The doorbell rang. Sato pressed his lips together before finally standing up to open the door.
As expected, Kiki was outside. Before Sato could even speak, she extended her right hand.
"The Potential Enhancement Serum. Aunt Haruka told me to help you analyze it."
Too lazy to reply, Sato turned around and retrieved all the Potential Enhancement Serum from his spatial backpack, handing them over to Kiki.
Over a hundred vials of Potential Enhancement Serum were neatly arranged in a large container, their brilliant lava-like glow reflecting onto her face.
"Well, I did clean out the entire base. Just standard procedure."
Sato couldn't help but show off a little.
Kiki rolled her eyes, closed the container without hesitation, and handed it to Chansey beside her before turning away with her head held high, clearly unwilling to waste more time on Sato.
Sato glanced at Chansey, who was trotting behind her, let out a smirk, and closed the door.
Lying back into his lounge chair again, Sato found that his previous laziness had completely disappeared.
His mind was now focused on the hundred vials of Potential Enhancement Serum. It wasn't that he doubted Kiki's honesty, but rather, this stuff came with potential risks.
Should he even consider using it on Houndour?
"Unless the Joy family can neutralize the highly stimulating components inside, it's better not to risk it."
Sato concluded in his mind.
Right now, Houndour already had the Flame Orb's amplification, and its potential was no longer something that could be easily capped.
After settling his thoughts on Houndour, Sato turned his attention to Carvanha.
Ever since capturing Carvanha, it had spent most of its time in basic training, but the lack of a proper training environment had been a major limitation.
Thinking about this, Sato lost all desire to relax. Carvanha had already rested long enough, it was time to train!
Grabbing Carvanha's Poké Ball, Sato left the Olivine City Pokémon Center and headed toward the southern coastline.
Looking out over the sea, small whirlpools could be seen scattered across the surface.
But with the surrounding seawalls, this area was far from ideal for training.
Following the coastline, Sato kept walking until he reached the southwesternmost edge of the city, where he finally found a desolate, empty beach.
"This place is perfect! Come out, Carvanha!"
Sato liked this kind of isolated environment, no distractions, perfect for training.
Moreover, the open sea just ahead had plenty of whirlpools, both big and small, making it an ideal training ground.
The moment Carvanha entered the water, it joyfully swam around, enjoying itself.
Born and raised in the ocean, the small rivers and waterfalls it had encountered during their journey had never been enough.
"Carvanha, once you've had your fun, we'll start training!"
Before long, Carvanha returned, eyes gleaming with energy. It let out two sharp cries, looking ready for whatever was coming.
"You see that small whirlpool on your left? Get in there and try to hold your position. Don't let the current drag you away!"
Carvanha nodded and rushed toward the whirlpool, carefully entering its edge, but the swirling current was far stronger than expected, and Carvanha was immediately pulled in, spinning helplessly.
Even the smallest whirlpools weren't something Carvanha could resist easily. After all, this was the force of nature itself!
A flash of red light, Sato timed it perfectly, recalling Carvanha the moment things got out of control, and immediately sent it back out for another attempt.
Carvanha wobbled, feeling dizzy for a while before slowly recovering. It glanced at the distant whirlpool with lingering fear, its power was no joke.
"Don't rush it. Approach slowly, and the moment you feel yourself losing control and getting pulled in, retreat immediately."
Sato crouched down, running his hand over Carvanha's smooth, shark-like skin before continuing, "For now, just staying at the outer edge of the whirlpool is enough. It was my mistake for not considering this properly."
Sensing Sato's apology, Carvanha affectionately nudged him before cautiously approaching the whirlpool again; this time, far more carefully, focusing only on feeling the strength of the outer currents.
They continued training until dusk.
As the sunset approached, Sato recalled Carvanha, knowing that the ocean at night would be far more dangerous, and returned to the Pokémon Center to rest.
The next day, as usual, Sato arrived at the beach and released all six of his Pokémon.
Except for Houndour, who wasn't very interested in the sea, the rest were full of excitement.
After letting them play around for a while, Sato began assigning their training routines:
Sprint drills, obstacle dodging, and wave resistance training...
Once these fundamental exercises were done, they moved on to individual specialized training.
For Zoroark, the focus was refining Night Daze's attack area, not expanding it, but concentrating it into a smaller, controlled form.
Night Daze was undeniably powerful, but its stamina consumption was immense.
If Zoroark could shape the move into a fan-like attack instead of a full circular burst, the energy cost would be greatly reduced.
Gengar's training, on the other hand, was entirely different.
As a laid-back ghost, Gengar spent most of its time meditating.
Yet, despite its relaxed nature, its power increased rapidly through meditation. Even its move mastery. It could improve its techniques just by meditating.
Meanwhile, Larvitar's Rock Slide had already reached near perfection. For an unevolved Pokémon, mastering it to this level was more than enough.
So, Sato slightly adjusted Larvitar's training plan.
The next move to master: Sandstorm!
As the future Tyrant of the Desert, half of Tyranitar's legendary status came from its Sand Stream Ability.
Any Pokémon capable of controlling the weather was never to be underestimated.
Take, for example, Lorelei's Poliwrath, a natural-born Water-type ruler, able to manipulate rain, command Water Pokémon, and once showcased its dominance during the Goldenrod City riots!
Such abilities were entirely different from simply using Rain Dance or Sandstorm to summon weather.
The other was control.
For now, training Larvitar to master Sandstorm was about laying the groundwork, so that once it evolved, it could quickly awaken its Sand Stream Ability and command the battlefield!
While Larvitar's training followed a clear, structured path, Spinarak's development relied heavily on the data Sato had found in Team Rocket's archives.
A Poison Sniper strategy, it sounded powerful.
But in practice, it was far from easy.
Currently, Spinarak had already learned to coat its Bug and Poison moves with its own venom, even applying it to its Silk Threads.
However, it still couldn't absorb and integrate external toxins without issues, nor could it control poison distribution with precision.
So for now, Spinarak could only refine its techniques, improve its Sniper Ability, and slowly build its skills.
For Carvanha, training focused on resisting whirlpools, which would enhance its awareness and control over water currents.
The day it could use Aqua Jet to briefly hover in mid-air, that would mark the true completion of its training.
As for Houndour, having only recently joined the team, it had yet to undergo systematic foundational training. So for now, its strength was still growing rapidly.
At the same time, learning to properly use the Flame Orb was a core part of its training.
How much energy could it safely channel at once without harming itself? That, was something Houndour had to figure out through experience.