Fwoooosh!
In the field, Shuckle continued spinning rapidly.
However, his speed was already beginning to decrease little by little, and the faint green glow surrounding him was showing signs of fading. Clearly, he was reaching his limit.
It didn't take long before Shuckle, somewhat exhausted, stopped. In his small bean-sized eyes, a gleam of joy could be seen.
"You did it?" Ethan asked with a slight smile.
Shuckle nodded immediately. Then he opened the plug on his shell and poured out several light green crystals.
Along with them came a very familiar scent to Ethan: exactly the same smell as the nutrient juices made according to the recipe, except the thick liquid had now been replaced by small crystalline pieces.
"Indeed, you did it."
"These crystals are the condensed energy of all the Berries. And by removing so many impurities, the quality has improved quite a bit."
Ethan carefully examined the crystals in his hand. The only downside was that these pieces were irregular; they didn't have the characteristic cubic shape of a Pokéblock.
"If we can get these crystallized energies to take on a block shape... we'll have real Pokéblocks!"
After petting and praising Shuckle for a while, Ethan was delighted. He already had some ideas on how to make the pieces take the proper shape.
Once he obtained the energy crystals, he released Sandslash, Meltan, and Charmeleon, and distributed the crystals among them.
After tasting them, each gave their opinion: all acknowledged that these crystals contained more energy than even the high-quality nutrient juices previously improved by Shuckle.
In other words: a normal recipe for intermediate-quality nutrient juice, after being improved twice by Shuckle, already reached the level of premium nutrient juice.
"But I wonder how those special Pokéblocks are made..." Ethan murmured. With the confirmation that Shuckle could make Pokéblocks, his ambition grew and he began thinking about special Pokéblocks.
Like the ones that May made based on the recipe given to her by Professor Oak, even creating "May's Special Food No. 2," capable of satisfying a Snorlax with a single piece. There were also the blocks that increased beauty, speed, and even mental power.
"I wonder if the Pokémon Club Guild, when they obtained the Berry Blender, also got the recipes for Pokéblocks..."
Ethan recalled the Berry Blender he had seen earlier. But since he couldn't decipher the Pokémon language, even if he had a recipe he wouldn't be able to do anything with it.
"Bah, better focus on what I have in front of me." Shaking his head, he refocused on Shuckle.
He collected all the remaining crystals inside the shell and stored them in his backpack. And he discovered something else: now he could produce large quantities of energy crystals quickly.
Before, when Shuckle made nutrient juice, it took an entire night. But now he could transform Berries into crystals in a very short time.
Of course, that implied a huge physical toll on Shuckle: both Gyro Ball and Hidden Power were moves that consumed a lot of energy.
"Shuckle, let's keep working hard," Ethan said. "From now on, I'll prepare a complete training plan for you."
He stroked the Pokémon's small yellow head, and Shuckle half-closed his eyes, delighted.
To Ethan, Shuckle had always been a support Pokémon, focused on moves like Acupressure and Helping Hand. But now, besides training Rollout, Gyro Ball, and Hidden Power, he could also start guiding him discreetly toward an offensive role.
"Let's go. First we'll head to the river to drink water, and then we'll leave the forest once and for all."
After organizing his things, he walked toward the river that Slowking had detected.
Along the way, he continued sending Shuckle into battles. But this time he didn't allow him to use Rollout, Gyro Ball, or Hidden Power; instead, he asked him to continuously use Rock Throw.
"Shuckle, concentrate. Try to shape the rocks you form into blocks."
Shuckle obeyed and began gathering Rock-type energy to create the projectiles, attempting to mold them as Ethan instructed. But his control was still insufficient: the rocks remained misshapen, far from the ideal block.
The reason Ethan insisted on this training was simple: if Shuckle managed to shape rocks into block form, he would also be able to do the same with the energy of Berries, and thus make true Pokéblocks.
Clearly, Shuckle still needed more practice.
After several additional battles, Ethan noticed that the Pokémon in the forest could no longer offer good training, so he quickened his pace.
Between the trees, Ethan could be seen moving with two pairs of wings flapping at his back: he was being carried by Vibrava, who guided him at high speed. From time to time, thick trees appeared in front of them, but they avoided them with impressive agility.
"Good job, Vibrava," Ethan said as he felt the wind brushing his face.
The Pokémon had its eyes half-closed, its antennae vibrating gently as it read the wind paths.
Using those currents, it could move through the forest without obstacles, and with its ultrasonic detection ability, it could fly at great speed, dodging everything.
Thanks to its maximum speed, Ethan took only one day to cross the forest and reach a plain.
Once there, looking toward the mountains in the distance, he finally understood where he was.
To the south was the exit of the Secret Kingdom. To the east were the mountains where the university's advanced campus was located, also headquarters of the university team. To the north was the professors' laboratory. All of this showed how vast the university's Secret Kingdom truly was.
And upon exiting the forest, it seemed the test had already ended; it wasn't even necessary to reach the official exit, as several professors were already waiting there.
(End of chapter)