Fuu fuu fuu~
Two enormous streams of energy began to condense on the battlefield.
"What? Is that a Grass-type move, Energy Ball?"
In the very next instant, upon seeing the pale green energy sphere forming in front of Shuckle's mouth, Victoria exclaimed in surprise.
Moreover, the energy ball Shuckle was concentrating continued to expand. In the blink of an eye, it exceeded two meters in diameter, while a terrifying amount of energy was being continuously compressed, creating a suffocating sense of pressure just from looking at it.
"We can't allow Shuckle to keep gathering energy!"
"Meganium, Solar Beam—fire!"
At Victoria's command, Meganium's gaze suddenly sharpened. The energy throughout its entire body began to gather in its mouth and, in the next moment, transformed into a beam of light that shot straight out.
"Shuckle, Energy Ball!" Ethan's voice rang out at the same time.
Upon hearing the command, Shuckle launched the energy ball from its mouth, sending it straight into a head-on collision with the incoming Solar Beam.
Crack, crack!
Shuckle's energy ball advanced, crushing everything in its path through the air. The ground beneath it, compressed by the energy, began to crack incessantly, opening up a deep trench that extended in the direction of the enemy's attack.
Under everyone's tense gazes, the energy ball formed by the move Hidden Power collided with the Solar Beam.
There was no violent explosion as everyone had expected. Instead, the energy ball pressed directly against the Solar Beam and, while spinning rapidly, continued to advance without stopping.
That beam, which had looked so powerful, was like a jet of water from a fountain when faced with the energy ball, being pushed backward without any resistance.
Boom!
Before Meganium's incredulous eyes, the energy ball struck it head-on, blasting it into the air.
A white light flooded the entire battlefield. When the glare finally dissipated after quite some time, Meganium was already lying within the protective barrier, its eyes spiraling as it had lost the ability to battle.
"M... Meganium has lost the ability to battle. Shuckle wins. Therefore, the winner of this match is the challenger, Ethan Black."
The referee froze for a moment before mechanically announcing the result. However, his wide-open eyes clearly revealed the turmoil in his heart.
"Was that move Hidden Power of the Grass type?"
"This kind of move, which is executed by stimulating one's own potential, is extremely difficult to train—especially when the move's attribute does not match the Pokémon's own attribute."
President Elena also slightly opened her mouth, staring at Shuckle on the field in astonishment.
Hidden Power, thanks to the existence of the Hidden Power potion, was not difficult to learn. However, she had rarely seen trainers take it as a main move for training, and almost none managed to develop it to the point of possessing truly formidable combat power.
Just like Ethan: practically all of his Pokémon had learned Hidden Power, but the only ones that could truly make use of it were Shellder, which was innately endowed with extraordinary mental strength, and Shuckle, which could enhance Grass-type Hidden Power through Berries.
The other Pokémon had also tried to train the Hidden Power they learned, but the results were not very good, and the cost-effectiveness was far inferior to training other moves.
"But even if it's Hidden Power, isn't this strength far too exaggerated?"
President Elena once again looked at the completely devastated battlefield and the fallen Meganium. Her pupils contracted once more—this power was simply inconceivable!
Ethan observed the expressions on their faces and felt a bit satisfied inside. However, when he thought of the enormous price Shuckle had paid to use that move, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
The reason why the energy ball formed by Shuckle's Hidden Power was so powerful was that it had instantly burned through all the Pokéblocks in its body.
Previously, in Charizard's Secret Kingdom, Shuckle had already used this attack when facing a wild Golem. However, on that occasion, what it burned were energy crystals.
In this battle, Shuckle had directly burned Pokéblocks, and the power generated by the energy ball left everyone utterly shocked.
"Congratulations. This is the Greenfield Gym Badge."
After a brief moment of astonishment, President Elena took out a badge and handed it to Ethan.
"Thank you very much, President Elena." Ethan quickly expressed his gratitude and carefully put the badge away.
President Elena nodded at Ethan, then began packing up her instruments and started chatting with the Gym Leader, Victoria.
Judging by their relaxed demeanor as they talked, it seemed that this evaluation would not affect Victoria's position as Gym Leader.
"Leader Victoria, I'd like to stay at the gym for a few days. Would that be possible?" Ethan asked after President Elena departed.
Upon hearing Ethan's words, Leader Victoria nodded happily. In fact, she had also intended for Ethan to stay for a few days, as she had many doubts regarding Shuckle's stamina recovery move and that terrifying final energy ball, and wanted to find an opportunity to understand them better.
...
Tea room of the Greenfield Gym, specially designated for receiving guests.
Ethan and Leader Victoria sat facing each other, enjoying flower tea.
On the table, both Shuckle lay quietly, staring at each other with their tiny, soybean-sized eyes.
"Besides being exceptional at raising Grass-type Pokémon, Leader Victoria, you are also an unrivaled expert in cultivating all kinds of flowers and plants," Ethan said after taking a small sip of tea and gently swirling the cup, causing several petals to float in the liquid.
Leader Victoria looked at the flower field outside the window and said proudly, "After receiving help from Pokémon, cultivating flowers and plants became much easier. All of this is thanks to my Pokémon."
"That's precisely why I wanted to stay—to ask for your advice on cultivating flowers and plants," Ethan smiled faintly and added, "My mother, like you, Leader Victoria, is someone who deeply loves flowers."
"I see. If you want to learn the secrets of cultivating flowers and plants, I can teach you. I have a great deal of experience in this area," Leader Victoria nodded. Then, suddenly, she changed the topic. "However, I'm very interested in the two moves your Shuckle used. If you can help me resolve my doubts, then I can pass on all the experience I've accumulated over so many years of cultivating flowers and plants."
"The two moves of Shuckle?"
Ethan pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Actually, those two moves of Shuckle are quite simple."
"The first method of recovering stamina, which I call Source of Life, is based on rapidly absorbing the nutritious juice stored inside Shuckle's shell, thereby achieving accelerated energy recovery."
"The second move, Energy Ball, consists of instantly releasing all the energy contained within that nutritious juice and firing it in a single burst."
After giving it some thought, Ethan explained the principles behind Shuckle's attacks with great frankness, leaving Leader Victoria slightly surprised.
(End of chapter)