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While Tentacruel and Cloyster were undergoing their special training with Sato in person, Duskull and Misdreavus were playing a game of hide and seek on a rocky beach nearby.
In this round of hide and seek, Duskull naturally played the seeker, while Misdreavus used its Invisibility to hide within the air or the shadows of the rocks.
However, unlike an ordinary game, whenever Duskull found Misdreavus, it would immediately launch an Shadow Sneak attack. Likewise, whenever Misdreavus saw an opening to ambush Duskull, it would also strike back with Shadow Sneak.
At that moment, Misdreavus was carefully hiding in the shadow of a large rock beside Duskull.
When Duskull's cautious gaze shifted elsewhere, a sly grin crept across Misdreavus's face. She used Shadow Sneak, manipulating the rock's shadow to form a shadowy hand that swung down toward the back of Duskull's head.
But Duskull—whose individual values were only two points short of perfection and who possessed golden-grade ratings—had an extraordinary gift for sensing Ghost-type energy. The instant Misdreavus stirred the energy within the shadows, it reacted immediately.
Its single red eye flashed, and the shadow beneath it transformed into another shadowy hand, which intercepted Misdreavus's attack midair.
At the same time, Duskull turned its gaze toward the rock's shadow where Misdreavus was hidden. The red light in its lone eye flared again as it used Foresight.
In that instant, Misdreavus's invisible form within the shadow was laid bare.
Seeing her Shadow Sneak thwarted and her hiding place discovered, Misdreavus pouted unhappily before sticking her tongue out at Duskull in playful defiance.
However, before she could finish, her body suddenly froze—paralyzed by an instinctive terror that welled up from within.
Duskull's eye gleamed crimson as it activated its innate Mean Look, immobilizing Misdreavus in place. Then, with effort, it controlled its own shadow again, shaping it into a shadowy hand poised to strike her head.
At the critical moment, the large red gem hanging beneath Misdreavus's neck flared with eerie crimson light. A strange wave of energy burst forth from the gem and swiftly touched Duskull.
In an instant, Duskull's eye went dazed—the shadowy hand it was controlling froze in midair.
Taking advantage of the opening, Misdreavus sighed in relief. Using the nightmare energy from her gem, she had successfully dragged Duskull into a brief dreamlike illusion. She quickly darted past the rock and vanished into the shadows of another.
Duskull's single eye possessed the power to see through illusions, however, so the dreamlike trance lasted barely a second before it broke free.
By then, Misdreavus had already escaped from its line of sight, and the next round of hide and seek began anew.
Clearly, both young Ghost-type Pokémon were thoroughly enjoying themselves. The two darted through the rocky terrain, laughing soundlessly as they played.
In truth, this game was a special training exercise designed by Sato to help them master Shadow Sneak—especially mischievous Misdreavus.
From what he observed so far, Sato believed the training was quite effective.
Through the game, both Misdreavus and Duskull were using Shadow Sneak frequently in order to win.
At the same time, they were also refining their natural abilities—like Misdreavus's Dream Illusion and Duskull's innate Mean Look—without even realizing it.
...
Meanwhile, on the sandy stretch before the rocky area where the ghostly pair trained, Squirtle and Staryu were engaged in a repetitive, dizzying spinning exercise.
After prolonged high-speed rotation training as instructed by Sato, both Pokémon were visibly dizzy.
Still, neither dared to slack off. Every time the dizziness became unbearable, they took a short rest, and once the feeling subsided, they resumed spinning again.
The high-speed rotation training wasn't just about spinning in place. Squirtle and Staryu would leap into the air and spin rapidly midair.
Using the wind generated by their rotation, they could briefly hover in the air—then unleash Water Gun in unison.
The propulsion from the Water Gun, combined with the rotational inertia, caused their spinning speed to multiply dramatically.
In an instant, two spinning "water wheels" appeared midair, flying rapidly forward in a set direction.
When they collided with an unfortunate boulder, it was instantly shattered by their combined momentum.
High-speed rotation paired with Water Gun—this was the new combo technique Sato had them develop, which he named Swift Water Wheel.
Like Cloyster, both Squirtle and Staryu experienced a sharp drop in mobility when on land compared to their speed in water.
To help them overcome this weakness, Sato designed this simple yet practical combo move based on their body structures and known moves.
So far, the Swift Water Wheel had shown promising results. Sato estimated its power at around 90, with excellent mobility that greatly improved their land-based movement.
Most importantly, the technique inherited the offensive-defensive balance of Rapid Spin, and with the added outer layer of high-speed swirling water, it could deflect—or even counter—most ranged attacks except Electric-type moves.
Of course, the flaws were also obvious: once Squirtle and Staryu initiated Water Gun mid-spin, their trajectory became nearly fixed, making midair adjustments difficult.
To address this, Sato planned to train them to adjust direction by firing short bursts of Water Gun from other parts of their bodies—but progress was slow due to limited practice time.
(Note: When Squirtle withdraws into its shell, it can fire water from six different outlets on its body. Staryu, on the other hand, can release water from each of its five limbs—and even from the central gem.)
Additionally, due to the extreme rotational speed, which exceeded their physical limits, both Pokémon would fall into temporary dizziness after performing the move.
Sato, however, believed this could be overcome—just like getting used to motion sickness on planes or ships. "You throw up a few times," he thought, "and then you get used to it."