Pokémon: Wings Of Shadow

By the edge of the Lake of Outrage, Shiro sat cross-legged near the water and asked the black creature resting on his shoulder.

"How do you train psychic power?"

'Hmm…' Unown A floated around him in a lazy circle. Then it drifted up above his head, its body glowing with a soft pink aura. 'Humans and Pokémon train differently. And you... with your weak psychic talent, you'll need something a bit more intense at first.'

More intense?

Shiro fell silent. He didn't like the sound of that. The words "more intense" made him uneasy.

After all, psychic power was closely tied to the brain. What if Unown A went too far and "accidentally" turned him into a vegetable?

'Can you please stop making random assumptions!' Unown A shouted angrily, bouncing left and right above his head in frustration. Then it looked at the curious Pokémon gathering nearby and yelled, 'And get these guys away from here! How are we supposed to train in peace if they're crowding around!'

"Growwl?"

Growlithe was confused by the odd little black creature, but didn't pay too much attention to its noisy complaints. It stood on its hind legs and pawed at Shiro's clothes, tongue sticking out as if trying to lick him.

"Hauun!"

Haunter had already floated up behind Unown A, its long tongue just a bit away from touching it.

"Alright, alright..." Shiro gently pushed Growlithe aside and called the mischief-loving Haunter back down. "You're all off today. Go play around the area, just don't bother us... Corviknight, keep an eye on them."

"Cor..."

As the bird flapped its wings a few times, the energetic Haunter cheered and dove into the lake water. It scared off two Arrokuda relaxing beneath the surface, then leapt back out and flew away.

"Kniiight..."

With deliberate herding from Corviknight, Growlithe and Vibrava also ran off together, chasing each other across the grass.

Not far away, Rhyperior sat quietly beside Bewear. For the bear, it had become a close and reliable friend.

Drakloak was still sleeping in Shiro's shadow. It wouldn't interfere with psychic training.

"Now then..." he asked, "What exactly do I need to do?"

Unown A floated upward, slowly swaying in the process as it spoke one word at a time.

'Focus your breath. Clear your mind…'

Simultaneously, it released a gentle pulse of psychic power, helping Shiro enter a deep, meditative state.

He felt like his brain had fallen asleep, but his mind remained hovering inside it. The only sound he could hear was his own breathing, loud and clear.

'Good... breathe... just like that.' Unown A's voice echoed calmly.

Then suddenly, it shot high into the air. From its single eye, a surge of violent psychic energy burst forth and began to ripple outward like a wave.

Shiro instantly felt a sharp pain in his head. In a blink, his calm, sheltered mind was tossed into a raging storm. He felt like a small wooden boat, drifting helplessly in fierce waves, about to be swallowed whole.

This was a method often used by ancient psychic clans. By letting a strong psychic forcibly pressure the target's mind, they could trigger the latent power of those with weak talent. It was a brutal, direct way to build a foundation.

If someone's base psychic strength was too weak, they couldn't train it through normal means at all. Only after reaching a certain threshold could training truly begin.

But this method demanded extreme control from the one applying pressure, and extraordinary mental toughness from the one receiving it. If something went wrong… the outcome wasn't paralysis.

It was death.

One didn't end up in a coma. They just died.

Unown A didn't mention any of that. It was worried that if Shiro got too anxious, he might back out before even trying.

Instead, it kept encouraging him.

'Hold on. If you can push through this, your mental strength will grow.'

Shiro clenched his lips tightly. The deep meditative state he had entered earlier made it impossible for him to escape the violent ocean of psychic power on his own. The only option was to grit his teeth and endure.

The pain kept pressing in from all directions. But he held on.

He could faintly sense that if he gave up now, something bad might happen.

He didn't know how much time had passed. All he knew was that the inside of his lower lip was bleeding from how hard he had bitten it. The metallic taste spread in his mouth. Just then, he heard Corviknight cry out sharply.

"Corv! Corv!"

With those two quick calls, Shiro's mind began to clear. The overwhelming psychic pressure around him started to ease as well. He still didn't open his eyes, but he could clearly see Unown A floating above his head.

'Not bad, not bad,' it said repeatedly. 'You've got a strong body. Your endurance is well above average. And your psychic power has also increased…'

While speaking, it floated in front of Shiro, twisting its body as it added, 'I didn't lower the pressure at all. The reason it feels easier now is because your ability to resist has grown stronger… I'll pull it back now.'

With that, it withdrew all of its energy. Shiro immediately felt the weight in his head lift. He opened his eyes.

'Good. Step one is complete.' Unown A kept saying, 'Now on to step two—regular training through meditation.'

"Meditation?" He was familiar with the word. But hadn't he just done that during the focus training?

'Clearing your mind was only the first step. Meditation is the actual process of condensing and expanding psychic energy over and over,' Unown A explained. 'It's a softer, slower way to improve the quality of your psychic power. And it's the most suitable method for humans like you.'

After that, it began guiding Shiro through the next step.

He closed his eyes again and followed along.

* * *

At the same time, in Wyndon, inside Macro Cosmos's headquarters building.

First-floor lobby.

Granny Shae and old man Edgar stood at the front. followed closely by the stern-faced middle-aged man Gareth. Behind them was the rest of the B5 squad.

"Chairman Rose, we've already notified the leaders of B1 through B4 and A1 through A4 to return as soon as possible," Oleana said as she gently pushed up her glasses and pulled out a file from her arms. "According to frontline operative Shiro's report, the Dynamax Den in the northern Wild Area is continuously shrinking. The hunters are also fleeing."

"Hmm." Rose stood between the two elevator doors, hands in his pockets, facing the group with a faint smile. "And how strong are they?"

"Based on the report, two key Gym-level enemies have already been killed or severely injured by Shiro. The only concern left is two wild trainers with similar strength," Oleana said expressionlessly, then held out the file for Rose.

He didn't take it. He just glanced over it briefly. The file included not only Shiro's report, but also information from various Gym Leaders, lower divisions of Macro Cosmos, and scattered black-market merchants.

After comparing all the data, they reached a clear and accurate conclusion.

**

**

**

Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:

P@treon/SilverShark769

Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!

Your support means a lot, thank you!