Chapter 3: Training Session II

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Sakura took out three bowls from her storage ball and filled two of them with food for her Pokémon and the last one with water. "We'll take a 30-minute break. Have something to eat and drink while I talk with Mr. Riley." Sakura looked down at her Pokémon with a smile.

Riley cleared his throat as he regarded her with mirth in his eyes. "It's just Riley, please." He said as he led her to a rock to sit before turning to his Lucario. "Lucario, watch over the little ones."

"Then, you can call me Sakura," Sakura observed the man from her position who had this regal air around him. 'Perhaps he is some sort of royalty? Maybe in his early 20s.' She thought as turned to look at her. "So do you want to start or should I?"

Riley chuckled before asking his question. "Can you tell me what is chakra? I want to know the difference between it and aura." He asked softly.

Sakura folded her arms as she regarded Riley with a slight smile. "The difference between chakra and aura is that chakra is internal energy while aura is external energy. Chakra is created when two more primal energies, known collectively as one's "stamina", are molded together. Physical is collected from each of the body's cells and can be increased through training, stimulants, and exercise. Spiritual energy is derived from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation, and experience. In fact, all living things in this world have a tiny bit of chakra in their body." Sakura explained.

"Fascinating," Riley breathed out, excitement radiating off his body, "How were you able to tell that aura is an external energy, and can I wield this energy?"

Sakura was affected by his mood, and she too mirrored excitement. "Back in the mines when you channeled your aura, I could sense it. However, when you're not channeling your aura, I can't sense anything coming from you. Also, I can sense chakra inside you," She looked at his stomach when she said this, "however, it's too little to be of use to you, and secondly, it's stagnant in your body. That means it has no path to circulate which means you'll need to get an entire chakra network created in your body which is another problem."

"What you're saying is that even though I have chakra in my body it needs to be able to circulate through my body to be of use. If I had a chakra network, then maybe I could at least make use of what I have?" He shot back.

"That's right," Sakura answered, and truthfully, she could probably create a chakra network for him using medical ninjutsu, but she didn't know him like that.

"How do you know so much?" He asked breathlessly, staring directly into her emerald orbs.

She brought a finger to her lips. "That's a secret." She laughs and he joins her in laughter.

"I guess I should return the favor and tell you about the aura." Riley begins to explain, "Aura is kind of like energy is a that encloses a human body, Pokémon, or object. However, a better way to explain it would be as a wave that can be picked up by people just like sound. Certain Pokémon and humans can pick up this sound, allowing them to see and sense the auras of others. However, since aura is the same as sound, it can be interrupted by anything that cuts the airspace."

"So, you're basically manipulating your own energy that exists around your body." Sakura muttered as she briefly looked away before looking back at him, "Earlier you mentioned that you're an Aura Guardian in training. What is that first and foremost, and what power can aura grant you?"

"Aura Guardians are humans or Pokémon that can wield aura. Our goal is to travel around doing good deeds and passing on their skills to those who also possessed this innate ability. One famous Aura Guardian was Sir Aaron, my ancestor, who took a Lucario as his apprentice and became a hero when he sacrificed himself to stop a war from destroying the area around the Tree of Beginning." Riley told her, wondering if it will impress her.

Sakura looked at him with wide eyes. "Now that I think about it. I did read about that yesterday in the library and you do look like Sir Aaron. That's very uncanny."

"I've heard that a lot from people who actually are well-read." Riley praised her with a smile, "but aura takes a long time to master but it can do incredible things like the ability to read minds and actions of another being, telepathy, or even create barriers or attacks."

"That's amazing," Sakura replied, truly amazed that it can do stuff that chakra couldn't. She didn't know if she would like the ability to read minds.

"What is chakra capable of?" Riley asked, curious about her strange energy.

"Well, chakra can do a lot of things like controlling the elements, being able to walk on water, and walls vertically, healing, or enhancing your body. It can do several other things but those are some of the basics. It takes a lot of discipline to wield chakra responsibly and there is a risk of dying if you use all of it as it is essentially a life force."

Sakura and Riley continued their conversation for another 10 minutes, throwing theories back and forth. Sakura was clearly enjoying the conversation with him as was him. She didn't think there would be anyone in this world she could discuss chakra with, but Riley was a welcomed surprise.

"I think I have taken up a lot of your time, Sakura." Riley stood up reluctantly, "I have some stuff I must attend to, but may I ask what your plans are going forward?" He wanted to tie up any loose ends so that if she allowed him to travel with him, he can just tag along.

"I'm going to continue my training today and I'm going to challenge the gym tomorrow morning," Sakura replied, eyeing the man with a smile. She could see that he was clearly interested in her now and she didn't mind it. After dating and breaking up with Sasuke she had a lot of men chasing after her.

'Except, I didn't get to experience any more dating after I died while protecting the children's hospital from enemy shinobi.' She bitterly thought, but she didn't regret protecting the children at all. Furthermore, she suspected that her death and the death of the Sakura in this world happened at the same time which was why she was able to cross over but that was only a theory.

"Well, may I watch your battle tomorrow then?" Riley asked with a hopeful tone.

"Sure, I don't mind it," Sakura replied with a shrug.

"Great, I will see you tomorrow at the gym then." Riley smiled, "Goodbye, Sakura." He bowed before leaving with his Lucario.

She watched him go and turned to her Pokémon. "Alright, break is over and now the hardest part of your training has begun." She said before turning to Eevee, "Eevee, I observed your battling style earlier and decided that we will work on your speed and evasion. You're small and quick on your feet," She turned to Machop, "Machop, your training will be the hardest of them all as you will personally train against me." She finally turned to Tyrunt, "Finally, your bite is strong so we will improve on that, but I have special training for you planned that is different from the others.

"Wow, she's really taking our training seriously." Eevee chirped, looking up at his trainer in a new light.

"Did you hear that?!" Machop fist pumped, "She's training me personally."

"Special training?! I can't wait!" Tyrunt roared happily.

"Don't think this training will be for one day. We will be training four times a week until I feel like you're ready. You're not going to get it in one day but once you understand the concept it will also be fine. So, let's begin!" She turned to Machop, "You're up first, Machop. The rest of you can observe us."

Sakura and Machop stood in the middle of the rocky field while Tyrunt and Eevee sat on the sidelines watching. "Machop, I'm going to come at you with full strength, but I won't hurt you that much. I want you to try evading every attack to the best of your ability. Do you understand?"

"Chop!" Machop nodded, sliding into his battle stance. He watched his trainer slide into her battle stance before disappearing from the spot which shocked him. He looked around and didn't see her.

"Look up, Machop!"

He heard her scream and looked up as she was coming down with her leg high in the air. His gut told him to jump out of the way and he did just that before her foot could hit. He rolled across the rocky terrain and turned around just in time to see her foot connect.

BOOM!

Her foot left a gaping hole in the ground which excited him and scared him. She stood up and looked at him with cold eyes.

"Machop, you must always be mindful of your surroundings. Try to sense where I'm coming and dodge!" She shouted before running toward him and throwing a flurry of kicks and punches at him. He moved from left to right, trying his best to follow her movements but he was still taking hits that stung.

Sakura was cheating by using chakra to boost her body's capabilities. If she was in her old body, she wouldn't have to waste her chakra like this, and was sure that when she woke up the next day her body is going to be sore. Still, she couldn't allow her Pokémon to see her as weak. She disappeared from the spot, appearing behind Machop in a flash. However, Machop was able to sense her and jumped out of the way frantically.

"Good job, Machop." Sakura praised, "Let's keep this pace up and use the terrain around you to your advantage!"

"Chop!" Machop grinned, regarding her with a tired look.

For the next few minutes, Sakura attacked Machop who was managing to slowly improve. His reaction time wasn't there yet but she slowly coached him the same way Tsunade taught her when she trained under the blonde. When she was finished, Machop was sporting bruises over his body, but he looked extremely happy. Unfortunately, she was tired as well and already pushed her body to the limit.

"Machop, that's enough training with me." Sakura panted as she looked down at her Pokémon with her hands on her hips. "Let's get you healed up and then we move onto the next phase of our training."

"Did you guys see how tough our trainer is?!" Machop shouted happily at his companions before walking to Sakura.

Eevee's sweat dropped. "Bro, I think you're the only one here you can handle her training, and maybe Tyrunt since he's bigger than us both." He said to the fighting type, but he was secretly impressed by his trainer who had easily beaten Machop.

Tyrunt stomped his feet happily. "I want to train with Sakura too!" Tyrunt suddenly roared, shocking Eevee who never called his trainer by her name.

Sakura didn't know what her Pokémon were discussing as she sprayed Machop with the potions she brought that worked miraculously. At some point, she wanted to research Pokémon anatomy because all Pokémon were very different from each other. Furthermore, she might want to try going into the medical field after her journey and learn about the practices in this world compared to her own world.

"Alright, Machop you're all healed up." She rubbed his head and turned to Eevee, "Eevee, come over here." She called the normal type Pokémon. She watched as the small Pokémon trudged up to her with a hop in his step.

"Now that you're both here I have a special task for both of you. I want you both to attack each other with everything you have, however, you must also evade each other's attacks the best you can. No matter what you do, try not to get hit. Understand?"

"Vee!" Eevee chirped, narrowing his eyes at Machop.

"Chop!" Machop grinned and looked down at Eevee.

"Great!" Sakura clapped as she moved to the side next to Tyrunt. "You can both start now!"

"Let's go, Eevee!" Machop shouted happily before rushing at him. "Let's get our blood pumping!"

"LET'S GET STRONGER BRO!" Eevee roared cutely before attacking Machop.

Sakura watched from the sidelines as both of her Pokémon attack each other whilst dodging each other's moves. She was observing their movements closely and just as she suspected. Eevee's evasion and reaction time was better than Machop's, but he wasn't a slouch either easily keeping up with Eevee. She allowed them to do this training for twenty minutes before stopping them.

"Alright, you guys can stop now." Sakura smiled as Pokémon walked up to her tiredly, "You both worked hard so let's heal you up."

"Eevee!"

"Machop!"

Sakura healed them before speaking again. "Today, this will be the last bit of training we do before resting. This time you both will only be evading," She looked at Tyrunt, "and Tyrunt here will be doing all the attacking. Do you understand?"

Her Pokémon nodded their heads in understanding. "Good, now stand over there while I talk to Tyrunt." She said while pointing at the middle of the field. When they were gone, she looked at Tyrunt with a smile. "Alright big boy, in this part of the exercise I want you to follow your instincts."

"You…want me to eat them, Sakura?" Tyrunt said bewildered.

"I want you to act like you do when you're stalking prey and once, we see an opening we're going to attack and retreat using this rocky terrain to our advantage," Sakura told the rock type.

"I understand now, Sakura!" Tyrunt roared, "I'll be the best predator ever!"

"Now, let's begin!" Sakura clapped her hands, feeling confident about her gym battle the next day.