Chapter 8: The Next Day

As the sun rose in the sky, Aeron felt the sun's rays passing through the curtains on his face.

"What time is it?" He turned over and looked at the digital clock beside his bed. His sleepy eyes snapped open when he read the time. "Dammit. It's 8 am already. I am late."

He jumped out of bed and ran towards the washroom. He stopped at the washroom door and looked at the Pokémon sleeping on the small bed beside his. A smile appeared on his face.

"I will wake him once I am ready."

He had already decided on a schedule for today, and luckily, he was barely too late.

His first task for today was training with Axew.

The Pokémon Centre had an inbuilt gym for both Pokémon and humans. And since he was one of the rankers, he got the one prepared especially for rankers to use.

Yesterday when he was playing with Axew, he noticed how sore his legs were from all the running and walking he did during the day. Since he was now on a journey, he needed to work on his stamina. It was fine for now since Florian Town was close to Pewter City, but the same could not be said for other places.

It was at least a seven-day walk from Pewter City to Viridian City. That was if one travelled without being interrupted by all the Bug-type Pokémon or losing their way. The inbuilt GPS in his Pokedex became useless once he was out of a city or town. So, once he was out, he was on his own. He would have to figure out the routes and ways by himself.

According to rumours, a terrifying Pokémon lived in the ozone layer. The said Pokémon shot down any satellite ever sent up to be used for signals.

At least, due to some 'high-level Technology' made by the League, it was possible to make calls and broadcast battles, ads, movies etc. But unfortunately, it was only possible within cities, and trainers were on their own for directions or anything else once outside. For the same reason, many Pokémon Centres have been built on different routes.

After Aeron was done brushing his teeth, followed by a shower, he walked toward the young dragon sleeping on a small bed made for Pokémon. He looked at the water bottle on the table and grinned evilly. As Aeron tip-toed toward the bottle, he forgot to notice the small smile on Axew's face, and it was just as evil as Aeron's.

When the young trainer was about to grab the bottle, Axew jumped and took it for himself before attacking Aeron with a makeshift Water Gun.

"Oh, come on!" Aeron raised his arms as water trickled down his face. Thankfully he was still wrapped in a towel and hadn't worn a new pair of clothes.

"Xew Xew Xew."

The young dragon laughed with his hands over his mouth.

Aeron glared at his starter. "I will get you back for this."

Axew just scoffed while Aeron grudgingly changed into a new set of clothes. After wearing his training clothes, Axew jumped on his shoulder as they walked out of the room.

The duo walked toward the stairs that led to the reception and took in the sight of trainers having breakfast with their Pokémon.

"Let's finish our training and then have a good breakfast."

"Xew…" Axew looked at Aeron with puppy eyes which Aeron had a hard time saying no to. But training was more important, and so Aeron shook his head. "I will buy you your favourite food if you finish training with me."

"Axew?"

"Promise."

And so began Aeron and Axew's three hours of training. It consisted of running and strength training to develop stamina and muscles. Axew was a Dragon-type Pokémon, and most Dragons were well known for their enormous Attack stat.

With his impressive Attack stat, Aeron knew what kind of a monstrosity Haxorus was. Therefore, he wanted to train Axew in his best trait and improve it beyond the known limits. Although his starter hated fighting, the young Dragon never gave up during the training.

Was it the promise of his favourite food or a Dragon's pride? Aeron guessed it to be the former; Axew made sure he did his best in every training his trainer put him through.

Since they did not have breakfast, Aeron bought energy drinks and supplements during their resting breaks.

Once the three hours of vigorous training were over, Aeron called out for his Pokémon.

"We are going to train your moves starting today."

"Axew!"

'Hmm?' Aeron expected Axew to decline initially, but to his surprise, he readily agreed and seemed…excited about it? Now that he thought about it, there was some change in Axew today. 'He seems different, but how?'

Aeron decided to look into it while they were training. If Axew could be just as excited every day, training would be a lot more beneficial.

"You have five moves." Aeron tapped his watch, and a holographic screen appeared, which he showed to Axew.

-0-

[Axew

Gender: Male

Type: Dragon

Ability: Mold Breaker

Innate Moves: Night Slash, Iron Tail, Swords Dance, Dragon Dance

Moves: N/A

TMs: Protect]

-0-

"Night Slash, Iron Tail, Swords Dance and Dragon Dance." No matter how many times Aeron looked, he was impressed by the Innate Moves/Egg Moves of his Pokémon. The two buffs could increase Axew's Attack and Speed significantly, and if combined with his ability: Mold Breaker, Aeron had no doubt his starter would become an unstoppable force. A juggernaut that could plough through anything.

Aeron focused on the move he wanted Axew to train in, calming his excited heart.

"We will start with [Night Slash] and [Protect]."

Aeron opened Poketube, a platform where trainers could stream their battles for others to see. He clicked on a video where a Weavile was using [Night Slash].

[Night Slash] was a Dark-type move channelled through a Pokémon's claws. Once the move was used, the Pokémon would cover its claws with Dark-type energy and slash its opponent.

The move seemed simple, but it took more work to perform than it looked. It would have been daunting if Axew had learned it from scratch. Luckily, [Night Slash] was an egg move that Axew inherited from his parents and already had the necessary information inside his head.

"You see that dummy right there?" Aeron pointed at the metallic dummy in a corner created for practicing moves. "I want to try your [Night Slash] on it."

"Axew Axew."

The young Dragon smiled excitedly as he ran towards the metallic dummy with his tiny legs. As soon as he was close enough, Axew jumped into the air.

"Hmm?"

Looking at him from a distance, Aeron frowned when he saw how Axew was performing the move. Unlike other Pokémon who used their claws for [Night Slash], Axew used his small tusks.

Axew jumped toward the dummy's face, and when he was close enough, he swung his right tusk at it. But as Aeron expected, there was no Dark-type energy around Axew's tusks when they collided with the metallic dummy.

Bang.

The sound of a Pokémon and metal colliding rang out in the training hall as Axew dropped back to the ground. Aeron smiled at the Axew's disappointed face and walked toward him.

"Don't be discouraged. A Pokémon must train with all seriousness if they want to perform a move, even if it is inherited from the parents, much less master it."

Aeron cheered his Pokémon, but then he noticed something. There was a visible crack on Axew's tusks.

"This…"

Aeron panicked, and just when he was about to carry Axew to Nurse Joy, his eyes widened in surprise.

The cracked tusks fell to the ground, and instinctively, Axew picked one of the tusks and ate it. But this was different from what surprised Aeron. What surprised him was that a new pair of tusks immediately grew out.

"The hell?"

He could not help but curse. Aeron tapped his Pokedex and searched for necessary information without wasting a second. What he came across brought a chuckle of disbelief from his mouth.

[The large tusks of an Axew tend to break. Each time they grow back, they are harder, sturdier and sharper. The stronger a tusk, the more time it takes to grow. Axew would instinctively eat their first broken tusk]

[A/N: I did not make this up, as it is canon].

Aeron looked at Axew, playing with his new tusks and muttered under his breath. "Well, shit."

He looked carefully at the new tusks Axew had grown. One look was enough to tell the difference between the new and old ones. The ones before Aeron's eyes were slightly bigger, thicker and sharper than the previous ones.

Did this not mean a stronger pair would grow back each time the tusk fell off? As he learned something new about his Pokémon, Aeron decided not to worry and resume the training. While Axew performed the move, Aeron ensured he helped the young Dragon wherever possible.

While Axew learned [Night Slash], Aeron decided to teach himself how to fight. He opened Poketube and searched for the basics of the fight before he watched several videos until he found the one he was most interested in. It also taught the most basic attack.

[How to throw a punch].

[For those who are right-handed, and vice versa for the left-handed, step in with your left foot] The instructor in the video showed as he took his left foot forward. [Make sure it is placed firmly on the ground].

He showed how he ensured his feet did not leave the ground. As he stepped in, it would make a 'thud' sound.

[Now, do the same thing but make sure to twist your hips a little] The trainer slapped his left hip, showing how he was twisting it slightly when stepping in. [Then punch with your right arm, however, make sure to your shoulder inwards].

SWOOSH

As the instructor punched out, the air around his knuckles was torn apart, creating a small gust of wind.

[That, my friends, is how you through a punch]. The instructor gave a small grin before adding. [Make sure to like, share, and subscribe if you found it helpful. And press the bell icon for similar content]

[Peace out].

Aeron nodded as he committed all the steps in his mind. He started stretching his limbs before he was ready.

"Time to learn how to punch."

And so began the official training of a Dragon and the Dragon's partner.

-------------------------End of Chapter-------------------------

Author's Note:

- [How to throw a Punch]: I copied it from Hajime no Ippo. Just making sure I give credit where it is due.

- Drop some Power Stones to support the book. I hope you like it so far.

- Peace!