"Sha!"
After coming out, Sandslash looked curiously around. Then, apparently noticing Slowking and Kingdra at the bottom of the lake, it also moved closer to the shore to look.
Seeing the very relaxed expressions of the two Pokémon at the bottom of the lake, Sandslash's little eyes turned slightly. Then it extended a claw and touched the water. Its body trembled immediately, but even so, it refused to pull its hand back and ended up putting both hands into the water.
Seeing that, Ethan nodded in satisfaction. He vaguely remembered that in the anime there had been a Rhydon that wasn't afraid of water; it seemed Sandslash could now achieve something similar.
But at this moment, Sandslash had only overcome its fear of water. There was still a long way to go before it could truly withstand Water-type attacks.
"Cac!"
Cacturne looked at Sandslash, then at the two Pokémon at the bottom of the lake, and its eyes revealed an unusual gleam.
Suddenly, to Ethan's surprise, Cacturne used the move Ingrain right there. Its roots extended toward the lake, as if trying to absorb the lake's energy.
"Is that the special water-absorption ability of its roots?"
Ethan showed a curious expression.
In an instant, under his surprised gaze, a soft blue light enveloped Cacturne's body.
"Cacturne can also absorb the Water-type energy here?"
Ethan was baffled. As far as he remembered, Cacturne couldn't learn Water-type moves... could it?
"Did I remember wrong?"
He frowned slightly.
After all, there were so many Pokémon datasets that even someone like him—who had played and studied the games for years—couldn't guarantee remembering everything perfectly.
But judging from Cacturne's expression of enjoyment, there didn't seem to be any problem.
Ethan relaxed, then looked at Vibrava and Charmander.
He remembered that Sandslash, Cacturne, Vibrava, and Charmander couldn't learn Water-type moves, but... what if he was mistaken?
He decided that Sandslash, Vibrava, and Charmander should attempt it as well. Who knows if a surprise awaited?
Vibrava and Charmander froze: (′Д')彡 What is happening?
Even though they didn't want to, both approached the shore. Only then did Ethan nod in satisfaction, pulling out his training notebook to write down his Pokémon's plans.
The training would last a full seven days, so he couldn't just sit around either. It was the perfect time to improve everyone's training programs.
Thus time passed. In the blink of an eye, the seven days were gone.
When the time came, Ethan returned to the lakeside and saw that the Water Stone vein, which previously glowed with blue light, was now dull: clearly, an enormous amount of water energy had been consumed.
Just then, Rachel Blake arrived at the Secret Kingdom to take him back.
"How were the gains this time?" she asked with an expectant smile.
"Slowking and Kingdra improved tremendously."
"If I go take the Pokémon Hunter exam now, I'm fully confident I can pass." Ethan said confidently, leaving Rachel astonished.
Although the Pokémon Hunter exam only required being at the Advanced Trainer level, that was merely the minimum. To truly pass, one needed to be at the Professional level.
If Ethan said this with such confidence, it meant Slowking and Kingdra had improved immensely.
"Then congratulations. I look forward to the day we can fight together."
Rachel extended her hand and shook his with a smile full of expectations.
After chatting for a while, Ethan said goodbye and began his journey back.
After he left, the members of the Blake family went to inspect the Secret Kingdom. What they found left them stunned.
Originally, they had calculated that two Pokémon would absorb the energy for seven days. But the vein was completely drained. That wasn't something two—or even several—Pokémon could accomplish.
According to their calculations, it would take more than ten Pokémon absorbing for seven days to leave the vein in that state!
...
After leaving the Secret Kingdom, Ethan headed straight back to Ironvale City.
Instead of returning to the guild first, he went to his secret base to check the results of all his Pokémon's training.
Sandslash, Vibrava, and Charmander had made progress, but the main attention was on Slowking, Kingdra, and Cacturne.
Slowking and Kingdra demonstrated their moves: they hadn't learned new moves, but all their Water-type moves had been significantly strengthened, both in speed and power.
Ethan was very satisfied. He hadn't exaggerated: Slowking really could compare to the main Pokémon of some Pokémon Hunters.
Kingdra had also advanced a great deal, already bordering on the Advanced level.
After evaluating both, Ethan smiled in satisfaction and finally looked at Cacturne.
Of them all, Cacturne was the one that raised the most questions.
Even he didn't know what Cacturne had been doing during those seven days.
He had been very focused on training himself, so Ethan hadn't disturbed it. Now it was time to reveal the mystery.
"Cac!"
Hearing Ethan, Cacturne responded cheerfully.
It used Ingrain again, extending its roots. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything different.
But then, a blue light enveloped Cacturne...
And at the very moment the light appeared, the green grass under its feet began to dry rapidly, turning into sand in the blink of an eye.
This was the natural "water drainage" of Cacturne's roots, and Ethan had seen it before. But this time, the speed at which the ground dried up was astonishing!
(End of chapter)