Training Room (Day)
Midoriya once again jumped forward to attack Charizard, only for the Terastallized Pokemon to take flight and dodge.
"Charizard, use Earthquake!" Dominic shouted. Ground-Type energy surged from its Tera Jewel before it dove down and punched the battlefield, creating shockwaves that struck Midoriya. "And now use Dragon Claw!" Dragon-Type energy surged from the Tera Jewel this time as Charizard infused its claws with arcane power. It slashed at its opponent, causing an explosion of sparks that lit up the room.
"Charizard got really strong." Uraraka said, impressed.
"It feels different from when Xiao-Long Terastallized Armarouge in the Sports Festival." Todoroki observed.
"Charizard, Fire Blast!" Dominic commanded. Fire-Type energy surged from the Tera Jewel as Charizard reeled its head back in preparation for its strongest Move.
"20% Oregon Smash!" Midoriya called out, running in an attempt to strike before Fire Blast was ready. Just as his fist was inches from Charizard's body, the Flame Pokemon blasted the boy with an explosive attack. But before the smoke cleared, Midoriya managed to finish his attack by delivering a fierce uppercut to Charizard.
"Impressive." Dominic said with a smile. "I didn't expect you to remain standing after that Fire Blast, especially while Charizard was Terastallized." As he said this, Charizard returned to its normal state. "You did great too. That defensive training with Steelix and Kleavor really paid off."
"Xiao-Long." Todoroki said, approaching the boy and his partner. "What exactly did you do during that practice battle?"
"I take it you mean the unique Terastallization?" Dominic asked. "Well, as you all know, there are 18 Pokemon Types. When a Pokemon undergoes Terastallization, its normal Type changes to its Tera Type, and moves of that Type gain a massive power boost."
"So, Armarouge's Tera Type is Fire?" Midoriya asked.
"Indeed." the blonde confirmed.
"So, what Tera Type does Charizard have?" Iida asked, curious.
"Well, recently, a brand new Tera Type was discovered." Dominic explained. "Charizard possesses this special Tera Type, the Stellar Type. When it Terastallizes, all of its moves get a boost, but only once per move Type."
"So since none of Charizard's moves are the same Type, it can use the benefits of the Stellar Tera Type four times per battle." Midoriya deduced.
"Exactly." Dominic confirmed. "Now, then. Who's up for a lunch break?"
Dining Room (Day)
All of Dominic's classmates looked out of the large window to the side of the dinner table. In the garden, many Pokemon they've never seen either played, ate, or slept. Tauros and Lycanroc were engaged in a race, Araquanid, Lapras, and Gyarados were resting in a decently sized pond, and several Bug and Grass Types were sleeping under the shade Venusaur was providing.
"Did you build this habitat for them yourself?" Iida asked, impressed.
"Yeah." Dominic said, placing plates of pasta on the table for his friends. "All of my Pokemon have very specific tastes, and it took a lot of time to figure out what kind of environment they'd all enjoy."
"How much did this cost?" Midoriya wondered aloud.
"Enough that my bank responded like this when I asked for a 1 Yen loan." Dominic said, getting out his phone. On the other end of the line was the sound of someone laughing hysterically. "It's been like that for the past few weeks. I think they're working in shifts."
"Well, they all look really happy!" Uraraka said, smiling.
From the hallway, Eri walked into the room with Mimikyu in her arms. At her side was Indeedee, who bowed to Dominic. "Glad to see you're awake from your nap, Eri. Have any good dreams?" Dominic asked, preparing a dish for his young charge.
"Yeah. I dreampt of flying through the air like a butterfly!" the child said, reminding Dominic of a certain incident that involved two toddlers and a Mismagius.
"Aw, who's this?" Uraraka asked.
"Your sister or something?" Todoroki added, confused.
"No. Eri is merely someone under my care for now." Dominic said. "But I've come to see her as family, and my Pokemon have as well. Especially Mimikyu and Indeedee."
"How did she come to be under your care?" Iida asked.
Dominic went silent for a bit, looking to the white-haired girl as Indeedee got her a bowl of cereal. "Her previous caretaker wasn't the best person in the world." he said simply, letting implication do the rest.
None of his classmates spoke, instead turning to look at Eri as she ate her breakfast with a smile on her face.
"She didn't know how to smile before she met me." Dominic said solemnly. "But her time here has done wonders for her psyche."
"What happened to her?" Midoriya asked, afraid to find out.
Dominic turned around and gave a hand signal to Indeedee, prompting it to bring Eri out of the room. "Her last guardian had a Quirk that allowed him to disassemble and reassemble matter on a molecular level. He used his Quirk on Eri to use her bone marrow to create a weapon."
"Why would anyone do something so dastardly?" Iida asked, standing up.
"It has to do with Eri's Quirk." Dominic said. "When she's stressed, Eri can rewind the life of any living being around her."
"Rewind?" Midoriya asked, curious.
"Normally, an organism grows older as time goes on. Eri's Quirk reverses this." Dominic explained. "As a defense mechanism, she can force a being back to a younger state of being. If put in enough danger, she can even erase a living being from existence."
"I can understand how that kind of power could be used to make a weapon." Todoroki said.
"Thankfully, only one batch of ammo was made before Eri came to live with me." Dominic said. "And it was destroyed as soon as I learned of it."
The group stayed silent for a few minutes, digesting what they just learned about Eri.
"But, what's past is past. Let's focus on the present and go back to preparing for the finals!" Dominic proclaimed, running back to the training room. Whether or not his friends immediately followed remained unknown to him.