Cerulean City, Silph Heavy Industries branch!
"Master, is the equipment I asked for ready?"
Sitting in the spacious workshop, Hisoka toyed with a model cruise ship on the table as he smiled at the middle-aged man striding toward him. The man had graying hair and a thick, bushy beard; his arms were so muscular they could practically rival the girth of Hisoka's thighs.
Thud!
The middle-aged man set a small metal case down on the marble tabletop. Though the box looked modest in size, it landed with the heavy resonance of a massive weight hitting the floor.
Opening the case, the man smiled and said, "Alright, everything you wanted is right here. Young man, making these was no simple task. If I didn't have thirty years of machining experience under my belt, an ordinary craftsman wouldn't have been able to pull this off."
As the lid fell back, four silver-white circular mechanical rings were revealed to Hisoka. The edges of these metal rings were lined with uniform, semicircular grooves.
"And these are the Gravity Beads, processed from Super-heavy Stone!" The master opened his palms, revealing a single black stone bead. "Each Gravity Bead weighs exactly ten kilograms. I've added a magnetic charge to them so they snap perfectly into the grooves of the mechanical rings. There are ten grooves per ring, allowing you to adjust the weight according to your needs."
These four metal rings were the specialized training equipment Hisoka had commissioned. These Weighted Mechanical Rings could have their size and mass adjusted freely, making them the perfect tool to train a Pokémon's muscular strength and explosive speed.
A single ring filled with ten Gravity Beads weighed 100kg. If all four rings were fully loaded, the total weight reached 400kg. By placing one on each of a Pokémon's four limbs, they would be subjected to a staggering 800 pounds of pressure. If a Pokémon could adapt to such a weight and still move freely, the power and speed it would unleash once the rings were removed would be truly terrifying.
An endless stretch of cerulean sea, a beautiful beach of snow-silver sand, and seabirds soaring freely through the distant sky.
Standing before an all-wood vacation villa, Hisoka spread his arms wide and took a deep breath of the salt-tinged air. This was the spot he had chosen for his getaway.
Located north of Cerulean City, this was a private beach Hisoka had rented for an entire week. He wasn't one for crowds, so rather than visiting the developed public beaches, he had opted to spend a small fortune to secure this private sanctuary.
Looking into the distance toward the northeast corner of the beach, a towering cliff loomed. Atop that cliff sat a lighthouse, its beam cutting through the air even in the daylight.
That must be Bill's Lighthouse, Hisoka thought, stroking his chin reflectively.
He shook the thought away. It didn't matter. He was here for a vacation and to put his Pokémon through a special training regimen. Anything else was none of his business; Hisoka never bothered with matters that didn't offer him a clear benefit.
After a quick cleanup of the villa, Hisoka changed into black swim trunks. Wearing flip-flops and a pair of dark sunglasses, he walked out onto the sand with his chest bare.
"Come on out, Lulu! Sneasel!" With a flick of his wrist, Hisoka tossed two Poké Balls, and the two Pokémon appeared before him simultaneously.
Hisoka crouched down and rubbed the smooth, silky green hair of his Kirlia. "Hehe, Lulu, why don't you go start on dinner first, alright?"
Lulu silently took a step back, dodging her master's "annoying" hand before he could muss her hair further. She shot a sharp glare at Sneasel, who had been staring at her, before trotting back toward the villa with small, graceful steps.
"Listen up!" Once Lulu's figure disappeared through the doorway, Hisoka turned his full attention to Sneasel. "Little guy, this week I'm going to put you through a special training program. It won't be the normal routine we did a month ago; this is going to be a life-or-death grind. We must master the move Night Slash within the week. That is my requirement for you. Understood?"
"Snea~!"
Sneasel nodded vigorously, clenching its claws with an aura of focused readiness.
Seeing Sneasel's dead-serious expression, Hisoka couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out to ruffle the little guy's head. "Actually, today doesn't count. We're ignoring everything today. Just have fun for the afternoon; the hellish training doesn't start until tomorrow."
"Snea..."
Sneasel indignantly slapped Hisoka's arm away, its face a picture of adorable resentment. It felt cheated by its master, as if it had just wasted a perfectly good display of dramatic emotion.
"Haha! Race you to the other side! Whoever wins gets an extra helping of dinner from Lulu tonight!" Hisoka shouted, sprinting toward the crashing waves. Sneasel let out a sharp cry and followed hot on his heels.
"How is it? Is the little thing still refusing to talk to you?"
In a bathtub filled with water, Feebas floated quietly at the bottom. Its eyes were vacant, and it occasionally blew small bubbles from its mouth. Beside the tub, Kirlia had her eyes closed, concentrating intensely as she attempted to use Telepathy to bridge the gap.
"No, it won't communicate with me at all." Lulu shook her head discouragedly.
Ever since Hisoka had obtained Feebas three days ago, he had tasked Lulu with using Telepathy to communicate with it. But no matter how hard Lulu tried, the stubborn little creature simply ignored her.
Hisoka was certain that this creature possessed intelligence and emotions. Pokémon were extraordinary beings; even the "stupidest" Pokémon couldn't possibly have the mere five-second memory of a mundane fish.
What method can I use to stir Feebas's heart? Hisoka pondered.
He knew that mocking its ugliness would probably trigger a reaction, but he was unwilling to try it. Doing so would severely damage the friendship and favorability between them, and he wasn't about to risk that.
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