"So the town has become this deserted again?"
As he walked among the trees, Ethan shook his head slightly.
In front of Stonefield Town flowed a sandy river, and beside it there were only a few cultivated fields. It really could not be considered a rich land.
When Ethan arrived home, his father and mother were tending the garden beside the house.
The first thing he saw were the dozens of Gracidea flowers in the garden, still blooming with vivid colors.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back."
Ethan opened the gate to his home's courtyard and entered with a smile.
"Ethan, so you're back. Let me look at you... after half a year without seeing you, it seems you've matured a little."
Seeing Ethan, his father immediately walked over and looked him up and down.
"It's good that you're back. Your mother is going to prepare a big feast for you."
Ethan's mother also smiled, put down the tools in her hands, and went into the house.
Seeing his parents, Ethan's heart felt warm. He nodded and entered the house with his father.
"It's still better to be home. Honestly, staying in the town to live wouldn't be bad either."
While they ate, Ethan spoke with some emotion.
"Stay in the town for what?"
"You're still young. You should go out into the world more and make your own way. Otherwise, you'll end up like your father, spending your whole life farming the land."
His father shot him a look, making it clear that he did not agree with what he was saying.
His mother, on the other hand, seemed to want to say something, but in the end said nothing.
Although deep down she wanted Ethan to stay by her side, she also knew that her son's road was still long and that he could not always remain in a place as small as Stonefield Town.
"Dad, Mom, I'm serious. I really think Stonefield Town is fine. Later on, I'll stay here."
But to their surprise, Ethan spoke with complete seriousness.
"Ethan... are you really serious?"
Hearing those words, his father fell silent for a moment before replying.
"Yes, I'm serious. Now my Pokémon are already very strong. From here on, what they need is a process of accumulation."
"In addition, I am now a Pokémon Professor of the Pokémon Researchers Guild. With the permissions a Pokémon Professor has, I can already have my own research center."
"That's why I plan to ask the Guild to transform that previous laboratory into a private research center for me."
Ethan's face also became serious as he began explaining his plans for the future to his parents.
Naturally, that idea had not appeared suddenly; he had been thinking about it for a long time.
Now that his research on life energy had officially begun, he needed a professional team and a well-equipped laboratory to help him develop it.
And Stonefield Town was an excellent place to establish that research center.
One of the most important reasons was that Stonefield Town was his home. If, in the end, the laboratory could be built anywhere, then if putting it there could also help his hometown, he was more than willing.
In addition, in Stonefield Town there was Sandslash's Secret Kingdom, which could also serve as a living and training place for Sandslash, Tyranitar, Vibrava, Rhyperior, and the other members of Ethan's sandstorm team.
Without a doubt, the environment of that Sandslash Secret Kingdom could perfectly fulfill that function.
And, furthermore, Ethan already intended to modify it. If he could extract the Smooth Rock mineral vein from the mobile Secret Kingdom in the Tarkaan Desert and bury it in Sandslash's Secret Kingdom, the energy concentration of that place would increase enormously.
That would also be the best arrangement for Sandslash and the others. Although the training environment of the mobile Secret Kingdom was better, Ethan could not leave them there forever.
In comparison, although the modified Sandslash Secret Kingdom would not reach the level of the mobile Secret Kingdom, at least it would be right under Ethan's supervision, which would make it much easier for him to train those Pokémon. Overall, it would still bring more advantages than disadvantages.
Apart from that, in Stonefield Town there possibly also existed an entrance to the Spirit World. And that, for Ethan, who had already begun researching the waves of the Spirit World, Ghost-type energy, and the conversion between life energy and Ghost-type energy, was also extremely convenient. In the entire League, there should not be many places with an entrance to the Spirit World.
And the third reason was that, upon seeing the Gracidea flowers in his mother's garden, he immediately remembered the old plan to cultivate a sea of Gracidea flowers.
When a sea of Gracidea flowers blooms, the Mythical Pokémon Shaymin appears above it. And that would also give him an opportunity to come into close contact with a legendary Pokémon.
In addition, the origin of Grass-type energy was very close to life energy, and studying Grass-type energy was already part of Ethan's plans for researching life energy.
For that reason, once the research center was built, he also planned to raise a large number of Grass-type Pokémon. With the combined energy of many Grass-type Pokémon, cultivating the sea of Gracidea flowers would undoubtedly be much easier.
And not only the sea of Gracidea flowers: under the influence of those Grass-type Pokémon, even the entire environment of Stonefield Town could once again overflow with life.
"A Pokémon research center!"
After hearing part of Ethan's explanation, his parents' eyes lit up.
In that way, Ethan's research would not be affected, they could continue seeing their beloved son all the time, and, in addition, all of it would benefit Stonefield Town's development. Naturally, they were delighted.
After continuing to chat for a while with his happy parents, Ethan left the house.
Then, he did not go anywhere else, but headed directly to the quarry on the back hill.
At that moment, the quarry was completely sealed off due to the existence of Sandslash's Secret Kingdom.
Inside the valley, a very rudimentary rest station had also been built, where a Pokémon hunter remained stationed permanently.
After showing his Pokémon Professor identification and his Pokémon hunter credential, Ethan obtained permission to enter the quarry.
Once inside, he released all his Pokémon.
The first thing he did was, with Meltan's help, go inspect Sandslash's Secret Kingdom.
Now, the Pokémon Totem research team had practically concluded its study of the Sandshrew in that place.
Therefore, the Sandshrew had resumed their usual lives.
Moreover, with the pressure of the Totem Sandslash gone, many of those Sandshrew had gradually evolved into Sandslash, causing the group's strength to increase notably.
(End of chapter)