The battle that followed turned out to be quite simple.
In the hands of Slowking in his fully restored state, the Duskwell City Club was completely overwhelmed.
Seeing that the battle had come to an end, Ethan let out a slight sigh of relief. Although everything had gone according to his plan, the process had been somewhat risky.
If Slowking hadn't held on until Shellder woke up, or if Shellder had fallen before Slowking was defeated, then this battle would have been a certain loss.
Fortunately, he had calculated the timing of the move Rest with great precision, completing this double Rest tactic right at the limit.
After the battle, both Slowking and Shellder relaxed, but their expressions seemed somewhat dim.
Although the move Rest could recover all their physical energy and even greatly restore their mental strength, spiritual fatigue was extremely difficult to dispel.
Especially when they had experienced such intense battles both before and after sleeping; the mental burden this caused was enormous.
It was like pulling an all-nighter: even if you sleep a bit the next day, when you wake up you feel full of energy, but once that brief moment of excitement passes, your mind feels heavy again. That kind of weariness cannot be recovered with just the move Rest.
However, Ethan had already thought of a solution: have the two Pokémon use Calm Mind. With that, their spiritual fatigue could be completely removed.
"Looks like before the match against the Imperial City Club, Slowking and Shellder won't be able to use the double Rest tactic."
Ethan picked up Slowking, who had entered a meditative state, and then released his other six Pokémon to assign their training plans.
"Abbssss!"
But during the training, Absol suddenly lifted its head, sniffing the air nervously.
"What's wrong, Absol?"
Ethan looked at him with some confusion.
"Abbssss!"
Absol's face twisted in pain, and a point of black light shone between its brows.
"This is... the Dark Force!"
Sensing something strange in Absol, Ethan hurried to examine him and discovered that what was appearing between his brows was precisely the Dark Force.
"What's going on? Why is the Dark Force that Absol had already absorbed erupting now?"
Ethan's expression shifted slightly, and he suddenly remembered something. His gaze turned sharp as he looked around.
"Vibrava, use ultrasound to scout the surroundings."
Vibrava flew out the window, flapping its wings as it emitted ultrasonic waves in all directions.
"Abbssss!"
While Vibrava explored, the black light between Absol's brows slowly began to fade, causing Absol to let out a sigh of relief.
"Absol, are you okay?"
Ethan held him, since he was a bit unsteady, and asked with concern.
Absol shook his head lightly, indicating that there was no longer a problem.
Ethan also sighed in relief and looked toward the window. Vibrava had finished its detection and had found nothing.
"Could I have been mistaken?"
"Dark Force... and the Dark League..."
Ethan's eyes glimmered with distrust. His heart grew vigilant.
If the Dark Force inside Absol had erupted because of some kind of stimulus, the first thing that came to his mind was the Dark League.
Perhaps... someone from the Dark League was watching him from somewhere nearby.
"Have they set their sights on me again?"
"Last time it was because of Shellder... and this time... maybe because of Slowking?"
"Yes... it's very likely that Slowking's performance caught someone's attention today."
Ethan suspected that person must be Adrian Walsh. After all, Slowking originally belonged to him; it was only because of the accident where Absol absorbed the Dark Force Slowking carried that Slowking was able to break free from the Dark Ball and become his Pokémon.
"Adrian Walsh, huh."
"If he hasn't improved enough during this time..."
"Then my current strength shouldn't be inferior to his."
Thinking this, Ethan looked again at Absol.
Though the black light had disappeared, the Dark Force was undoubtedly still inside his body.
"The ability Justified... and the Dark Force..."
"Looks like after the tournament ends, I'll have to return to the guild. Absol's condition needs a complete reevaluation. If not, this Dark Force will remain a danger."
Ethan couldn't help worrying. If due to his carelessness Absol ended up corrupted by the Dark Force, causing some irreversible damage, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Additionally, Ethan was truly interested in this Dark Force. Previously, Absol had temporarily used that power, greatly increasing its physical abilities.
If he could understand the principle behind that power and control it, perhaps it could become a powerful aid for Absol.
Of course, the possibility was very low; he only thought of it as a hypothesis. Right now, the most important thing was to completely remove the Dark Force from Absol's body.
...
The next day, the semifinals began punctually.
Unlike the day before, the members of the Pokémon Nightstar Club were much more relaxed.
After entering the Top 4, they had earned the right to possess a Pokéblock manufacturing machine; with that, their initial goal had already been achieved. Now they only needed to give it their best.
Furthermore, after seeing Slowking's performance in the previous day's battle, their confidence in Ethan was immense. They even believed that, even if they faced the Imperial City Club, they were not without chances.
And then...
"What?! We really got matched against the Imperial City Club?! What bad luck!"
When the match schedule was published, the Nightstar Club members let out a groan.
Although they said they could win even against the Imperial City Club, if they had faced either of the other two teams, it would have been much easier.
(End of chapter)