Pokémon: Global Invasion

Chapter 46: Halloween Sun and Moon Cup

The next morning, Ryoma got up early with Sandshrew.

Opening the Poké Ball, Sandshrew lively sprang out. Whether it was Ryoma's imagination or not, he felt that Sandshrew seemed to have grown a bit.

"Could it be because of yesterday's Pokémon food?"

Ryoma walked around Sandshrew, uncertainly speculating.

To verify whether it was just his imagination, Ryoma fetched a measuring tape to measure Sandshrew's size before recording it in his notebook.

Currently, Ryoma planned to focus on training Sandshrew's physical development as the main aspect of his training, making it very important to keep track of the Pokémon's daily physical condition.

After measuring, Ryoma took out the Pokémon food that Professor Sato had placed in his room and let Sandshrew enjoy another delicious meal.

Sandshrew: ≧w≦.

Once all preparations were complete, Ryoma took Sandshrew to the laboratory building.

Inside, Professor Sato and Yuto were already waiting, with various instruments prepared. As soon as Sandshrew arrived, they immediately got to work, their eagerness causing Ryoma to shake his head slightly—they truly were the definition of mad scientists.

After handing Sandshrew over to the pair, Ryoma sat down in a corner with the book he borrowed yesterday and began to read, continuously absorbing the knowledge within.

In this way, two weeks passed.

During this time, Professor Sato collected a wealth of data, while Sandshrew became increasingly proficient in using Sandstorm.

Under Professor Sato's careful teaching, Sandshrew's probability of using Sandstorm successfully had increased to fifty percent, achieving success every two or three attempts.

On the other hand, just as Ryoma had speculated, after continually consuming Pokémon food, Sandshrew's physical development had improved significantly, and it had grown noticeably taller.

As for Ryoma, he had completely entrusted Sandshrew's training to Professor Sato while he spent his days immersed in the library, frantically browsing through various books and using the knowledge to formulate a training plan suitable for Sandshrew.

Another morning passed, and Ryoma stepped out of the library, intending to pick up Sandshrew and go have lunch together.

Walking along the wooded path on campus, he glanced at the banners hanging around, and his eyes shone momentarily.

Time flies so quickly; Halloween was just around the corner.

During this period, Ryoma had often been in touch with his parents over the phone. Just yesterday, they had asked him whether he wanted to come home for the holiday.

Ryoma thought for a moment and talked about the situation here.

To be honest, the opportunity to study at Aloha Pokémon Academy was indeed a significant chance, and he didn't want to waste it; he wanted to make the most of every minute.

After understanding the situation, Ryoma's father and mother expressed their understanding and, from their tone, were genuinely happy for him. They urged him to study diligently under Professor Sato, as it was crucial for his future development.

"Hey, Boss, what are you thinking about?"

At that moment, Yuto ran over from a distance, giving Ryoma a pat on the shoulder and smiling.

"Nothing much, just that Halloween is coming, and I'm feeling a bit homesick," Ryoma replied, shaking his head. He then took the Poké Ball containing Sandshrew from Yuto and asked, "How did the research go today?"

Upon hearing Ryoma's question, Yuto shook his head slightly and sighed, "We've collected a lot of information about Sandstorm, but we still have little idea about why Ground-type energy can also trigger Sandstorm."

"Ground-type Sandstorm."

Ryoma sighed as well; even with his wealth of Pokémon data in mind, he couldn't think of the reason behind it.

After all, Sandstorm moves were clearly Rock-type moves.

What could be the reason?

"Alright, that's not something we should worry about. Let's leave that to Professor Sato."

"I actually have something to discuss with you; let's go to the restaurant and talk while we eat."

After arriving at the restaurant, Yuto excitedly pulled out a poster and placed it on the table in front of Ryoma.

Ryoma picked it up and saw the large letters on the poster's cover...

Halloween Sun and Moon Cup Newcomer Challenge.

"Newcomer Challenge? Why are you bringing this to me?" Ryoma asked, puzzled, as he was not a student at Aloha Pokémon Academy.

"Heh heh, this Sun and Moon Cup is a doubles battle tournament, and I think we can give it a try. With your Sandshrew, we can definitely dominate!" Yuto seemed very excited, his eyes sparkling.

"I've already told you I'm not a school student," Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"Who says you aren't? With the assistant card from Professor Sato, who would dare say you're not a student of the school?!" Yuto quickly countered, "Besides, you're only 18 years old, which completely meets the requirements for a newcomer trainer. I think it's no problem!"

"I still think I should pass," Ryoma hesitated, worried that this might cause trouble for Professor Sato.

"Don't! Just look at the prizes for the first place, and you can decide after that!" Yuto hurriedly flipped the poster over and pointed at the rewards listed.

"Prizes..."

Ryoma paused for a moment, his gaze shifting to the poster, and suddenly, his eyes began to widen slowly.

"Hahaha, I knew you would be interested!" Seeing Ryoma's reaction, Yuto burst into laughter.

Ryoma struggled to look away, swallowed hard, and nodded.

The final prize for the Halloween Sun and Moon Newcomer Challenge was actually a Moon Stone and a Sun Stone!

It should be noted that these two stones are very rare Pokémon evolution stones. The Moon Stone can enable Pokémon like Nidorina, Nidorino, and Clefairy to evolve, while the Sun Stone allows Pokémon like Gloom, Sunkern, and Petilil to evolve. They are certainly rare strategic resources that cannot be found on the market!

This made him marvel at how wealthy the academy was. To encourage and train newcomers, they even offered such precious resources as prizes for the competition!

"A Moon Stone, huh..."

Upon seeing the Moon Stone, countless ideas began to flood Ryoma's mind.

Now that Sandshrew could create Sandstorm weather using special methods, it meant that the Sandstorm team he envisioned could definitely take shape.

In the Sandstorm team, both Nidoqueen and Nidoking would be excellent choices, especially considering their powerful abilities combined with the impressive move-learning capabilities of the Nido family, which could certainly create a terrifying offensive powerhouse!