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"Forget it, the resources I have now are enough."
"It's better to just leave this Dusknoir at the bottom of the box forever."
Ethan Black thought for a moment and carefully placed Dusknoir's Poké Ball at the bottom of his backpack.
Then, Ethan Black looked around and, accompanied by several of his Pokémon who had already recovered, headed toward his home.
Upon arriving, as soon as he opened the door, the aroma of warm and familiar food hit him head-on, instantly calming his heart.
There was no doubt: that was the same smell as always, his mother was still his mother, his father was still his father, and he was still himself.
"Why think so much?"
"I'm still me, and that's enough."
Ethan Black took a deep breath and, with several cheerful and lively Pokémon, entered the house.
"Dad, Mom, I'm thinking of buying you a house in the city. That way you can move there and live more comfortably."
During dinner, Ethan Black shared his idea with them.
"Live in the city?"
Hearing his words, Ethan Black's parents showed an expression of doubt.
After a while, Victor Black smiled, shook his head, and said: "Son, I know you want us to live like the city folk."
"But your mother and I have spent almost our whole lives here, and this is where we feel most comfortable."
"Besides, aside from farming, I don't know how to do anything else. It's better for us to stay in the countryside."
Ethan Black opened his mouth to reply, but saw that his mother was also smiling and gently shaking her head.
"I understand."
He nodded slightly and stopped insisting.
...
After dinner, Ethan Black sat alone at his desk.
In front of him, Dusknoir's Poké Ball rested quietly.
Sigh... I still don't feel completely at ease.
"Although I've already captured Dusknoir, the fact that it appeared in the village means there's probably a Secret Kingdom nearby connected to the Spirit World."
Ethan Black frowned. That was, in fact, one of the reasons he wanted his parents to leave Stonefield Town.
After all, first came the Secret Kingdom of the Sandshrew, and now one connected to the Spirit World; this showed that the space around Stonefield Town was very unstable. No one knew if more Secret Kingdoms would appear on this land.
"If they don't want to leave, then I'll have to find another solution."
"Maybe buying them a Pokémon would be a good idea. That way it could help them with daily tasks and, in case of danger, protect them."
Suddenly, Ethan Black's eyes lit up: he had thought of a good plan.
With this middle-ground solution in mind, he let out a sigh of relief and put away Dusknoir's Poké Ball.
At this moment, it made no sense to worry further about that. The most important thing was to continue strengthening his own power.
If he had enough strength, even if the Spirit World reappeared in reality, he would be able to protect himself.
"The training plans for Sandslash, Shellder, Meltan, and Shuckle are already ready. Now it's time to work with Cacturne and Trapinch."
Ethan Black thought for a moment and flipped through his notebook until he reached the section on Cacturne.
At present, Cacturne had mastered the moves: Poison Sting, Leer, Absorb, Ingrain, Synthesis, Pin Missile, Sand Attack, Spiky Shield, Destiny Bond, Revenge, Growth, Magical Leaf, and Rototiller.
After evolving, it had learned the moves: Spiky Shield, Destiny Bond, Revenge, Growth, and Rototiller, which had greatly increased its power.
Especially the moves Spiky Shield and Rototiller, which showed Ethan Black great potential and new directions for development. That was why they were the main moves Cacturne was focusing on now.
As for the move Destiny Bond, its effect was that if, after using it, it took a blow that left it unable to fight, the opponent would also fall with it.
It was a very useful move for a "mutual end," but since Cacturne had never used it in an actual battle, Ethan Black still didn't know its true effect in the real world.
Moreover, due to the special nature of that move, there was no real way to train it. He couldn't deliberately leave Cacturne on the brink of fainting.
"The moves Spiky Shield and Rototiller will continue being the main focus of its training."
"Also, ever since it learned the move Rototiller, Cacturne can already integrate energy into its roots very effectively."
"Based on that, aside from the Magical Leaf move fused with the roots (Magical Roots), I can also start training combinations of other moves with the roots."
"Right now, the most promising would be fusing Poison Sting with the roots. The poisonous energy might even help the roots overcome their weakness against poison."
"If we manage to transform the roots into 'Poison Roots,' the offensive power would increase significantly."
Ethan Black began drafting a detailed training plan for the roots that Cacturne developed thanks to the move Ingrain.
"In addition to root development, we must also make use of its Dark type. That way, not only will we improve the team's joint defense, but it will also be able to strike with an advantage against Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokémon."
In a short time, thanks to Ethan Black's meticulous work, Cacturne's training plan was ready.
Afterward, he focused his attention on Trapinch, the new member of the team, and began thinking about its training.
Before evolving into Vibrava, Trapinch was only Ground type, so it hadn't learned any Dragon- or Flying-type moves.
"Yes... once it evolves into Vibrava, its ability will become Levitate, which will surely weaken its control over Ground-type energy."
"That's why, before it evolves, its main development must focus on the Ground type. I remember there are certain Ground-type moves it can only learn at this stage; if it evolves, it will lose that opportunity."
Although its talent in the Flying type seemed strong, at this moment it could only use the move Gust, so it was better to focus on training its Ground-type moves.
Besides, Ethan Black had in his hands the Ground-type Pokémon training guide given to him by Professor Harris, along with plenty of training methods for moves of that type. It would be a waste not to take advantage of them to fully develop Trapinch's talent.
(End of Chapter)