"This move is actually quite similar to Rollout; it's just that it's Normal-type and the direction of the spin isn't forward and backward, but sideways…"

Ryoma began to explain to Sandshrew how to train Rapid Spin seriously. The Normal-type energy would not be difficult for Sandshrew, which had already learned Scratch and Defense Curl—both Normal-type moves.

The focus of the upcoming training was to cover its body with Normal-type energy, using that to initiate Rapid Spin. With its past training experience with Rollout, it should be manageable.

"Sha~"

Upon hearing that they were training again, Sandshrew immediately showed disinterest.

"Sandshrew, if you train well today, I'll take you out for a nice meal tomorrow morning. How does that sound?"

Ryoma smiled slightly. For a little foodie, there's no reward better than a delicious meal, especially since they had won some prize money—this was definitely worth a reward!

"Shashasha!"

As soon as Sandshrew heard about the feast, its eyes sparkled with stars, and it nodded quickly, signaling its understanding. It then climbed onto the Rapid Spin machine and habitually used Defense Curl, curling its body into a ball.

"Ready to start…"

Once Sandshrew was prepared, Ryoma pressed the button on the Rapid Spin machine, causing Sandshrew's ball-shaped body to spin rapidly.

"Sandshrew, remember the feeling of using Defense Curl, sense the Normal-type energy, and try to get it to spin along with the machine…"

Ryoma continuously pointed out instructions from the side, feeling somewhat confident in this method of training Rapid Spin.

Following Ryoma's words, Sandshrew repeatedly used Defense Curl, covering its body with Normal-type energy, and then began trying to get the Normal-type energy to spin along with the Rapid Spin machine, thus initiating its own Rapid Spin!

Seeing that Sandshrew had successfully covered itself in Normal-type energy, Ryoma quickly stopped the spinning of the Rapid Spin machine and encouraged Sandshrew to keep spinning using its own abilities!

In fact, Ryoma's method of training Rapid Spin was highly effective. With its practice from Rollout, Sandshrew managed to successfully perform Rapid Spin after just a few attempts, prompting Ryoma to marvel at Sandshrew's talent.

Next, they just needed to continue training methodically, and Rapid Spin could be considered initially mastered.

And so, they spent an entire sleepless night training.

As dawn broke the next day, Ryoma and Sandshrew slowly woke up in the training room. They had been busy training Rapid Spin until late into the night, and both were completely exhausted.

"Sandshrew, get up, wash your face, and eat!" Ryoma drowsily opened his eyes.

"Sha~"

Hearing that food was ready, Sandshrew quickly climbed out of bed, instantly wide awake. It remembered Ryoma's promise—a feast, a feast!

Seeing that Sandshrew was already up, Ryoma quickly followed suit. Glancing at the clock on his phone, he realized it was already 6 AM.

"Two more hours until we start?"

"Then shall we continue training Rapid Spin?"

"Sha~~~"

Sandshrew responded drowsily, "I want to eat!"

...

After a morning workout,

Ryoma took Sandshrew out of the Pokémon Club and headed straight toward a restaurant.

As a genuine foodie, delicious food was Sandshrew's main motivation for enduring training!

As a result, in order to fulfill his promise from last night, another 1,000 yen went into Sandshrew's belly, which made Ryoma feel the pinch.

However, thinking of how hard Sandshrew had trained the previous night, he found some comfort.

"It's going to be another energetic day! How about we take it easy today and go play in the sand at the construction site?"

After leaving the breakfast shop, Ryoma began to plan his day's itinerary. Since they had earned a hefty sum of 10,000 yen from Sandshrew's outstanding performance yesterday, he decided to put aside the idea of earning more money for now.

As for why they were going to the construction site, it was because there might be sand there, and it was a place where Sandshrew could be released since it was mostly unoccupied.

"Sha?"

Upon hearing the word "play," a look of joy appeared on Sandshrew's face; playing in the sand was its favorite!

After receiving Sandshrew's agreement, Ryoma recalled it into the Poké Ball and began jogging toward a nearby construction site.

He had actually noticed this construction site quite some time ago. Based on his observations, it seemed to be in a suspended state, so he figured he could sneak in without drawing attention.