At night.
Ethan Black, Alex Baxter, and Jasper Reid returned to the dormitory to rest.
As for Marcus Foster and Lucas Silver, after class ended, they hurriedly left the Secret Kingdom.
Both came from influential families, and naturally their families had Pokémon hunters, so they went straight home with the intention of starting to form their own teams under the guidance of their elders.
On the other hand, the families of Ethan Black, Alex Baxter, and Jasper Reid didn't have as many resources. Although Alex Baxter's financial situation was quite good, it was limited to having money, nothing more.
"Ethan, have you thought about how you're going to build your team?" asked Alex Baxter, lying on his desk, marking the Pokémon he had in his notebook and racking his brain without coming up with a good formation.
"Right now I have Sandslash and Cacturne. If nothing strange happens, I'm set on following a Sandstorm team route," replied Ethan Black. "But I still have no idea which Pokémon to use as the team's defender."
Ethan Black sighed lightly. Although he had used Sandstorm teams in the video games, reality was completely different.
When choosing a Pokémon, the first thing he had to consider was its development potential. Additionally, he already had two Pokémon, so choosing a third had to be done with extreme care.
The difficult part was that he couldn't think of any Pokémon that would fit well as a defender in a Sandstorm team and could completely block the storm's damage.
"To block a sandstorm, maybe the Magic Guard ability could work," thought Ethan Black, recalling Sandstorm formations he had built in the past.
The Magic Guard ability prevented any damage that didn't come from a direct attack. In the anime, Lusamine's Clefable had this ability. However, Ethan Black wasn't sure if this ability could project outward, creating a shield.
If that were possible, Magic Guard could become the best defensive resource for a Sandstorm team.
But aside from whether the ability could project or not, Pokémon that had it were quite rare: the evolutionary lines of Abra, Cleffa, Solosis, and Sigilyph.
All of them were extremely difficult to obtain, even more so if you wanted one with Magic Guard as its ability.
"If you're going to make a Sandstorm team, you could catch a Mr. Mime," suggested Alex Baxter.
"The move Barrier can defend against the storm, but its mobility is very limited. Also, Mr. Mime is very rare. Getting one isn't easy," replied Ethan Black with a slight shake of his head.
Nevertheless, mentioning the move Barrier made an idea light up in his mind.
He remembered that several Pokémon could learn that move, like Tentacool and Shellder, which were relatively common.
Especially Shellder, whose hidden ability was Overcoat, perfect for integrating into a Sandstorm team. Additionally, Ethan Black already had a Water Stone, making Shellder a very attractive option.
Its evolution, Cloyster, had a total of 525 base stats, with a terrifying 180 physical defense. Although in the real world base stats weren't everything, just looking at Cloyster's hard shell, it was evident that its defense had to be extremely high.
The problem was that, aside from that incredible physical defense, its HP was very low and its special defense was also poor. As the saying went: "A big wave can take down Cloyster"—it was no exaggeration.
In the games, Ethan Black had only tried Cloyster with the Skill Link ability, combined with Shell Smash and moves like Icicle Spear or Rock Blast, for brutal damage.
But although Overcoat protected against storms, hail, and powder-based moves, Cloyster wasn't as resilient as a Forretress that could move through layers of grass like a shield. Its usefulness in battle dropped significantly.
Of course, that was in the games.
In the real world, a Cloyster with the Overcoat ability could be much more valuable than one with Skill Link.
After all, in the real world, Cloyster's mobility was very limited. Using several attacks in a row wasn't easy.
Suddenly, he remembered something: maybe the Magic Guard ability couldn't project, but what about the Overcoat ability?
That led him to think about the famous item: Safety Goggles.
According to the game descriptions, these goggles protected against weather damage and also powder-based moves.
But then he wondered: does sandstorm damage really only affect the eyes?
If the Safety Goggles blocked all weather and powder damage, wasn't it because they could project the protective effect beyond the eyes? Like a kind of defensive field?
And if those goggles were developed from the Overcoat ability, didn't that mean the ability itself could also project outward?
The more he thought about it, the more Ethan Black's eyes sparkled.
A Cloyster with the Overcoat ability and that knew the move Barrier could be the perfect defensive core for his Sandstorm team.
And the best part: Shellder was very common! Even if its Overcoat ability was a hidden ability, it wouldn't be too difficult to find one.
Moreover, raising it wasn't too complicated. Ethan Black had read about its care in the books at the Pokémon University of Ironvale City library, so he knew how to raise it properly.
"So my preliminary goal will be Shellder," said Ethan Black, taking a deep breath and instantly relaxing.
The next step was to find one and check which had the Overcoat ability.
And that was also simple: Sandslash just needed to use Sandstorm on the Shellders. The one that withstood the storm better than the others would surely have the Overcoat ability.
(End of chapter)