"Moreover, it seems that the Dragon Valley Festival is about to begin. Although the festival does not explicitly require participants to use only Dragon-type Pokémon..."
"If Pokémon of other types were to crush those of the same species, those proud Dragon-type Pokémon would surely feel uncomfortable."
"Therefore, the best option is still to participate in the festival with Pokémon from the Dragon Egg Group. Among them, Charizard and Gyarados, although they are not Dragon-type, are also recognized by Dragon Valley as members of the Dragon Egg Group."
"In this way, the Dragon Egg Group Pokémon I currently have are Charizard, Vibrava, Gyarados, and Kingdra."
Ethan pondered inwardly. After all, the goal of the Dragon Valley Festival was to demonstrate the trainer's strength before Dragon-type Pokémon, not necessarily to win the festival championship.
As long as he could gain the recognition of those Dragon-type Pokémon, there would be a chance to capture one.
With a faint smile, Ethan looked at the Pokémon who had begun training, took out his notebook, and started recording the combat performance of several of them, further refining his training plans.
"Slowking has the direct guidance of President Beckett, so there's no problem at all with his training."
Ethan looked at Slowking, who was still meditating together with Shellder, thought for a moment, and decided not to intervene too much.
He did not believe that his own training methods would be better than those of a League Champion who specialized in Psychic-type Pokémon.
"As for Cacturne, his foundation in close combat is already quite solid. But to further perfect his short-range techniques, specialized training will be necessary."
Then, Ethan shifted his gaze toward Cacturne. The development of his root-based abilities had reached a bottleneck, and the current training was mainly focused on close combat.
"It seems it's time to take Cacturne to Battle City to be tempered there. Perhaps in that place, his close-combat capability can reach a new level."
After thinking for a bit, Ethan made a special mark in Cacturne's training notes.
The potential for development along Cacturne's close-combat route was still very high, and he planned to focus a great deal of attention on him during the next period.
"Next is Shuckle; his main task is still the production of pokéblocks. In particular, continuously improving the quality of the pokéblocks will be the focus of training during the next stage."
Ethan's pen moved rapidly across the notebook, expressing his ideas through a few symbols.
Shuckle's method of producing pokéblocks was mainly based on four key elements: the Gluttony ability, the move Hidden Power (Grass), the move Gyro Ball, and the move Rock Throw, supplemented by support moves such as Acupressure and Helping Hand.
"Additionally, it's also time to begin the production of vitality-type pokéblocks. While producing these pokéblocks, strengthening Shuckle's training is an excellent option."
Very soon, Ethan finalized Shuckle's training plan for the next stage and also decided that Shuckle would be one of the Pokémon he would take with him.
During the following period...
Based on the condition of each Pokémon and with the recommendations of President Beckett, Professor Harris, Professor Reynolds, and Professor Vega, Ethan formulated training plans for all the remaining Pokémon.
At the same time, he also organized his itinerary for the near future, intending to carry out an intensive training session with all his Pokémon before the competition for spots in the World Championship began.
...
Another fifteen days passed.
Ethan arrived at the entrance of the Secret Kingdom of the Sky together with his Pokémon.
However, he did not leave immediately. His gaze was directed into the distance, as if he were waiting for something.
This time, he had decided to take a total of seven Pokémon with him.
The first was Cacturne, and this journey revolved mainly around him. The destination was Battle City.
The second Pokémon was Meltan. Thanks to his mastery of the spatial magnetic field, Meltan could perform spatial positioning, navigation, and locate entrances to Secret Kingdoms, making him indispensable for any expedition.
Moreover, during explorations, Meltan needed to use his ability to detect Meltan nuts to find these parts within Secret Kingdoms.
The third Pokémon was Shuckle. The reason was simple: Shuckle had mastered the production of juice and pokéblocks, which perfectly solved the problem of food supply in the wild.
The fourth and fifth Pokémon chosen were Charizard and Riolu. This was, naturally, to continuously strengthen the bond with them, paving the way for future Mega Evolution and friendship-based evolution.
The sixth and seventh Pokémon were Litwick and Rhydon. Both had joined the team recently, so Ethan needed time to build good coordination with them.
In addition, during this process, Ethan would look for a suitable opportunity to evolve Rhydon into Rhyperior.
Apart from these, there was one more Pokémon: Gengar, who acted as his bodyguard.
When Ethan had previously returned to the main headquarters of the Pokémon Researchers' Guild, Gengar had been summoned to report in, and that day was precisely the agreed date for them to depart together.
At that moment, Ethan's vision blurred for an instant. When he came to his senses, he saw that President Beckett's figure had suddenly appeared, with Gardevoir by his side.
"President, what are you doing here?" Ethan asked in surprise.
"Ethan, are you waiting for Gengar?"
Hearing this, Ethan nodded slightly, but when he looked at President Beckett's face, a bad feeling began to rise within him.
"You don't need to wait any longer. Gengar's mission has already concluded, and he has been recalled by the League," President Beckett said after hesitating for a moment.
"Recalled?" Ethan frowned.
The agreed deadline had not yet been reached, so why had the League suddenly withdrawn him?
Vaguely, Ethan felt that something must have happened during that time.
But... what exactly?
"Ethan, this is another Gengar that the League has prepared for you. During the next period, he will be the one to protect you."
President Beckett did not give any further explanation and took out a Poké Ball, handing it to Ethan.
"Another Gengar?"
Ethan was stunned, not fully understanding the League's intentions.
The previous Gengar had protected him perfectly—why change him now?
Undoubtedly, something had happened.
"There's no need, President. I now have Cacturne, Meltan, Charizard, and the others. As far as safety is concerned, there's no problem."
After thinking for a moment, Ethan shook his head and declined the offered protection. The strength of his Pokémon was already considerable, and he truly did not need additional escort.
Moreover, he had developed a strong bond and good coordination with the previous Gengar, and he even saw the possibility of capturing a Quasi-Elite-level Gengar.
Switching to another Gengar would mean starting from scratch in terms of bond and coordination, not to mention that he did not know its temperament. He did not want to complicate his life.
On the other hand, he also felt that the matter of replacing Gengar was not so simple, and he preferred not to get involved in troubled waters.
"Alright then, but be careful. If you encounter any danger, call me. I'll do what I can."
President Beckett hesitated for a moment and then nodded, accepting his decision with surprising speed.
Seeing this, Ethan respectfully bowed to President Beckett, released Charizard, and, mounting him, flew toward the outside of the Secret Kingdom of the Sky.
(End of chapter)