Ethan... won!
And not just any win — it was a complete sweep!
With only his Slowking, Ethan defeated all of Rowan Thorne's Pokémon.
"I thought it would be a close match. But I didn't expect it to turn into a total massacre."
"He just stopped being a rookie, and he's already this strong! Ethan's future is limitless."
As the spectators watched Ethan standing atop the highest podium, still dazed by what they'd witnessed, they couldn't help but murmur among themselves.
First, he had defeated the tournament favorite, Lucien Foster, with flawless tactics. Then, in the final, he crushed Rowan with pure overwhelming power. People couldn't help but wonder... had Ethan truly shown his full strength?
When the news spread, everyone following the competition was stunned and began digging into his background.
After a series of inquiries, information about Ethan finally came to light.
At first, everyone thought he was a complete nobody — but when they saw the data before them, they were utterly shocked.
Ethan's record from childhood to adulthood was very simple: a totally ordinary person. However, ever since he became a trainer, his talent seemed to have suddenly awakened, and he had risen at an astonishing pace.
But that alone wasn't enough to attract the attention of the major figures... What truly shocked them was another of Ethan's identities:
Ethan Black, Advanced-Level Pokémon Researcher!
When they saw that title, everyone was left speechless.
After all, the title of Advanced Pokémon Researcher was only granted to those who achieved outstanding academic results in a specific field — a symbol of prestige and the highest recognition within Pokémon studies.
But... Ethan was only eighteen years old! And he had reached that level in just one year? It was unbelievable!
Upon further investigation, they discovered that Ethan had earned the title thanks to an unpublished thesis titled "A New Direction for Pokémon Evolution."
"A new direction for Pokémon evolution?"
Upon reading that title, everyone was puzzled — and couldn't help but think of the Slowking Ethan had used in the finals.
After multiple analyses, it was confirmed that Slowking was indeed the evolved form of Slowpoke. However, no one had ever been able to explain how such an evolution occurred.
After the previous day's battle, many researchers began studying Slowking. The most direct method they attempted was to have different Shellder bite a Slowpoke's head...
Of course, every single experiment failed.
But now, seeing Ethan's thesis, many couldn't help but link it to the existence of that Slowking.
Could that evolution be exactly what Ethan described in his paper as "a new evolutionary direction"?
Then... how could such an evolution be achieved?
As soon as the news broke, countless people rushed to the Pokémon Researchers' Guild, desperate to read Ethan's paper.
However, to their surprise, while the thesis was indeed archived there, accessing it came with an exorbitant cost.
The required permissions, guild points, and resources were so high that no ordinary group could afford them. No one had imagined that the value of that research would be so immense.
...
While the outside world was in an uproar over a mere thesis, Ethan was in his dorm room flipping through the informational manuals sent by the League about the Starter Pokémon — sixteen in total!
The files detailed information on the twelve traditional starters, as well as Pidgey, Shinx, Aron, and Trapinch.
Although the official Starter Selection Ceremony would take place a week later, trainers were allowed to review these manuals in advance to fully understand their options and decide which Pokémon best suited them.
"Being able to choose among sixteen Pokémon... this feeling is amazing."
Holding the manuals, Ethan smiled in satisfaction and began thinking carefully about his options.
Taking a deep breath, he searched through the stack and pulled out four: Piplup, Turtwig, Mudkip, and Bulbasaur — the ones that most caught his interest.
"Let's take a look at yours first."
After a brief hesitation, he picked up Piplup's manual.
Its final form, Empoleon, was part Steel in addition to Water — a perfect fit for his team.
Moreover, Empoleon had excellent resistances, making it well-suited for a defensive support role. And in the real world, it could swim faster than a speedboat, making it an excellent aquatic mount.
Just imagining himself riding on Empoleon across the ocean filled him with excitement.
"Hm? This Empoleon's a fast attacker type?"
"Its Egg Move is Agility, which greatly increases speed... combined with those sharp wings, that could be an interesting growth path."
"But... that offensive role overlaps a bit with my Sandslash."
Ethan frowned slightly, comparing their battle styles.
If that Piplup were a defensive type, it would be perfect for a support role — but if it leaned toward speed, then Sandslash, with its Sand Rush ability, would definitely outclass it.
He shook his head and moved on to the next one: Turtwig.
Its final evolution, Torterra, was a Grass/Ground type — also a very good fit for his Sandstorm team.
"It inherited Wide Guard, a powerful Rock-type defensive move... but it didn't get Grassy Terrain, what a pity."
Ethan frowned again. In his opinion, the greatest value of Grass-type starters wasn't just in their exclusive moves, but in their ability to inherit Grassy Terrain, an extremely rare group healing move.
"Grassy Terrain is a god-tier move for survival in field battles — it massively boosts your team's chances of enduring."
"A Grass starter without Grassy Terrain..."
He shook his head. Although Torterra fit perfectly with his Sandstorm team, its actual utility — in his eyes — was inferior to that of the previous Chikorita that had inherited the move.
...And just as he finished sorting out his thoughts, the text abruptly cut off.
(End of Chapter)