"Are those...?"
"Charizard, Magneton, and... Skarmory!"
Upon clearly recognizing the three Pokémon, Ethan Black looked somewhat surprised.
"Exactly, those are the three Pokémon that make up my team for now."
Seeing the surprise on Ethan Black's face, Alex Baxter felt even more proud and said with a smile: "I'm planning to form a Flying-type team. As long as they're in the sky, they'll be able to dodge most ground-based attacks."
"And besides, Magneton will serve as anti-air support, while Skarmory will be the defensive core."
"What do you think of my team?"
Ethan Black thought for a moment upon hearing this, then turned his gaze toward Skarmory.
To be fair, as a Steel-type Pokémon, Skarmory had outstanding physical defense. In that regard, it certainly met the requirements of a defender, but...
"By the way, does your Skarmory know the move Whirlwind?"
While he was pondering, Ethan Black suddenly recalled one of his favorite strategies from the game: the combo of Spikes + Whirlwind, and his eyes lit up.
"You!"
"How do you know!?"
Alex Baxter, who had just been feeling proud, froze completely when he heard Ethan Black, wearing an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
Within his team setup, Charizard clearly served as the flying mount, while Magneton and Skarmory were the escorts. In particular, Skarmory's Whirlwind was the defensive core of his entire strategy.
Through a cheap tutor his father had found for him, Alex Baxter had learned many advanced techniques for developing the use of Whirlwind—so much so that he could even use it to disperse the opponent's attacks!
But... how on earth did Ethan Black know that his Skarmory had the move Whirlwind?
To find a Skarmory that naturally knew that move, his father had spent a tremendous amount of effort!
"It's nothing, I just guessed it at the moment," replied Ethan Black with a slight smile.
That answer instantly elevated his image in Alex Baxter's mind.
"Boss! From today on, I'll be your loyal follower!" Alex Baxter exclaimed shamelessly.
"Yes, yes, I heard you already."
Ethan Black chuckled. He was long used to Alex Baxter's unfiltered remarks.
"Hehe, Ethan, how about we have a Pokémon battle?"
After joking, Alex Baxter glanced at Ethan Black's Pokémon—Sandslash, Cacnea, and Shellder—then at his own—Charizard, Magneton, and Skarmory—and an idea crossed his mind: "And if I win?"
"Maybe later. My team isn't complete yet."
Ethan Black looked over Alex Baxter's lineup, and his face turned grim.
Charizard countered Cacnea perfectly, and Magneton held a great advantage over Shellder.
Even his trump card, Sandslash, would struggle against Skarmory.
So facing him now would leave, at best, a 20% chance of winning. It would just be asking for a beating!
"Having money really is an advantage," Ethan Black sighed.
He could easily imagine that wealthy youths like Lucas Silver and Marcus Foster would improve rapidly, and he couldn't help but feel a faint sense of urgency.
Perhaps, when his other classmates returned, he would end up as the weakest of the group...
"I must greatly improve the strength of my Pokémon before next semester. If not, once the new term begins and I can't keep up with the team, I'll be in trouble."
He sighed softly. Although he was already a member of the university team, he was still only part of the reserve squad, not even an official substitute.
And, it was said that by the end of the semester, five new members would join, forming a total of ten candidates for the university team's pre-selection.
But out of those ten, only seven would be chosen as the official substitutes.
That meant three would be eliminated!
If his strength remained stagnant, he would most likely be one of the discarded ones...
"I think it's time to evolve Cacnea."
"Only if I manage to evolve both Cacnea and Shellder into their final forms and complete my core strategies will I be able to stand up against these rich kids."
So thought Ethan Black. Although he had recently felt proud of Cacnea's progress, now he had sobered up completely in the face of reality.
"Do you really not want to battle?"
Alex Baxter, unsatisfied with Ethan Black's refusal, pressed him again.
Ethan Black quickly picked up Shellder and walked away. He wasn't about to fall into that trap while his team was still in development!
"Ethan, you came just in time!"
"Let your Pokémon enter the sandstorm zone. Today I want to study how different Pokémon react in that environment."
At that moment, Professor Harris, who had finished his preparations, called out to Ethan Black.
"Of course, I'm coming!"
Ethan Black nodded and walked with a frustrated Alex Baxter toward the field.
When they arrived, Ethan Black saw that Professor Harris had already gathered all his Pokémon, nearly filling the entire area.
"Alex, come help."
"Hippopotas, activate your Sand Stream ability!"
"All the other Pokémon, enter the sandstorm area..."
"And you, Ethan... just observe from outside."
Very quickly, Professor Harris assigned his research tasks.
"Alright, good luck everyone," Ethan Black laughed, and went to sit beneath a large tree. Then he took his notebook from his bag and prepared to continue improving the training plans for his three Pokémon.
"Rhyh!"
Just then, a deep, low sound was heard. Professor Harris's little Rhyhorn slowly approached from afar, sniffing Ethan Black's backpack with a somewhat curious expression.
"Eh?"
"Rhyhorn!"
Seeing it come closer, Ethan Black's eyes lit up.
As he observed the Pokémon, he squinted slightly.
"Could it be...?"
He hesitated for a moment, then took his backpack and pulled out the Protector item he had kept at the bottom.
As soon as Rhyhorn saw the item, it let out a couple of joyful grunts, as if it had found its favorite toy.
"So it really is a Protector item!"
Seeing its reaction, Ethan Black was filled with joy.
He had tried testing the item with Professor Harris's Rhydon before, but it had shown no interest.
That made him think that maybe his item was fake. But seeing Rhyhorn's reaction now, he finally confirmed it was genuine!
So it was all a matter of taste! This little Rhyhorn knew its worth far better than its "old man"!
(End of chapter)