More than a month later, at the exit of the mobile Secret Kingdom in the desert.
"You all stay here and train properly. This ti I'll go out to bring back Cacturne and the others. Once I finish my business, I'll be back very soon."
Ethan gave serious instructions to all the Pokémon who had co to see him off.
"Sha!"
After hearing Ethan, Sandslash, acting as the big brother, nodded his head.
Then, under Sandslash's leadership, the other Pokémon left, turning their heads back with every step.
"Vibrava, ltan. I'll leave the rest of the journey to you two."
Watching the other Pokémon depart, Ethan smiled slightly.
"Viiibbrraa!"
"Zzzt!"
Vibrava and ltan nodded happily.
After that, ltan activated its Magnet Pull ability and opened the passage to the Secret Kingdom.
Vibrava lifted Ethan and flew with him, entering the Secret Kingdom passage and disappearing from the mobile Secret Kingdom.
After arriving outside, in the Tarkaan Desert, Ethan imdiately had ltan record the position of the spatial magnetic field, and then began carefully marking the location on the map.
"Alright, Vibrava, now we'll head straight to Battle City."
"Viiibbrraa!"
Vibrava shouted happily a couple of tis.
With the triple enhancent of its wind-controlling ability, the Levitate ability, and Flying-type moves, Vibrava carried Ethan swiftly into the sky, flying at full speed toward Battle City.
...
Battle City, Multitype Martial Dojo.
At that mont, Cacturne was wearing a combat uniform and was fighting against a Feraligatr that was also dressed in combat gear.
During the fight, neither of the two Pokémon used moves. It was a purely physical confrontation of body, strength, speed, defense, and technique.
After more than two months of training, Cacturne's physical qualities had improved once again in all aspects, especially its combat techniques, which were no longer comparable to those from two months ago.
"It seems the results have been very good. It wasn't in vain to pay such a high price to send him here to study."
Seeing this scene, a satisfied smile appeared on Ethan's face.
Suddenly, he felt that sothing was off. That feeling was far too similar to that of a father proudly watching his child's achievents.
Illusion, illusion. He was barely a little over twenty years old.
Ethan quickly shook his head and refocused his gaze on the field.
At that mont, the battle between the two Pokémon had already ended.
Although Cacturne had been completely outmatched by Feraligatr in strength, its ability to withstand blows was simply incredible. It managed to drag Feraligatr down until it was completely exhausted, and in the end both Pokémon finished in a draw.
"Cac!"
Upon seeing Ethan, Cacturne imdiately ran over joyfully.
That lively appearance left Feraligatr, who was slumped on the ground, completely dumbfounded.
What kind of monstrous recovery ability was that?!
"Cacturne, after so long without seeing you, you've beco much more robust," Ethan greeted with a smile, showering it with praise until Cacturne squinted its eyes in happiness.
"Ethan, you're back."
From inside the building, Maya Harper ca out after hearing the commotion outside.
"Yes, the Martial Arts Tournant is about to begin. I ca back early to accompany Cacturne in so special training."
Ethan smiled as he spoke. From the mont he decided that Cacturne would follow the path of close combat, he had already begun seriously designing its close-range training plan.
Now that Cacturne's overall physical abilities had improved enormously, those training plans could finally be put into action.
...
Ti passed quickly, and the weather grew colder and colder.
Under the autumn-temperature sun, the Martial Arts Tournant officially began.
In the city center, although the weather was already approaching winter, the people of Battle City were still wearing light combat clothing, as if they did not feel the cold of the environnt at all.
Ethan, wrapped in a thick padded coat, stood in the participants' area, appearing completely out of place among the crowd.
"This really is..."
Noticing the disdainful looks people occasionally cast his way, Ethan scratched his head in slight embarrassnt.
The martial spirit of Battle City was truly fierce. Could it be that everyone here was a martial arts master?
To avoid those gazes, Ethan found a corner with no people and began reviewing the rules of the Martial Arts Tournant, preparing for the competition.
"Eh, the rules seem to be the sa as those of the Cross Cup. It looks like so kind of consensus has ford among these competitions. After so many editions, these rules can really be considered the most complete."
After reviewing the tournant rules, Ethan was a little surprised.
It was similar to most esports tournants from his past life, with rules such as side selection, ban and pick phases, and so on.
Likewise, the preliminary stage of the Martial Arts Tournant also eliminated most trainers with weak strength.
However, since the Martial Arts Tournant was held in a one-on-one format, the number of slots for the main stage was larger, reaching a total of 128 participants.
"Attention, participants of the Martial Arts Tournant!"
"The preliminary rounds are about to begin! Please proceed to the corresponding areas according to your participant numbers..."
At that mont, the voice from the loudspeakers echoed throughout the venue, causing the crowd to begin moving toward their respective evaluation areas.
Ethan looked at his participant number and quickly found the evaluation field assigned to him.
"Look, that guy is dressed like a bear. How funny."
"Hahaha, exactly. With such a weak body, how is he supposed to raise a good Fighting-type Pokémon?"
Inside the evaluation area, a young man wearing only a short-sleeved T-shirt looked at Ethan and couldn't help mocking him.
"You're wrong."
At that mont, another young man spoke up.
The first one was stunned and showed anger on his face. He looked at the one who had contradicted him and was about to retort, when he heard him add, "Look at the dojo emblem on his chest. He doesn't even have Fighting-type Pokémon!"
The young man was stunned for a mont, then looked at the Multitype Martial Dojo emblem on Ethan's chest. Imdiately, he burst into laughter.
"So he's from the Multitype Martial Dojo. No wonder his physique is so pathetic. In my opinion, that dojo should have been eliminated long ago. Pokémon that aren't Fighting-type—what are they even doing participating in a Martial Arts Tournant?"
Those words imdiately triggered laughter and agreent from the surrounding people, and for a mont, laughter echoed throughout the entire evaluation field.
Ethan naturally also heard those taunts, and couldn't help muttering under his breath, "Well-developed muscles, simple brain."
However, he didn't bother arguing with them. Later, it would be enough to use facts to slap them in the face.
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