In fact, when Ethan began researching life energy, he had already thought of the Energy Ball move.
But precisely because it was a form of using life energy, learning that move through one's own means was extremely difficult. He had tried many methods and still had not managed to make Cacturne learn it.
That was why he had come to the Holt family and directly proposed exchanging the root domain for the training method of the Energy Ball move.
Perhaps because of Ethan's current identity, or perhaps because of the value of the root domain itself, the Holt family accepted the exchange very decisively.
After completing the exchange between the learning method of the root domain and that of the Energy Ball move, Ethan also let out a sigh of relief.
Immediately afterward, he explained to the Holt family the other objective of his visit.
He hoped to obtain from them a large number of Pokémon capable of using the Grassy Terrain move.
From what he knew, the Grassy Terrain move was precisely the key to the Holt family's flower cultivation. As long as one had a large number of Pokémon capable of using that move, a large quantity of flowers and vegetation could quickly sprout in an area.
"Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, Turtwig, Snivy... And also a large number of Oddish... and all those Pokémon must know how to use the Grassy Terrain move."
Upon hearing Ethan's request, the head of the Holt family frowned slightly.
As a family specialized in Grass-type Pokémon, gathering the Pokémon Ethan requested was not really very difficult for them.
Now then, what truly aroused his curiosity was what Ethan was willing to offer in exchange.
"As long as I can obtain those Pokémon, resources will not be a problem."
Ethan began negotiating with the head of the Holt family. Naturally, he had come well prepared to secure this exchange.
But the head of the Holt family continued frowning, clearly dissatisfied with Ethan's initial offer.
"The last thing I can put on the table is the evolution method of Leavanny."
During the negotiation, Ethan finally played his ultimate card.
"The evolution method of Leavanny?"
"You know how Leavanny evolves?"
Hearing that, the eyes of the head of the Holt family shone intensely.
Leavanny, as Sewaddle's final evolution, was undoubtedly a very powerful Pokémon.
But that species was very scarce, and to this day, the exact way to make it evolve remained a mystery.
Now, upon hearing Ethan's words, he was truly surprised.
However, remembering that Ethan was a Pokémon Professor specialized in evolution, an expression of understanding immediately appeared on his face.
"Head Holt, I suppose you also know very well the value of Leavanny's evolution method, right?"
"Considering that Sewaddle is a Bug and Grass-type Pokémon, its reproduction speed is quite high. If you obtain from me the method to make Leavanny evolve, then you will be able to obtain a large number of Leavanny in a very short time."
"I believe you understand perfectly the value that represents."
Ethan continued speaking with a smile, while the faces of the head of the Holt family and the others kept changing again and again.
And it was true: just as Ethan had said, Sewaddle reproduced quickly. If they could mass-evolve those offspring into Leavanny, the value would be immense.
"It seems we need to discuss this seriously."
The head of the Holt family took a deep breath and began discussing it with Ethan in much more detail.
In essence, the deal could be considered almost closed, but Leavanny's evolution method was too valuable, so there were still quite a few details left for both sides to negotiate.
Finally, Ethan and the head of the Holt family reached an agreement.
With Leavanny's evolution method and a large amount of resources as bargaining chips, Ethan managed to obtain the number of Pokémon he wanted.
In addition to the valuable starter Pokémon that knew the Grassy Terrain move, he also requested several other Grass-type Pokémon.
Basically, he had exchanged for almost every Grass-type species the Holt family possessed, as well as quite a few Grass-type breeding resources.
Once the agreement was closed, the Holt family immediately began making preparations.
Taking advantage of that time, Ethan, guided by Leader Victoria, also headed to the Holt family's training field.
As soon as he arrived, he could immediately feel powerful Grass-type energy permeating the entire environment.
That was the result of a large number of Grass-type Pokémon using the Grassy Terrain move together, which greatly increased the training efficiency of Pokémon of that type.
Ethan planned to take advantage of that place to have Cacturne learn the Energy Ball move there.
In addition to the advantage of the terrain, there were also already-prepared teachers there to instruct it.
His idea was that, before leaving, Cacturne would manage to master at least the basics of the Energy Ball move.
Everything went very smoothly. Under Leader Victoria's guidance and in the Holt family's training field, Cacturne succeeded in learning the Energy Ball move.
Afterward, when he returned, it would be enough for Lucario to copy the Energy Ball move through the Copycat move, allowing Lucario to once again master another form of using life energy.
Now, Lucario's control over life energy was becoming stronger and stronger, and with the help of the power of aura, it was one step closer to mastering it completely.
...
The Holt family worked with great efficiency.
In barely three days, they had already prepared all the Pokémon Ethan needed.
"Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, Turtwig, Snivy..."
Seeing the five starter offspring at the front, all of them with the egg move Grassy Terrain, Ethan nodded in satisfaction.
Just as he had requested, all those Pokémon had only recently been born and still had no trainer.
In that way, taking them back to Stonefield Town would not involve too many complications for their raising.
Once he obtained their recognition and raised them properly, the research around the life energy of Grass-type Pokémon could officially begin.
And, at the same time, the cultivation of the sea of Gracidea flowers and the reforestation project of Stonefield Town could also begin.
After carefully checking all the Pokémon, Ethan took out his Poké Balls and personally put all those little ones away one by one.
Afterward, he separated in particular the Poké Balls of the five Grass-type starters and handed all the others to the head of the Holt family.
From there, the Holt family would personally send those Pokémon to Stonefield Town and deliver them to Professor Harris and the others. Specialized personnel would take care of caring for them, so Ethan would not have to worry.
As for the five Grass-type starters in his hand, Ethan planned to raise them himself for a while.
Those starters with the egg move Grassy Terrain all had potential that was not to be underestimated. If he raised them well, perhaps he could choose one or two among them to become new core members of his team.
Right now, the only Grass-type Pokémon he had in his possession was Cacturne, and moreover, Cacturne's raising route was quite different from that of more common Grass-type Pokémon.
For that reason, those Grass-type starters could compensate to a certain extent for some shortcomings in his team and make his lineup much more complete.
(End of chapter)