Very soon, Ethan arrived at the training field.
All of his Pokémon were diligently completing the tasks he had assigned.
Among them, Cacturne was constantly maintaining the move Ingrain, and it could be seen that the ground beneath it had transformed into a small desert.
During that process, Cacturne rapidly absorbed the power of the earth through the move Ingrain.
However, instead of immediately spending that energy with the move Growth, it tried to control that energy under normal conditions.
If it managed to perfectly control that energy, not only would the duration and strength of its giant form increase, but also its size.
Moreover, the ability of the energy from the move Growth to increase the size of Pokémon had already attracted the attention of President Beckett.
Perhaps, through the study of the move Growth, they could find a way to increase the size of Pokémon.
With special methods, perhaps even other Pokémon could obtain bodies similar to those of Totem Pokémon, which would also help in research about them.
After checking Cacturne's training, Ethan turned his gaze toward the other Pokémon.
Among them, Meltan, after absorbing eight Meltan nuts, had experienced a qualitative leap in strength, becoming the first Pokémon on Ethan's team to reach the Quasi-Elite level.
Moreover, according to Meltan's own sensation, it seemed to be close to a transformation, which filled Ethan with expectations.
If Meltan managed to evolve into Melmetal, Ethan would have in his hands a singular Pokémon in its complete form.
Right now, Meltan was adapting to its new body after its partial evolution.
Once it finished assimilating all the benefits obtained this time, it would surely become one of Ethan's most powerful trump cards!
After observing everyone's training, Ethan looked toward Sandslash, who was in a corner.
At that moment, Sandslash could be seen crouching in front of a pile of sand, extending one claw toward the sand in front of it.
In the next instant, the sand beneath its claw began to flow, as if it were being controlled by Sandslash.
Then, that sand suddenly bulged, as if an invisible force were trying to lift it.
"Sandslash, it seems the first stage of your Defense Curl training has been very successful."
Seeing the changes in the sand beneath Sandslash, Ethan spoke with surprise.
"Sha!"
Upon hearing Ethan, Sandslash narrowed its eyes with joy.
This method of controlling sand through the move Defense Curl was an idea Ethan had after seeing the Harden move used by Adrian Vane's Gastrodon, which could harden swamp mud.
Both were status moves.
If Gastrodon could apply the move Harden to the swamp to create a defense as solid as a copper wall, then in theory, Sandslash should also be able to apply the move Defense Curl to external objects.
Previously, Ethan had only mentioned his idea to Sandslash.
He had not expected Sandslash to begin experimenting with it on its own, and the result seemed quite good!
"I thought this technique would have to be trained after the World Championship, but it seems you have an unexpected talent with Defense Curl."
Ethan smiled and then said, "Since you want to train this technique first... then let's try it."
"Sha!"
Upon hearing that, Sandslash immediately let out a cry full of joy.
Now, seeing that Meltan had truly reached the Quasi-Elite level, that Lucario had successfully completed the special training of the move Calm Mind and caught up with the first group of the team, and that Charizard had managed to perform Mega Evolution, Sandslash was also eager to become stronger.
Although the combined move Spin Drive was very powerful, it was still insufficient to face Quasi-Elite level opponents.
But if it could make a breakthrough with the move Defense Curl, then perhaps the combined move Spin Drive could become even stronger.
"Then let's go. First we need to find a Walrein."
Ethan said to Sandslash with a smile. After guiding the training of all his Pokémon, he took Sandslash and left the training field.
Now he possessed the ring that represented the rank of a Pokémon Professor, so within the Secret Kingdom of the Sky he could move almost without restrictions.
After finding out beforehand the habitat of Walrein, Ethan rode Vibrava and arrived at the shore of a lake covered with floating ice.
On the lakeshore, small round Pokémon like balls could be seen, blue in color with beige bellies and two teeth protruding from their mouths: small Spheal playing with each other.
In addition, Sealeo could also be seen, which were one size larger and resembled sea lions, and Walrein, with long tusks and a large tuft of white fur on its face and neck.
Spheal, Sealeo, and Walrein formed a complete evolutionary line.
"I found them... the Spheal colony."
Seeing them, Ethan smiled slightly.
"Mr. Ethan, you've arrived."
The caretaker in charge of the Spheal, who had been waiting there in advance, quickly greeted him.
"Hello, I came to receive a Walrein."
Ethan smiled as he took out his application document.
In the past, when Ethan wanted to study a Pokémon, he could only do so by capturing it himself.
But now, as a Pokémon Professor, he could mobilize many of the guild's resources.
For example, with his level of authorization he could receive a Walrein raised by the guild for research.
By this point, Ethan's criteria for capturing Pokémon had completely changed.
Unless they were Pokémon he truly liked very much and had enough potential to keep up with his pace, even if they were pseudo-legendaries, Ethan would no longer capture them.
Especially after what happened with Kingdra and Gyarados, the feeling of saying goodbye was truly unpleasant, even though in the end it had been the best outcome for both sides.
Therefore, to avoid going through something like that again, Ethan decided not to capture Pokémon randomly.
Thus, borrowing Pokémon from the guild for research had become his best option.
Very soon, after chatting for a while with the caretaker, Ethan began carefully choosing his research subject.
"Now I really am part of the guild's high management..."
Holding Walrein's Poké Ball, Ethan sighed inwardly.
Professional-level trainer, Pokémon Hunter, and Pokémon Professor.
The achievements he had reached had already far surpassed those of anyone his age.
After thanking the caretaker, Ethan returned to the laboratory with Walrein's Poké Ball.
"Come out, Walrein."
Ethan directly opened the Poké Ball and released the Walrein he had carefully chosen.
"Walrren!"
Walrein looked at Ethan and nodded.
As a Pokémon raised by the guild, it knew that its role was to assist researchers in their studies.
"Nice to meet you. For a while, you'll be working with me."
Ethan greeted it with a smile and then took out some Pokéblocks to feed it.
Nowadays, Pokéblocks were already quite widespread among trainers, so Ethan had no reason to be stingy.
Of course, Shuckle's special method for producing and purifying Pokéblocks remained a well-guarded secret.
Moreover, the reason why Ethan's Pokémon had grown so quickly was also related to the fact that they always consumed extremely high-quality Pokéblocks. In terms of resources, they always received the very best.
"Walrren!"
It was the first time Walrein had tasted something as advanced as Pokéblocks, and it immediately closed its eyes in enjoyment.
Seeing that the "bribe" had worked, Ethan called Sandslash and officially began the research on the move Defense Curl.
The reason why Ethan chose Walrein to assist in this study was because Walrein could use the moves Defense Curl and Ice Ball.
(End of chapter)