"What powerful control over air currents."
"The previous Scyther had already been impressive, but compared to this Vibrava, the difference is enormous."
Seeing Vibrava's performance, everyone immediately recalled the Scyther that had earned 75 points. The comparison spoke for itself.
Without comparison, there is no pain.
"There it is. The Scyther from that time fell right here!"
At that moment, someone shouted loudly, making everyone tense up.
On the field, when Ethan entered an area filled with rocks, the screen displayed the evaluation project: Dodge Balls. And this time, the number shown was 20!
"No way, twenty balls launched at once!"
Everyone was stunned by the number on the screen.
Last time, during Scyther's exam, only three balls had been enough to put it in trouble.
Now Ethan had to face twenty. Seven times more than before!
"This just got tough."
"At this stage, it's not about dodging ability, but reaction ability."
"If you knew twenty balls were coming and prepared yourself, it wouldn't be that difficult."
"The tricky part is facing twenty simultaneous attacks without prior warning. The balls are extremely fast; if the Pokémon's reaction is delayed even for an instant, it's over."
A veteran trainer explained the true difficulty of this test. He himself had failed many times in this type of round.
And even for him, a twenty-projectile activation was something rarely seen.
Meanwhile, Ethan continued walking calmly. But upon entering the heart of the rocky terrain, the Vibrava perched on his back shuddered, lifting its head slightly as if it had sensed something.
"Hmm?"
"Is there some kind of vibration nearby?"
Ethan tapped the ground lightly with his foot and spoke to Vibrava over his shoulder.
Vibrava nodded, gently moving the antennae on its head.
As a Vibrational Pokémon, it naturally possessed the ability to generate and perceive vibrations.
Of course, at first that racial ability had been very weak, almost useless. But with Ethan's constant training and the teachings from the Seismitoad clan, its vibrational capabilities had been greatly developed.
Although it still couldn't generate vibrations at will, its ability to detect them had become extremely sensitive.
Sensing vibrations to foresee danger—this was the third reason Ethan wanted to make it his defensive core.
Sensitivity to airflow, ultrasonic detection, and vibration perception...
In the dangerous untamed wilds, these three abilities allowed it to detect most threats, something vital for survival.
"Then get ready for a surprise."
Ethan smiled. He simply paused briefly with his foot, then continued walking calmly.
Swish, swish, swish—
Just as he reached the center of the rocky terrain, several launchers suddenly opened, firing the balls at full speed.
But the moment the mechanisms activated, Vibrava had already sensed the minuscule vibration. With a single flap of its wings, a whirlwind rose from the ground, enveloping Ethan.
In that instant, all the balls—barely visible to the naked eye—collided with the whirlwind and were deflected, unable to touch Ethan.
"It reacted...!"
"The reaction speed of that Vibrava is incredible."
The spectators shouted in shock.
"That's impossible... that speed to use a move?"
Common spectators only saw that it had blocked all the balls, but the more experienced trainers noticed the real difficulty.
Many Pokémon could react to a shot, but reacting and executing a defensive move instantly were two different things.
Especially because the move Vibrava had just used was clearly Whirlwind, a move that requires an accumulation of energy to manipulate the air. It couldn't be executed instantly.
"So this Vibrava detected the danger long before. But... Vibrava doesn't have perception abilities, does it?"
"And even if it did, detecting the hidden launchers behind the rocks would be almost impossible..."
Another trainer voiced his doubts. From his perspective, the Pokémon must have anticipated everything and prepared the move.
But they couldn't imagine that this Vibrava possessed the ability to perceive vibrations.
That detail—Vibrava being a Vibrational Pokémon—was something humanity still hadn't discovered, even more than twenty years after the arrival of Pokémon in the real world.
And that was the true reason Ethan had risen so quickly: his knowledge of the Pokémon world before his reincarnation.
In the real world, most trainers and powerful families only knew how to develop already-known moves.
Even moves like Rest or Skill Swap had yet to be discovered, much less studied.
While everyone was still stuck researching a handful of moves, Ethan—thanks to his deep understanding of move mechanics—had already pushed some moves to their limits, creating advanced combinations like those of his Sandslash.
The most iconic example was the "theory of switching between Defense Curl and Rollout." Before Ethan, no one had imagined that a defensive move like Defense Curl could increase the power of Rollout.
Only after he explained it did researchers begin studying it.
But while they were taking their first steps... Ethan had already mastered complex combinations with Sandslash.
And moreover, thanks to his deep understanding of the move system, he could always anticipate the opponent's strategy during battles, gaining advantage again and again.
(End of chapter)