A few days later, under the farewell of his Pokémon, Ethan left the Sky Secret Kingdom.
In the blue sky dotted with white clouds, Vibrava carried him through the air, while Gengar followed closely beside him, dutifully fulfilling its role as bodyguard.
The reason for leaving at this time was, naturally, that the semester was about to begin, and now that he had reached Advanced level, he could smoothly enter the university's advanced campus.
In the university's area division, the beginner and intermediate campuses were for regular college students, while the advanced campus was equivalent to graduate studies.
For a long period starting now, Ethan and the others would be studying in the advanced campus.
The university's advanced campus was located inside the university's Secret Kingdom. Ethan skillfully entered the Secret Kingdom and found himself in a vast plain, with a distant mountain range in sight. The advanced campus was located there, and the tallest mountain was where the university team headquarters was found.
"I wonder if those guys have already arrived."
Ethan smiled faintly, remembering the scene of the five of them rushing at full speed on Jasper Reid's Onix.
Back then, they were all just rookie trainers with one or two Pokémon each. Thinking back on it brought a wave of nostalgia.
"Vibrava, let's go."
Fwooosh~
The breeze blew as Vibrava appeared behind Ethan, lifted him, and took off toward the tallest mountain.
Chirr, chirr, chirr~
Just when Vibrava was about to reach the peak in a single leap...
Noisy sounds filled the air. Suddenly, a huge flock of Spearow appeared, covering the sky like a thick cloud.
"Spearow, huh?"
Seeing the familiar group, Ethan smiled.
Back then, when he tried to reach the university team headquarters, this same group of Spearow had blocked the sky, forcing them all to climb the mountain on foot. The university team had done it to train the physical endurance of the applicants.
"Go, Meltan."
He threw the Poké Ball, and Meltan appeared.
This time, in front of the flock of Spearow, Ethan did not retreat.
He remembered clearly that Captain Jason had said that if they didn't want to climb, they could try to force their way through.
"Zzzt!"
As soon as it appeared, Meltan released electricity all over its body. It activated its magnetic levitation ability and floated easily in the air.
Originally, Meltan had obtained this technique through magnetic control. Over time, it naturally developed the ability to use electromagnetic waves to negate gravity, just like Magnemite.
"Meltan, show them the results of your training."
Ethan had Vibrava retreat a bit, while Gengar materialized in the air, positioning itself in front of Ethan to protect him.
"Zzzt!"
After hearing Ethan's command, Meltan began producing electric arcs.
Chirr, chirr~
The Spearow noticed that this small Pokémon wasn't one to underestimate. Their gazes sharpened, and flapping their wings, they dove at Meltan like arrows.
"Thunderbolt!"
This time Meltan didn't use its transformation ability, but instead concentrated pure electricity to fight.
Its body was saturated with electricity. For Meltan, current was a vital energy. When activated at full potential, its electrical power could surpass that of many Electric-type Pokémon.
Boom!
Current exploded around its body.
Electricity burst out of Meltan like a wave, and under its command of lightning, it formed a large electric net that enveloped the Spearow.
The Spearow abruptly stopped; some were unable to halt in time and crashed into the net, releasing sparks and crackling noises.
"Break through them and use Thunder Wave!"
Ethan smiled as Meltan turned into a ball of electricity and charged into the flock.
Chirr—!
As Meltan plowed through the Spearow, suddenly a fierce cry echoed. A Fearow rose into the sky, covered in a powerful Flying-type aura, taking the form of a divine bird as it dived straight at Meltan.
"It's Sky Attack!"
"Meltan, use Current Ray." Facing the massive attack, Ethan issued another command.
"Zzzt!"
Meltan responded immediately. Its eye inside the nut glowed, and a powerful current gathered in its screw cavity. Then, a beam of electricity shot directly at Fearow.
BOOM!!
The Current Ray clashed with Fearow's Sky Attack in midair.
But the current pierced through the divine attack's energy... and exploded fiercely!
Amid the smoke, Fearow plummeted, instantly defeated mid-attack.
Chirr chirr chirr~
Seeing their leader fall, the Spearow scattered in panic. The sky returned to calm.
"Good job, Meltan."
Ethan smiled as he welcomed Meltan floating in front of him.
That had been Meltan's training lately: perfecting its electrical control, a necessary step to fully master the electromagnetic cannon.
The progress was clear: from the electric net formed from Thunderbolt to that Current Ray based solely on its biology, its mastery was outstanding.
Not only could Meltan generate electric fields to move, but it could also convert absorbed external metal into electrical energy. That energy sustained its body and could be fired from its eyes. Hence, Meltan naturally possessed exceptional talent for controlling electricity.
"So it was you, Ethan. And here I was wondering who had the nerve to try flying straight into the headquarters."
A voice came as someone approached riding a Charizard. It was none other than Captain Jason Brooks.
"Captain Jason."
Ethan scratched his head in embarrassment.
He had used Meltan because he didn't want to climb... and also to test its training progress. He hadn't expected to get caught red-handed.
Jason rolled his eyes. True, he had once said they could try to force their way through if they had the ability, but he never imagined Ethan would actually take it literally.
He looked at the fallen Fearow among the trees and took out his communicator to call the medical staff. After all, it was a Pokémon raised by the university and deserved attention.
(End of chapter)