章節 22: Chapter 22: Training Begins

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The public training field at Team Rocket's underground base in Pewter City was massive, about the size of a standard soccer field. The wide area was almost entirely flat and open, without any training equipment or obstacles. However, there were a few low-value amenities like long public benches for resting and water dispensers that were provided for free.

All the Team Rocket members who trained their Pokémon here naturally kept a safe distance from each other. They brought their own training gear to work on improving their Pokémon's skills. Since the training grounds were free to use, the area was always busy, with a large number of members present at any time. In Team Rocket, it's a survival-of-the-fittest environment—if a member's strength stagnates, they risk being replaced.

Thus, every Team Rocket member, whether they want to or not, had to continually strive to grow stronger if they wished to maintain the rank and position they worked so hard to achieve.

Sato arrived at the training grounds a little after 2 PM, and as expected, the area was crowded with people training their Pokémon. Fortunately for him, there were still some spots available for him to start his own training.

It seems that word had spread among the rookies after a certain Team Rocket squad leader mentioned that capturing Pokémon at the training grounds was relatively safer. As a result, Sato noticed a considerable number of new recruits trying to catch Pokémon, either through their own efforts or by paying veterans for assistance.

In truth, the veterans' "supervision" did indeed make the process of capturing Pokémon much safer for the rookies—they at least didn't need to worry about their lives. But of course, this "protection" didn't come for free.

Sato had no interest in how the rookies were getting ripped off by the veterans. Ignoring that headache, he made his way to an open spot in a remote corner of the training grounds, ready to begin his first-ever Pokémon training session as a trainer.

"Come out, Zubat." Sato pressed the button on his PokeBall, releasing Zubat. The Pokémon obediently flew to perch on his right shoulder.

"Zubat, you've told me your dream is to become as strong as your father, the Golbat. From now on, follow my instructions in training. I'll do everything I can to help you get stronger. Can you do that?" Sato asked seriously, patting Zubat gently.

Zubat immediately flew in front of him, nodding and chirping in agreement.

"Good. Put this on. It'll help you grow even stronger." Sato smiled slightly as he took out a small weighted vest from his Team Rocket watch and strapped it onto Zubat.

The vest weighed about 5 kg. As soon as Zubat put it on, he felt the added pressure. The increased body weight forced him to flap his wings harder and more frequently to maintain the same flying altitude.

"Excellent. Now, try flying around. I want you to fly one full lap around this training field at full speed and return to me." After letting Zubat fly at shoulder height for a few minutes, Sato gave him the command.

Without hesitation, and now sufficiently warmed up, Zubat followed Sato's orders and started flying at full speed around the edge of the training grounds.

At that moment, Sato activated the stopwatch function on his Team Rocket watch, timing how long it would take Zubat to complete one full lap of the field.

According to the international standards for a football field, which measures about 100 meters in length and 64 meters width, the distance for one lap around the field is 328 meters. In the end, Zubat completed the lap while carrying the weight vest in 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

This means that with the 5 kg weight, Zubat was able to fly approximately 2.3 meters per second, equating to about 8.2 kilometers per hour. This flying speed is considered quite low in the Pokémon world.

"2.3 meters per second, or 8.2 kilometers per hour. Good, our next goal is to gradually surpass these figures," Sato said.

"Great job, Zubat. Come down and have some water." When he saw Zubat return, drenched in sweat, Sato encouraged him to land and provided a simple massage to Zubat's wings.

Zubat clearly enjoyed the massage, emitting pleased sounds while drinking water, despite being unable to reach his own wings.

As Sato massaged Zubat's wings, he noticed that when fully spread, they only measured about half a meter, and the main muscle groups weren't particularly developed.

"Zubat's abilities mostly rely on these wings. I need to find a way to help them develop better. Maybe I could feed him some calcium tablets like Nurse Joy does in the Orange Islands to aid his physical growth," Sato thought, stroking Zubat's soft wings.

From Sato's perspective as a programmer, there were no shortcuts to training Pokémon. The only way forward was to understand the current data on the Pokémon and gradually improve their stats through appropriate exercises. This would lead to corresponding increases in their strength.

For Zubat's training, Sato aimed to improve his stamina, and flying laps was one of the most basic stamina exercises.

Unfortunately, Sato lacked proper training equipment and an ideal training environment; otherwise, he would want to implement some more challenging flying techniques (like wind resistance training, floating hoop training, dodging exercises, etc.).

While Zubat flew, Sato prepared for his rest period, pouring clean water into Zubat's food dish and adding a high-quality PokeBlock.

At the same time, he took out an old notebook to record the data from Zubat's recent flight test.

After Zubat drank the water mixed with the dissolved PokeBlock, he instantly perked up, finishing the small amount of water in the bowl with delight. He then turned to Sato, looking eager for more of that delicious drink.

Having consumed the refreshing water, Zubat felt his previously exhausted stamina rapidly recovering, and the slight soreness in his wings began to fade, making him feel stronger. Though it was only a little, this boost in strength excited him.

"If you want more to drink, you need to train hard. Trust me, sweat doesn't lie. If you're willing to work out, your strength will definitely improve. Let's rest for a few more minutes, then you need to fly another lap around the training field. This time, you must maintain at least the same speed as before. Look, I recorded your flight speed data in this notebook. If you don't exceed that number, it means you're slacking off, and lazy Pokémon go hungry," Sato said with a slight smile, showing Zubat the recorded data, squinting his eyes.

Seeing Sato's somewhat "dangerous" smile, Zubat felt a chill run down his spine and quickly nodded in agreement.