More than a month later, at the exit of the mobile Secret Kingdom in the desert.
"You all stay here and train properly. This time I'll go out to bring back Cacturne and the others. Once I finish my business, I'll be back very soon."
Ethan gave serious instructions to all the Pokémon who had come to see him off.
"Sha!"
After hearing Ethan, Sandslash, acting as the big brother, nodded his head.
Then, under Sandslash's leadership, the other Pokémon left, turning their heads back with every step.
"Vibrava, Meltan. I'll leave the rest of the journey to you two."
Watching the other Pokémon depart, Ethan smiled slightly.
"Viiibbrraa!"
"Zzzt!"
Vibrava and Meltan nodded happily.
After that, Meltan activated its Magnet Pull ability and opened the passage to the Secret Kingdom.
Vibrava lifted Ethan and flew with him, entering the Secret Kingdom passage and disappearing from the mobile Secret Kingdom.
After arriving outside, in the Tarkaan Desert, Ethan immediately had Meltan record the position of the spatial magnetic field, and then began carefully marking the location on the map.
"Alright, Vibrava, now we'll head straight to Battle City."
"Viiibbrraa!"
Vibrava shouted happily a couple of times.
With the triple enhancement of its wind-controlling ability, the Levitate ability, and Flying-type moves, Vibrava carried Ethan swiftly into the sky, flying at full speed toward Battle City.
...
Battle City, Multitype Martial Dojo.
At that moment, Cacturne was wearing a combat uniform and was fighting against a Feraligatr that was also dressed in combat gear.
During the fight, neither of the two Pokémon used moves. It was a purely physical confrontation of body, strength, speed, defense, and technique.
After more than two months of training, Cacturne's physical qualities had improved once again in all aspects, especially its combat techniques, which were no longer comparable to those from two months ago.
"It seems the results have been very good. It wasn't in vain to pay such a high price to send him here to study."
Seeing this scene, a satisfied smile appeared on Ethan's face.
Suddenly, he felt that something was off. That feeling was far too similar to that of a father proudly watching his child's achievements.
Illusion, illusion. He was barely a little over twenty years old.
Ethan quickly shook his head and refocused his gaze on the field.
At that moment, the battle between the two Pokémon had already ended.
Although Cacturne had been completely outmatched by Feraligatr in strength, its ability to withstand blows was simply incredible. It managed to drag Feraligatr down until it was completely exhausted, and in the end both Pokémon finished in a draw.
"Cac!"
Upon seeing Ethan, Cacturne immediately ran over joyfully.
That lively appearance left Feraligatr, who was slumped on the ground, completely dumbfounded.
What kind of monstrous recovery ability was that?!
"Cacturne, after so long without seeing you, you've become much more robust," Ethan greeted with a smile, showering it with praise until Cacturne squinted its eyes in happiness.
"Ethan, you're back."
From inside the building, Maya Harper came out after hearing the commotion outside.
"Yes, the Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin. I came back early to accompany Cacturne in some special training."
Ethan smiled as he spoke. From the moment he decided that Cacturne would follow the path of close combat, he had already begun seriously designing its close-range training plan.
Now that Cacturne's overall physical abilities had improved enormously, those training plans could finally be put into action.
...
Time passed quickly, and the weather grew colder and colder.
Under the autumn-temperature sun, the Martial Arts Tournament officially began.
In the city center, although the weather was already approaching winter, the people of Battle City were still wearing light combat clothing, as if they did not feel the cold of the environment at all.
Ethan, wrapped in a thick padded coat, stood in the participants' area, appearing completely out of place among the crowd.
"This really is..."
Noticing the disdainful looks people occasionally cast his way, Ethan scratched his head in slight embarrassment.
The martial spirit of Battle City was truly fierce. Could it be that everyone here was a martial arts master?
To avoid those gazes, Ethan found a corner with no people and began reviewing the rules of the Martial Arts Tournament, preparing for the competition.
"Eh, the rules seem to be the same as those of the Cross Cup. It looks like some kind of consensus has formed among these competitions. After so many editions, these rules can really be considered the most complete."
After reviewing the tournament rules, Ethan was a little surprised.
It was similar to most esports tournaments from his past life, with rules such as side selection, ban and pick phases, and so on.
Likewise, the preliminary stage of the Martial Arts Tournament also eliminated most trainers with weak strength.
However, since the Martial Arts Tournament was held in a one-on-one format, the number of slots for the main stage was larger, reaching a total of 128 participants.
"Attention, participants of the Martial Arts Tournament!"
"The preliminary rounds are about to begin! Please proceed to the corresponding areas according to your participant numbers..."
At that moment, the voice from the loudspeakers echoed throughout the venue, causing the crowd to begin moving toward their respective evaluation areas.
Ethan looked at his participant number and quickly found the evaluation field assigned to him.
"Look, that guy is dressed like a bear. How funny."
"Hahaha, exactly. With such a weak body, how is he supposed to raise a good Fighting-type Pokémon?"
Inside the evaluation area, a young man wearing only a short-sleeved T-shirt looked at Ethan and couldn't help mocking him.
"You're wrong."
At that moment, another young man spoke up.
The first one was stunned and showed anger on his face. He looked at the one who had contradicted him and was about to retort, when he heard him add, "Look at the dojo emblem on his chest. He doesn't even have Fighting-type Pokémon!"
The young man was stunned for a moment, then looked at the Multitype Martial Dojo emblem on Ethan's chest. Immediately, he burst into laughter.
"So he's from the Multitype Martial Dojo. No wonder his physique is so pathetic. In my opinion, that dojo should have been eliminated long ago. Pokémon that aren't Fighting-type—what are they even doing participating in a Martial Arts Tournament?"
Those words immediately triggered laughter and agreement from the surrounding people, and for a moment, laughter echoed throughout the entire evaluation field.
Ethan naturally also heard those taunts, and couldn't help muttering under his breath, "Well-developed muscles, simple brain."
However, he didn't bother arguing with them. Later, it would be enough to use facts to slap them in the face.
(End of chapter)