Boom!
As Sandshrew's body began to roll, its speed increased more and more. When it crashed into a pile of rocks randomly stacked on the ground, a loud crash was heard—the pile exploded into pieces, sending shards flying everywhere!
"He did it!"
Seeing the power of Sandshrew's Rollout move, Ethan Black shouted excitedly.
A normal Rollout move doesn't have such power. Only by being imbued with Rock-type energy can the move smash rocks with brute force.
"Sha sha sha!"
Sandshrew also shouted in joy when it saw it had successfully executed the Rollout move, but suddenly it wobbled... and fainted on the ground!
"Did he... faint from his own attack?" Ethan Black ran toward him, and seeing that he was only dazed, he couldn't help but make a helpless face.
It was clear that although Sandshrew managed to execute the move correctly, it still couldn't control the violent Rock-type energy contained in Rollout.
Still, it was already a great step forward that it had managed to perform the move properly.
The next step would be for Sandshrew to practice in order to perfect the move and improve his control over Rock-type energy. Once he achieved that, it could be considered that he had truly learned the move.
Of course, Ethan Black wasn't satisfied with him just knowing how to use it. His goal was for him to be able to use it in real battle.
The next stage of training would be for Sandshrew to use Rollout freely, even without depending on slopes, and also to be able to change direction at will.
And that would only be the basics. Ethan Black envisioned Rollout as an all-in-one move of speed, offense, and defense.
After all, Sandshrew wasn't very fast, and couldn't learn moves like Quick Attack or Agility that boosted speed. So his idea was to use Rollout as a means of mobility.
The only moves that connected Sandshrew to speed were Rapid Spin and Swift.
That's why Ethan Black planned to combine Rapid Spin with Rollout, transforming it into a new combined move: Spin Drive.
That way, Sandshrew would gain speed similar to using Agility, and the impact power of the move would increase even more thanks to the momentum from Rapid Spin.
In addition, he also planned to integrate Swift into Rollout. He remembered how, in many anime scenes, Pokémon would leap and spin in the air while using Swift, powering it up with the rotational momentum.
Ethan Black deduced that the principle was the same as throwing a disc: the spin adds force and range.
So he decided to try if Sandshrew could use the combined Spin Drive move together with Swift.
And when thinking about Swift, he suddenly remembered Dawn's Aipom, who could create a rainbow veil using Swift while spinning in place. That reminded him of a famous anime tactic: Counter Shield.
Ash's Counter Shield, also known as "Reverse Shield" or "Double Counter." It was a strategy where the Pokémon spun in place, dispersing a move over a wide area, turning an attack into a combination of offense and defense.
Ethan Black remembered that Whitney's Miltank's Rollout could also repel enemy attacks by rolling quickly.
Even Brock's Geodude had used a similar effect through Rapid Spin.
Now, by integrating Swift into Rollout to form a mobile Counter Shield, Ethan Black believed its power would be even greater than Ash's tactic.
And if that shield could move while attacking, it would become a true raging storm of energy!
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. If he managed to bring all these ideas to life, Sandshrew could completely dominate battles against opponents of the same level with a single technique!
A single dominant technique can make the difference. And Ethan Black believed this was totally possible!
Soon after, Sandshrew woke up from his fainting.
Then, Ethan Black explained all his plans. Sandshrew's eyes lit up more and more as he listened.
His respect toward Ethan Black also grew. Now he firmly believed that, with his trainer's guidance, he could become a powerful and independent Pokémon.
With the promising future Ethan Black described, Sandshrew devoted himself even more intensely to training. Having been rejected by his group and narrowly surviving several times, he understood better than anyone the importance of becoming strong.
Thus, Ethan Black and Sandshrew spent their days immersed in intense training.
While Sandshrew practiced Rollout again and again, Ethan Black refined his training plan. Though his ideas were good, he still had to figure out how to teach Sandshrew Rapid Spin, and how to combine it with Rollout.
...
Day 1 of special training.
Sandshrew successfully mastered Rollout, being able to use it on slopes with 100% effectiveness.
On flat ground, he had already begun practicing it, but still couldn't roll using just the move. For now, he needed a running start to build momentum.
Even so, Ethan Black was very satisfied with his progress.
Returning home, they followed the same routine as always: wash hands, eat, bathe, and sleep...
Before washing, Ethan Black confessed to Sandshrew the reason why he "tortured" him with water. Knowing it was to help him overcome his fear, Sandshrew more patiently accepted washing and bathing, trying to endure it as best he could.
Seeing Sandshrew so dedicated made Ethan Black very happy. Every Pokémon that desires to be strong needs the will to grow stronger, and without a doubt, Sandshrew was one of them.
...
Day 2 of special training.
With adjustments to the training method, Sandshrew finally managed to use Rollout on flat ground, and moreover, even outside the rocky field, he could feel and channel Rock-type energy.
(End of Chapter)