🎄 Christmas Special Discount 🎄
From December 23 to December 25, there will be a public 50% discount on the following tiers:
Intermediate Trainers, Advanced Trainers, Elite Trainers, Elite Four Trainers, Champion Trainers, and Legendary Trainers.
🎆 New Year Discount 🎆
There will also be a 50% discount, but it won't be public. On December 31, the discount code will be published inside the chapters, so stay tuned 👀✨
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After a full day, the ranking battles came to a perfect close.
At night...
Ethan Black was sitting at his desk, reviewing and summarizing what he had learned from today's matches.
In today's battles, both Sandslash and Meltan—who had only appeared once—delivered an outstanding performance.
Tok, tok, tok.
At that moment, someone suddenly knocked on Ethan Black's door.
"Who is it?" he asked, putting down his pen with some curiosity.
"Ethan, it's me, Jasper."
Recognizing the voice coming from the hallway, Ethan Black immediately got up and opened the door.
"Come in, have a seat," he said with a faint smile, inviting Jasper Reid inside.
"It's a bit late... is something wrong?" Ethan Black asked as he poured him a glass of nutritious juice.
"Yes, actually I came because I need your help with something."
Jasper Reid nodded and explained the reason for his visit.
It turned out that in today's ranking battles, his team had been heavily countered. That's why he came to see if Ethan Black could give him some good advice.
"Ah, so that's it..." Ethan Black replied, nodding and reflecting for a moment.
"The truth is, Rock-type Pokémon have big type disadvantages, and most of them are also part Ground. That makes them very vulnerable against Grass, Water, and Fighting-types. Actually, the solution is simple: use Pokémon of other types for combined defense."
Jasper Reid nodded.
"Yes, I had thought about that combined defense... but I wanted to ask you which Pokémon you think would be most suitable."
"Which Pokémon...?"
Ethan Black closed his eyes to recall.
If we're talking about Rock-types, the first that came to mind was Tyranitar, the Desert Tyrant.
And if he thought of Tyranitar, who would be its best partner?
Several names appeared in his mind.
Tyranitar's best partner, without a doubt, was Venusaur.
Venusaur, with its dual Grass/Poison typing, could perfectly cover Tyranitar's weaknesses against Water, Grass, and Fighting. On top of that, it exerted great pressure on Water-types, and its excellent defenses made it a strong, solid wall.
The other great friend of Tyranitar would be Slowbro.
With its Psychic/Water combination, Slowbro helped cover weaknesses against Fighting and Water, had recovery moves, and could learn Fire-type moves to handle Steel-types. A very strong partner, no doubt.
After recalling all this, Ethan Black explained his ideas to Jasper Reid, making the latter's eyes shine, convinced he had come to the right person.
"Of course, both Venusaur and Slowbro are pretty rare Pokémon... If you can't get them, many other Grass or Poison-types would work too."
"For example, Vileplume is a great option. Aside from type coverage, it can also play a support and healing role. If I remember correctly, you have a Leaf Stone, right?"
Ethan Black's words sent Jasper Reid into deep thought, combining the ideas with his current situation to design his team.
After a while, Jasper Reid took a deep breath: "If possible, I'd like to catch a Bulbasaur."
"After all, my role on the team is defensive, and Venusaur would definitely make for an excellent wall."
Ethan Black nodded. However, catching a Bulbasaur wasn't easy at all.
Then he remembered that there was still the chance to compete for one of the spots to obtain a starter Pokémon.
The competition for those spots would be held in July. If he managed to win a place, maybe he could choose a Bulbasaur for himself.
"Even if catching a Bulbasaur is difficult... it's not impossible."
"Ethan," Jasper Reid said seriously, "do you remember when we took part in the inter-university exchange tournament, the Pokémon Trainer Guild of the city promised us that if we defeated Duskwell City Pokémon University, they'd give us a pass to enter the Breeding Zone of Greenrock Mountain and capture any Pokémon we wanted there?"
"The Greenrock Mountain Breeding Zone...?"
Ethan Black narrowed his eyes. That was the grand prize of that competition, and of course he remembered.
That zone had a great variety of Pokémon, and finding starters in the wild there wasn't uncommon.
The area wasn't especially dangerous, but to catch the desired Pokémon one needed enough strength.
It would be frustrating to find an ideal Pokémon and fail to capture it due to lack of power.
"Exactly. My idea is to use that pass to go to Greenrock Mountain and catch a Bulbasaur."
Jasper Reid nodded firmly, but hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"In Greenrock Mountain, it's very possible there are wild Bulbasaur."
"Forget it, I'll go with you. I'll consider it as repaying the debt I owe you from that time in the Secret Kingdom," Ethan Black said with a smile.
On that expedition to the Secret Kingdom, Ethan Black had gained a lot, and he felt it was only fair to return the favor.
Besides, even though he already had six Pokémon, his Shuckle mainly played a support role, so he was thinking about capturing another main battle Pokémon.
Maybe, in Greenrock Mountain, he could find one he liked.
"Thank you, Ethan."
Jasper Reid looked at him gratefully.
In truth, during the last expedition to the Secret Kingdom, both of them had gained plenty, so it wasn't entirely clear who owed who.
That's why Jasper Reid didn't fool himself into thinking Ethan Black was doing this just to repay a favor, and decided to remember this gesture well.
"We can't waste time. In half a month we have another trial for the university team, so that's the deadline. Let's get things ready and leave early tomorrow," Ethan Black said, patting him on the shoulder.
Jasper Reid nodded and, after thanking him once again, left immediately to prepare.
For him, this expedition to the Greenrock Mountain Breeding Zone was very important, and he couldn't let his guard down for even a second.
(End of Chapter)