"Alright, Sandshrew, come take a break."
Ethan Black called out to his Sandshrew, who was exhausted after using several consecutive moves.
"Shaaa!"
Sandshrew, worn out, ran to his side and gulped down a bottle of Miltank Milk that Ethan Black offered him.
"You did great. With those two moves combined from Sand Attack, you're already strong enough to face even mid-level Pokémon."
Ethan Black spared no praise and pulled out his notebook to record the day's training. There were still areas to improve, so he would take notes to reinforce them later.
"Sha-sha-sha!"
Hearing this, Sandshrew straightened up proudly.
"Come on, go wash up. We're heading out early today... and I'm treating you to a feast!"
"Sha!"
Sandshrew's little eyes sparkled with excitement at the word feast.
He quickly ran over to a water tap at the construction site, turned it on, and stood directly under the stream, letting the water soak him completely.
After about ten seconds, he jumped out and ran away, shivering, panting heavily as if he had just fought an epic battle.
Ethan Black smiled with satisfaction, seeing that Sandshrew had already overcome his fear of water. He recalled him into the Pokéball and headed to a restaurant in the city that specialized in Pokémon food.
...
At 7 p.m., Ethan Black and Sandshrew arrived at the Pokémon Nightstar Club.
"Sha~"
Sandshrew appeared on the battlefield and immediately looked sadly toward the door, letting out a pitiful whine.
"Stop looking. I told you Alex went off to study. He won't be coming back for a while," Ethan Black said with a laugh.
"Sha..."
Sandshrew lowered his head even further.
He missed Alex Baxter. He missed the lavish dinners... and also those late-night treats.
"Alright, alright, it's true the food hasn't been as good lately, but you don't need to show it like that!"
"Shaa~"
His look seemed to say: Life without money is so hard...
"Okay, okay, I get it..."
"Actually, I brought you out today to talk about something important."
"What do you say we make a little money tonight? We just need to beat a ring leader... and that's 1,000 Pokédollars! That's double what Alex used to pay us!"
"Sha-sha-sha!"
At those words, Sandshrew's eyes went wide. But clever as he was, he quickly raised his little paws and began counting.
"One, two, three, four, five, six... I know, I know, out of the thousand, you'll keep six hundred."
"Sha-sha-sha!"
Sandshrew shook his head vigorously in refusal. Then he rolled his eyes and, without warning, dropped to the ground, lifting his hind paws as well.
"Seven, eight, nine, ten..."
Ethan Black frowned. Each front paw had three claws, and each hind paw had two, for a total of ten claws.
Sandshrew wanted the full amount!
"Fine, all yours... but the reward for defending the title will be mine!"
"And don't even think about pocketing the 100 Pokédollars refund for the entry fee."
A spark flickered in Ethan Black's eyes.
"Sha-sha-sha! (Hah, what's 100 Pokédollars? You can have it.)"
Delighted with the deal, Sandshrew jumped to his feet and waved his little paw generously.
After sealing the deal, Ethan Black recalled Sandshrew and headed straight for the club.
As soon as he paid the entrance fee and stepped into the spectator area, the battle in the arena was still ongoing. All the Ring Leaders were incredibly strong, and Ethan Black couldn't find a gap to enter the rotation.
BOOM!
While he was thinking, an explosion echoed in the stadium.
He looked up just in time to see a Persian strike down a Tauros with a single slash. The roar came from Tauros's body as it slammed into the ground.
"What power! That must have been Slash... It took down a Tauros known for its brute strength!"
Ethan Black watched with a serious expression at the Persian, which was clearly the Pokémon of the current Ring Leader.
"And the battle is decided! Persian's power is as fierce as ever!" the commentator shouted as he announced the result, which drew a roar of applause from the entire stadium.
"As fierce as ever... that means this Persian must be an expert in close combat," Ethan Black noted mentally.
"Now let's welcome the next challenger!"
As soon as the announcer finished, a young trainer with dyed yellow hair ran up to the stage. He threw his Pokéball, and a Pinsir appeared.
"Pinsir, attack immediately! Don't give it time to react!"
The Pinsir trainer knew perfectly well how turn-based battles worked: apply pressure from the start.
"Piiiin!" roared Pinsir, charging with his muscular brown body toward the enemy. His right claw shone with white light: he was using Brick Break!
"Dodge it!" ordered the Ring Leader.
Persian made a quick step, its figure vanishing like a blur, and Pinsir's attack struck only air.
"Damn it! Six battles already, and it's still moving this fast!"
"But my Pinsir has plenty of energy. We'll wear it down until it can't keep up!"
The Pinsir trainer clenched his teeth. With just one Fighting-type move landing, he knew he could bring down Persian, who was weak to that type.
"Persian, use Quick Attack with Brick Break!" the Persian trainer commanded calmly.
The Ring Leader knew exactly what her opponent was trying. It was obvious Pinsir was a physically focused Pokémon. As long as she didn't let it land a hit, all that power was useless.
The strategy was clear: guerrilla combat, using speed and quick moves to keep Pinsir at bay. And so it went. Pinsir was kited until the very end without ever getting a chance to strike.
Even so, Persian's exhaustion was obvious. The other challengers noticed.
"In this situation, a Pokémon with long-range moves would have it much easier..."
"And if Persian insists on sticking to close combat, then it's clear it doesn't master ranged moves..."
"If that's true, then this victory is mine!"
Watching from the stands, Ethan Black wore a confident expression and walked straight to the counter to register.
(End of Chapter)