Looking at Tetsuya's haggard appearance, Matsuba and Pryce stepped forward and asked, "How is it!? Were you injured!?"
"I'm fine." Tetsuya smiled.
Now that Tetsuya had been exposed to Shadow Team, danger could be lurking anywhere. Even Madeleine and Slowbro had been brought by Matsuba to live at Ecruteak Gym.
No matter how arrogant Shadow Team was, they still had to think twice before attacking a Gym. Not because they can't, but because of the implications.
---◓---
After returning to Ecruteak Gym, Tetsuya had a good night's sleep. His Pokémon had not suffered such severe injuries in a long time, and they all needed three or four days to recover.
Tetsuya reported everything about his trip to Kanto to Pryce and Matsuba. It could now be said that everything was ready except for the final opportunity.
Matsuba and Pryce had already identified Shadow Team's Headquarters and its largest operation. Shadow Team's Headquarters was located in "Kaze no Tani[1]"¹ between Goldenrod City and Ecruteak City, while its largest operation was the Department Store in Goldenrod City. However, the true leader behind Shadow Team had yet to reveal themselves…
Matsuba and Pryce had already dispatched people to monitor those two locations day and night. Once everything was arranged with Giovanni, they could completely seal off both places and wipe out Shadow Team in one stroke.
All of Shadow Team's branches were already under Matsuba's and Pryce's surveillance. Once the Headquarters came under attack, it would inevitably request reinforcements from those branches. As long as ambushes were prepared along the reinforcement routes, Shadow Team would be completely destroyed!
However, Giovanni still needed considerable time to complete the necessary procedures in Kanto and gather the League forces. For now, they could only remain hidden.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket, Giovanni's underground force, had already infiltrated the Johto Region in wave after wave. They were spread throughout the cities near Kaze no Tani as well as Goldenrod City, waiting only for Giovanni's command. Those Rockets would remain permanently in the Johto Region, officially establishing Team Rocket's influence there.
---◓---
Matsuba's strength alone was ultimately limited. The following day, Pryce and Sheila brought Tetsuya back to Mahogany Town and returned to Mahogany Gym. After spending three or four days at the Pokémon Center in Mahogany Town, all of his Pokémon had fully regained their peak condition.
Tetsuya brought all of his Pokémon back to Mahogany Gym. Miltank ran over and squeezed a cup of milk for each Pokémon. After drinking it, they naturally felt much more energized.
"Rest for one more day today. After that, everyone will return to the glacier falls for training," Tetsuya said. Once he finished speaking, everyone went off to play on their own.
Tetsuya told Pryce about the great battle at the Airport against Shadow Team. Pryce also felt that Tetsuya had too few Pokémon available for use, but Tetsuya had managed to produce a move combination between Mamoswine, Golurk, and Weezing.
It truly was no simple feat. Of course, Weezing, Beedrill, and Skorupi could also form an effective combination, but its power naturally fell far short of the combination with Mamoswine.
After returning to the glacier falls, they would need to further reinforce the coordination, maximizing each Pokémon's capabilities to reach an even higher level. That was the true essence of a "core tactic".
"I've been raising an, let say, 'important' Ice-type Pokémon. Once it succeeds, it will become an important member of your Ice-type team, and it has an even more mysterious purpose…" Pryce deliberately kept Tetsuya in suspense, leaving him extremely curious.
"Ugh… then I'll thank you in advance," Tetsuya said.
"Now that the big battle is approaching, what are your plans next?" Pryce asked.
"Mamoswine, Ditto, and Beedrill still haven't completed their training. Miltank will continue assisting with Mamoswine's training until it can use Curse six times. As for Ditto and Beedrill, they'll continue until they conquer the glacier falls. Throughout the process, I'll continue my basic training as well. My main focus is still Skorupi, so I'll have to trouble Sheila's Pokémon," Tetsuya said.
Pryce nodded. "That's for the best. Right now, your Skorupi is indeed the weakest in terms of combat power and urgently needs to become stronger. Sheila can be your sparring partner. I still need to keep a close watch on Shadow Team's movements."
The next day, Tetsuya and Sheila arrived at the glacier falls. Their morning plan remained unchanged, consisting of physical condition training.
After drinking its fill of Miltank's milk, Mamoswine underwent high-intensity physical training with the aid of Helping Hand.
Golurk continued its training beneath the waterfalls. Although it had already conquered the "glacier falls", it had not done so in a single attempt. It still needed to repeatedly exert force midway through to complete the ascent.
Now the training task Tetsuya had assigned to Golurk was to complete it in one go. Using rocket propulsion from its legs, it would charge up the waterfalls with High Horsepower and see how far it could "climb". For Golurk at its current level, this was simply an impossible task, but training was all about challenging its limits and constantly overcoming itself.
The first time Golurk charged up using High Horsepower, by the time the energy from its initial burst had been exhausted, it had only completed one-tenth of the climb. On the second attempt, with Miltank's Helping Hand, it used High Horsepower once again and reached one-fifth of the goal.
This also allowed Tetsuya to see just how exceptional his Miltank was. Although it had no offensive capabilities whatsoever, its support abilities were extremely powerful!
The milk could not only restore stamina but was also highly beneficial for improving physical condition.
Helping Hand alone could greatly enhance the capabilities of an allied Pokémon, increasing the power of its moves by well over double. It genuinely was an outstanding supporter. If he had brought Miltank along during the battle against Yamamoto, they definitely could have held out for much longer.
Ditto and Beedrill had also improved further. When full of energy, they could occasionally conquer the waterfalls as well. Although he did not have a Water-type Pokémon, the "GyaDittos" was clearly no weaker than an average Gyarados.
Beedrill's Speed and offensive capabilities were outstanding, but its weaknesses were also obvious. At the Airport in Gringey City, Tetsuya had witnessed Giovanni's Beedrill. It was practically impossible to see coming or going. Everywhere it appeared, Pokémon immediately collapsed, incapacitated.
Such power was simply terrifying. No wonder it had been capable to defeat Lance's Dragonite so easily. Giovanni's strength was unquestionably at the Champion level. Aside from Pryce, there were probably very few Trainers who could stand against him.
There had to be an extraordinary process behind Giovanni's Beedrill becoming so powerful, but Tetsuya had no way of knowing it. After all, there was only one person in the world capable of raising a Beedrill to such an astonishing level.
Weezing's toxicity was its greatest strength, and the move combination Tetsuya had designed had enabled it to win several major battles. However, its greatest weakness was still its mental block. Once it encountered a Pokémon that knew some form of Hypnosis, it was completely helpless.
Tetsuya planned to train it separately. The Gengar within the Shadow Contract knew both Hypnosis and Dream Eater. It could "temper" Weezing's mental resilience, allowing it to truly overcome its past.
•.
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¹. The mountains don't have an "official" name in English, they just called them "a couple of mountains" jaja…
[1] The mountains don't have an "official" name in English, they just called them "a couple of mountains" jaja…