"You want to go to your hometown?"
That night, when Kai's parents returned, he told them about his plans.
"Okay, your grandparents must miss you. They'll cook for you, so you won't have to order takeout every day. That stuff isn't healthy," Kai's mother said.
"Yes," Kai replied, understanding the logic though still slightly annoyed.
During elementary school, Kai had moved from the countryside to the city. He'd spent his early childhood in Lavender Town, part of the Viridian district, so he was familiar with it.
He remembered a forest near his hometown where trees grew densely, with hard, closely packed trunks. Perhaps due to a past Secret Realm fusion, the woods were much denser than normal.
That was the place Kai had carefully selected for Eevee's training.
Kai taking the initiative to return home pleased his parents. The next day, Kai called his grandparents to let them know.
Lavender Town wasn't far from Viridian City—only about an hour by car. Kai and Eevee chose to take a bus, which took longer, but they used the time to watch movies.
Lavender Town, one of several towns in the Viridian area, had begun urbanization last year but stalled shortly after due to various factors.
Kai's grandparents had already prepared a room for him and Eevee. Though a little rustic, it was where he'd grown up, so it felt very familiar.
Moreover, it had all the essentials: internet, air conditioning—almost like the city. After a meal with his grandparents, Kai took out the laptop he'd brought from home. He hadn't brought all his and Eevee's daily necessities or Eevee's food and nutrients—there was too much to carry in one trip, so he'd need to fetch them later.
Thus, Kai planned to start Eevee's special training the next day.
In the countryside, elders rose early, but Kai told himself that if he and Eevee were determined to train hard, they had to rise earlier. When they got up the next morning, all of Lavender Town was still quiet.
"Gururru.."
Feeling slightly sleepy, he stood at the sink brushing his teeth, his eyes not fully open. However, Eevee, perched on the washing machine nearby, called out, urging him to hurry.
It probably thinks 'special training' is as easy as 'watching movies,' 'playing at the amusement park,' or 'building sandcastles.'
Though Kai's eyes were half-closed, his mind was clear. He knew Eevee was about to face another difficult challenge: persistence.
He himself had planned many beautiful futures and goals in the past. But behind beautiful goals lay immense effort—something most people couldn't stick to.
"What needs to be done is… to make Eevee want to stick with it. I wonder how much the interests I've helped develop will help."
The Gnarled Woods.
Not far from Lavender Town was an undeveloped forest, named for its dark, tangled interior. Adults in town often frightened children, saying if they misbehaved, they'd be thrown into the Gnarled Woods to feed the bugs.
Some time ago, plans were made to build a large structure here—a major project. Pokémon hadn't inhabited the woods for a long time. Outside the forest was a large clearing, which Kai thought was an excellent training ground. Perhaps due to the rural location, such a good spot saw no Trainers training their Pokémon; it was very quiet.
"Besides, compared to remote, quiet places like this, most people prefer public training grounds or lively training halls."
It might also be because the area was marked for clearance. However, since the construction team hadn't started, Kai didn't mind using it first.
Use it while you can.
"No wonder people avoid it. The environment here is really depressing."
"Vee…" Little Eevee, on Kai's shoulder, began to fret. The woods looked gloomy and unsafe at first glance….
"It's all right. I scouted this place while you were sleeping. There's no danger." Kai was brave; even if the interior was gloomy, he'd taken time to wander the periphery. Sure enough, as rumors said, there were no living creatures here.
To clear the land, the trees had been treated with insect repellent. Naturally, Bug-type Pokémon couldn't inhabit it anymore. And without Bug-types, Flying-types wouldn't come to such a barren place.
Additionally, Pokémon permitted by the Trainer Association to inhabit human areas were non-aggressive.
So, before construction began, Kai could take advantage. He wanted to use these dense trees to train Eevee's physical strength.
Fortunately, it wasn't far from the Lavender Town Pokémon Center. The town didn't have a Trainer Association branch, but it had a Center—much simpler than the city ones in terms of equipment and functions…
Medically, it was like a small clinic, handling only simple colds, wounds, fatigue, etc.
But that was enough for Kai and Eevee.
The Gnarled Woods' dense trees were why Kai chose this place. Only such thick growth could better temper Eevee.
Kai called this special training the Stump Sprint Method. Simple and rough: have Eevee sprint back and forth at top speed.
First, exercise explosive power.
Second, build endurance.
Third, improve movement and reaction speed.
Fourth, develop coordination—the intricate maze of trunks was a perfect obstacle course.
Fifth, build stamina and fortitude—with enough speed, hitting a tree was inevitable, and the impact could also hone Eevee's will.
Before coming, Kai had explained the training in detail. Regarding the 'back-and-forth sprint,' Eevee had looked down on it.
The little guy thought it wasn't challenging at all.
After Kai drew a starting line, Eevee arrogantly took its position. In the dense woods, Kai had tied a red ribbon; when Eevee reached it, it could turn back.
Kai took out a stopwatch. At his shout, Eevee burst forward.
But….
As it approached the dense trunks, Kai clearly saw the little guy hesitate. To avoid hitting a tree, it instinctively slowed, giving itself time to judge before entering the thicket. Inside, its speed dropped further… In this tightly woven maze, at Eevee's size, accelerating meant inevitable collisions. This was the best training ground Kai could conceive—if used properly, it might rival professional training center equipment.
After all, it trained multiple foundational qualities simultaneously.
"This guy…" By the time Eevee returned, the total 400-meter distance, including navigating the obstacle maze, took 133 seconds—over two minutes.
"Not good enough," Kai said helplessly as Eevee returned, still looking apprehensive.
"And this is without using moves. If you can't accelerate to full speed, you won't be able to control Quick Attack. Rest for one minute, then we go again. This time, I'll run with you and supervise the whole way."
Kai wasn't in a hurry. He planned to let Eevee adapt for a few rounds and build stamina first.
However, the ultimate goal of this training wasn't just stamina…