"So I'm going to have to bother you, President Hamilton."
Ethan Black took a deep breath and thanked President Hamilton.
"No need to thank me. You're already part of the guild, and as president, it's my duty to help the new generation grow," President Hamilton replied, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder with a smile.
That made Ethan Black feel a warmth in his chest. He nodded seriously; both Professor Harris and President Hamilton, along with the great President Beckett and Professor Reynolds, had played a fundamental role in his development.
He had always been someone who knew how to be grateful, and he held deep respect and gratitude for the Pokémon Research Guild.
Seeing his reaction, President Hamilton nodded satisfied and immediately asked for the other Pokémon to be examined.
"Shellder, use telekinesis to float over here."
Ethan Black thought for a moment and said it. Then he saw Shellder's eyes shine as its body slowly rose, floating up to the inspection platform.
"Eh? Shellder can learn the move Telekinesis too?" President Hamilton asked, surprised to see it in the air.
"President, it's not the move Telekinesis per se, but the Hidden Power move of the Psychic type," Ethan Black explained with a smile.
"Hidden Power of Psychic type?"
"That's a very rare awakening of psychic affinity. Normally, a Pokémon wouldn't have such strong talent in psychic powers."
Hearing this, President Hamilton was once again surprised and looked at Ethan Black with a hint of envy.
"It was a matter of luck," Ethan Black replied. The truth was, mental strength was the hardest thing to train; everything depended on talent.
"Too much luck, I'd say," President Hamilton nodded, and began examining Shellder.
In no time, President Hamilton checked all the Pokémon and gave numerous recommendations for each one.
"Stay here for a few days," he said at the end. "I'm going to research how to use the Toxic Orb to teach the move Toxic to a Grass-type Pokémon."
"Also, I'll send you the list of Dark-type moves that Absol can learn shortly; make sure it practices those too."
After giving all the instructions, President Hamilton went straight to his lab, undoubtedly to begin his research.
Ethan Black watched him leave and then, without wasting time, began organizing the day's training plan for his Pokémon.
"Today we'll do real combat training."
"Cacturne and Absol, you two will be a team: Cacturne, practice the move Ingrain, and Absol, use the move Future Sight to dodge as much as possible."
"Sandslash and Meltan, you'll train together: Sandslash, continue practicing Metal Claw, Iron Tail, and Gyro Ball, trying to cover your whole body with Steel-type energy. Meltan, keep perfecting the Mercury Mold Technique."
"Shellder and Trapinch, you two will be the last team: Shellder, continue working on your version of Counter Shield with Aqua Ring; Trapinch, train the move Gust."
Upon receiving the orders, all the Pokémon responded energetically and positioned themselves in the training field.
Cacturne used Ingrain, causing a large number of roots to sprout, which it controlled to attack Absol. Absol, with eyes closed, activated Future Sight to its fullest to anticipate trajectories and dodge before being hit.
On the other side, Sandslash and Meltan clashed with Steel-type moves. Their bodies shone with a silvery light, and each collision produced sparks and a strong metallic sound.
Meanwhile, Shellder activated Aqua Ring and, using its psychic power, made the water spin violently, forming a whirlpool that covered it completely.
In front of it, Trapinch generated a tornado, raising a spiral of wind that rushed toward Shellder.
Boom, boom, boom!
The water whirlpool and wind tornado collided forcefully, tangling and striking each other repeatedly.
Watching his Pokémon train, Ethan Black nodded in satisfaction while holding Shuckle, giving it Berrys to eat.
Those Berrys came from loot obtained in his last raid in a Secret Kingdom. They contained very strong energy, and when the juice fermented, the result was much more nutritious than ordinary fruits.
Besides restoring a Pokémon's energy, that juice could slightly improve its constitution.
This reminded Ethan Black of Pokéblocks in the Pokémon world, and he paused thoughtfully.
Pokéblocks were very common supplements in that world. Depending on the recipe, they could have different effects and benefits for Pokémon.
In the real world, Pokémon supplements were mainly nutritious juices, and unless made directly with Berrys, most required fermentation by a Shuckle to be effective.
"What if that nutritious juice could be further processed and turned into Pokéblocks?" Ethan Black thought.
As he recalled, the method for making them first involved crushing the Berrys.
Then they were placed in a machine called a Berry Blender, and through a mechanical process, Pokéblocks were formed.
In the games, the procedure was similar: place the Berrys, turn on the machine, and when the rotating pointer passed over the player's button, press it precisely to adjust the speed. The faster and steadier the mix, the higher the quality of the Pokéblock.
"Seems like the key is to spin the mixture..."
"But if it were just about spinning fast, it would be too easy; a blender would be enough."
"The real trick must lie in how to fuse the energy of the fruits, like in chemistry: you need to combine the properties of each ingredient to trigger a special reaction that condenses the final product."
Shuckle was already producing juice with a slight effect similar to a Pokéblock, though very weak.
If it could learn the correct technique, it could surely maximize that effect.
(End of chapter)