When they reached the same valley as last time, Ethan found an excuse to send Lana ahead and stashed the tent and cookware in the little cave he'd dug before.
That way he didn't have to explain where the pots and pans came from.
He also tossed his big travel duffel into the tent. As long as Lana didn't unzip it, she'd never know what was inside.
For now, that bag could stand in for his [Backpack]—a "treasure chest."
When he came back out, Lana was directing her Persian (Alolan Form) against a Sentret in a spar.
This Sentret stuck to its old combo—Dig to pop up in close, then Iron Tail or Last Resort to catch the opponent off-guard.
Based on the way Persian had fought Houndour that day at the Rock Gym, Persian still didn't have a clean answer to Dig. If she wanted to control the Sentret, her best shot was to stall and disrupt.
Just as Ethan expected, the instant Sentret broke the surface, Persian's keen senses caught it. Persian unleashed all the pressure it had been building—Quash—forcing Sentret's action back and smothering the Iron Tail. The blue gem on Persian's forehead flashed and Swift hammered Sentret, blasting it away.
In a blink, the tried-and-true routine cracked. Watching from the side, Furret narrowed its eyes at Persian—it looked impressed.
Then Furret got serious. It straightened its long body, face set, and started barking crisp orders to its junior.
The core plan was still Dig. Sentret vanished again—this time tunneling under Persian and collapsing the ground so Persian suddenly sank.
While Persian scrambled to spring out, Sentret burst from below, tail gleaming metal-bright, and smacked Persian's cheeks with Iron Tail.
Even so, Fur Coat softened the blow and Persian stayed on its feet.
Lana saw it and gave the call. "Persian—Hypnosis!"
Ethan clicked his tongue, a bit jealous.
Persian's bond with Lana reminded him of Ash's Charizard and Incineroar: who just "finds" partners like this?
Hypnosis, Charm, and Swagger—that made three egg moves on Persian already. Its previous owner had clearly sunk money into it… only for Lana to be the one reaping the benefits now.
…Wasn't that supposed to be his template?
He had a cheat, a childhood friend, and even free goodies whenever he went out. He should be the protagonist, right?
Hmm… that logic worked just as well for Lana.
She found the perfect Pokémon for her style and had it fully evolved ahead of the curve; she had a handsome, warm, promising childhood friend in the trainer world; and on top of that, a mysterious big shot surnamed Yan took a liking to her and showered her with gifts.
That's the real protagonist aura.
Realizing this, Ethan kind of wanted to take Houndour to the outhouse and cry. Life was hard.
On the field, Persian's eyes glowed red as it tried to lock Sentret's gaze.
Their eyes met; Sentret's lids drooped—it yawned. Hypnosis was taking hold—
—and then the red light in Persian's eyes winked out.
"Not enough mental power," Ethan judged instantly.
With the trance broken, Sentret snapped awake, pogoed up on its tail, and somersaulted at Persian like a fuzzball. Over Persian's head, its tail flashed metallic again—another thudding Iron Tail.
A faux "super spiral combo."
Even with Fur Coat, two clean Iron Tails were too much. Persian slumped.
After the bout, Ethan hurried in with spray and treated the swelling on Persian's forehead and muzzle.
"I lost again. Brother Sheng was right—this group of Sentrets is really strong," Lana sighed, carefully cradling Persian and checking for other injuries. Finding none, she exhaled.
"Did Hypnosis fizzle because it didn't have the mental power?" Ethan asked.
Everyone knew Dark types were naturally resistant to Psychic techniques; and Dark-type partners, lacking that innate affinity, often struggled to push raw psychic output.
"Yeah. Hypnosis is a hereditary move Persian only awakened when it evolved," Lana explained, stroking Persian's head. "It's still young; its brain isn't fully developed, so Hypnosis sometimes just… doesn't take."
Persian purred into her hand, not discouraged at all. In its eyes, Lana mattered more than anything.
"You can buy Kasib Berries (Velvet), Sitrus-line 'Melon' blends, and Kee-style 'Golden Pillow' mixes—all of those are used in brain-development recipes for Psychic-type training diets," Ethan suggested. "There are also mental-power supplements online, but they're pricey. Honestly, the berry mixes are more cost-effective."
"Really?" Lana's eyes lit up; she jotted the names down fast.
"This stuff's all out there if you look. If you've got an Alliance Knowledge Net account, read more papers. The professors' articles are great—they'll spark ideas for training."
Ethan shrugged, full "study counselor" mode.
Lana didn't mind the tone; she nodded earnestly and kept taking notes.
"I'll do exactly that tonight. No wonder you're pulling ahead of me," she said.
Ethan smiled awkwardly. Ahead? You almost had me yesterday…
He didn't hold anything back, though, and shared more of his plans.
"There's also a trickier but legit path: have Persian analyze Psychic energy and try to comprehend Hidden Power (Psychic). If it pulls that off, its Hypnosis pressure won't trail pure Psychic-types with STAB."
Lana listened carefully, marking the easy-to-forget bits on her phone. It reminded Ethan of himself hunched over a desk building training blocks.
Neither of them had a rich background. Houndour and Persian didn't get endless Nutrition Pills; nobody was paving their path. All they could do was grind smarter and catch up.
That afternoon, Ethan and Lana threw Houndour, Persian, and the Sentret family into intensive study.
The subject, of course, was the lifesaver: Substitute.
The USB Mr. Yan gifted them held twelve tutorial videos, all taught by a mysterious Umbreon.
The moment Umbreon appeared, even iron-willed Lana went starry-eyed. She squatted with the eight little ones to "attend class."
Admittedly, Umbreon did not lecture in human language…
Ethan tried to follow for a bit, but felt like a stranger crashing a club meeting and slunk to a corner to refine Houndour's plan.
All afternoon, his head was full of chorus lines:
"Yoo—yoo—yoo—!"
"Lubi!"
"Meow!"
"Wee-lee, wee-lee, wee-lee!"
"The Moonlight Queen is so elegant—even her teaching posture is gorgeous, awsl…"
Ethan: "???"
For some reason, he felt left out… probably because he wasn't OP enough.
Over the next few days, the eight little ones settled into a rhythm.
Mornings, the seven trainees ran along the river while Furret lazily supervised.
Late mornings, they split up. Furret led the Sentrets deeper into the hills to keep their edge. They always came back scuffed up—Ethan suspected Furret was picking real fights specifically to maintain combat sharpness.
Ethan couldn't just ignore the wounds; every time he used his dwindling spray to patch them up.
Thankfully, with that 10,000-point shot of Ancient Energy, he didn't have to cry over the medicine bill.
While Furret ran its own program, Ethan took Houndour farther downriver and lit controlled burns—feeding the Seed of the Sun's energy trickle and accelerating Houndour's flame attunement.
He also used the nonstop fire-work to push Houndour's fine control toward his idea of "Lotus-Bloom Step":
[Lotus-Bloom Step]: Houndour's flame control reaches such a level that wherever the fire spreads, a lotus of interlocked Fire Spin petals blooms.
They only burned in low, contained spots, constantly shaping spread and intensity, and always moved locations. If a ranger caught them, both man and pup would be cooling their heels in a cell.
Lana launched her own special training too.
Once, Ethan watched from a distance—Persian was drilling a "slap-blink" rush.
He immediately remembered the Rock Gym: that "palm strike" was absurd—like a ghost flicker. It screamed Fake Out into Feint movement, almost like it was practicing Flying Thunder God.
Any time it triggered, it was in your face before you could brace.
Afternoons, the eight reconvened for class—the toughest part for Ethan.
He couldn't parse Umbreon's "yoo yoo" at all; it felt like a different plane of existence. He was isolated.
Love-struck Lana, meanwhile, had completely integrated—drawn by Umbreon's beauty, she became the husky among wolves.
Evenings, the seven ran again, and Furret continued to slack like a foreman with a thermos.
After dinner, the eight reviewed what they'd learned and exchanged key takeaways.
The chorus of noises made Ethan's head buzz. With Umbreon gone, Lana drifted back to his side, and the two watched from afar.
They couldn't spend the entire night on Substitute, though—lights out at 11 sharp. For the two hours before bed, Furret personally coached Iron Tail for Houndour and Persian.
This plan ran seven straight days. The eight still hadn't cracked Substitute—until, during the nightly review, Furret suddenly had an epiphany and nailed it.
In live tests, Furret could burn a chunk of stamina to generate a decoy to absorb a hit.
Ethan and Lana were thrilled. At last—hope.
Furret was immediately promoted to head instructor. Afternoons, it would now teach Substitute; nights, it still hammered Iron Tail with Houndour and Persian. The Umbreon videos were shelved—not because Umbreon wasn't deeper, but because Furret's hands-on demo was worlds clearer.
Ethan assumed Furret would teach them to route energy exactly like Umbreon, converting it into a decoy that could sponge a lethal blow.
Instead, Furret took a different route and started with Protect—a general-type technique very similar to Substitute.
Ethan smacked his forehead. He should've thought of that.
Substitute and Protect are both general-type defensive techniques with similar energy handling. Protect erects a full barrier; Substitute shapes a stand-in. Master one and the other comes a lot easier. That's probably why Furret cracked Substitute in just seven days.
In Furret's view, Protect is easier to learn, so it taught that first, then laddered up to Substitute.
"Why do I feel like this Furret is too smart? It's more of a trainer than we are," Ethan muttered as Furret lectured with palpable zeal, popping a shimmering shield every so often as proof.
"This Furret really is abnormal. It's brilliant—like a little sage," Lana said, squinting in imitation of Ethan as she studied it.
What if this guy was the mastermind archetype? Cunning, omniscient, omnipotent—slowly cultivating stronger and stronger Pokémon until it topples the world order and crowns itself?
Even without a 'Normal Stone Tablet,' I, Furret, would be invincible!
Society, society… terrifying.