The sun filtered gently through the trees overhead, dappling the grass in golden light. Theo had chosen a quiet grove just off the path—a ring of open space surrounded by low brush and soft moss underfoot. Perfect for some early-morning training.
Growlithe stood in front of him, tail wagging in slow, steady sweeps, his eyes locked onto Theo with patient curiosity.
"Alright, buddy," Theo said, hands on his hips. "Let's start with what we know."
He knelt and drew a few basic diagrams in the dirt with a stick. "You've already got Ember, Bite, and Roar down pretty consistently. That's a solid foundation—fire, physical, and status."
Growlithe yipped in agreement.
"But I've been thinking," Theo continued, tapping his chin. "There's no reason we can't tweak your style a little. You're stronger and faster than most Growlithe your age—bigger too. And you respond better to visual cues than auditory. So… maybe we lean into that."
He tossed a stick a short distance. "Quick sprint. Fetch it."
Growlithe burst forward, paws pounding rhythmically, and returned in seconds, tail wagging.
"Perfect," Theo said, and jotted a quick note in his field notebook. "Speed and focus are high. Let's see if we can channel that into Flame Wheel."
He took a step back and explained it slowly. "It's not in your move pool yet, technically. But the mechanics aren't far off from what you're already doing. Momentum plus ignition. We'll build it up—start with speed drills, then add Ember mid-spin."
Growlithe barked, tongue lolling out happily.
"But," Theo said, sitting cross-legged in front of him, "we've got to talk about something serious now."
Growlithe tilted his head.
"You need a name."
Another head tilt. Curious, patient.
Theo rubbed his chin. "Let's see. You're brave, loyal, and you run into fire without hesitation. So… maybe something like Endeavor?"
Growlithe let out a small sneeze.
"Yeah, alright, fair. Bit too intense. How about… Shoto?"
A pause.
Theo winced. "Okay, yeah, too broody. You're not a walking identity crisis."
He tapped his foot. "Hmm… Ace?"
Growlithe wagged his tail once, but then laid his head down flat. Interest level: meh.
Theo sighed dramatically. "Tough crowd."
He leaned back on his elbows, gazing at the clouds.
Then he snapped his fingers. "Wait—Roy. Like Roy Mustang. Fire user. Cool under pressure. Secret softie. Snaps his fingers and everything explodes."
Growlithe perked up, ears rising.
"You like that?"
A strong, enthusiastic bark this time.
Theo grinned. "Roy it is."
He reached over and scratched behind Growlithe's—Roy's—ear. "Besides, it suits you. You've got that same 'calm, confident, doesn't-need-to-prove-anything' energy."
Roy gave a low, satisfied rumble in response.
They got back to training—Theo marking down a list of potential moves to workshop, including a rough sketch of their new Ignition Rush technique. He kept an eye on Roy's stamina, making sure to pause between drills.
Later, as they rested under the dappled shade of a tree, Theo chuckled to himself.
"I almost named you Pyro the Third, you know."
Roy narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Roy it is."
And as they drifted into a midday nap—boy and Pokémon stretched out side by side—the world felt just a little more right.
The sun hovered low above the treetops, casting golden light over the clearing. It was warm, but nothing compared to what Theo and Roy were working on.
"Alright," Theo said, crouched beside his Growlithe. "Let's go over this one more time."
Roy, larger than most of his kind, shiny coat slightly singed at the tips, gave a soft huff, eyes attentive.
Theo held up a charcoal-streaked notebook. The page showed sketchy diagrams of flame spirals, flicker patterns, and heat intensity ranges. Beside them, scribbled words like ignition point, controlled burst, and emotive surge danced in a strange mix of scientific theory and fanboy notes.
"In the shows I used to watch," Theo muttered, "fire wasn't just heat. It was passion. Anger, hope, determination—it gave the fire shape. Control. Direction."
He flipped to another page, this one with a rough doodle labeled: 'The Blue Flame Episode (Yamato's Awakening Arc)'.
"Today, we're trying something new," he said, grinning. "We're not going for bigger. We're going for cleaner. Hotter. Precision over chaos. Got it?"
Roy barked once, short and sharp.
Theo placed a series of small wooden targets in a wide circle. "Focus the flame. Don't scorch the surroundings—just hit the mark."
Roy took a stance.
"Remember," Theo said, standing behind him. "Don't just burn. Speak through it."
With a soft rumble, Roy exhaled—Ember danced from his maw, tighter and thinner than usual, like a thread of sunlight. The flame arced cleanly and struck the first target dead center. No flare, no mess.
"YES!" Theo pumped his fist. "That's what I'm talking about! Whisper fire—not everything has to be a firestorm!"
Roy wagged his tail, clearly proud.
"Let's take it a step further," Theo said, flipping to a page with a large title: 'Spiral Burn, v1.2'.
"This is risky," he muttered. "But if we can get a rotational spark going before ignition... we could create a flame drill."
Roy looked... skeptical.
Theo laughed. "Okay, maybe too ambitious for today. But think about it: fire doesn't always move forward. Sometimes it spins. It flows. It dances."
He scratched his chin. "The goal isn't to just make you stronger. It's to make you understand what fire wants to do. You're not the boss of it—you're its partner."
Roy barked again, then sat beside him. The fire training could wait a few minutes. This was one of their breaks, after all—the kind Theo always extended when he got too philosophical.
Theo chuckled. "You know, where I came from, there was this one guy who could light candles from across a room, without even charring the wick. Total legend. I want you to be that guy."
Roy yawned.
"Okay, fine. After a nap."
Theo leaned back in the grass, arms behind his head. "One day, people will look at you and wonder how you're so precise, so clean with your fire. And they won't know it came from a guy who used to doodle flame characters in his school notebooks and had too much time to think about combustion physics."
Roy huffed contentedly, curling beside him.
"And they definitely won't know your trainer once considered naming you 'Blazeboi the Fourth'."
Roy growled gently.
Theo grinned. "Yeah, yeah. Roy it is."
(A/N : next there will be a timeskip entirety of his kanto journey and he will be returning home to take some rest before the indigo league conference this is to cut down on the over the top used cliche conditions and finding pokemons and to add a bit more mystery to his team and also to keep the the storyline refreshing withut repeated stuff you see ,hope you all understand thank you for reading.)