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Time in the mountains had no meaning.
Before Kael realized it, half a month had passed.
During these two weeks, his life became a relentless cycle: Overload. Discharge. Recharge.
At first, it was pure agony torment that wrung his body and spirit dry, but as the days went on, the pain dulled into numbness… and then into something strange.
Not pleasure. He wasn't a masochist. But he did feel the undeniable improvements.
And that made him crave the suffering.
---
First came his body.
Day after day, high-density electricity scoured his muscles, bones, and nerves. What should have broken him instead reforged him.
He ran faster. He jumped higher. His focus sharpened. Even his mental endurance had grown to new heights.
Then came his energy capacity.
If his old storage was like a teacup, now it was a full kettle.
That wasn't just more power it was a qualitative leap.
In fact, the improvement rivaled and surpassed what he had gained when he evolved from Mareep into Flaaffy.
And not only could he store more… he could recover faster.
Before, Kael always worried about running dry in a battle. His system combos were strong, but they chewed through energy like wildfire.
The Thunder Stone necklace had been a lifesaver, acting as a portable battery.
But now?
Now his recovery speed alone rivaled an endless reservoir.
With the necklace to support him, he could fight at full power for hours without faltering.
It was terrifying.
Like giving an assassin-class mage infinite mana in an online game. The kind of balance-breaking design you'd only expect from cheats.
And here he was, living it in reality.
Finally, his electricity itself had changed.
The constant baptism in Thunder Canyon had replaced the old, lemon-yellow sparks he'd carried since Mareep.
Now, his electricity burned with a paler, almost white, crescent-moon glow dense, refined, devastating.
Even a casual discharge now hits nearly as hard as a properly boosted attack from before.
And this high-quality current wasn't a consumable. Wherever he went, even in places thin in natural electricity, he could refine the ambient energy to keep himself topped up.
Kael was still technically level 26. But in raw battle power? He could overwhelm an ordinary level 30 without breaking a sweat and that was before evolving.
He clenched his fists.
Zeraora's training really is working…
A dangerous thought crept in.
If the results weren't slowing down, I'd be tempted to stay here forever… wait until I could fight Legendaries head-on… and only then leave.
He chuckled to himself, half-serious.
"Raora!"
The cold bark shook him from his fantasies.
Zeraora was watching.
Kael jolted upright, shaking off his daydreams. His expression twisted.
Training time. Again.
No matter how much he had grown, the process was still brutal. He wasn't "used to it." Not really.
Step by step, they entered Thunder Canyon. The air shimmered with yellow haze, heavy with electric density.
Two figures walked in silence one large, one small.
One leading. One following.
Zeraora's icy-blue eyes flickered with thought.
This Flaaffy's progress was… unnatural.
Even the Luxio from years ago hadn't advanced this quickly. Not even the Jolteon before that.
Its gaze slid sideways, studying Kael's steady steps even here in the canyon's depths. The Legendary gave the faintest nod.
"…At this level, he's ready."
---
Zeraora had guarded Thunder Canyon for fifty years.
Its father had trained it, raised it, then vanished after passing down their final, secret technique.
Since then, Zeraora had lived by one creed: Protect. Teach. Endure.
Few ever reached this place.
Fewer still endured long enough to earn its guidance.
In half a century, only three Pokémon had been trained under it. Kael was the fourth.
Eight years had passed since the last one, a Luxray, left.
Since then, the canyon had been silent, save for Zeraora's lonely training.
But loneliness was irrelevant.
Guardianship was its destiny. It's bond. It's oath.
---
Kael's breathing was calm. His steps were light. The thick currents that once crushed him now slid off his body like rain.
He frowned.
Normally, Zeraora would stop after the cracked dark boulder. That was always the mark where training began.
But today, the Legendary kept walking. Deeper. Further into the canyon than Kael had ever been allowed.
A strange pressure coiled in his chest.
Something big was coming.
He tightened his fists.
"Today… something's going to happen."
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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