After defining Sandslash's training plan, Ethan Black called the Pokémon, who was happily munching on snacks, to explain it face to face.
"Sha sha sha."
After hearing the plan, Sandslash nodded with great seriousness. And when he heard that food and Pokémon supplements would be abundant and unlimited, his eyes began to shine.
Sandslash: ┗(＾0＾)┛
Seeing Sandslash, excited, carry off a can of special Steel-type food to try it, Ethan Black turned his gaze to the other Pokémon playing nearby, and fixed his eyes on Shellder.
As the defensive core of his team, Shellder's importance was unquestionable. Moreover, the team's overall strength was now very close to the Advanced level.
The exam for Advanced-level trainer was a survival test, so Shellder would be the key for Ethan Black to pass it.
At that moment, Shellder had mastered the moves: Tackle, Water Gun, Barrier, Aqua Ring, Rest, and the newly learned Hydro Pump.
Apart from these moves, Shellder possessed outstanding psychic power, which made its special attack far surpass that of its kin. Thanks to that mental power, it could also manipulate the move Barrier to move.
A moving barrier: that was its only means of defense aside from the ability Overcoat, and on many occasions it had been the one that saved Ethan Black's life.
However, Ethan Black felt that its defensive capacity was still too limited. Without the support of Cacturne's defensive roots, Shellder could not perfectly fulfill the role of a complete defender.
That's why, aside from continuing to reinforce the move Barrier, Ethan Black wanted to develop another move: Aqua Ring. This wrapped the user in a veil of water that restored HP each turn.
With perfect control, it could manipulate the water to form a liquid barrier covering its whole body. Although not a defensive move in the traditional sense, by applying the principle of Counter Shield it could turn into a defensive "water spin."
Moreover, after learning the move Hydro Pump, Shellder had raised its control over Water-type energy to another level.
With specific training, it could manage to make the water from Aqua Ring spin at high speed, creating a defensive field, like Paul's Gastrodon in the anime, capable of forming a protective area with murky currents.
And not only that: Aqua Ring contained healing power. If Shellder could master this Counter Shield version with Aqua Ring, it would be a technique integrating offense, defense, and healing.
"The problem is that Aqua Ring seems to heal only Water-type Pokémon. If it could understand the principle of healing, maybe Shellder could, besides healing itself, act as the team's healer."
Ethan Black stroked his chin. He was convinced that the potential for developing Aqua Ring was enormous and that it would be worth discussing with Alex Baxter.
"Then, the main focus of Shellder's training will be the move Aqua Ring."
"Although... turning it into a defensive technique will be a bit complicated."
"The key lies in keeping the water condensed on the surface of the body and, when forming the Counter Shield, not harming any Pokémon or trainer inside."
"If the control fails... it would be like suicide!"
Reflecting, he began refining the training plan. To perfectly control Aqua Ring, he thought he could start by reinforcing its mental power.
"What a pity... Not even at the main headquarters of the Pokémon Researchers Guild do they have special food for Pokémon that are both Water- and Psychic-type."
"We'll have to mix Water-type Pokémon food with Psychic-type food. Although the effect won't be as good as dual-type food, and it will have side effects, the move Rest could completely negate them."
During this time, Ethan Black had invested much effort in designing the training plan: In addition to thoroughly consulting Shellder's breeding methods, he studied in detail the breeding of Slowpoke and Slowbro.
Much of his current method was based on Slowbro's training, and it seemed to work very well.
It should be noted that President Beckett was an expert Psychic-type trainer, and Ethan Black, shamelessly, asked him for advice. Thanks to him, he obtained a lot of information, and his plan — based on Slowbro's training — received President Beckett's approval.
After all, Slowbro is the joint evolution of Slowpoke and Shellder. Unfortunately, President Beckett had never raised a Slowbro, so he could only give guidance from the perspective of a Psychic-type Pokémon trainer.
Ethan Black also asked him about the problem of Shellder's cracked shell, but not even President Beckett had a solution: it was a congenital defect almost impossible to repair.
"Perhaps, instead of evolving Shellder into a Cloyster, I could evolve it into a Slowbro or even a Slowking."
"Especially Slowking: if I could achieve that, it would be a great source of income and also an opportunity to back up my article on: New Evolutionary Directions for Pokémon."
"But, by becoming the spiral shell of Slowbro or Slowking, it would lose its own abilities... and that would be a great loss."
"If there were a way that, when becoming the shell of a Slowking, it could retain its ability, it would be a terrifying Slowking!"
Ethan Black's eyes sparked at the thought... but then he quickly dismissed it: Neither in this world nor in the Pokémon world itself did such a special Slowking exist.
"Forget it, I won't overthink this. For now, Shellder must focus on developing the move Aqua Ring."
Shaking his head, he stopped wandering off in thought and went back to preparing a detailed plan. If Shellder managed to master the Counter Shield version with Aqua Ring, along with the move Barrier and its ability Overcoat, it would be more than a competent defensive core.
(End of chapter)