"How are you feeling, Sandslash?" Ethan asked, sitting on a bench in the dojo with Charmander in his arms.
In front of him, Sandslash stood still, eyes closed, claws raised.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and a powerful aura burst out around him.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, a current of air surged from his body, scattering the fallen leaves at his feet.
"Sha!"
With a low growl, Sandslash's figure vanished in a blur, and his claws slashed toward a nearby practice log.
A cold gleam flashed through the air.
When Sandslash's figure reappeared behind the log, a faint cracking sound was heard.
Ziiip.
The thick log split cleanly into two halves, which fell slowly to the ground.
"Sha!"
Sandslash looked at his claws, then at the bisected log, and let out an excited roar.
He had successfully executed Swords Dance, significantly boosting his attack power.
"Excellent work, Sandslash," Ethan said with a smile, walking over while holding Charmander.
"Chaarrr!" said Charmander, hugging his tail and giving a thumbs-up in approval.
Pa pa pa!
At that moment, applause rang out. Grandpa Miller walked toward them slowly, a look of surprise in his eyes.
In just three days, this Sandslash had mastered the Swords Dance technique unique to the Scyther species—faster than most Scythers themselves!
He couldn't help but wonder: was this truly a technique belonging to the Scythers... or to the Sandslash?
In truth, this Pokémon's talent was extraordinary. Its reddish fur set it apart from the rest of its species—an undeniable prodigy.
During those days, the Miller family had tried every possible means to uncover the principle and training method behind Sandslash's move-combination technique, but they had found nothing.
Just as Ethan had said, there didn't seem to be any definable training method for combined moves.
Could it really be, as Ethan claimed, that Sandslash had figured it out on its own?
Ethan noticed Grandpa Miller's gaze and gave a faint smile.
When he had agreed to the Miller family's conditions, he had made it clear: the method by which Sandslash combined its moves had no formal teaching process—he would only allow them to observe and study it. If they managed to discover something, that would depend entirely on them.
Of course, Ethan did know the true training method—but that was Sandslash's trump card, and he had no intention of revealing it. Only if they offered him the complete method for Swords Dance in exchange... might he consider it.
In reality, a combined move seemed simple—merging two moves—but in practice, it involved a serious issue: the energy conflict between both moves.
It was like in ancient martial arts—if someone tried to blend two styles without understanding their essence, the result could be disastrous. In the best case, it caused internal injuries; in the worst, it crippled one's abilities entirely.
For Pokémon, it wasn't as extreme, but the risk of minor injuries was very real. That's why most trainers didn't dare to experiment with move combinations blindly.
Every successful combined move had to follow specific laws—only by understanding those energetic principles could one resolve the conflict of power.
In Sandslash's case, it had started from the foundation of Defense Curl and Rollout, discovering the energetic key that allowed it to execute its combination perfectly.
And as long as Ethan didn't reveal that principle, no matter how much the Miller family analyzed Sandslash's energy fluctuations, they would never find the correct starting point—much less master it.
"As you can see, my Sandslash's talent is exceptional," Ethan said with a smile. "I've already explained its training method: while spinning with Rapid Spin, it used the centrifugal force to concentrate Normal-type energy in its claws. That's how it naturally managed to perform the move Crush Spin."
That explanation was true... but incomplete. The method only worked once one understood the underlying energetic rule of combined moves. Otherwise, such training would merely increase spinning power—never allowing the true combination of the two moves.
"That's true," Grandpa Miller said slowly, nodding. "Your Sandslash's talent is truly remarkable."
During that time, they had tried every possible instrument and method, even training their own Sandslash to master dual concentration. Even so, none of them had been able to reproduce the combined move Crush Spin.
Was it really just a matter of talent?
The old man sighed quietly. Everything pointed to the fact that there was no way to extract a usable technique from that Pokémon.
"What a waste..." he thought bitterly. "Talent" was, without a doubt, the most frustrating excuse of all.
"Grandpa Miller," Ethan said kindly, "I'll soon be participating in the Inter-University Exchange Tournament. How about we part ways for now?"
He had already spent more than half a month at the Sword Dojo. Sandslash had learned the move in just three days—the rest of the time had been spent perfecting it and assisting the Miller family in their research.
According to his plan, those two weeks were exactly the amount of time he had intended to give them to study combined moves. His purpose in coming here had been twofold: to strengthen Sandslash before the tournament, and at the same time, to find a graceful reason to take his leave.
"The Exchange Tournament..." Grandpa Miller repeated, nodding slowly. Although he wished he could keep Ethan a bit longer, he couldn't stop him from attending such an important event.
"After the tournament, you're welcome to return," he said with a faint, forced smile. "By then, the Scyther I promised you should be ready."
Clearly, he hadn't completely abandoned his hope of studying Sandslash's combined moves.
"I understand. I'll return with Sandslash when the time comes," Ethan replied, immediately picking up on the old man's intentions and accepting without hesitation.
(End of Chapter)