Ditto returned to its original form and appeared on Tetsuya's hand, blinking up at him.
"See that Rapidash over there?"
Tetsuya pointed at a Rapidash training in the distance.
Ditto nodded.
"We'll be staying here for two days. Your task is to burn the image of that Rapidash into your mind."
With that, Tetsuya walked straight toward the Rapidash.
The Rapidash's Trainer was a young man in his twenties, not difficult to talk to.
"Ditto, you'll be on Rapidash's back this afternoon. Feel its energy, its rhythm, and its presence…"
After hearing Tetsuya's instructions, Ditto suddenly felt like today's training task was a breeze.
It leapt onto Rapidash's back.
…Only to be burned by the flames and thrown off instantly.
"Get used to Rapidash's aura. Once your rhythm matches its movements, you won't feel the heat anymore."
Under Tetsuya's guidance, Ditto jumped back onto Rapidash's back.
Only to be burned off again…
Only now did Ditto realize this training wasn't easy at all.
For nearly an hour, it kept falling off Rapidash, over and over again, until it could barely manage to match Rapidash's breath and rhythm.
However, once Rapidash started running, Ditto's coordination fell apart again. Falling from its back mid-run would mean serious injury, so Ditto had no choice but to grit its teeth, endure the searing heat, and try its best to keep up with Rapidash's pace.
Tetsuya stood still, watching. Haunter was engaged in its usual mental training from within his shadow.
Watching Ditto stubbornly hanging on to Rapidash's back, Tetsuya gave a slight nod. With memories "burned" this deep into its mind, Ditto had already achieved half the goal of transforming into Rapidash.
---◓---
All afternoon, Ditto stayed on Rapidash's back, sensing its aura and adjusting to its rhythm.
Seeing how Ditto was gradually getting more relaxed, Tetsuya knew it no longer felt the heat; it could at least keep up with Rapidash's movements now.
Only when Rapidash's Trainer ended the session did Ditto finally hop down from its back.
"Hey! Thanks for your help. Dinner's on me tonight. I may need to trouble your Rapidash again tomorrow," Tetsuya said.
After all, he'd still need Rapidash for training tomorrow. Tetsuya never believed anyone helped for free; and even if they did, he believed he should still show some gesture. He didn't even bother asking the young man's name, since they would probably never meet again after tomorrow.
But the young man, being rather shy, turned down Tetsuya's invitation, which suited Tetsuya just fine. It wasn't about the cost of dinner, but wasting time picking a restaurant and ordering was far too inefficient.
As twilight fell and the moon rose behind the willows, Tetsuya pitched his tent and camped right there. This area was free of wild Pokémon and completely safe.
Two compressed biscuits and a bottle of mineral water.
Tetsuya quickly finished his dinner.
He then took out a Burn Heal spray and applied it all over Ditto. The cool, refreshing sensation made Ditto look visibly relaxed and pleased.
"…Acceptable. Here's your dinner."
Tetsuya placed five bottles of the best Moomoo Milk in front of Ditto.
'Kyaaaa~' Ditto gulped. Enjoying this reward after such hardship had become the best part of its day. In its heart, Tetsuya had already earned a special place as its Trainer.
"Haunter, come out. You've already absorbed enough energy during the day, haven't you?"
As Tetsuya finished speaking, Gastly rose up from beneath his feet and nodded.
"Haunter, you've become quite familiar with your move practice by now, so it's time to shift our focus to the next phase of training."
Haunter looked at Tetsuya with eager eyes.
"Now it's about the connection and flow between moves. Training how you use different moves and convert between different types of energy. Only then can you avoid delays during battle that would give your opponent an opening."
After Tetsuya spoke, Haunter looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"You… you probably don't fully understand yet, but just follow my training method. You haven't learned Psychic yet, so your main offensive moves are Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, and Dark Pulse. These three moves are each of a different type. Try using all three in a row without any pauses in between."
With that explanation, Haunter understood what he needed to do.
After launching a Shadow Ball, Haunter should have followed with Sludge Bomb according to Tetsuya's sequence. Instead, it fired another Shadow Ball. It wasn't until the third move that it finally managed to use Sludge Bomb. Then, after casting Sludge Bomb, it paused for a full six to eight seconds before finally releasing Dark Pulse.
Haunter suddenly swayed in place, visibly dazed. Just now, it felt as though it wanted to attack but couldn't summon the strength.
"Now you understand, don't you? It takes firsthand experience to know how to train properly. You can use Shadow Ball with ease now, since it's Ghost-type energy. But switching to Sludge Bomb requires shifting from Ghost to Poison energy, and that's where the delay happens.
You're not switching smoothly yet. That few-second gap gives your opponent a chance. So this training begins now, start practicing those three moves in the exact order I gave!"
Tetsuya's words hit the mark, expressing exactly what Haunter had just felt. After using Shadow Ball, there was a moment of confusion, it didn't know where to direct its strength. It wanted to use Sludge Bomb, but instinctively started summoning Ghost-type energy again.
When it came time to link into Dark Pulse, fear rose up, and it wasn't until it successfully pulled together Dark-type energy that Haunter dared release the move.
Haunter began repeating the training sequence. The transition between Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, and Dark Pulse consistently had a six to eight-second delay. This was definitely not the kind of training that could be completed overnight. In fact, as long as Haunter intended to battle, this would be an essential practice.
With the continuous sounds of "boom boom boom," Haunter was fully immersed in the special training.
By now, Ditto had also fully recovered its stamina.
"Ditto, there shouldn't be any issue transforming into that Rapidash from earlier today now, right?"
As soon as Tetsuya finished speaking, Ditto immediately transformed into the Rapidash it had trained with. After all the pain it had endured earlier, forgetting Rapidash would be impossible.
A near-perfect transformation.
"Ditto, go run around the hills. Get used to this form. You'll be maintaining the Rapidash shape for a long time during our travels."
---◓---
In the darkness, a ball of fire moved rapidly up and down over the hills. Ditto transformed into Rapidash.
Both Haunter and Ditto had entered a new phase in their training, and their strength was steadily improving.
At that moment, Tetsuya took out Pryce's Swinub.