"Crush Spin (Rapid Spin + Crush Claw)!"
At that moment, Ethan Black's voice rang out just in time.
Immediately, Sandslash's body stopped briefly and then began to spin at high speed, concentrating the normal-type energy generated by the rotation into its claws.
The Rapid Spin move combined with the Crush Claw move, and in that instant, its claws began to shine with a white light. Using the momentum from Rapid Spin, its claws moved like a rotating chainsaw, hitting the opponent's Barrier move with great force.
Boom!
In an instant, the barriers around Shellder exploded almost simultaneously.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, Shellder's body was launched and violently crashed to the ground. Its two shells snapped shut tightly and it remained completely still.
"Go, Poké Ball!"
Once he confirmed that Shellder was out of combat, Ethan Black quickly threw a Poké Ball.
A red flash absorbed Shellder into the ball, and then the Poké Ball closed completely—indicating that Ethan Black had successfully captured it.
"Hmm? Did you decide to keep that Shellder after all?"
Rachel Blake looked at him somewhat confused. Apparently, she hadn't noticed yet that this Shellder knew the Rest move.
"I want to try training a different Shellder."
"If I can fix the crack in its shell, its potential will far exceed that of other Shellder."
Ethan Black smiled slightly as he picked up Shellder's Poké Ball, deliberately hiding the fact that he knew it mastered the Rest move.
"I hope you succeed," Rachel Blake said, nodding.
Ethan Black also nodded. "Thanks for today. If it weren't for you, it wouldn't have been so easy to capture it."
"It was nothing for me, and besides, don't forget that there are conditions!"
Ethan Black nodded immediately. Once they returned from the disaster zone, they would begin the Pokémon Club Tournament in Ironvale City, and he planned to give his all to help the Pokémon Nightstar Club win.
After all, if they won, Rachel Blake would give him a copy of the basic training notes for Water-type Pokémon, which was key to developing Shellder.
...
That night.
Ethan Black and Rachel Blake arrived at the nearby Pokémon Center in Ashfield City, riding on Pidgeot.
The first thing Ethan Black did upon arrival was take Shellder to a doctor at the Pokémon Center to treat its injuries.
"The cracks in Shellder's shell are a birth defect. It's hard to heal them with just treatment."
After examining it, the doctor came to the same conclusion as Rachel Blake.
"A birth defect?"
Ethan Black thought for a moment.
"Maybe in the future there will be a solution, but with the current medical technology, there isn't much that can be done."
Ethan Black thanked the doctor, took Shellder's Poké Ball, and went to rest in one of the center's rooms.
Rachel Blake, on her part, left to meet with the others at the Pokémon Nightstar Club.
"Come out, Shellder."
Back in the room, Ethan Black released Shellder.
Thanks to the treatment it received, Shellder seemed in good spirits and curiously observed both the room and Ethan Black.
"From now on, I'll be your trainer."
"I brought you some nutritional juice. Want to try it?"
Ethan Black greeted Shellder with a smile and once again applied his food tactic.
Seeing the light blue juice in front of it, Shellder hesitated for a moment before extending its tongue to lick a little.
Immediately, its eyes narrowed with a pleased expression—clearly, it loved the taste.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you. Become my partner."
Seeing that the food had won Shellder over, Ethan Black smiled contentedly.
After all, wild Pokémon rarely got to taste such delicacies. Most eventually came to appreciate life with a trainer.
It was something Ethan Black had read about many times online: Pokémon that lived in the wild actively seeking out trainers.
"Come out, Sandslash and Cacnea. Greet our new partner."
Ethan Black then released Sandslash and Cacnea.
As soon as Shellder saw Sandslash, it contracted its pupils and immediately closed its shells, still with the recent memory of the battle they had just had.
"Shellder, we are partners now. We'll all take care of you."
To calm it down, Ethan Black handed Sandslash some juice and instructed him to give it to Shellder as a peace gesture.
Sandslash looked at the juice, then at Shellder... and drank it himself.
Ethan Black: "..."
"It's alright, alright, I know you worked hard today too."
"When you're done sorting things out with Shellder, I'll take all three of you out for a nice dinner."
Sandslash: (☆^☆)
Very soon, with the attentions of Sandslash and Cacnea, Shellder began to lower its guard. Especially after Cacnea gave it some of its secret Pokémon food stash, Shellder began to warm up to its kind new companion.
"Come on, let's eat."
Seeing that his three Pokémon were getting along well, Ethan Black smiled contentedly, returned them to their Poké Balls, and left the Pokémon Center in search of a specialized restaurant for them.
Now that he had three Pokémon, even the food expenses had skyrocketed. It took 5,000 Pokédollars to satisfy their appetites.
After dinner, Ethan Black checked his wallet. With the fees he had received from Alex Baxter for his work on the Gyro Ball move research, he had a total of 630,000 Pokédollars.
But after only two weeks, his balance had dropped to 450,000.
And that was with Sandslash and Cacnea often eating at Professor Harris' house, and Cacnea being able to find its own food. If it weren't for that, with food and supplements, he would already be bankrupt.
Now, with Shellder on the team, his expenses would only increase.
"Raising Pokémon really costs a fortune. Fortunately, as a member of the university team, the university provides us with resources."
"But that's not sustainable... It's best to find a stable source of income."
Ethan Black sighed slightly, feeling a mountain of pressure on his shoulders.
(End of chapter)