"You did well, Cacturne."
Ethan spoke with a smile, very satisfied with the strength Cacturne was showing.
Using the move Absorb combined with the ability Water Absorb, evolving it into a vampiric capability...
That training plan was something Ethan had designed for Cacturne when he left it under the care of the Pokémon Researchers Guild; especially the development of the Water Absorb ability, which was also the main research topic of President Beckett and the others.
Judging from what he was seeing now, aside from participating in President Beckett's experiments, Cacturne had also taken full advantage of the resources of the Pokémon Researchers Guild, greatly increasing its Water Absorb ability.
Besides the development of this vampiric capability, Cacturne's mastery over the move Toxic was becoming more and more refined. Combined with its already very well-developed Absorb, it allowed Cacturne to continuously absorb different poisons and strengthen the toxic power contained in the move Toxic.
"Return, Cacturne."
"Digest it well... all the toxin from that Seviper."
After killing the Seviper, Ethan pulled out its Poké Ball and recalled Cacturne.
He then found the score plate on Seviper's body and stored it carefully in his backpack.
"This place... seems to be a Secret Kingdom exclusively for Poison-type Pokémon."
Deep in the forest, after eliminating the Seviper, Ethan resumed his path, looking for more dangerous Pokémon.
The area where it appeared seemed to be the territory of a group of Seviper. Along the way he had already encountered three, all turned into nutrients for Cacturne.
After that, Ethan didn't even bother putting Cacturne back in its Poké Ball; he let it walk beside him as they searched for new prey.
In the monitoring room, an evaluator kept his eyes fixed on Ethan. After Ethan defeated another Seviper, he quickly recorded his score.
"Ethan has defeated another Seviper..."
His voice had already shifted from initial shock to resignation. Clearly, relying on a single Seviper was not enough to put Ethan in danger.
"Bad news! That trainer named Laura Frost is in serious trouble."
Suddenly, another evaluator shouted. Everyone looked at the screen, where a swarm of Seviper filled the entire image.
And their target was the trainer riding on a Persian that was desperately running ahead of them.
"Luckily that Persian is very fast. Nothing should happen to her."
After a while, the evaluators breathed a sigh of relief. On the screen, Persian was getting farther and farther away, and the Seviper, realizing they couldn't catch her, began turning around to return to their nest.
"Yes, good thing Persian— Wait. What is that train—? Oh my god, he's running straight toward the Seviper horde!"
Just as the evaluators were relaxing, they saw Ethan—who had been heading in the opposite direction—suddenly turn around. His face, wearing a gentle smile, appeared on the monitor, making everyone turn pale.
"Damn it! What is Ethan trying to do!?"
Even the chief evaluator noticed, his expression darkening.
...
In the forest...
Laura, seeing the Seviper falling behind, let out a sigh of relief.
Her luck that time had truly been terrible: she had been teleported right into the Seviper nest.
Fortunately, her Persian was extremely fast, or she would have ended up as food for those snakes.
"I hope the other trainers don't run into that horde... it would be deadly." She sighed and looked ahead... only to freeze.
A burst of wind passed by, and she saw a Vibrava flying between the trees, carrying a trainer. In an instant, it passed beside her.
"That's... Ethan!"
"Wait, isn't he heading straight toward where the Seviper are?"
Laura wanted to warn him, but Vibrava was flying too fast. She didn't have a chance to speak.
...
"Vibrava, the Seviper you detected are right ahead?"
As they flew, Ethan asked, a spark of excitement in his eyes.
"Viiibbrraaa!"
Vibrava nodded quickly.
Earlier, Ethan had sent it into the sky to scout, and that was when it detected the massive group of Seviper.
"A horde of Seviper... If I wipe them all out and collect their plates, then securing a spot in the top ten will be a piece of cake."
His eyes gleamed.
This Advanced Trainer exam involved people from several dozen nearby cities—more than a thousand participants.
Getting a place in the top ten would be very difficult, so he had to gather points as quickly as possible.
"So Ethan really is heading toward that horde..."
"But... can he really take on so many Pokémon? One mistake and he'll be playing with fire."
In the monitoring room, the evaluators watched with growing tension as Ethan approached the Seviper swarm.
...
In the forest...
Ethan finally reached the horde.
He planted himself alone before them. In front of him, Sandslash, Cacturne, Slowking, Meltan, Vibrava, and Charmeleon spread out, making it clear that he intended to face all the snakes on his own.
Ssssss!
The Seviper stared at him, hissing furiously.
One particularly aggressive one immediately fired a jet of venom straight at Ethan.
Swish!
At that moment, Slowking reacted. It placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder and the two vanished.
They reappeared far from the attack, without a scratch.
"Teleport!"
"No wonder Ethan dares to provoke that group. He had this card hidden."
Seeing Slowking use Teleport, the evaluators finally breathed easier.
A Slowking with that move was basically a life insurance policy: even if he couldn't defeat the horde, escaping would be easy.
(End of chapter)