Chapter 176: A Martial Artist Never Takes Shortcuts

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: A Martial Artist Never Takes Shortcuts

Calyrex had actually suggested using His psychic powers to teleport everyone directly to the destination.

Sora refused.

They were Trainers.

Reaching the destination was certainly important...

But so was everything they experienced along the way.

Otherwise...

Wouldn’t they just end up like the younger Gary Oak, traveling around in a sports car with a squad of cheerleaders?

How could that possibly provide proper training for Victini and the others?

Crunch... Crunch...

"Come on, Lucario!"

"We can’t hold Master back!"

Behind Volcanion...

Two figures struggled forward through knee-deep snow.

It was none other than Korrina and Lucario.

Trainer and Pokémon alike reveled in this harsh training amidst the freezing wilderness.

To them...

It felt almost spiritually uplifting.

A true martial artist should be like this!

Challenge nature itself.

Even if countless hardships lay ahead...

Never yield.

"Are... are they really okay?"

Emma was utterly dumbfounded by Korrina’s determination.

According to Sora’s classification of humans...

She herself belonged squarely to the first category—

Someone with slightly stronger vitality than average, but otherwise an ordinary person.

In her eyes...

Korrina was practically a superhero.

Just seeing her spar head-on with Lucario had already seemed unbelievable.

Are you sure you’re human...?

Not some humanoid Pokémon?

And now...

Things had become even more absurd.

Korrina wore only standard cold-weather gear...

Yet casually marched through the blizzard.

If it were Emma...

She felt she’d have frozen to death long ago.

"Ahem."

Sora chuckled.

"Don’t mind her."

"Korrina’s always been like this."

"...Always?"

Emma blinked.

"Isn’t that a little ridiculous?"

With no other choice...

Sora explained to her the classifications of the three types of "superhumans."

The more she listened...

The more astonished she became.

"I can’t believe..."

"So humans like that actually exist."

After thinking for a while, Emma quietly said,

"It seems..."

"The closer humans are to nature..."

"The closer they become to Pokémon."

Emma had grown up in a modern city.

Naturally...

Her physique wasn’t much different from an ordinary person’s.

Korrina, however...

Despite technically belonging to the first category...

She had been constantly injured throughout her training.

Her remarkable vitality continuously repaired her body...

Gradually pushing her further and further beyond ordinary human limits.

Sora had a feeling...

If Korrina continued like this...

She might eventually break through the limits of the first category...

Becoming something akin to a Super Kalosian.

Or rather...

Humans from any region could potentially reach such a state.

Even Emma...

She was still young.

As long as she spent more time living alongside nature...

She too could become stronger.

"Your guess is correct."

Sora nodded.

"There’s actually another factor."

"Frequent interaction with Pokémon..."

"Can also awaken special traits hidden within humans."

That explained why Trainers could survive being hit by all kinds of Pokémon attacks...

Yet still jump right back up afterward.

Psychics and Superhumans weren’t the only exceptions.

Rather...

Every human in the Pokémon world possessed similar potential.

Modern civilization had simply distanced them from nature...

Causing that wild instinct to gradually fade away.

According to information Sora had gathered online...

In the present era...

True Superhumans had become exceedingly rare.

Even people capable of awakening those hidden traits were few and far between.

Especially in massive modern cities...

With populations reaching hundreds of thousands...

Or even millions.

There...

Superhumans had become little more than urban legends.

Yes.

From the perspective of ordinary people...

Sora and Korrina were practically supernatural phenomena.

One more thing.

Every resident of Freezington qualified.

Modern city folk simply had no idea...

How terrifying people raised close to nature could become.

"Rooo~!"

Leading the group...

Aurorus bounded joyfully through the snow.

The environment of the Crown Tundra suited it perfectly.

Like a fish returning to water...

It had become the expedition’s primary scout.

Its sapphire-blue eyes sparkled as it searched for nearby Pokémon.

Every so often...

It would excitedly dig something out of the snow...

Then proudly carry it back to Sora for inspection.

Sora could only smile helplessly...

And indulge the little one’s enthusiasm.

The Crown Tundra was unimaginably vast.

The group searched its frozen wilderness for several days.

Along the way...

They encountered danger numerous times.

Some threats came from nature itself.

Others appeared suddenly in the form of wild Pokémon.

Fortunately...

Sora’s team possessed overwhelming strength.

Every challenge ended safely.

During the journey...

Victini successfully reached Level 78.

One step closer...

To the monumental threshold of Level 80.

Meanwhile...

Korrina and Aurorus defeated many wild Pokémon that challenged them.

Korrina accumulated valuable experience fighting Ice-types.

Aurorus, on the other hand...

Continually stimulated the energy Victini had infused into it...

Growing stronger at an astonishing pace.

Sora certainly hadn’t neglected his disciple either.

Since he’d accepted Korrina as his student...

Naturally he had intended to help her improve.

Originally...

He had planned to let Victini give Korrina’s Pokémon a substantial boost.

However...

Korrina refused.

"Victini belongs to Master."

"Your infinite energy is your own strength."

"I don’t want to take advantage of that."

Lucario shared the same opinion.

It didn’t want Victini forcibly raising its level.

That would merely be borrowed power.

If Lucario’s level increased...

While Korrina’s ability as a Trainer failed to keep pace...

It would only damage the harmony between them.

Much like in the anime...

Where Charizard evolved too quickly...

Eventually looking down on Ash.

Such a thing would leave emotional scars.

A true martial artist...

Never takes shortcuts!

Seeing how firm Korrina’s resolve was...

Sora could only compromise.

Instead...

He asked Victini to carefully regulate her power...

Keeping Korrina and her Pokémon in a constant state of heightened vitality.

That allowed them to train for far longer each day.

They still earned every bit of progress through sweat and effort.

Korrina and Lucario treated it as nothing more than an energy drink.

That...

They could accept.

"I really don’t understand..."

Sora realized...

His understanding of Trainers and Pokémon was still rather superficial.

Perhaps...

This all came down to the heart.

If the Pokémon accepted it...

Then there was no problem.

The same applied to Sora himself.

He could wholeheartedly devote himself to becoming stronger...

Because he believed he’d earned every bit of that strength.

His Pokémon also acknowledged the support he provided.

Likewise...

Sora believed he had fulfilled his responsibilities as their Trainer.

Only when both sides’ hearts were truly synchronized...

Could they continue growing together.

Being a Trainer...

Really is profound.

I still have so much to learn.

Thinking that...

After days of traversing the frozen wilderness...

Sora and his companions finally arrived...

At the destination of their journey.

The Crown Shrine.

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