Ironvale City.
Escorted by Pidgeot, Ethan Black returned together with President Hamilton to the Pokémon Researchers' Guild of Ironvale City.
After saying goodbye to President Hamilton, Ethan Black, with Meltan's and Trapinch's Poké Balls in hand, headed toward the Pokémon Trainers' Guild.
At this moment, those two Pokémon he had were still not registered, and he planned to do so in order to be able to release them in public.
"Time flies fast, half a year has gone by in the blink of an eye."
Walking through the familiar streets, Ethan Black couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.
He remembered that when he first arrived in Ironvale City, he only had a Sandshrew and just a little money, so little that he couldn't even afford one night in a hotel.
Now, he could be considered a millionaire: he had nearly two million in savings, part of it from tournament prizes, but most of it from the fees for publishing his academic articles.
Moreover, what really had the most value were the resources stored in his spatial backpack; if he wanted to sell them... tsk, tsk, tsk.
"Money is fine to cover what's necessary. Among true trainers, bartering is still the most common; money is not that valuable."
Ethan Black patted his backpack, thinking to himself that many Pokémon resources couldn't be measured with money.
"When I return this time, I'll definitely take my parents to see a house. With two million, it's enough to buy a good one." While reflecting, Ethan Black had already arrived at the Pokémon Trainers' Guild.
He pushed the door open and went straight to the Pokémon registration counter.
"Hello, please help me register these Pokémon," said Ethan Black to the clerk, handing over Meltan's and Trapinch's Poké Balls.
The worker nodded, passed Ethan Black's ID through the reader, and immediately accessed his data. Upon seeing that he was only 18 years old and already an intermediate-level trainer, he couldn't hide his surprise.
Then, with much courtesy, he led Ethan Black to the inspection area to examine the Pokémon.
"Ah! What kind of Pokémon is this?" exclaimed the clerk upon seeing Meltan.
As an employee of the Pokémon Trainers' Guild, they already had broad knowledge, but they had never seen one with a nut for a head.
"This Pokémon is called Meltan, it's a newly discovered species," replied another worker checking the database, looking at Ethan Black in astonishment.
Luckily, in the official records Meltan appeared as a common Pokémon. If they knew it was a Mythical Pokémon, surely it would cause a huge commotion!
Once Meltan's identity was confirmed, the staff carried out a series of checks on both Pokémon and, after ensuring that they weren't dangerous, proceeded to register them without issue.
This way, Ethan Black already had six Pokémon under his name, which meant that his basic team was complete.
Indeed, a trainer's typical lineup consists of six Pokémon.
This does not mean that the Pokémon Trainers' Guild limits registration to six, but rather that a trainer can only release up to six Pokémon at the same time.
In the anime, for example, a trainer can only carry six Pokémon with them; if they catch a seventh, it is automatically sent to a storage location. Like when Ash caught his seventh Pokémon, a Krabby, and the Poké Ball was sent to Professor Oak's lab.
Of course, automatic transfer is only one of the options. In Pokémon Black and White, for example, when Ash caught more than six, the seventh's Poké Ball was locked to prevent its release.
In the real world, Poké Balls come directly from the Pokémon world, but here the technology of instant transfer does not exist.
That's why each trainer can only release six Pokémon at a time. The seventh can be carried, but not released.
Consequently, many trainers with limited resources choose to raise only six Pokémon, to maximize what they have and achieve the greatest possible strength in battle.
Of course, "six at once" only means that at one given moment there can only be six on the field; a trainer can withdraw one and send out another, rotating them as needed.
So, if a trainer has enough resources, it's common to raise more than six Pokémon.
This is especially useful in the wild, where a Pokémon can be taken out of battle for many reasons.
In that case, the trainer withdraws the fainted one and releases another, always maintaining six in battle, which greatly improves survival capacity.
Moreover, with Pokémon of different types, the trainer can form different strategies depending on who is sent out.
For example, Ethan Black had Sandslash with the move Sandstorm and Cacturne with the move Rototiller, two moves that could serve as the core of different styled formations.
Although only six Pokémon can be on the field at once, the possible tactical combinations are countless.
"With the resources I have now, I can raise more Pokémon without any problem," thought Ethan Black.
Although he already had six, Shuckle only served for support and supplies, so in order to have a full team of six for real combat, he needed to catch another Pokémon.
Moreover, seeing Shuckle, he came up with an idea to increase his team's strength: sending it out first to apply buffs to several Pokémon, then withdrawing it and sending another in its place.
That way, even though only six Pokémon were on the field, Shuckle would have contributed to the battle as well, giving him an advantage as if he had an extra one.
Heh, heh... Shuckle is truly a powerful Pokémon!
By the way, all of this refers to the Pokémon that a trainer carries on them; there are also special machines to release them, such as in daycares.
(End of chapter)