At present, the moves that Swinub could barely make use of were only five Egg Moves: Icicle Spear, Icicle Crash, Freeze-Dry, Ancient Power, and Stealth Rock.
The training of Ditto and Haunter had already gradually returned to a normal rhythm, and now what Tetsuya wanted to test was Swinub's mastery of these moves.
"Swinub, use Icicle Spear first."
Icicle Spear attacks the opponent by firing sharp icicles, and the number of times it can be launched depends entirely on one's control over Ice-type energy.
There was no doubt about Swinub's Ice-type energy!
The first Icicle Spear was launched perfectly, with no flaws at all.
When the second Icicle Spear was fired, Swinub was shaken back several steps by the power of its own move!
After the third Icicle Spear was launched, Swinub was directly blasted away…
Tetsuya already had a rough idea of Swinub's condition, but the remaining moves still needed to be tested.
After Icicle Crash was used, Swinub could not control the direction of the falling icicle at all. As a result, after Icicle Crash landed, it instead trapped Swinub itself…
With no other choice, Tetsuya could only recall Swinub into its Poké Ball and then release it again.
"…Try using Freeze-Dry next."
Freeze-Dry uses extremely cold air to rapidly freeze the opponent, sometimes causing the opponent to enter a Frozen state. The most special aspect of this move is that it is also extremely effective against Water-type Pokémon.
Swinub sprayed out two streams of cold air from its nostrils, and in an instant, most of the river's surface was frozen over.
Tetsuya let out a long breath of relief. At last, there was a usable move. Fortunately, Freeze-Dry was a move that directly released the cold energy within the body to attack. Otherwise, there truly might not have been any moves Swinub could use…
What surprised Tetsuya, however, was that both Stealth Rock and Ancient Power were used very smoothly.
Just as Tetsuya had thought, Swinub's current physical conditioning could not yet control such powerful Ice-type energy, which was why it could not control Icicle Spear and Icicle Crash.
Stealth Rock and Ancient Power, on the other hand, were Rock-type moves, and their energy was far weaker than Ice-type energy.
This small amount of power was still within the range that Swinub's body could withstand, so it could easily control Stealth Rock and Ancient Power, though their power was also limited.
"Swinub, your training officially begins today! Once you enter the training phase , you are a Pokémon that must participate in battle.
Battles are cruel, and training is strict. Failing to complete training tasks will also result in punishment!"
As Tetsuya spoke, Swinub looked somewhat unable to understand.
"Train."
Tetsuya prepared to put Swinub through the special training described in Pryce's guide. As for how strict the training would be? It would experience that in due time…
He glanced at Ditto and Haunter.
The glacier falls was freezing to the bone and carried a powerful impact force. The Lapras that Ditto had transformed into was already barely holding on, gritting its teeth as its entire body trembled violently.
Haunter's psychic power had also reached its limit, and slight distortions had begun to appear in its body.
"Do you see Ditto and Haunter? Even though they've already reached their limits, they are still holding on by sheer will without receiving my command. Perhaps their potential isn't as high as yours, but if you don't put in the effort, you'll still be trampled beneath their feet."
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Swinub stared intently at Ditto and Haunter, whose faces were filled with pain, and seemed to somewhat understand what Tetsuya meant.
"Ditto, Haunter, that's enough. Rest for now."
As soon as Tetsuya's words fell, Ditto and Haunter were like they had grasped a lifeline, instantly withdrawing from the falls.
After returning to the riverbank, both of them collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion.
"Alright, Swinub, now it's your turn. Use Freeze-Dry to freeze the surface of the water beneath the waterfall."
The reason Freeze-Dry is exceptionally effective against Water-type Pokémon is precisely because it can freeze water at a deeper level.
Water-type Pokémon naturally contain a large amount of Water-type energy within their bodies, so when struck by Freeze-Dry, their bodies suffer enormous damage. Coupled with Swinub's powerful Ice-type energy, a vast stretch of water from the riverbank to beneath the waterfall was quickly frozen solid.
"Swinub, the reason you can't properly control your moves has a lot to do with your physical conditioning. Your predecessors all trained this way as well, so you shouldn't have any problems either.
Go beneath the waterfall and accept the impact of the water flow. Because the cold of the glacier falls has no effect on you, compared to Ditto and Haunter, this is already much easier for you."
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Swinub ran along the ice surface to beneath the waterfall. The cascading water smashed down onto Swinub's body, then scattered outward along the ice.
Pryce's guide recorded very clearly the time limits different age groups of Swinub could endure the impact force of the falls, so Tetsuya was not worried about overloading Swinub.
Tetsuya had already placed food and milk on the riverbank and watched over the condition of the three Pokémon.
In this way, the three Pokémon repeatedly moved back and forth between beneath the waterfall and the riverbank.
The one that ate the most was naturally Swinub. There was also no need to worry about Haunter being unable to replenish itself due to vitality drain. Ice-type Pokémon inhabited the area around the glacier falls, and Haunter absorbed some of their vitality, surprisingly, slightly improving its resistance to the cold.
---◓---
As the sun gradually sank toward the west, the temperature throughout the glacier falls area began to drop sharply.
Tetsuya had no intention of returning. He ate dinner on the spot. Of course, the Pokémon had already eaten three times throughout the afternoon, while Swinub alone had eaten five times, after all, the impact force of the waterfall consumed an enormous amount of stamina.
"We'll return to rest at nine o'clock sharp. For the afternoon training, Swinub and Haunter still need extra practice. Ditto, you just transform into Rapidash and provide lighting for everyone."
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Ditto instantly transformed into Rapidash, the flames on its body illuminating the entire glacier falls area.
"Haunter, you've spent the entire afternoon training psychic power in coordination with Night Shade. Tonight, don't use psychic power. Just focus on training the linkage between Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, and Dark Pulse. There's no need to say more about that."
Haunter shook its body and began firing moves toward the waterfall.
"Swinub, your strongest moves are Ice-type moves, but right now the only one you can use is the most direct Freeze-Dry. So we need to start training other moves, beginning with the simplest, Icicle Spear.
Right now, you can only use a single Icicle Spear, and even its accuracy isn't guaranteed… That clearly won't do!"
After Tetsuya finished speaking, he drew a circle on the trunk of a large tree not far away. Under the illumination of Rapidash's flames, it was still very clear.
Then Swinub and Tetsuya retreated ten meters.
"Alright, right here! Use Icicle Spear at the circle on that tree…"
In the morning, Swinub could only normally use a single Icicle Spear. After an entire afternoon of physical conditioning training, hopefully there would be some improvement.