"Charmeleon, from now on you will be the main attacker."
Ethan's eyelid twitched slightly and he hurried to speak.
Just as he expected, Charmeleon reacted exactly as always: the flame on his tail burned with renewed fighting spirit.
"Let's go, begin the expedition."
Ethan smiled faintly and advanced toward the exit point of the Secret Kingdom that Meltan had indicated.
"Shuckle, you're in charge of defense for now."
"Vibrava, activate ultrasonic detection and stay alert."
"Charmeleon, don't get too excited. This is a forest, it's a good time to train your close-quarters combat. Don't use fire unless absolutely necessary."
As they moved forward, Ethan kept assigning tasks to his three Pokémon, making use of each one's strengths.
"Viiibbrraa!"
Suddenly, Vibrava sounded a warning. Ethan stopped immediately.
Charmeleon also adopted a battle stance, staring toward the bushes pointed out by Vibrava.
Shh, shh, shh...
Soon after, a sound came from within the shrubs. And then an Ursaring pushed aside the vegetation with its claws, looking directly at Ethan.
"Ursaring?"
"Why would a Pokémon like that be here?"
Ethan frowned. Something didn't add up.
Before he could analyze the situation, Charmeleon had already launched himself into battle, his claws shining as he lunged at Ursaring.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The two Pokémon clashed instantly.
"This Ursaring is pretty good. Looks like all the Pokémon in the forest were carefully selected by the university. In fact... they might even belong to the professors themselves."
Ethan narrowed his eyes. But although the Ursaring was strong, Charmeleon still greatly outmatched it.
It was clear that, even if the forest Pokémon were above average, they were still meant as training for regular students.
Charmeleon, though not the leading member of Ethan's team, would undoubtedly be considered an elite Pokémon in a standard lineup.
Boom!
Charmeleon didn't use any fire-type moves—only his body and his sharp claws.
However, during the fight, he did take advantage of his ability to control temperature: his claws turned red, as if fresh out of a bonfire, radiating heat.
Szz... szz!
Every time Charmeleon's claws touched Ursaring's body, the opponent's fur singed, making him feel an intense burning pain.
After several exchanges, Ursaring began to fear approaching, allowing Charmeleon to seize multiple openings and defeat him using only the move "Scratch."
"Well done."
Ethan praised Charmeleon, who ran back proudly.
The "Fire Claw" technique—created by applying heat control to his physical attacks—was truly powerful.
Charmeleon lifted his head even higher, looking around for his next prey.
Within seconds, the entire forest was in chaos with Pokémon fleeing as Charmeleon, completely unrestrained, chased everything he could intimidate... until he ran into a Vileplume.
During the close-quarters fight, Vileplume accidentally released sleep spores, and Charmeleon fell to the ground fast asleep.
"Good thing they were sleep spores. If it had been paralysis or poison, I'd have to waste time looking for herbs to cure him."
After driving Vileplume away with Vibrava's help, Ethan checked on Charmeleon. Once he confirmed he was only asleep, he sighed in relief.
After evolving, Charmeleon hadn't become aggressive, but he had become far more mischievous and energetic—much to Ethan's despair.
He didn't plan to wake him. He returned him to his Poké Ball.
Poor Charmeleon: his survival adventure had officially ended.
"Now it's up to you two."
"Vibrava, keep assisting with detection. Shuckle, get ready to battle."
Ethan smiled at the Pokémon he held in his arms. Shuckle opened his eyes, full of excitement.
"Viiibbrraa!"
New enemies soon appeared: Vibrava issued a warning just a few steps later.
Ethan set Shuckle on the ground so he could prepare, while he himself retreated alongside Slowking.
Shh, shh, shh...
A Linoone emerged from the bushes.
Shuckle withdrew into his shell and rolled toward it. They collided violently and separated, watching each other cautiously.
"Shuckle, use Rock Throw!"
Shuckle began forming rocks in his mouth and shot them rapidly.
Linoone was fast and tried to dodge, but it had one flaw: it only knew how to charge in a straight line.
Ethan quickly changed the command, allowing Shuckle to adjust his shots and strike the moving enemy Pokémon, sending it flying.
"Finish it with Rollout!"
Boom!
Shuckle rammed Linoone head-on, followed by another Rock Throw that concluded the battle.
"Excellent work, Shuckle."
Ethan patted his head, and Shuckle squinted happily.
They continued onward, with Shuckle facing all of the forest Pokémon. None could stand against him. But soon, the first real problem of the survival test appeared: food and water.
Shuckle carried his own food inside his shell, but it was limited, and after several battles, it was almost gone.
"Now is when the real test begins."
Ethan didn't seem worried. In fact, part of his intention in joining was to truly train himself.
"Vibrava, fly and look for a water source."
"Viiibbrraa!"
Vibrava happily ascended... but not for long.
As soon as he rose above the trees, a large number of Pidgey and Pidgeotto also took off, swooping down on him.
Vibrava's eyes hardened. He flapped his wings and unleashed an explosive sound wave directly at the Pidgeotto and Pidgey.
(End of chapter)