"Do I actually have to raise a Slowking myself?"
Ethan Black glanced at Shellder, his face showing a trace of doubt.
Although in theory, whether it evolved alongside Slowpoke into Slowbro or into Slowking, Shellder was still an independent being. Their relationship was simply symbiotic.
However, if he chose that method of evolution, from then on everything would revolve around Slowpoke, and it was highly likely that Shellder would lose its moves and ability—something he absolutely didn't want to see.
Besides the fact that he didn't want to give up Shellder's moves and ability, obtaining the King's Rock itself was no easy task!
In the video games, a Pokémon holding a King's Rock had a 10% chance to make the opponent flinch when dealing damage, even with moves that normally wouldn't cause that status.
This made the King's Rock quite a valuable item.
Although Ethan Black had managed to obtain the Protector through sheer luck—a rare item as well—that one, aside from allowing Rhydon's evolution, didn't have any other real use.
Precisely because of that apparent lack of usefulness, everyone ignored its value, which allowed Ethan Black to acquire it.
But the King's Rock did have a tangible, practical effect, which made obtaining it by luck nearly impossible. And if he thought about buying it, the price would surely be astronomical!
"Looks like I'll have to find another way."
"But right now, Slowking hasn't even been discovered yet, so I can't even make something up!"
Ethan Black sighed lightly. It seemed that, at least in the short term, he wouldn't be able to use the method of evolving into Slowking as bargaining power to get food for Water- and Psychic-type Pokémon.
"I wonder if, with enough money, the Slowpoke ranch would be willing to sell it to me?"
"But even if they were willing, the price would definitely be exorbitant! Clearly, I first have to find a way to make money."
After some thought, Ethan Black decided to be practical. He needed to focus on earning some money first.
Although specialized food could help Pokémon improve faster, it was currently out of his financial reach.
For now, it was already good enough that Sandslash, Cacnea, and Shellder could eat standard Pokémon food.
Having reflected on all this, Ethan Black shook his head and prepared to get to work.
And he already had a clear way to make money: publishing a thesis on the discovery of the Overcoat ability.
He had already mentioned this topic to Professor Harris. At first, his idea was to have Professor Harris or Alex Baxter publish it for him.
But then he thought that sooner or later he would have to publish the Counter Shield technique himself, so this thesis would be good practice.
Moreover, as Professor Harris had told him, the Pokémon Researchers' Guild currently valued theses on abilities very highly. And Overcoat was something that hadn't yet been officially discovered!
Therefore, if the Guild accepted his thesis, he could obtain something similar to a "patent" on the Overcoat ability.
In that case, if other researchers wanted to study the ability, they would have to pay him royalties!
This thought made Ethan Black's eyes shine with excitement. If this worked out, the profits would be considerable—plus it would become a long-term, steady source of income!
Of course, to publish a thesis, it wasn't enough to just state that an ability existed. It was necessary to demonstrate it with evidence, reasoning, and experimentation... only then could it be considered a valid thesis.
As for how to write it, Professor Harris had already told him that he would help, but the final draft had to be done by Ethan Black himself.
When he said that, Ethan Black clearly remembered the professor's radiant smile, with that "I trust you" expression that only made Ethan Black pull a frustrated face.
"Leaving everything else aside, today I'll first write down how I discovered the Overcoat ability." Ethan Black muttered to himself, picked up his pen, and began working.
...
The night passed quickly.
The next day, when Ethan Black got up, he already saw Professor Harris and Alex Baxter—both research fanatics—busy since early morning with all the equipment set up, carefully observing a Hippopotas in the training field.
Without approaching them immediately, Ethan Black went to the kitchen and, as if he were at home, opened the cupboard where the professor kept Pokémon food, serving portions into dishes.
Today the three little Pokémon would undergo intense training, so they needed a good meal.
Sandslash: "I love you! づ￣3￣づ╭～."
Once the three finished eating, Ethan Black took them out to the training grounds.
"Ethan, is this the Shellder with the mysterious ability you caught?" asked Alex Baxter, his eyes sparkling as he saw the Pokémon in Ethan Black's arms.
"Eh? And why is your Shellder's shell cracked?" he added curiously.
"What's wrong if it's cracked?"
"That's called 'breaking the shell'—it's a very powerful strengthening technique," replied Ethan Black half-jokingly.
"Yeah, sure, I believe you..." Alex Baxter shot back with skepticism.
"But are you planning to use Shellder as your defensive core?"
Seeing a Shellder with a cracked shell chosen as the core of defense, Alex Baxter couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, visibly puzzled.
"That's right, Shellder will be my defensive core. Don't underestimate it! Its defensive capability will surprise you," said Ethan Black with a mysterious smile, stroking its shell, making Shellder close its eyes in delight.
"By the way, what's your defensive core?" Ethan Black asked, changing the subject. "How's your team formation going?"
"Perfect! To get the formation and that Pokémon, my dad went through a lot of effort!" replied Alex Baxter, his expression full of pride.
"And where's your Pokémon?"
Ethan Black looked around, intrigued.
"Hehe, look up at the sky!" said Alex Baxter, pointing upward.
Ethan Black rolled his eyes, but when he looked... there really was something in the sky!
In the distance, he could only make out three small dots, but as they got closer, he saw they were three Flying-type Pokémon!
(End of chapter)