"It really works."
"Such dense Poison-type energy."
Seeing Cacturne continuously absorb and refine the poison, Ethan felt joy in his heart.
"Cac!"
Cacturne also seemed very pleased, absorbing the toxin-filled swamp water with all its strength, drawing in its poisonous energy through the move Toxic.
The remaining water was absorbed through its Water Absorb ability, restoring its physical energy and easing much of the fatigue on its face.
"Well done."
"Cacturne, try using Venoshock."
Seeing that Cacturne had absorbed so much Poison-type energy that its body was nearly saturated, Ethan immediately gave the order.
Venoshock was a very practical long-range Poison-type move that involved shooting liquid venom at the opponent. If the target was poisoned, its power doubled; it could be considered one of the main offensive moves of the Poison type.
"Cac!"
Cacturne stopped absorbing and began concentrating the excess Poison-type energy in its mouth, gathering it continuously.
Then, when the energy reached its peak, it opened its mouth and expelled a jet of purple venom toward a nearby tree.
Shiii-la-la!
The venom pierced a large hole through the trunk, and the splashes that fell to the ground emitted a corroding hiss.
"Success! The most powerful poison move!"
Ethan was delighted to see that Cacturne had finally managed to unleash Venoshock.
Although Cacturne wasn't a Poison type, it could learn several poisonous moves: Poison Sting, Toxic, Venoshock, Poison Jab, Acid, and Belch.
"Cacturne, remember that feeling. Take this chance and keep practicing."
Cacturne nodded immediately and went back to absorbing the poisonous energy from the swamp.
"Such rich poisonous energy."
"It really seems like there's some Poison-type treasure hidden here."
Ethan watched Cacturne training, then looked at the muddy swamp, deep in thought.
"Wait... if there were a Poison-type treasure in a place like this, it could only be that one, right?"
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought of a possibility.
As soon as the idea came to him, he ordered, "Cacturne, extend your roots to the bottom of the swamp and search for a type of sludge that emanates extremely intense poisonous energy."
Cacturne paused for a moment, then nodded and directed its roots underground into the swamp.
The swamp began to stir, and after some time searching, Cacturne opened its eyes with a particular gleam. When it withdrew its roots, they were covered in black-colored sludge.
"Just as I thought: the item Black Sludge!"
Seeing the Black Sludge stuck to the roots, Ethan revealed an expression of surprise and joy.
Soon, Cacturne pulled out all its roots, each one bringing more Black Sludge with it.
"Slowking, use your psychic power to gather all that Black Sludge."
Excited, Ethan licked his lips. Slowking wrapped all the Black Sludge in its psychic energy and compacted it into a floating mass in front of him.
...
"That is... Black Sludge!"
In the monitoring room, the examiners paled upon recognizing it.
That Black Sludge was mixed into the swamp; even if someone saw it, they would rarely associate it with the item Black Sludge.
They never imagined that Ethan would recognize it... let alone gather so much of it!
"Forget it, it's not a problem."
"Even if he found the Black Sludge, he's not allowed to take it out."
The chief examiner, after his initial surprise, shook his head. His gaze returned to the screen: Gengar had already carried the Totem Drapion's Poké Ball to the exit of the Secret Kingdom and was returning.
...
Out in the field.
Ethan looked at the floating Black Sludge, his eyes shining.
He knew the resources of the Secret Kingdom couldn't be taken outside. The only thing he could do was consume them as quickly as possible.
"Black Sludge... Black Sludge..."
He reviewed the item's information in his mind.
Black Sludge allowed a Poison-type Pokémon to slowly recover energy while holding it. But if another type carried it, they would lose energy.
Clearly, aside from its abundant poisonous energy, it was only useful for Poison-type Pokémon.
"How can I make use of it...?"
Ethan frowned, trying to recall more information.
When he thought of Black Sludge, he inevitably thought of Muk.
Data indicated that Muk had a 50% chance of dropping Black Sludge; that wasn't a small probability. It meant Muk could generate Black Sludge easily... or that the Black Sludge was directly part of its body.
"Wait... a part of the body!"
Ethan's eyes lit up again as he looked at Cacturne's body spines.
He suddenly remembered that Cacturne could drop the item Poison Barb.
Poison Barb was an item with small toxic spikes that increased the power of Poison-type moves when held.
So those detachable needles from Cacturne were its own spines... a physical part of its body!
Therefore, it was reasonable to deduce that, under certain conditions, Cacturne's spines could turn into toxin-infused Poison Barbs.
In that case... could there be a method to channel poison into Cacturne's spines and transform them into the actual Poison Barb item?
"Maybe if I apply this Black Sludge onto its spines, they could absorb the toxin and truly become poisonous."
Ethan's eyes lit up. The idea sounded feasible... but also risky.
If Cacturne's spines didn't absorb the Black Sludge well, it could harm its health, drain its energy... or even severely poison it.
(End of chapter)