"Charmeleon, congratulations."
Ethan didn't stay long. After finishing the battle, he returned straight to the dorm.
As soon as he arrived, he released all his Pokémon so they could get familiar with the new appearance of the once small Charmander.
"Sha!"
"Yadon!"
The Pokémon immediately approached to congratulate him.
Shuckle even served Charmeleon a cup of juice to celebrate.
"Chaarmeell!"
Charmeleon happily greeted his teammates; although his appearance had changed, he was still that same cute and adorable little Charmander.
"Luckily, it seems his temperament didn't change."
Ethan let out a sigh of relief.
According to several studies, when Charmander evolves into Charmeleon it often becomes more impulsive and harder to control.
Just like Ash's Charmeleon: adorable before evolving, completely different afterward.
Fortunately, Ethan's Charmander hadn't changed in that way. Maybe it had to do with the good mood he was in when he evolved?
"Chaarmeell!"
After playing with his teammates for a while, Charmeleon suddenly turned to Ethan, squinted his eyes, and extended his arms asking for a hug.
Ethan looked at the Charmeleon, now over a meter tall, and his face darkened. That size... hugging him like before seemed a bit difficult.
"Chaarmeell!"
Charmeleon looked at him with pitiful eyes while gesturing with his hands.
"Charmander, we're on battle schedule right now, remember? When it's over you can hug me as much as you want."
Ethan suddenly remembered the promise he had made before the battle, and his expression turned gloomy.
But... he had promised that to Charmander. Now he had evolved into Charmeleon... maybe it no longer counted, right?
Unfortunately, that idea was impossible. In Charmeleon's eyes there was absolute stubbornness, with no intention of giving up.
"Vibrava, try using your Levitate ability."
After thinking it through, Ethan concluded that hugging Charmeleon the same way he did when he was a small Charmander was completely impossible.
So he thought of reducing Charmeleon's weight; only then could he lift him.
"Viiibbraa!"
Vibrava was delighted to hear the request.
It loved feeling useful. Helping the person who meant the most to it made it truly happy.
So it flew to Ethan's hand and began channeling its Levitate ability very seriously, trying to apply it to both him and Charmeleon.
Vibrava had been training its external Levitate ability for a long time. Perhaps thanks to its innate talent for flight and its mastery of wind control, combined with Ethan's training plans, it had greatly perfected its skill.
Now, thanks to Levitate, Ethan felt his body become lighter, as if he were floating slightly.
At the same time, Charmeleon experienced the same feeling and began moving excitedly, until he realized that his trainer could easily lift him.
"Good job, Vibrava. Keep Levitate active from now on."
Ethan tried moving a bit, and indeed his body felt much lighter. Not only could he lift Charmeleon effortlessly, but when he jumped he reached a height that even he didn't expect.
"Looks like I need to readjust my training plan."
With his heart full of satisfaction, Ethan thought that seeing his Pokémon grow stronger thanks to his training plans was what motivated him the most. One day he would become the strongest trainer.
...
Time passed quickly and soon the day of the survival test arrived.
Early in the morning, ten buses were parked on the university's training grounds. Hundreds of students from the intermediate campus of Ironvale City's Pokémon University were scattered around the area.
They chatted among themselves, forming small groups. Clearly, many were trying to use this opportunity to form teams, increasing their chances of passing the test and getting a good ranking.
Ethan didn't join any group. With his current level, this survival test organized by the university didn't pose much difficulty.
So he decided to make things a bit harder for himself and see if he could complete the test alone.
Lucas Silver, Marcus Foster, Jasper Reid, and Kyle Miller seemed to have the same idea: each stood on their own without looking for a team.
When the time came, the buses left the campus and continued along the wide road.
The trip was calm, and soon they entered the mountains: overlapping hills, dense forests, and occasional roars that created some tension among the students.
Finally, the buses stopped in a valley that Ethan knew very well: the entrance to the Secret Kingdom of Ironvale City's Pokémon University. To him, it was the most familiar place in the world.
But this time there was something different: a large gate stood in the valley, guarded by more than a dozen Psychic-type Pokémon.
"Guys, do you see that dimensional door?"
"Beyond it lies a Secret Kingdom. When you get off the bus, you'll be transported randomly to some place within the territory."
"That place is extremely dangerous. Don't go dying in there, alright?"
Upon hearing the professor, the students tensed up. Although they had taken survival classes, this would be their first time actually surviving alone in the wild.
Those last words, apparently a warning, only served to make them more nervous.
Dying by accident?
That had to be a joke!
"This is a real survival test. If anyone wants to withdraw, you can do so now."
"I can send you back immediately, but once you do, you'll be expelled from the intermediate campus. The university won't feed a coward who can't even participate!"
The professors noticed that some students were scared and smiled cruelly.
Several students' faces changed.
Participating could be dangerous... But withdrawing meant expulsion.
A difficult choice.
Finally, after their internal struggle, everyone decided to stay. Although it was a survival test, the university had prepared some protection and rescue systems.
As long as they weren't too careless or particularly unlucky, the chances of facing a mortal danger were low. Although... getting hurt a bit was basically unavoidable.
(End of chapter)