Satoshi and his friends arrived at RiNG, a Pokémon training facility.
The place was built recently to accommodate the growing number of Trainers and the rapid expansion of team-based battle formats.
If you registered as a team, you could reserve training space at a discounted rate. But even as students, they still got a substantial price break—so it wasn't too expensive.
As for why they weren't just training at school... well, put simply:
It was like trying to grab a study spot in the library or save a classroom desk. Sometimes people would claim a space by tossing their backpack down—and that was enough to create disputes.
Rather than waste time and energy arguing over who got what field, most students just opted to train off-campus.
The world was... realistic.
From what Satoshi had learned, even though Pokémon trading was officially banned, it still happened underground. In some cases, students were even involved.
He couldn't really accept that reality—but that was how things worked here.
The three of them stepped into a small training room. Froakie and Piplup stood on opposite ends, facing off.
"Piplup, [Water Gun]…"
Tomori issued the command softly, trying her best to get the words out clearly.
"Poka~" Piplup responded, shooting out a jet of water from its beak—a focused burst of energy.
Its expression sharpened slightly as it tried to give its all.
But from Satoshi and Froakie's perspective, the Water Gun looked pretty weak.
"[Quick Attack]!"
Froakie flashed forward like lightning, dodging the water stream with ease and closing the distance in an instant.
"Poka~~~!"
Thud.
Piplup took the hit hard, tumbling like a ball straight into the wall. It trembled from the impact and slid down slowly, clearly knocked out of the fight.
So weak…
Satoshi and Froakie froze in place, blinking in disbelief. Tomori quickly rushed over to help Piplup up, while Anon sat nearby, sipping her fruit juice and dreaming about how famous their trio would soon become.
From that battle alone, Satoshi realized a few things.
First and foremost: presence.
If it were him, he'd shout, "Piplup, use [Water Gun]!" with full force—like a proper Trainer.
He'd even use the Trainer's secret technique: yelling really loud to lower the opponent's Special Attack.
And if you were truly in sync with your Pokémon, they'd respond with even more power in return.
...Although, now that he thought about it—Piplup already had that ability.
Its Ability was [Competitive].
[Competitive]: When a stat is lowered by an opponent, Piplup's Special Attack rises by two stages.
For a starter, that was pretty damn strong—especially compared to the lackluster Abilities of fellow Sinnoh starters like Torterra or Infernape.
A special attacker with [Competitive]? That was a dream setup.
Especially now that [Defiant] had been reworked in Scarlet & Violet to increase Attack when debuffed, the performance gap really started to show.
There were definitely Piplup fans working at Game Freak.
As for Froakie…
My Froakie… does it really have nothing going for it until it evolves into Greninja?
Satoshi couldn't help but cradle Froakie in his arms, overcome with melancholy. Having a "blank slate" Ability early on hurt.
"Kero?"
Froakie tilted its head and gently patted Satoshi's forehead with its milky-white little hand, confused by its Trainer's sudden sadness.
But Satoshi shook off the feeling. Now's not the time to mope—we should be encouraging Tomori and Piplup instead.
Having a blank Ability didn't matter. Strength could always be made up through training. What really counted was growth.
He walked up to Tomori.
Piplup had recovered by now, though it looked embarrassed by its earlier defeat.
"Poka…"
"I'm sorry… it was all my fault." Tomori bowed her head, visibly discouraged.
Watching the two of them interact was like watching two penguins talking to each other.
"Anyway, let's just work on getting stronger. Piplup didn't faint—it just isn't ready to face Froakie yet. You and Anon should train together first."
"Training with Eevee will help you build confidence."
Satoshi thought for a moment and offered his suggestion. Tomori's face turned a little red as she nodded earnestly.
"Okay!"
Wait a sec… is he saying I'm as weak as Tomori and Piplup?!
cough cough~
Anon choked slightly on her juice. But she couldn't argue with him—what Satoshi said was the most reasonable option.
She reluctantly put down her drink and stood up.
The two girls began training.
Meanwhile, Satoshi considered how best to harness Froakie's unique traits in real battle.
He had to stop thinking in terms of game logic and adapt to this world's rules.
Froakie produced bubbles from its chest and back—delicate, bouncy bubbles that could be used to cushion its body and reduce damage.
That kind of feature-based strategy was going to matter a lot here.
So first… he needed to understand the extent of Froakie's capabilities.
Satoshi set Froakie down and looked visibly fired up.
"Froakie, hit me with [Bubble]."
"Kero?"
[Host… have you finally lost it like me?]
...
As their training continued into the evening, Tomori finally learned to give confident commands.
She'd gotten good enough to spar properly with Froakie.
She and Piplup now sat on the ground, completely worn out. For someone as shy as Tomori, this was a huge accomplishment.
"You did great. That's probably enough for today."
"You and Piplup have gotten a lot stronger."
Satoshi offered her a bright, easy smile and held out his hand. Tomori's heart fluttered. Her cheeks flushed as she reached out to take it.
"…Thank you, Sa…toshi."
He really was sunshine in human form.
Tomori instinctively lowered her head, trying to calm her nerves as he pulled her up.
"Kerokero"
"Pokapoka"
Froakie and Piplup clapped flippers together happily, lounging side by side.
Anon, meanwhile, felt like she'd been completely forgotten—and for some reason, this whole scene was giving off a very lovelove energy. Wasn't she the one who got here first?!
"Um, excuse me? Did you two forget something kinda important?"
She shoved her face between them, looking annoyed.
"Hm?" ×2
"The team! Tomori, have you decided if you're joining?"
Anon's voice was tinged with hope. Her eyes were practically glowing.
"…For life…"
Tomori looked down for a moment, then gathered her courage. She looked straight at them, hesitating briefly, throat dry.
"Would you… battle Pokémon with me for the rest of our lives?"
It sounded clingy. But Satoshi didn't hesitate for even a second.
A lifelong Pokémon battle?
That's easy.
He clenched his fist and gave a bold answer.
"No problem! But just so you know—we're not gonna lose!"