🎆 Happy New Year! 🎆
Thank you all for the amazing support throughout this year. 💙To celebrate the arrival of the new year, here is a special New Year code:
🎁 Code:NewYear: F3B16
📅 Code validity:
Start: December 30, 2025 at 11:55 p.m.
End: January 2, 2026 at 11:00 p.m.
Enjoy it and let's start this new year strong. 🚀✨Here's to an amazing 2026! 🎉
-------
"Absol, let's go." Ethan Black touched the Pokéballs on his belt and spoke to Absol.
The Pokémon nodded and, carrying Ethan Black, leapt straight into the Secret Kingdom.
Immediately, Ethan Black's eyes were covered by a green light. Little by little, that light faded, and before him appeared a landscape of blue sky, white clouds, and green forests.
"What a beautiful Secret Kingdom..." Ethan Black sighed. Such a clean sky was rare to see in the real world.
"Come out, everyone." After a brief moment of awe, he released his companions: Sandslash, Cacturne, Shellder, Meltan, Shuckle, and Trapinch.
They were inside a Secret Kingdom, a place where danger could arise at any moment, so he had to stay fully alert.
"I'm counting on you all." He jumped down from Absol's back, took Shellder in his arms, Shuckle settled on his shoulder, and the others surrounded him as he carefully advanced through the thicket.
"Absol, try to locate the exit of the Secret Kingdom first." He looked around with a hint of tension.
Absol's gift for sensing the gates of the Secret Kingdoms, together with Meltan's ability to open them, was the main reason Ethan Black dared to enter alone.
After capturing it, he had spoken with Absol. According to the Pokémon itself, aside from being drawn to Ethan Black's personality, one of the reasons it chose to follow him was precisely Meltan's ability to open Secret Kingdoms.
Thus, the combination of Absol for locating and Meltan for opening gave Ethan Black the possibility to move freely between Secret Kingdoms and reality.
"Abbssss!" Absol nodded, and the horn on its head began to glow softly as it sensed the flows of energy around them.
Very soon it pointed in a direction and began to guide Ethan Black.
The forest trees were enormous, leafy, and overflowing with Grass-type energy, to the point where Cacturne let out a satisfied groan.
"That's... a Weedle." Ethan Black watched it closely. "If there are Weedle, then there must also be Beedrill."
As they went deeper, he saw more Grass- and Bug-type Pokémon, especially Weedle and Caterpie. But upon spotting Weedle, his expression shifted: he knew very well that Beedrill was a dangerous threat in the wild.
Due to their aggressiveness, the League had classified Beedrill as a risk-level Pokémon. Even in breeding reserves, their presence in the wild was forbidden.
"Bzzzz!"
"Bzzzz!"
"Bzzzz!"
And as if fate itself wanted to confirm it, the buzzing suddenly appeared: three Beedrill blocked their path.
The moment they saw the intruder, they dived down, aiming their venomous stingers.
"Wild Beedrill... just what I need to give Trapinch some real battle experience." Ethan Black smiled in relief: it was only three.
Trapinch squeaked excitedly. Among all his companions, it was the weakest after Shuckle, and it longed to grow stronger.
There was no better way than a real fight to gain strength quickly.
"Trapinch, use Gust!" Ethan Black ordered.
The little Pokémon was ready: it stomped the ground hard, concentrated Flying-type energy, and whipped up a tornado that roared toward the Beedrill.
Clumsy and advancing too fast, they couldn't dodge. The three were caught in the whirlwind.
The move Gust, boosted by its type advantage against Bug-types, inflicted heavy damage. No matter how much they flapped their wings, they couldn't escape.
Boom!
When the tornado dissipated, the three Beedrill were sent flying and crashed unconscious to the ground.
Trapinch proudly puffed out its chest.
"Don't get cocky," Ethan Black cut in. "They were just three lowly Beedrill. Remember, they always act in swarms; one on its own isn't strong."
"Bzzzz!"
Just as he spoke, a new buzzing echoed in the distance. This time, more than ten Beedrill were flying toward them.
"Damn it, what a big mouth I have!" Ethan Black cursed, retreating to take cover behind a tree.
Shellder reacted instantly, creating several protective barriers around its trainer.
Sandslash, Cacturne, Meltan, and Absol remained calm. A dozen Beedrill was nothing for them; any one of the four could wipe them out in seconds.
"Exactly, they're nothing to worry about." Ethan Black exhaled. "You four fall back and keep watch for other swarms. These Beedrill are for Trapinch."
His companions obeyed. Trapinch stepped forward, determined to face the swarm.
Whooosh...
Once again, it unleashed the move Gust.
The first Beedrill crashed head-on into the gale, holding on with difficulty. Taking advantage of that distraction, another seven or eight lunged forward, their stingers glowing with a white light, aimed straight at Trapinch.
(End of chapter)