"Hidden Power (Flying type)?"
Ethan's eyes gleamed for a moment. In truth, the most suitable type for Kingdra would have been Psychic, but Flying was acceptable as well.
Maybe he could try combining Flying-type Hidden Power with Hydro Pump to increase the range, speed, and power of the attack.
In this way, among all of Ethan's Pokémon —except for Meltan and the young Charmander— everyone had successfully learned Hidden Power.
Each of their types was as follows:
Sandslash: Fire
Cacturne: Fighting
Slowking: Dark
Shellder: Psychic
Shuckle: Grass
Trapinch: Flying
Absol: Bug
Kingdra: Flying
After spending all his points once again, Ethan began refining a new cycle of training plans.
Sandslash's plan still focused on coating his entire body with Steel-type energy in order to activate the latent Steel-type gene within him and complete the "Steel Bones and Iron Body" training.
As for the Hidden Power he had learned, Ethan had not yet decided how to make use of it.
Cacturne's plan, on the other hand, had undergone major changes. His main move was still Ingrain, so he had to continue perfecting it; but Ethan also planned to strengthen his close-combat capabilities.
Although Cacturne wasn't a Fighting type, he could learn quite a few Fighting-type moves. Ethan designed a base set with several of them to expand his move pool.
Moreover, Cacturne could learn Needle Arm, an almost signature move, and after mastering Toxic, his spines were already coated in poison. Ethan thought the two effects could be combined.
The Needle Arm move could even be integrated into the roots he used in battle. If he could make spines grow from his roots, his offensive power would increase dramatically.
He could also learn Drain Punch, and since Cacturne already had strong absorption capabilities, that move could grant an effect similar to "draining roots."
Ethan quickly jotted down his ideas in his notebook, and in no time, he had the current training method for Cacturne clearly outlined.
Then, he turned his gaze to Slowking. After this period of training, his control over Water-type energy had greatly improved.
In addition, after mentally communicating with Shellder, he had also learned the Psychic-type move Rest.
Now, both Slowking and Shellder could use Rest, and Ethan thought that during battle, they could take turns recovering, ensuring endurance.
In battle, Shellder mainly handled control, while Slowking attacked. Their coordination was so seamless that even opponents of the same level struggled to withstand their strategies.
They could also alternate between offensive, defensive, and recovery formations — something that would surely drive any rival to despair.
At this point, Sandslash, Cacturne, and Slowking had clearly become Ethan's main team trio: each with a clear development path and a solid combat foundation.
Meanwhile, Meltan continued developing his skill in magnetic field control, showing good progress. Once completed, he would undoubtedly reach the team's front line as well.
Trapinch was awaiting evolution; once that happened and he could fully utilize his Flying-type talent, his strength would rise significantly, possibly reaching the second core group.
Absol, after mastering Megahorn, had increased the power of his horn and improved his melee combat abilities. With his body strengthened by the absorption of dark energy, he could now fight completely on his own.
Kingdra and Charmander had recently finished their training plans, so they only needed to continue following their established schedules.
It was also worth noting that Ethan had tested a combination involving Sandslash, Cacturne, and Charmander to recreate his idea of a "desert field."
The result was excellent — according to Professor Harris, the strength of the sandstorms under dry conditions had increased significantly, proving that Ethan's theory was entirely feasible.
Lastly, his eyes landed on Shuckle. Now that resources were abundant, Ethan no longer had to rely so much on his nutritious juices, so Shuckle could finally focus on combat training.
Currently, Shuckle had mastered moves like Sticky Web, Withdraw, Constrict, Bide, Rollout, Acupressure, Helping Hand, and Hidden Power (Grass).
However, only Rollout had decent offensive power, being his sole truly effective move.
"Shuckle has short arms, moves slowly, and his attack is far too weak."
"It seems that without being able to learn moves like Power Trick or Crafty Shield, he can only specialize in a defensive, attrition-based strategy."
Ethan pondered for a moment and decided it would be best to teach him Toxic, combining it with his high defense and protective moves like Withdraw, Struggle Bug, or Safeguard to wear down opponents.
As for Hidden Power (Grass), Ethan had already seen it in action — it functioned similarly to Energy Ball, concentrating Grass-type energy before launching it.
However, due to Shuckle's low Special Attack, the move wasn't very practical, serving more as decoration than as a useful technique.
On the other hand, Shuckle had the ability Gluttony. In the games, this ability made the Pokémon eat its held berry when its health dropped to half, instead of waiting until it was almost fainted. But in reality... it just meant he had a bigger appetite.
For Ethan, that ability was completely useless; compared to that, Shuckle's other two abilities — Sturdy and Contrary — were far superior.
With all those limitations combined, it was no wonder Ethan still didn't know how to properly train his Shuckle.
"Looks like I'll have to look for Kyle."
"His family specializes in Bug-type Pokémon; they must have training methods suited for Shuckle."
"Also, it's been over half a year already... I think it's about time I go pick up my Scyther."
Ethan thought quietly to himself, deciding that he should soon go find Kyle and have a proper discussion with him.
(End of Chapter)