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After a long and challenging journey, Jacob and his two companions finally returned to the Patrol Team headquarters just before nightfall settled over the mountains. Despite the difficulties they had faced during their mission, they had successfully completed their first official patrol assignment.
As Jacob helped Amelia dismount from Charizard's broad back, he noticed her face was deeply flushed. Whether it was from the biting cold of the high altitude or from embarrassment, he couldn't tell. She looked up at him briefly, attempting to maintain her composure and act as though nothing unusual had occurred during their flight.
"Thank you," she whispered softly, her voice barely audible over the wind.
Jacob studied her flushed complexion with concern, wondering if she was still running a fever from the previous night. "You should get some rest first. You've been flying for such a long time," he said gently. "And don't forget to take your medicine."
"Mhm," Amelia responded with a quiet nod before making her way toward the temporary shelters.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on Jacob's shoulders. The continuous flying, combined with staying awake all night to care for Amelia when she had fallen ill, had left him severely sleep-deprived. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his normally steady hands trembled slightly from fatigue. After a quick wash with the cold mountain water, he collapsed onto his sleeping bag and fell into a deep slumber. He slept soundly from around seven in the evening until nearly ten o'clock the following morning.
When Jacob finally awakened, he felt completely refreshed and energized. The long rest had restored his strength and cleared his mind. Without delay, he gathered his Poké Balls and set out alone into the mountainous wilderness to begin training his Pokemon team.
The Sundawn Plateau Wilderness Area offered more than just encounters with rare Pokemon species. The harsh plateau environment provided invaluable physical conditioning opportunities that could significantly enhance both trainer and Pokemon endurance. The high altitude and frigid temperatures were particularly beneficial for building cold resistance and improving overall stamina - qualities that would serve them well in future battles and expeditions.
Since Jacob carried an unusually large number of Pokemon with him, including several rare and powerful specimens that might attract unwanted attention, he made sure to find a completely isolated area far from any hiking trails or camping spots. Once he was certain they were alone, he began releasing his Pokemon from their Poké Balls.
Sceptile emerged first, its impressive size making it stand out dramatically against the pristine white snow. The Grass-type Pokemon looked like a true overlord of this mountain forest, its green scales contrasting sharply with the winter landscape surrounding them. Although the freezing weather made Sceptile somewhat uncomfortable initially, the impact wasn't too severe. Its naturally robust physique provided decent cold resistance, allowing it to adapt relatively quickly to the harsh conditions.
Next, Jacob released Noibat, his Flying and Dragon-type Pokemon. Being quadruple weak to Ice-type attacks, Noibat desperately needed focused training to build up its resistance to cold conditions. This type of environmental conditioning could mean the difference between victory and defeat in future battles against Ice-type opponents.
However, the moment Noibat materialized from its Poké Ball and felt the bitter mountain air, it immediately displayed clear signs of displeasure. The harsh, unforgiving weather made the small Pokemon extremely uncomfortable, and it quickly sought refuge by burrowing into Jacob's warm jacket. It nuzzled against his arm affectionately, clearly hoping to avoid the training session entirely.
"Noibat," Jacob said with a heavy sigh, his voice filled with gentle exasperation. "I know this is difficult, but you need to learn how to adapt to cold environments like this. You can't always run away when things get tough or uncomfortable."
Noibat tilted its small head and gazed up at Jacob with large, confused eyes. Through their telepathic connection, it communicated its feelings directly to its trainer's mind.
"I... don't... want... to train. Too... cold," the Pokemon's thoughts came through slowly and hesitantly.
Looking down at Noibat's adorable but stubborn expression, Jacob couldn't help but release another deep sigh. He found himself genuinely worried about what would happen if Noibat maintained this attitude even after evolving into the much larger and more powerful Noivern. How could it reach its full potential if it continued to avoid challenges?
"No, you need to start training right now!" Jacob said firmly, adopting a more serious tone as he gently but insistently removed Noibat from his jacket. "Look around you, Noibat. Charizard and Sceptile have both evolved into their final evolutionary forms, but you haven't reached yours yet. You need to develop a sense of urgency about your growth and development."
Jacob began what he privately thought of as his "motivational lecture," speaking with the earnest conviction of a dedicated trainer. "Training is like swimming upstream against a powerful current - if you don't keep pushing forward and improving, you'll inevitably fall behind and lose ground. The reason you haven't evolved yet, despite being with our team for so long, is because you haven't been putting in the necessary effort during training sessions."
He continued his persuasive speech, hoping to inspire his reluctant Pokemon. "If you continue avoiding difficult training like this, you'll only fall further and further behind Sceptile and Charizard in terms of strength and ability. Noibat, I'm pushing you like this because I care about your development and want to see you reach your full potential. Everything I'm asking you to do is for your own benefit."
Through a combination of patient coaxing, gentle encouragement, and strategic appeals to Noibat's competitive spirit, Jacob eventually managed to instill a sense of urgency in the small Pokemon. Reluctantly but with growing determination, Noibat finally began to engage in the cold-resistance training exercises.
After successfully motivating Noibat to participate, Jacob turned his attention to Charizard and was pleased to discover that the Fire and Flying-type Pokemon had already begun training independently. Charizard was working diligently on flight maneuvers and flame control exercises, showing impressive self-motivation and discipline.
While Jacob appreciated Charizard's apparent dedication to training, he couldn't shake a subtle feeling of unease that nagged at the back of his mind. In the past, when Charizard was openly mischievous and rebellious, Jacob at least knew what to expect. Now that it appeared to be behaving perfectly and following instructions without complaint, he found himself more worried than ever. He had learned through experience that Charizard was incredibly cunning and resourceful when it came to causing trouble.
The Pokemon was filled with creative ideas for pranks and schemes, and its intelligence made it particularly adept at concealing its true intentions. Jacob suspected that Charizard's current good behavior might be a cover for some elaborate plan or trick that he hadn't discovered yet.
"Charizard," Jacob decided it was time for a serious conversation with his powerful Pokemon. He approached with a diplomatic but firm demeanor. "As a sentient being... as a Dragon-type Pokemon, you need to maintain high moral standards and avoid taking shortcuts or using underhanded methods to achieve your goals. You should strive to be honorable and straightforward, like a true gentleman. Be open, honest, and righteous in all your dealings, understand?"
Charizard lowered its large head and studied Jacob with a puzzled expression that seemed to contain elements of surprise, confusion, and what could only be described as barely concealed disdain. The look in its eyes seemed to say, 'What kind of nonsense are you spouting? How can you say such things with a straight face?'
Through their bond, Jacob could sense Charizard's thoughts: "I, as a Dragon, still have much to learn about improving my character. I should study Master's... unique approach to moral flexibility."
"Hey, what's with that look? Don't stare at me like that!" Jacob felt his pride wounded by Charizard's contemptuous gaze. "I'm trying to have a serious discussion about your behavior and attitude, Charizard."
The expression on his Pokemon's face made Jacob feel deeply insulted and misunderstood. What was that supposed to mean? How dare Charizard look at him with such obvious skepticism?
"Roar, roar!" Charizard responded with what sounded suspiciously like argumentative growls.
"Master, Charizard's saying that you two are basically the same - six of one, half a dozen of the other," Noibat, who had been training nearby and couldn't help but overhear the conversation, acted as an interpreter. The small Pokemon slowly transmitted Charizard's message through their telepathic connection.[T/N: Charizard is saying You and I aren't that different. We may look or act differently, but deep down, we're basically alike]
"You actually have the nerve to talk back to me like that?! You've really changed, Charizard," Jacob exclaimed, genuinely shocked by his Pokemon's bold response.
"Roar, roar!" Charizard continued its protests with increased volume and emphasis.
"Master, she's saying that..."
"Noibat, you focus on your own training for now!" Jacob quickly interrupted, gesturing for the small Pokemon to return to its exercises. He then turned back to address Charizard directly. "Listen carefully, Charizard. From this point forward, you need to pay serious attention to your public image and reputation. When we're out in the world, you represent not just yourself, but me as your trainer as well. You need to project the image of a cheerful, positive, and inspiring Charizard - the kind that sets a good example for other trainers and their Pokemon!"
"Roar, roar!" Charizard seemed unconvinced by this argument, turning its head away dismissively and clearly indicating that it had no interest in continuing this particular conversation.
Recognizing that his direct approach wasn't working, Jacob decided to try a different strategy. He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and moved closer to Charizard, gently patting the Pokemon's muscular shoulder.
"Look, here's the thing," he said quietly, glancing around to make sure no one else could overhear. "When other people are watching, you absolutely must project a noble, righteous, and heroic image. But when we're alone and nobody else is around... well, then you can do whatever you want within reason. Charizard, you need to understand the importance of image management and creating the right public persona. Think of it as developing your 'Dragon persona' for public appearances, understand?"
After his extended conversation with Charizard about proper behavior and image management, Jacob shifted his focus to his two younger Pokemon team members: Axew and Bagon.
These two Dragon-types had joined his team at roughly the same time and had been developing at similar rates. Axew was already approaching a breakthrough to Lord-level strength, while Bagon was very close to achieving its first evolution. As their power levels increased and their capabilities expanded, Jacob recognized the need to intensify their training regimens accordingly.
Both of Axew's final evolutionary form, Haxorus, and Bagon's ultimate evolution, Salamence, were classic physical attackers known for their incredible strength and combat prowess. However, they also shared a critical weakness to Ice-type attacks, making the current training environment in the Wilderness Area absolutely perfect for their development needs.
The harsh mountain conditions would simultaneously build their physical endurance and stamina while also developing their resistance to cold and ice-based attacks. This dual benefit made the challenging environment an excellent investment in their long-term combat effectiveness.
Jacob designed a comprehensive training program that combined physical endurance exercises with weighted resistance training to build their raw strength. He also arranged for them to engage in controlled sparring matches against each other, which would improve their combat instincts and battle experience while allowing them to practice their techniques in a safe environment.
Finally, Jacob turned his attention to Dreepy, his Ghost and Dragon-type Pokemon that required specialized combat training. Since Dreepy had recently achieved a breakthrough to Overlord-class strength and was expected to evolve in the near future, Jacob had begun preparing Dreepy for its own evolutionary journey.
Compared to his other Pokemon, Dreepy's evolution process would be significantly more complex and challenging. Jacob had developed an ambitious plan for Dreepy to undergo what he called a "splitting evolution" - a advanced technique that required massive energy accumulation and placed extremely high demands on the Pokemon's natural strength and talent.
His current strategy involved using an A-grade dragon scale that he had been saving for a special occasion. He planned to combine the Dragon Pulse energy from this rare item with Ghost-type core energy extracted from a specialized Poison Bottle. This dual-energy approach would theoretically allow Dreepy to undergo the splitting evolution using both Dragon and Ghost-type enhancement methods simultaneously.
"Dreepy, starting today, we're going to begin intensive combat training," Jacob announced to his Ghost-type Pokemon. "You'll need to significantly increase your training volume and focus on developing both your speed and physical strength. We're also going to start working on advanced energy control techniques."
He outlined the comprehensive training schedule he had developed. "Each morning will be dedicated to speed and strength conditioning exercises. In the afternoons, we'll focus on energy manipulation training, beginning with Dragon Pulse techniques and Ghost-type energy control."
Jacob then assigned training supervision duties to his most experienced Pokemon. "Sceptile, I want you to take primary responsibility for guiding and supervising Dreepy's training sessions."
Among all of Jacob's Pokemon team members, Sceptile was undoubtedly the most qualified to serve as Dreepy's mentor and training partner. This was because Sceptile, like Dreepy, followed what Jacob termed an "all-around dual-wielding combat path" - a versatile fighting style that incorporated multiple attack types and strategic approaches rather than specializing in a single combat method.