After leaving the Silver family residence, Ethan took the high-speed train toward Ironvale City.
It was almost New Year's, and naturally he planned to return to his hometown, Stonefield Town, to spend time with his parents.
Before that, he planned to stop by the Pokémon Researchers' Guild to pick up Cacturne, Absol, and Kingdra.
After all, on New Year's, the idea was for the whole family to be together and happy; and for Ethan, his Pokémon were part of his family.
In addition, during this time, Ethan also planned to help Riolu prepare a training plan, something he had promised when he captured him.
Returning to the Sky Secret Kingdom riding on Vibrava, Ethan immediately went to see the Pokémon he had left there.
Absol was still assisting with the Dark Force research. It was worth mentioning that the member of the Dark League they had captured had already died, completely corroded by the Dark Force—a miserable death.
This made Ethan shiver, and he couldn't help but worry even more about Absol. Moreover, before evolving, Slowking and Shellder had also been invaded by the Dark Force, so Ethan asked President Beckett to thoroughly examine Slowking. In the end, he found no anomalies.
Aside from Absol, Cacturne and Kingdra were only assisting with experiments, but they were living comfortably. Kingdra was even a bit bigger, as if he had returned to his life as the leader of the Horsea. Ethan frowned when he saw it and immediately increased Kingdra's training tasks.
At night, Ethan gathered all his Pokémon back into their resting area.
He now had ten Pokémon: Sandslash, Cacturne, Slowking, Meltan, Shuckle, Vibrava, Absol, Charmeleon, Kingdra, and Riolu.
Once there, he introduced Riolu to the other nine Pokémon. Everyone welcomed the little one warmly; Shuckle, the usual bootlicker, even handed him an energy crystal immediately, which made Riolu repeatedly thank him. The atmosphere was very harmonious.
At that moment, Ethan took the chance to learn more deeply about the moves Riolu had mastered: Foresight, Detect, and Mind Reader.
After demonstrating them, Riolu lowered his head, embarrassed.
"Those three are excellent moves," Ethan said. "Especially Detect: it's a type of application of Fighting-type energy, and it might help you a lot in mastering that type of energy."
"Combined with your powerful innate mental force, you could try to master that Fighting-type energy and condense it into a sphere to launch as a projectile. With that method, you might be able to learn long-range moves like Vacuum Wave or Aura Sphere."
Ethan smiled and patted Riolu's head. The little one lifted his gaze a bit, a spark of hope in his eyes.
"Riolu, believe me," he continued. "Your talent is unique. We can walk our own path. You don't have to imitate others."
Throughout his growth, Riolu had imitated his peers, striving to obtain a body as strong as theirs. In that pursuit, he had forgotten his real advantages.
What Ethan needed to do now was rebuild Riolu's confidence, help him step out of the shadow of his peers, and find his own path.
"Sha!"
Sandslash walked toward Riolu and patted his fragile shoulder, indicating that trusting Ethan was the right thing to do.
When he was still a Sandshrew, Sandslash—due to being a different color—had been rejected by his companions. He was shy and insecure. But under Ethan's constant training, he was now a Pokémon who could handle any situation, having found his own path as well.
"Riou!" Riolu exclaimed, full of determination, vowing that he would train with all his strength.
After Sandslash, Slowking also arrived. However, instead of speaking, Slowking turned his body and let Shellder face Riolu.
Both had extraordinary mental strength, so communicating was easy. Shellder told Riolu his own story.
Same natural defects, same innate mental strength. Shellder became a role model for Riolu, who felt even more confident.
Seeing his Pokémon talking, Ethan smiled with satisfaction as he thought about the rest of Riolu's training.
Riolu's greatest support was his mental strength comparable to that of a Psychic-type Pokémon, plus his mind-related ability. So his main task should be training that mental force to compensate for his low special attack.
To train the mind, Ethan planned to consult President Beckett, but before that, he wanted Riolu to learn the move Hidden Power.
According to his experience, Riolu would awaken the Psychic type, which would become his main method of attack for a while.
Currently, the only Pokémon who had not yet learned Hidden Power were Charmeleon and Riolu.
He recalled the Hidden Power types of each one:
Sandslash: Fire
Cacturne: Fighting
Slowking: Dark
Shellder: Psychic
Shuckle: Grass
Vibrava: Flying
Absol: Bug
Kingdra: Flying
Among them, Shellder, Shuckle, and Vibrava were the ones who mastered the move best. Many tactics were based on their use. The rest had not progressed much in that training, which worried Ethan a little.
Afterward, Ethan exchanged points for the doses of Hidden Power potion needed for both Pokémon.
As he expected, Riolu awakened the Psychic type. Thanks to his immense mental strength and Shellder's teachings, he mastered it quickly. Riolu was delighted, and his confidence grew even more.
Charmeleon awakened the Electric type. Fire and electricity were affinities that often went together: many Electric-type moves produced extreme heat, so it was logical for Charmeleon to awaken that type.
(End of Chapter)