Chapter 45: Focused Training

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Following Sato's command, Zubat began to gather a Shadow Ball in front of its wide mouth. Unlike before, in the dark environment, it could sense the Ghost-type energy in the surroundings more clearly, allowing it to form the Shadow Ball faster.

In less than a second, an egg-sized Shadow Ball appeared in front of Zubat's mouth. However, Zubat didn't immediately release the fully-formed ball. Instead, it continued channeling Ghost-type energy into it.

"Very good, take your time. Don't rush. If it gets too hard to maintain, release it," Sato said, observing the process closely on his laptop's infrared scan, which allowed him to monitor Zubat's progress in real-time.

As Zubat continued to infuse the ball with Ghost-type energy, the once stable Shadow Ball began to tremble violently. Several irregular bumps started appearing on its surface. Zubat, focusing intently on controlling the energy, began to sweat, with beads of perspiration forming on its forehead—clearly, it was struggling.

After about ten seconds, the egg-sized Shadow Ball expanded to the size of a soccer ball. By then, the surface was covered with numerous irregular protrusions, and it looked as though it could explode at any moment.

Two seconds later, Zubat lost control and immediately launched the Shadow Ball. However, without its control, the ball only flew about a meter or two before bursting in midair with a "pop," scattering dark-colored Ghost-type energy that quickly dissipated.

"Good job, take a break," Sato said with a sigh of relief, seeing that the unstable Shadow Ball had exploded without causing any harm. He then directed the panting Zubat to rest and drink some water.

Zubat, following Sato's words, used its echolocation ability to find the water basin on the ground. Happily, it drank the delicious water that had been mixed with dissolved high-quality PokeBlocks.

At that moment, Zubat was drenched in sweat, a clear indication that the effort and energy required to control Ghost-type energy in those few seconds was just as demanding as continuously launching Shadow Balls.

"Zubat's current maximum Shadow Ball size is 0.45 meters, but it takes 13.2 seconds to form, and its stability is very low. The maximum range is 2.1 meters. Looks like there's a long way to go," Sato thought with a slightly helpless expression as he looked at the data analyzed by his laptop.

Despite this, Sato still smiled at Zubat, praising its improvement. Zubat, trusting Sato's words completely, resumed its efforts after resting, ready to continue training Shadow Ball.

The saying, "One minute on stage takes ten years of hard work behind the scenes," is absolutely true. Even a genius cannot master a skill in just one day. The same goes for Zubat's Shadow Ball training—it requires great effort to make real progress.

Clearly, the Shadow Ball Zubat had been using earlier was far from battle-ready. While it might have been useful for finishing off an opponent, relying on it in the middle of a fight would be reckless and dangerous.

Both Zubat and Sato knew this well, especially after their battle with Ekans. Zubat understood that if it had been able to increase the power of its Shadow Ball just a little, it would have defeated Ekans without nearly being beaten itself.

The proud Zubat was frustrated by how close it had come to being defeated by Ekans. Getting stuck in such a tough fight wasn't what it wanted—it sought to defeat its enemies swiftly and decisively with overwhelming strength.

Now that its Trainer had provided such a good training environment, Zubat was determined not to waste it or disappoint Sato's expectations. As a result, Zubat pushed itself hard during Shadow Ball training.

Over the next two hours of training, Zubat had several close calls where it was almost caught in the explosion of its own unstable Shadow Ball. This was due to its sheer determination to push its limits.

However, thanks to Zubat's persistence, the increased concentration of Ghost-type energy, and Sato's supply of PokeBlocks for stable energy replenishment, the Shadow Ball skill showed some improvement over those two hours.

In that time, Zubat conducted a total of 60 Shadow Ball training sessions, with each one averaging two minutes of practice and rest. The results of all this effort were an increase in the maximum size of the Shadow Ball to a diameter of 0.47 meters, a reduction in the formation time to 7 seconds, improved stability, and an increased range of 8 meters.

Without realizing it, four hours passed in focused and intense training. By this time, it was 11:31 PM, and Sato decided to wrap up the night's skill training, preparing to help Zubat recover its stamina and get a late-night snack.

"Rest well, it's already very late. You did great today. Keep working hard, and at the rate you're progressing, it won't be long before your Shadow Ball reaches the next level," Sato said, smiling as he patted Zubat, which had landed on his right arm after finishing its snack.

"More than talent, a Pokémon's character is even more important. Getting such a motivated Pokémon from the start—what a stroke of luck," Sato thought to himself as he lay in bed, smiling while looking at the familiar data on his laptop screen.

At this moment, Zubat was hanging upside down from the extinguished square light fixture on the ceiling (with its two tail wings hooked around the edges), quietly continuing its Shadow Ball training.

Over the next five days, Sato meticulously followed his routine of physical training for Zubat in the mornings and afternoons, and skill training in the evenings, ignoring anything unrelated.

During this intense training period, Zubat made noticeable progress. Without realizing it, its level increased to 15 during training.

In terms of physical training, for five days, Zubat endured 6-level strong wind training. Currently, Zubat's longest endurance time in the 6-level winds reached 10 minutes and 13 seconds, compared to the 2 minutes and 20 seconds on the second day, showing a significant improvement in stamina.

Sato also tested Zubat's flight around the public training field (328 meters) at full speed without any weight load. The result showed that Zubat could complete one lap in just 25 seconds, which meant its flight speed was 13.12 meters per second, or 47.23 kilometers per hour.

For comparison, Usain Bolt's fastest 100-meter record is 9.68 seconds, or 10.33 meters per second, which is 2.79 meters per second slower than Zubat's 13.12 meters per second.

In skill training, after a lot of repetitions of Gust, Zubat made notable advancements. The diameter of the white whirlwind it created increased to 2.6 meters, its height to 5 meters, and the moving distance to 12.3 meters, with the wind force remaining at level 5.

Moreover, Zubat's multitasking ability improved during strong wind stamina training. Now, Zubat could create two white whirlwinds simultaneously while using Gust.

However, the two whirlwinds created together couldn't compare to a single one. Their size, power, and range were only one-third of what Zubat could achieve when focusing on just one.

Additionally, after 323 Shadow Ball training sessions, Zubat's Shadow Ball technique showed significant improvement. It could now stabilize the size of the Shadow Ball at 0.5 meters in diameter, with the forming time reduced to 2 seconds, high stability, and a range of 13 meters.

At this rate, Zubat's proficiency with Shadow Ball had reached a level where it could be used effectively in battle, with power comparable to a standard Shadow Ball.

Finally, something that surprised Sato was Zubat's unusual growth over these five days. Zubat's body seemed to be developing at an abnormal rate. Its weight had increased from 6.3 kg to 8.2 kg, and the wingspan had grown from 0.5 meters to 0.8 meters, making it much larger.

Zubat's progress during these five days of training was undoubtedly related to its increased size. However, Sato was somewhat concerned about this abnormal growth.

While Zubat's appetite had noticeably increased—consuming 8 liters of blood per meal, up from 5 liters—and it had additional snacks after training, it didn't seem reasonable for it to grow this quickly.

Initially, Sato thought the rapid growth might be due to the calcium tablets, but after looking it up online, he found that the clinical trials for those tablets didn't show such rapid results.

Sato then reported Zubat's unusual growth to Dr. Fiyali, the female doctor who had sold him the calcium tablets, and asked her to examine Zubat to see if there were any underlying health issues.

The result came back that Zubat's body was completely normal. With no medical expertise himself, Sato decided to trust the professional doctor's judgment.

Although Sato was starting to become suspicious of the calcium tablets, Zubat's unusual growth seemed to be a positive development so far. He even consulted a few other doctors about Zubat's abnormal growth, and they all confirmed that Zubat's body was in perfect condition.

Thus, Sato concluded that whoever provided him with these calcium tablets had no ill intent—in fact, they seemed to be intentionally helping him.