Pokémon: Trainer Paul

"Come out, all of you."

Paul tossed out several Poké Balls, releasing his Pokémon.

As they emerged, they immediately sensed multiple dangerous presence nearby. They didn't make a sound, cautiously scanning their surroundings in silence.

Before long, they took notice of the Drapion and Roserade nearby, as well as a group of Pokémon assisting as apprentices—Chimecho, Medicham, Machoke, and Toxicroak.

With just a glance, the team's primary focus fell on Drapion. After all, just a few days ago, they had encountered an unbelievably strong Drapion. Now, running into another one inevitably drew their attention.

Among them, Skorupi couldn't take its eyes off Drapion.

Paul spoke up. "I'm counting on you all to help train these guys, especially Skorupi. Drapion, I'll leave it in your care for now."

This Drapion was, in a way, a product of Paul's own training. Many of its battle strategies and training methods had been personally developed by him, though he had also encountered his fair share of trial and error along the way.

Now was the perfect time for Drapion to pass down its experience—especially its mastery of Acupressure—to Skorupi.

At the very least, Paul wouldn't have to worry about it in the short term. Drapion knew better than he did how to train Skorupi, allowing them to skip past unnecessary setbacks and level up quickly.

"Ah-leh~"

Drapion pounded its chest in agreement, then lowered its head to examine Skorupi, who was staring at it without blinking. Reaching out with its large pincers, Drapion gently patted Skorupi's head, an elder's way of showing care.

"Kuu~"

Skorupi waved its claws energetically, brimming with enthusiasm.

"For now, we'll be making some adjustments." Paul continued.

"Other than Skorupi, Electabuzz, and Gible, the rest of you will have a significant reduction in training load. Once you complete your daily tasks, you're free to do as you please."

"Additionally, each of you must visit Drapion and Roserade at least once per day for an Acupressure massage. Their techniques will help activate your potential, enhance your strength, and provide other benefits."

Overtraining could be counterproductive. The past training period had been more than intense enough for his team. It was time to let them rest and recover.

Gible and Electabuzz, on the other hand, had been taking it easy for too long. It was time for them to get serious again.

As for Skorupi, Paul would leave it to Drapion for now and refrain from interfering. When the time came for him to take it back, he'd step in.

"Cha-cha~"

Hearing that a simple Acupressure massage could make them stronger, Dewott's eyes lit up.

He planned to be the first to give it a try. Once that was done, he could return to perfecting his still-unpolished Aqua Jet Burst technique.

Aside from Ursaring, who had already experienced these massages before, the rest of the Pokémon were just as eager. The idea of getting stronger simply by receiving a massage was more than appealing.

"I'll leave the rest to you." Paul said, nudging two Pokémon who had just been fully healed by Chimecho. "Let them enjoy the benefits of the massage. I'll be taking these two with me."

The two previously "fainted" Pokémon quickly scrambled to their feet and followed Paul.

Drapion and Roserade waved them off with smiles.

The moment Paul left, their expressions changed completely. They turned to face the five newly arrived Pokémon with eerie grins.

"Ah-leh~"

Who wants to go first?

Clicking its massive pincers together, Drapion's gaze swept across the newcomers, its grin growing ever more unsettling.

Dewott, who had initially been eager to go first, hesitated at the strange atmosphere. The more cautious and timid Pokémon were even more reluctant.

Ursaring, who had been well-behaved since arriving, stood motionless, unusually docile.

Having been here before, it already knew what was coming. But even so, it wasn't particularly eager to experience it again.

Vulpix, curled up atop Grotle's shell, shrank into a tight ball, watching the scene unfold with a sense of dread. The thought of running away crossed its mind.

But when it glanced up, it suddenly noticed something—somehow, at some point, a Staraptor was circling overhead, and not far away, a Toxicroak stood motionless, standing guard.

"Ah-leh~"

You little cowards don't want to volunteer? Huh?!

Fine, you're up first!

Drapion's tail lashed out, grabbing Skorupi just as it was trying to burrow underground to escape. It lifted the smaller Pokémon into the air and placed it down in front, immediately beginning the Acupressure technique with its large pincers.

"Ah~gah! Ah! Gah! Dee! Gah!"

Skorupi froze for two seconds after the technique was applied. Then, as soon as the pain kicked in, it let out a series of agonized cries.

Those who knew what was happening remained calm. Those who didn't might have thought Skorupi was about to undergo some kind of power-up transformation.

"Rosé~"

Big bear, little turtle, come here, dears. I'll be gentle.

Roserade smiled warmly, beckoning Ursaring and Grotle forward.

"Grrrr~"

"Ursaa~

Feeling the Grass Knot that had been wrapped around their feet loosen, the two Pokémon obediently approached Roserade, ready for their treatment.

Vulpix, still nestled on Grotle's back, naturally came along as well.

"Ahwaaah waaah! Ah!"

Soon, yet another voice joined the chorus of groans.

"Grrrr~"

No need to wait for them. Come to me.

The unofficial master technician, Toxicroak, slowly stepped forward, raising its distinctively sharp red middle finger as it gestured toward Dewott—the last one still standing.

"Cha-cha~"

Suppressing the sudden surge of fear, Dewott took a deep breath and bravely walked over to Toxicroak.

This breeding facility had three master technicians—

Drapion, the founder of Acupressure Massage;

Toxicroak, the refined master of the technique;

Roserade, who, despite lacking the Acupressure ability, had developed her own Poison Sting Acupressure Massage through sheer talent.

With all three experts in session, the assisting Pokémon eagerly gathered around to watch and learn.

Even after walking several hundred meters away, Paul could still faintly hear his Pokémon's groans of "relief."

"This should do for now. I heard from Reggie that you've learned Dragon Dance. Show me."

Having arrived at a quiet, open area, Paul stopped and waited for Gible's performance.

"Sha!"

Excited to see its trainer again, Gible grinned widely and prepared to show off its best Dragon Dance yet.

With that, it started bouncing in place, shaking and twisting its body in a peculiar rhythm. Occasionally, it spun in a circle.

As the odd dance continued, a white light briefly flashed around Gible's body—its power and speed increasing.

"…"

Paul fell into complete silence.

Was it Gible's unique physique?

The longer he watched, the more it looked like Gible wasn't performing Dragon Dance… but rather, clubbing on the battlefield.

If someone added a soundtrack and played "Keep the Music Going, Keep Dancing," this could probably become a meme.

"Haha~ aye aye loo~"

 Electabuzz, watching from the side, couldn't stop laughing, its mouth stretched wide in amusement.

Seeing its friend laugh, Gible became even more enthusiastic, jumping even harder.

"You did great. Never do that again."

Paul praised it.

"Sha?"

Gible froze mid-bounce, stunned.

"Master the technique quickly, then simplify the movements. In battle, you need to activate Dragon Dance with the smallest action possible."

Right now, by the time Gible finished its "dance", even Grotle could have charged over and tackled it.

Ideally, the technique should be executed in a single motion—perhaps with a simple spin or a quick determined stance to trigger the boost.

"Sha~"

Hearing that Paul wasn't outright banning Dragon Dance, Gible sighed in relief. Refining the movements? No problem.

With that, Paul pulled out his Pokédex, scanning both Gible and Electabuzz to see if they had learned any new moves lately.

After testing, it was found that apart from Dragon Dance, most of the moves learned by Gible were Meteor Swarm, Stone Attack... a type of strong attack moves, and it hardly learned other change-type moves.

As for Electabuzz, it learned the functional Light Wall as well as.....

"You actually learned this move?"

Paul looked at Electabuzz with some doubt.

(To be continued...)

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