"Then... can I now be considered some kind of psychic?"
Thinking of this, Ethan suddenly remembered Phoebe, the Ghost-type Elite Four member from Hoenn in the anime.
Phoebe possessed the ability to communicate with Ghost-type Pokémon, in a way similar to how Sabrina or Anabel communicated with others through telepathy.
If that ability also counted as a form of psychic power, perhaps he could use the waves of the Spirit World as a starting point to find a method to increase his own mental power.
"It seems it will be necessary to make a trip to the real Spirit World."
Ethan reflected. If his soul really had a part similar to that of a ghost, then upon entering the true Spirit World, perhaps his soul would undergo some other change.
In the anime, the Spirit World was a special place, the habitat of most ghosts and Ghost-type Pokémon. It was also believed to emit waves or radio signals.
And in reality, the Spirit World was a gigantic Secret Kingdom, completely comparable to and even superior to Dragon Valley, extending across several continents.
However, unlike Dragon Valley, the Spirit World was filled with deathly energy and was not suitable for human beings. Even wearing the League's most advanced protective suits, it was very difficult to venture into its depths, and exploration could only be done near the passages of the Secret Kingdom.
For that reason, to the League, the Spirit World still remained practically an undeveloped zone, full of secrets that could still be explored.
...
After confirming his suspicion, Ethan left the Pokémon Researchers Guild.
However, for the moment, he did not intend to enter a Secret Kingdom. He planned to make all the necessary preparations first.
Thus, Ethan's life returned to its usual course.
Sandslash, Cacturne, and the other Pokémon continued training step by step according to plan.
Meanwhile, Lucario continued using healing moves to perceive and try to master life energy.
Here, Litwick had to be mentioned especially. After capturing that Chandelure, Litwick's greatest gain was further perfecting its meditation method, while its ability to burn souls and mental energy was still in the process of exploration.
Another half month passed like this.
And on one of those days, Ethan received a very interesting piece of news.
It was that the University League match between Ironvale City Pokémon University's team and Arcaia City Pokémon University's team was about to begin, and the venue for the match would be precisely Arcaia City Pokémon University.
For that reason, Ironvale City Pokémon University immediately contacted Ethan, hoping that he would participate in that match to secure that valuable point for the university and, at the same time, begin coordinating with the university team ahead of the upcoming playoffs.
"How time flies. Taking the University League as a reference, my time as an exchange student is also reaching its end."
After receiving the news, Ethan stretched lazily and stood up to move his body a little.
But by this point, Lucario's healing capabilities had already been practically fully developed.
In addition, the medical books that Arcaia City Pokémon University had given him had already been completely assimilated by Ethan and Lucario after studying them thoroughly.
Now, Lucario could already be fully considered an excellent Pokémon of the medicine department; even within Ethan's current team, it could perform the role of healer without any problem.
"Although... right after finishing studying at someone else's university, immediately facing their university team in front of all their professors and students... sounds a little strange."
Thinking of this, Ethan fell silent for a moment. He felt that it was a truly difficult situation to handle, although at the same time, this match was very important to Ironvale City Pokémon University.
There were only eight spots for the University League playoffs. At that moment, Ironvale City Pokémon University occupied seventh place, and several teams were following very close behind.
If they could firmly secure victory against Arcaia City Pokémon University, then Ironvale City Pokémon University would qualify smoothly for the playoffs.
But if they lost that match, then even if Ironvale City Pokémon University won all its remaining matches, it might still end up depending on the results of other teams. Although in most cases Ironvale City Pokémon University would still have chances to qualify, depending on others' performance was something truly unpleasant.
Moreover, Arcaia City Pokémon University was truly very strong. In the summer league, it occupied third place, having taken the position that belonged to Ironvale City Pokémon University last year. That had made Ironvale City Pokémon University very nervous, and that was why they had asked Ethan to play.
"It doesn't matter. Everything I obtained here was in exchange for something, so it's not as if I owe them a favor. If there is someone I owe something to, it is my university."
"And besides, after this survival test, Arcaia City Pokémon University also owes me a favor. So even if I participate in the match, there is nothing to be ashamed of."
After reaching that conclusion, Ethan stopped thinking about it. After all, once the match ended, he already planned to leave Arcaia City Pokémon University.
...
A few more days passed like this.
And then, one day, Ironvale City Pokémon University's school bus entered the campus.
In Arcaia City Pokémon University's gymnasium, banners had already been hung, and the school was packed with people.
"Go, Arcaia City Pokémon University!"
Inside the gymnasium, the cheer squad was already ready and kept shouting slogans.
Immediately, the advantage of playing at home for Arcaia City Pokémon University was perfectly reflected.
"Long time no see, Ethan."
In the competitors' room behind the gymnasium, Ethan met with Captain Jason and the other members of the university team.
Seeing Ethan, the expressions of all the team members were rather complex.
Especially Captain Jason's. He was now twenty-two years old, that is, two years older than Ethan.
And yet, currently he was only a professional-level trainer, still some distance away from the Quasi-Elite level.
But Ethan, at barely twenty years old, had already reached the Quasi-Elite level and had also become the youth champion of the Pokémon World Championship. The gap between the two of them was truly growing larger and larger.
However, with Ethan joining the team, Jason also felt much more at ease.
After Daniel Harper and the university team members of his generation graduated, Jason, as the representative of the team's new generation, had felt enormous pressure.
Fortunately, when university students reached the Quasi-Elite level, the following year they usually set off for the Champion Road or participated in Elite tournaments, which caused an overall drop in level among the other university teams.
Even so, this year several universities still had team members who had managed to reach the Quasi-Elite level, leaving Ironvale City Pokémon University, which did not have even a single trainer of that level on the team, in a rather awkward situation.
Fortunately, with Ethan on the team, they finally had a Quasi-Elite-level trainer, and on top of that, a world champion. This greatly raised their confidence, to the point that their goal directly became the championship.
(End of chapter)