"So in the end, it left... But if I want to see it, it should still be possible, right?"
Seeing Kingdra's decision, Ethan let out a soft sigh.
At the same time, an inexplicable sense of relief arose within him, as if he had finally let something go.
In reality, Pokémon, just like people, have their own aspirations.
Ethan's aspiration had always been to become stronger.
But Kingdra's aspiration was clearly freedom.
Forcing each other would only bring suffering; it was better to let go as soon as possible.
"Kiinggdd!"
After hearing Ethan's words, Kingdra narrowed its eyes and swam to the shore, gently nudging Ethan's leg with its head.
Toward Ethan, the trainer who allowed it to evolve, Kingdra felt sincere affection from the bottom of its heart.
And precisely because of that, it had forced itself to become stronger, to keep up with Ethan.
Now that it had chosen to leave, wasn't that also a form of letting go?
Plop!
Plop!
Plop!
At that moment,
it seemed that the Pokémon in the lake had sensed Kingdra's return.
Heads of Horsea and Seadra began to appear on the water's surface.
"Go on, they've come to welcome you."
Ethan smiled as he stroked Kingdra's head.
Kingdra hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
Then, taking a few steps forward and turning its head back several times, it swam toward the Seadra until it gradually disappeared into the lake.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
As if they sensed Ethan's mood,
the Poké Balls on his body opened, and one after another his Pokémon appeared.
After coming out, they began to comfort Ethan.
Only Lucario remained standing in the distance.
Thanks to aura, Lucario could clearly feel Ethan's emotions.
It couldn't help but show a faint smile, with a gentle expression in its eyes.
...
After Gyarados and Kingdra left, Ethan also departed.
Reorganizing his emotions, he mounted Charizard and flew toward the Tarkaan Desert.
This time he was returning to the Desert's mobile Secret Kingdom, naturally to pick up Sandslash and the others.
He didn't stay long in the Secret Kingdom. After returning Sandslash and the other Pokémon to their Poké Balls, Ethan also placed all the Smooth Rocks into the space ring and immediately left the Desert's mobile Secret Kingdom.
Ah, by the way, it's worth mentioning that this time, before leaving, he deliberately captured a Gigalith.
Of course, he didn't do it to train it or make it a member of his team.
After what happened with Kingdra, Ethan's standards toward Pokémon had become higher and higher.
Those Pokémon who clearly could not keep up with his pace and who didn't have a determined heart to become stronger, he would not capture.
That would be the greatest harm and a huge irresponsibility for both sides.
Returning to the main point, he captured Gigalith with the intention of asking Champion Leo to help him research Gigalith's orange core.
Although Champion Leo was a powerful trainer, his level as a Pokémon Researcher was also not low. This was evident in his ability to develop techniques such as Sunny Day Dragon, Overheated Mode, and Thunderflame Dragon Mode.
It was expected that once Champion Leo learned about the capability of Gigalith's orange core, he would become extremely interested and continue developing it.
Perhaps, thanks to the power of the orange core, Champion Leo's strength might even achieve another breakthrough.
Ethan had already thought deeply about this.
On one hand, relying only on his own abilities, he had no way to fully develop the power of the orange core.
On the other hand, there was also a feeling of gratitude: Champion Leo had taught him all the abilities he himself had developed without reservation, practically treating him like his own student.
If Ethan chose to keep secrets now, he himself wouldn't even be able to accept it. And moreover, once Champion Leo developed the power of the orange core, his Charizard would also benefit enormously.
...
After leaving the Desert's mobile Secret Kingdom, Ethan mounted Charizard and flew toward Solaris City.
Fuuuu!
The wind roared as Charizard sped forward at high speed.
Soon, Solaris City could already be seen in the distance.
"Charrzz!"
"Charrzz!"
"Charrzz!"
When Charizard approached Solaris City, several dragon roars could be heard. Soon after, several Charizard were seen taking flight.
Among them, one stood out with its imposing body, leading the others. It was the leader of the Charizard, the king of the Charizard of Dragon Valley, a terrifying existence with Champion-level strength.
"Go on, Charizard."
Seeing his Charizard eager to show itself before its elders, Ethan smiled slightly.
"Charrzz!"
After Ethan released Vibrava, Charizard quickly flew toward the group of Charizard in the distance.
Having obtained the championship in the Dragon Valley tournament, Charizard surely felt very proud as well.
While watching Charizard fly away, Vibrava carried Ethan toward Solaris City.
"Well, our little hero has returned."
Seeing Ethan, Champion Leo made a rare joke.
"Master Leo, don't tease me."
Ethan immediately responded, but Leo shook his head with a serious expression.
The truth was that after hearing the news about Ethan from Naira, he had been stunned for quite a long time.
The final result had been that Vibrava swept through everyone. Such an achievement... even for him, a Champion, was not something he could easily accomplish.
At the same time, his curiosity about Ethan grew even more. He felt that Ethan was a trainer capable of creating miracles.
For example, at that very moment, when he saw Ethan release a Gigalith, he was confused. But after hearing Ethan's ideas about the orange core, his eyes widened.
From the orange crystals distributed throughout Gigalith's body, capable of absorbing sunlight, and the internal core that could gather and amplify the sun's energy, it was possible to enhance the effect of the Sunny Day weather to a certain extent. This would allow the power of Fire-type moves to increase even further and, to some extent, combine them with the Sunny Day Dragon technique, transforming them into an even more powerful form.
If he truly managed to master the ability of Gigalith's orange core, he had absolutely no doubt that the strength of his Charizard could improve enormously once again.
And this was despite the fact that his Charizard already possessed Champion-level strength, practically at the limit of what it could increase!
But now, through Gigalith's orange core, he saw a new possibility for improvement: a gigantic increase even on the foundation of Champion-level strength. Just thinking about it was incredible!
(End of Chapter)