"If you want to face me, come find me here every night at this hour."
Ethan Black silently suppressed the excitement he felt inside, pretended indifference, turned around elegantly, and waved his hand as his figure slowly disappeared from the lobby on the club's first floor.
"Fine, then tomorrow I'll come looking for you again!"
The young man watched Ethan Black's back, clenching his fists tightly. He felt he had finally found a worthy opponent. As long as he managed to defeat that guy, he would have full confidence in passing the exam to become an intermediate-level trainer!
Hearing the young man's words behind him, Ethan Black let out a sigh of relief. He paid at the reception and quickly headed to one of the training rooms, where he released Sandshrew.
"Little glutton, did you hear that?"
"If you defeat that rich kid, you'll earn 500 Pokédollars each time!"
"Sha?"
Sandshrew looked at him in confusion. It still didn't understand what 500 Pokédollars meant.
"Money is something very valuable. To eat, to dress, to play... you need money. Remember those delicious dinners? They all cost money..."
"Sha sha sha! (So money means delicious food! I'm motivated!)"
As Ethan Black explained, Sandshrew's eyes sparkled more and more.
"Exactly. Money means banquet. If you work for it yourself, you'll have guaranteed food. If you keep beating that rich kid, you can eat feasts every day!"
"Of course, if you lose, then there won't be any money... and without money, no banquet."
"Sha sha sha!"
Sandshrew pounded its chest with confidence, as if declaring it would never lose.
"Don't worry. If you win, I'll keep everything we earn for you. Whenever you want to eat something, you'll buy it yourself!" Ethan Black smiled warmly.
Receiving this confirmation from its trainer, Sandshrew felt even more motivated. Without waiting for Ethan Black to prepare the training plan, it ran straight toward the rapid rotation machine, demanding Ethan Black to turn it on.
Of course, Ethan Black happily accepted that his partner wanted to train on its own initiative. He hurried to switch on the machine.
Perhaps because of its motivation, Sandshrew made astonishing progress. In just one night, it completely mastered Rapid Spin, and with the aid of the device, it could already use it with 100% effectiveness.
Ethan Black couldn't help but marvel at the power of food as motivation.
...
The next morning, Sandshrew happily enjoyed its Miltank milk.
Before meeting Ethan Black, its life had been uncertain—sometimes it ate, sometimes it didn't, and filling its stomach was a luxury.
But now, everything had changed for the better, and all of it was thanks to its trainer. That's why it had to become stronger, stronger, and even stronger!
"Sandshrew, when you finish eating, wash your hands. Today we're going to do intensive training on Rapid Spin," said Ethan Black, calmly chewing on a bun with a smile.
"Sha!"
Sandshrew nodded, stuffed the last bun into its mouth, and, satisfied, patted its belly.
Without waiting for Ethan Black to urge it, it hopped straight to the sink, and under the astonished gazes of everyone in the shop, turned on the faucet and washed its hands.
"Huh? Weren't we taught that Sandshrew are afraid of water? Why isn't this one scared? Did the teacher lie to me?!" exclaimed a student eating nearby, completely shocked.
"Looks like training has paid off. Good habits must be cultivated from a young age." Ethan Black smiled in satisfaction, feeling like a genius.
After the little interlude of breakfast and handwashing, Ethan Black took Sandshrew back to the abandoned construction site.
"Sandshrew, today our mission is to fully master Rapid Spin."
Standing on a concrete slab, Ethan Black flipped through his notebook while drafting the training plan.
"Sha!"
Sandshrew clenched its small fist, full of enthusiasm.
Under Ethan Black's guidance, Sandshrew curled into a ball, used Defense Curl to coat itself in Normal-type energy, and then began channeling that energy to spin its body like a top.
Thanks to its previous experience with Rollout, once Sandshrew managed to start spinning, it only needed to follow the step-by-step training to master it completely.
First, Ethan Black found a slope for Sandshrew to practice the move while spinning, something key to mastering Rapid Spin.
Then came the most important part: repetition and constant practice. The goal was to make it so that, just like with Rollout, it could move and spin freely, with even more versatile mobility, allowing for quicker changes of direction and unexpected attacks.
After an entire day of training, night fell. Ethan Black, keeping his promise, took Sandshrew to the food court to enjoy a grand dinner.
"This dinner is the reward for yesterday. Tomorrow's will depend on your performance tonight," Ethan Black said with a relaxed smile after ordering the meal.
"Sha sha sha!"
Sandshrew pounded its chest again with confidence: this victory would be his too!
(End of Chapter)