After making his decision...
Ethan Black began straining to recall Sandshrew's base stats, its abilities, moves, and even anime storylines...
First of all, Sandshrew's strengths were Attack and Defense. As for HP and Speed, they were barely passable, while Special Attack and Special Defense were a total disaster.
Then he thought about its abilities. If he remembered correctly, Sandshrew could have the ability Sand Veil or Sand Rush. The first increased evasion during sandstorms, while the second increased speed in the same weather. Both abilities were related to sandstorm conditions.
And thinking of that inevitably brought back memories of classic weather teams. If used properly, those teams could definitely defeat stronger opponents.
Moreover, this world wasn't like the games: each Pokémon wasn't limited to only four moves, so any Pokémon that could learn a weather move could act as a weather setter.
For example, in the games only Tyranitar or Hippowdon with the ability Sand Stream could automatically start a sandstorm. But in the real world, any Pokémon that learns the move Sandstorm could fulfill that role. And if he remembered correctly, Sandshrew could learn it by leveling up.
That idea set off all kinds of mental alarms: if he managed to form a sandstorm team just as he imagined, he could climb the ranks in this world very quickly!
He quickly wrote "sandstorm team" in his notebook and continued recalling more information about Sandshrew.
As for moves, Sandshrew mainly learned Ground-type moves. Among them, the move Defense Curl and the move Rollout could be combined for a classic rolling strategy.
The move Defense Curl increased the user's Defense by one stage, and when used before Rollout or Ice Ball, the power of those moves doubled.
The move Rollout allowed the Pokémon to attack for 5 consecutive turns, with power increasing with each successful hit.
According to Ethan Black, those 5 turns were only a limitation of the game. In reality, as long as the Pokémon didn't stop, it could theoretically keep rolling endlessly and continue attacking. Of course, that still had to be tested in practice.
Aside from Rollout, the move that most interested him was Sand Attack.
In the Pokémon Special manga, Red had caught a Sandshrew and, during his battle against a Magmar, used Sand Attack to immobilize it, even surprising Giovanni.
That's why Ethan Black believed that in the real world, Sand Attack had to be an extremely useful move. Besides being used as a trap, it could also obstruct the enemy's vision or create a sand wall for defense.
In addition to those strategies, he remembered that Sandshrew also learned Rapid Spin—a legendary move for clearing hazards. And Sandshrew itself could even set up hazards...
After all those calculations, Ethan Black realized that... Sandshrew was actually quite powerful!
...
Three more days passed.
Finally, when Ethan Black was full of anticipation, the League workers notified him to come choose a Sandshrew.
On a field outside Stonefield Town, the families adopting a Sandshrew formed a circle. In the center, hundreds of Sandshrew trembled in fear.
All of these had been carefully selected by the League and were considered especially suitable for beginner Trainers.
"Wow! Real Pokémon! Which one should we choose?"
"Obviously the strongest one! That way it can work hard!"
"You're right... Wait, did you see that? Doesn't that Sandshrew have a different color? Could it be a genetic mutation?"
"Different color? You're right! What's going on with that green Sandshrew?"
"I'd say it's suffering from malnutrition. Isn't there a saying about a yellow face and a skinny body? This one looks exactly the same..."
"Yeah, yeah! Green face and skinny body! Makes perfect sense!"
The villagers began chatting around the group of Sandshrew, and Ethan Black also listened to their comments. Looking over, he did indeed see the Sandshrew they were talking about: it was thinner than the others and had an unusual green color!
At that instant, Ethan Black's heart skipped a beat. "Green face and skinny body, my ass! That's a shiny Pokémon, can't you see?!"
Rolling his eyes, he thought of the obvious: if that Pokémon was shiny, then in the real world it shouldn't be any different from the normal ones in terms of strength or moves.
After all, these differently-colored Pokémon drew attention, so it was impossible that the League hadn't researched them thoroughly.
But if they were leaving it there for anyone to pick, that could only mean it no longer had any research value.
What's more, because of their different colors, shiny Pokémon were often rejected by their peers, living isolated, and without the support of their group, they tended to develop weaker than the rest.
That's why many people considered them even worse than normal Pokémon. This was obvious in how everyone ignored the green Sandshrew.
But for Ethan Black, a shiny Pokémon that had survived on its own without support must have some hidden strength.
Not all shiny Pokémon were strong by default, but if one had managed to survive natural selection without help, then its true strength should not be underestimated!
Besides, if that shiny Sandshrew evolved into a Sandslash, its back would be covered in bright red spines, also known as "red thorns."
And a red-thorned Sandslash was infinitely cooler than one with brown spines!
When everything was ready, the League workers began reading the list of names, and families happily went up to choose their Pokémon. No one paid any attention to the green Sandshrew. Everyone went straight for the biggest and strongest ones.
And it wasn't wrong: specimens that had grown well normally had greater potential.
Fortunately, Ethan Black's family had registered in advance, so his turn came within the first fifteen. Soon, it was his turn.
"I want that green Sandshrew," said Ethan Black without hesitation, pointing at the shiny Pokémon.
Hearing this, Victor Black's face instantly changed. He quickly stepped forward and stopped him, nervously: "You foolish boy! With so many strong Sandshrew, why pick that scrawny one?"
"It's special... I feel we're connected," said Ethan Black after thinking for a second.
"Connected?" Victor Black was utterly confused.
But you've only just seen it—are you falling in love already or what?
"Anyway, it's that one. I have a sharp sixth sense. That Pokémon has great potential!" said Ethan Black firmly, no longer knowing how else to explain himself.
He wasn't planning to keep arguing! First he would secure it, and then he'd figure out how to explain later.
"Hey, hurry up! There are more people waiting!" someone shouted from behind.
The villagers in line, seeing Ethan Black choose the "trash Sandshrew," were delighted. Especially the next person on the list, who had been afraid his preferred choice would be taken. So he didn't hesitate to put on some pressure.
(End of Chapter)