In order to help Tetsuya deal with Brodie more effectively, Duplica's mother taught Tetsuya's Ditto the method for countering the disguise art. In fact, it was a way of training one of Ditto's characteristics.
On the third day, Tetsuya brought Ditto to Yuri's training room.
"Sit down first. Let's talk about Ditto as a Pokémon." Yuri waved her hand, signaling Tetsuya to sit down.
"There are only a handful of Pokémon capable of 'transforming'. The strongest is undoubtedly the Legendary Pokémon Mew, followed by Ditto and Zoroark. But Zoroark's transformation is very different from Ditto's.
Zoroark's transformation is more akin to an Illusion, whereas Ditto's Transform is truly a process of cellular reorganization.
And the most remarkable thing about Ditto is its eyes. Every time Ditto Transforms, its eyes can witness the entire process of cell division and reorganization.
The first requirement for countering the disguise art is to train Ditto's eyes so that they can observe the process in minute detail," Yuri continued.
Tetsuya listened without really understanding and found it all rather bewildering. At this point, Yuri did not want Tetsuya to understand the ins and outs of these things, so her explanation was also rather vague.
Next, Yuri had Ditto use a microscope to observe cell division and reorganization, looking through it with both eyes and staring continuously.
Once its eyes became tired, she took out a bottle of specially made eye drops and applied them, making Ditto's eyes even brighter.
After an entire day of observation, that night she covered Ditto's eyes with gauze soaked in a special potion and let it sleep soundly, never placing any unnecessary burden on Ditto's eyes.
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Day after day, the same procedure was repeated. Tetsuya also found it extremely boring. Ultimately, Yuri still did not completely trust him, so she was simply training Ditto instead of explaining the principles and methods behind it to Tetsuya.
Staying there any longer would only waste his time, so he might as well stop disturbing her.
As a result, Tetsuya trained his other Pokémon alone in the courtyard.
As time went on, Yuri took complete responsibility for every aspect of Ditto's daily life and training.
The days passed quickly, one after another…
Tetsuya never once asked about Ditto's condition until one day, more than a month later.
Yuri walked out of the training room with Ditto. After more than a month, there were no visible changes anywhere else on Ditto, but its eyes were clearly brighter and more… spirited?
"Ditto's training is finished. As long as it observes carefully, it can identify flaws in a person's disguise. When the time comes, just have Ditto alert you." Yuri handed Ditto back to Tetsuya.
"Mm. Then I'll pack my things and prepare to set out." Tetsuya did not ask any further questions. Since Yuri had given Ditto instructions, it was not convenient for him to inquire further. Even Ditto itself did not understand exactly what this "ability" was. Perhaps it would only become apparent when it actually discovered something.
'Ugh… what a drag…'
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The next day, after saying goodbye to a reluctant Dubpica, Tetsuya left with Ditto. It was not convenient to remain in this forest for long, so he directly rode Golurk out of the forest and arrived at Stone Town up ahead.
Stone Town's specialty was Evolutionary stones, but Tetsuya currently had no use for any stones, so it was merely a temporary place to stay.
Now, Tetsuya began planning his route to the Hoenn Region…
The most convenient and fastest route was to take a ship from Cinnabar Island to Littleroot Town in the Hoenn Region.
From Littleroot Town, the route to Petalburg City was straightforward.
After more than a month, Tetsuya immediately had Weezing, Drapion, and Ariados returned to him. Once he arrived in the Hoenn Region, he would need to proceed cautiously every step of the way. Having one more powerful Pokémon would also provide another layer of protection for his life.
According to Pryce, throughout the past month they had all undergone focused training such as battling against his Pokémon.
The improvement of each one was very noticeable, especially Drapion and Ariados, two Pokémon brimming with drive.
Their improvement would definitely surprise Tetsuya, while the four-headed Weezing had made a new discovery as well.
After receiving the three Poké Balls, Tetsuya immediately sent all three of them out.
Weezing, Drapion, and Ariados had also been separated from Tetsuya for quite some time, so naturally they felt a different kind of excitement upon reuniting with him.
"…It's good to have you back. Ahem! I heard from Pryce that you've all been getting stronger very quickly. I'll see for myself in a little while. For now, let's eat." After saying this, Tetsuya tossed out five Poké Balls in succession and said, "Ariados, this is your food."
White light flashed, and five Spinarak jumped out of the Poké Balls, all of them male. The moment they emerged, they began fleeing in every direction.
Ariados had also gone more than a month without eating this kind of "wild" delicacy. Now that such delicious food had suddenly appeared before it, how could it possibly let them escape?
Although all five Spinarak began fleeing, Ariados was not worried in the slightest. Opening its mouth, it fired five strands of purple thread, each shooting in a different direction.
The threads shot out like arrows. Something that should have been soft and limp had actually become so tough and powerful that it pierced directly through the Spinarak's bodies, instantly turning them purple.
This was Ariados's move Toxic Thread.
Toxic Thread was already different from the ordinary move String Shot.
Its adhesiveness had greatly decreased, while its offensive power had greatly increased. It was even rigid enough to pierce through a Pokémon's body. Just like Ariados's attack moments ago, it was extremely brutal.
Ariados directly tugged on the threads and pulled all five Spinarak toward itself.
Ariados's toxins had completely permeated the Spinarak's poison sacs. Now all the toxins were concentrated within their abdomens, precisely when they were most delicious…
Ariados quickly devoured all five Spinarak, wearing an expression of complete enjoyment~
At this moment, a Fearow flew through the sky, looking down below. Snake and rodent Pokémon often appeared in mountainous terrain like this, and all of them could become Fearow's food. At this moment, its gaze happened to meet Drapion's…
Without another word, Drapion swung both pincers outward in arcs to either side and fired Pin Missile!
If Pin Missile had been used the same way as usual, Tetsuya would not have been particularly surprised. But the Pin Missile that followed made even him feel that he could worry considerably less.
Whoaaa~ As expected of Pokémon that had spent some time being trained by a figure like Pryce.
The Pin Missile curved directly around Fearow's body and shot above it, but the point where they fell was precisely where Fearow was hovering.
Pa-pa-pa-pa…!
All of the Pin Missile struck Fearow's back. Fearow let out a painful screech and naturally saw Drapion, the one that had attacked it. With its belly full of rage and nowhere else to vent it, it fixed its sights directly on Drapion and dove!