Headquarters of the Pokémon Researchers Guild.
"Phew... so this is the method for Seadra to evolve into Kingdra?"
"And to think we spent so long researching it... in the end, Seadra's evolution depends on a Dragon Scale."
In the laboratory, Alex Baxter stared at the document detailing the evolution method of Kingdra and sighed with a touch of frustration.
"I thought it would be something like a Dragon Fang or a Mystic Water—objects with powerful energy... I never imagined it would be something as simple as a Dragon Scale."
Professor Reynolds also let out a sigh of relief. Before Ethan appeared, they themselves had conducted intensive research—but with no results.
However, a few days later, everyone watched in confusion as their Seadra, even after following every step of Ethan's method, still refused to evolve.
They had carried out the procedure exactly as he described, but without any success, which led them to question the authenticity of Ethan's paper.
"Could that Ethan have hidden something from us?"
Alex frowned, though he quickly shook his head. Ethan wasn't that kind of person.
"I see... only a Seadra recognized by its group as their leader can successfully evolve."
President Beckett, who had received a direct message from Ethan, pondered for a long moment.
Furthermore, following Ethan's guidance, he began linking the phenomenon of Kingdra's evolution to the appearance of Totem Pokémon, thus outlining the next stage of his research into them.
...
Half a month later.
Ethan left Dragon Valley, flying on his Pidgeot.
His main goal there—helping his Trapinch evolve into Vibrava—had been achieved.
By evolving in an environment perfectly suited to its nature, Vibrava had gained tremendous benefits: its Dragon-type energy was now much denser, a sign that its talent in that element had been fully awakened.
During the two weeks of training in the valley, Vibrava had completely adapted to its new body, and its combat power had increased drastically, now ranking firmly among the team's second-strongest group.
Moreover, having learned Sonic Boom upon evolving, Ethan had begun focusing on developing its sound-based abilities—with remarkably promising results.
Of course, Ethan hadn't neglected the other four areas of training either. Vibrava had reacquainted itself with the Ground-type moves it had mastered as Trapinch and could now use them with perfect control.
This time, Ethan left Dragon Valley to return to the Pokémon University of Ironvale City, where he would participate in the upcoming Inter-University Exchange Tournament of the League.
"Ethan, you disappeared for quite a while, huh?"
Upon returning to the university, Ethan reunited with Lucas Silver, Marcus Foster, Kyle Miller, and Jasper Reid.
"Yeah, I had a few things to take care of."
Ethan smiled faintly; in truth, far too many things had happened during that time.
If the university hadn't suddenly contacted him, he might have completely forgotten that he was still a student.
"Tch, you really are something..."
Marcus opened his mouth, but all he could do was sigh and give him a thumbs-up.
He already knew from his family that Ethan had been granted permission to enter Dragon Valley. Though he had suspected as much, seeing that Ethan had managed to enter the sanctuary of his dreams before him left him feeling a mix of admiration and frustration.
"Ethan, that was low of you!"
"You knew how to make Scyther evolve into Scizor and didn't tell me."
"If I'd been able to evolve it earlier, my results would've been way better!"
At that moment, Kyle came up behind Ethan and locked his arm around his neck in mock complaint.
"Huh? Your Scyther evolved into Scizor?"
Ethan was momentarily surprised. That the Pokémon Researchers Guild had shared some special evolution methods with the League didn't surprise him too much.
After all, the Guild was a public institution, equivalent to a scientific academy—its purpose was to strengthen the entire League.
Of course, it was inevitable that the great families would have to "bleed" a little. Judging by the pained look on Kyle's face, his family had clearly paid a high price.
But the more those families invested, the greater the benefits for Ethan, since all those newly revealed evolution methods included his direct participation. The royalties he would receive would be substantial.
Once he returned to the Pokémon Researchers Guild headquarters, he'd be able to exchange his researcher points for some truly valuable treasures.
"Ahem... well, he's got a point. Ethan, you were a bit selfish there."
"The Silver family also paid a hefty cost."
Lucas joined in with a smile, though there was a trace of unease in his eyes.
Ethan's talent as a trainer was undeniable, but on top of that, his research skills were equally exceptional.
His paper, "A New Direction in Pokémon Evolution," had earned him a prestigious position within the Pokémon Researchers Guild.
Still, his family hadn't come out badly either—with the evolutions of Steelix and Scizor, their overall strength had increased enormously.
In fact, after the secret revelation of several special evolution methods, the entire League had undergone a significant power boost.
And as these discoveries spread, more and more new evolutionary forms began appearing.
For example, not long ago, the Thorne Family of Arcaia City had announced the evolution of a Ghost-type Pokémon: Dusknoir.
Many major powers had their own research teams, and through coincidence or luck, discovering new evolutionary paths wasn't impossible.
The thing was, even when they did, they would never make them public. However, that "unwritten rule" had been shattered by an outsider named Ethan.
Without a doubt, many families must be grinding their teeth in fury just at the mention of his name. After all, those unique evolutions could have been precious secrets of their bloodlines... and he had exposed them to the world.
But there was no denying it—those special evolution methods had greatly boosted the strength of the entire League, and even the whole world.
His discovery had a historic significance— a true milestone— comparable to the discovery of Evolution Stones.
(End of Chapter)