"That's a pity... but the club's doors will always be open for you. If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime."
The club manager nodded, gave Ethan Black a few final instructions, and then said goodbye.
"A year of free services and 10,000 Pokédollars as a prize... looks like I'll be able to manage for a while," Ethan Black said with a smile as he headed straight for the Pokémon training room. Since it was free, why not take advantage of it?
Upon arrival, he released Sandshrew.
After the battle, Sandshrew had been sent to the Pokémon Center for healing, so now he was full of energy.
"Sha sha sha!" Sandshrew cried excitedly upon seeing Ethan Black, making a human-like hand gesture of "Give me money!"
"I know, I know. This card has 1,000 Pokédollars for you, I'll keep it safe. If you want to buy or eat something, just tell me," Ethan Black said with a smile, stroking his head.
But Sandshrew didn't seem very satisfied: he began shaking his little head like a rattle.
"Huh?"
After a brief sign-language-like exchange, Ethan Black's face darkened...
It turned out Sandshrew thought 1,000 Pokédollars was too little and had his eyes on the entire 10,000 prize!
"Sandshrew, you and I talked about this before the battle!"
"If you won, 1,000 Pokédollars would be yours, but the rest of the prize is mine. That's what we agreed on!" he patiently explained.
"Sha?" Sandshrew tilted his head, trying to remember... it did seem like they had said something like that, but... something didn't quite add up!
"Alright, alright, don't be mad. How about I take you out for something to eat tonight?"
"My treat! Consider it a reward."
True to his weakness for food, Sandshrew immediately forgot about the money and began nodding enthusiastically.
After a good dinner, Ethan Black brought Sandshrew back to the training room and began planning the night session.
By now, Sandshrew had fully mastered the moves: Rollout, Rapid Spin, and Sand Attack. He seemed to have reached a plateau, so Ethan Black decided to focus the next training on Steel-type moves.
Perhaps because Sandshrew had poured all his potential into those three moves, or because the training plan had flaws, he had failed to learn the move Gyro Ball, which had Ethan Black pulling his hair out.
"Tomorrow, no matter what, we're going to the Steel Foundry Center. They say there's a special metallic chamber there with an extremely high concentration of Steel-type energy. That should help him sense that energy more easily."
"But it costs 1,000 Pokédollars per hour... what a scam!"
Though he silently cursed the business sharks, he had no choice.
The main issue was that Sandshrew couldn't sense Steel-type energy, which was why he couldn't learn Gyro Ball. So they'd have to spend the money.
Fortunately, with today's reward, he could cover the expense without any problem.
...
Another beautiful night passed.
The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, Ethan Black took Sandshrew to the Steel Foundry Center.
The special metallic chamber was located underground. There were abundant iron deposits and a Steel-type energy concentration system, creating an atmosphere with a terrifying density of steel.
After paying the 1,000 Pokédollars, Ethan Black and Sandshrew descended by elevator until they reached what looked like a cavern: this was the famous metallic chamber.
"Sandshrew, focus and feel the Steel-type energy. We're not leaving until you learn Gyro Ball today!" Ethan Black said, raising his fist.
"Sha...? (And... what about lunch?)" Sandshrew replied, trembling.
"Lunch? If you don't learn Gyro Ball, we're not eating today!" Ethan Black said with a sinister smile.
"Sha!" Sandshrew looked at him in terror, and without waiting for further orders, went straight to a corner to begin meditating and trying to sense Steel-type energy. He had to succeed before lunch!
Seeing his partner's determined attitude, Ethan Black nodded in satisfaction. He knew that little glutton, who had gone hungry as a child, took food very seriously.
For Sandshrew, there was no problem that couldn't be solved with a good meal.
While Sandshrew entered training mode, Ethan Black didn't sit idle. He began planning the next stage.
He had already explained to Sandshrew a thousand times how to train Gyro Ball, so now he shifted his focus to the next objective: learning Swift.
Swift was a move Sandshrew could learn naturally as he leveled up, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
Moreover, Swift was a Normal-type move, and Sandshrew had already mastered moves like Scratch, Defense Curl, and Rapid Spin—all Normal-type moves. That made sensing Normal-type energy much easier.
Currently, Sandshrew only had short-range moves.
The combined move Sand Whirl, created from Rapid Spin plus Sand Attack, could attack at a distance, but it wasn't a conventional long-range move. That's why learning Swift was crucial.
But... how to train it?
Unlike Rapid Spin or Rollout, Swift didn't have a clear mechanical principle. It was about concentrating Normal-type energy and firing it in the form of projectiles.
"Maybe I could use the concept of rotation... I remember reading something about centrifugal force."
"What if he first condenses Normal energy in his body and then, using centrifugal force, launches it outward...?"
Ethan Black began sketching his theory on paper. In technical terms, his idea for training Swift had some logic.
Time passed as both of them focused on their tasks.
Close to noon, Sandshrew finally began to sense a little Steel-type energy, though he was still far from mastering it.
"Sha... (I've missed lunch! What pain...)" he sighed in disappointment.
"Come here, Sandshrew, eat something and rest a bit."
Right then, Ethan Black's voice sounded like heavenly music to Sandshrew's ears.
"I've got some cookies and milk. That'll be our lunch today."
Ethan Black pulled from his backpack some compressed cookies and a bottle of Moomoo Milk, things he had prepared in advance.
He knew that training a new move consumed a lot of energy, so he didn't intend to let Sandshrew truly go hungry. But if he wanted something better to eat, he'd have to work harder.
(End of chapter)