After leaving Slowking with Professor Vega so it could learn the move Rain Dance, Ethan boarded the boat together with the already-prepared research team, heading toward the real location where the study would take place.
On the shore of a lake, the research team, upon arrival, immediately began setting up various instruments.
At the same time, after their arrival, many Pokémon selected by the team also began to be released.
Ethan took a quick glance and found members of the Poliwag line, Quagsire, as well as Vaporeon and Lapras.
All of them, without exception, were Pokémon he knew possessed the ability Water Absorb.
Besides these Pokémon with the Water Absorb ability, Pokémon with the Sand Veil ability were also released, such as Sandslash and Dugtrio.
"Huh? Isn't this Seismitoad, the Ground- and Water-type?"
Seeing the last Pokémon released by Professor Vega, Ethan was surprised.
Seismitoad's body was light blue, covered in numerous lumps; it had two on its head, shoulders, palms, and knees, and four large lumps on its back. To be honest, it looked somewhat ugly.
"So that's how it is... if I remember correctly, Seismitoad's hidden ability is Water Absorb, right?" After thinking for a few seconds, Ethan reacted; even so, Water Absorb as Seismitoad's hidden ability was extremely rare.
"Seismitoad, you say?"
"But I thought Seismitoad didn't have the Water Absorb ability."
Professor Harris intervened with some doubt.
Since Seismitoad was a Ground-type Pokémon, and considering that Professor Harris was a master specializing in studying this type, he naturally knew it well.
"Most Seismitoad normally have the Swift Swim ability or the Poison Touch ability. But mine is somewhat special: its ability is Water Absorb. Now that I think about it, it's probably its hidden ability." Professor Vega explained, confirming Ethan's idea.
Ever since Ethan proposed the concept of "hidden ability," many Pokémon Researchers compared their own studies and discovered that among their Pokémon, there truly were isolated cases with special abilities.
So they began to speculate whether these were indeed hidden abilities. Of course, aside from Ethan's Cacturne, no other Pokémon had managed to awaken its hidden ability, so for now these were only unverified conjectures.
"I see... such a rare Seismitoad with the Water Absorb ability."
Professor Harris' eyes glimmered slightly. He nodded, clearly intrigued by the concept of hidden abilities proposed by Ethan.
Seeing this, Ethan released Cacturne using the special device, thus cooperating with the research on converting its Sand Veil ability to the Water Absorb ability.
Soon, the two professors and the team began to work diligently. The instruments were activated, and a complex analysis began.
Ethan only skimmed the surface and shook his head helplessly. He had no idea how to conduct research; the only thing left for him was to wait for the results.
Afterward, once he had the results in hand, he would see if he could find a method to activate the hidden genes.
With free time, Ethan decided to train his Pokémon once more, and he had just thought of a perfect place.
Then, he took the map Professor Vega had given him. It was very detailed, precisely describing the habitats of the Pokémon in the lake area.
"Here it is! The habitat of the Seismitoad species!"
Soon, Ethan located the goal of this outing.
Seismitoad wasn't really a Pokémon native to the country, but Professor Vega had requested a group for his research on rainy weather. After all, Seismitoad with Swift Swim was a natural expert at taking advantage of rain.
And the reason Ethan was looking for Seismitoad was very simple: both Seismitoad and Vibrava belonged to the category of "Vibration Pokémon."
Moreover, the lumps on Seismitoad had multiple functions: they could vibrate and generate seismic waves to disrupt and attack the surroundings.
When vibrating, these lumps also accumulated energy inside, which could be converted into power to strengthen its blows, resulting in even more powerful attacks.
Therefore, when Ethan saw Seismitoad, an idea came to him instantly: could he train Vibrava to master similar techniques?
With this possibility in mind, Ethan became excited and decided to use Seismitoad as a model to develop Vibrava's vibration ability.
When Vibrava learned that they were looking for Seismitoad to train its vibration capacity, it became extremely excited. Without saying a word, it lifted Ethan and launched into the sky toward the habitat marked on the map.
Soon after, Ethan arrived at the area. He saw several blue figures playing in the water.
Upon sensing his presence, a Seismitoad that had been resting peacefully suddenly stood up. It looked directly toward the sky, where Ethan and Vibrava were.
The surrounding Tympole and Palpitoad, for their part, continued playing unbothered. They were used to humans, so they didn't bother reacting.
"This must be the leader of the Tympole and Palpitoad, right?"
Ethan fixed his gaze on the only Seismitoad in the group. Its presence made it clear it possessed considerable strength.
"Don't worry, I'm just here to observe something."
Ethan smiled slightly and hung the ID card that Professor Vega had given him.
It was a special card: with it, the laboratory's Pokémon would cooperate with him.
Seismitoad looked at Ethan, nodded, and lay down again. Shortly afterward, it began to snore softly, accompanied by small vibrations.
"Just the vibrations of its sleep can generate tremors...?"
Ethan narrowed his eyes while examining with interest the vibrating lumps on Seismitoad.
Then he looked at the nearby Palpitoad. They were also Vibration Pokémon, perfect for observing right now.
The Palpitoad had long, slender bodies, without arms, light blue in color, with a white tail. On their bodies were several ice-blue lumps wrapped in black skin: three on the head —the central one being the largest— and three more on the waist and back. By vibrating the lump on their head, they generated seismic waves that affected the surroundings: making the water ripple or even causing the ground to shake.
(End of chapter)