"Poli!"
Poliwhirl roared. The white light scattered, and a blast of air burst out from under its feet, rolling across the lakeshore. Reiji and the nearby Pokémon were swept off their feet and thrown onto the grass.
"Poliwrath?" Reiji sat up, staring at the Pokémon by the lake.
Poliwhirl had changed completely. It was taller now, broader too.
The pressure coming off Poliwrath was almost frightening. With that much stored-up growth finally breaking loose, this kind of result made sense.
"Poli." Poliwrath looked at Riolu, who had been knocked down nearby, and reached out to pull it up.
That fist bump had helped more than Riolu probably knew. It had finally shown Poliwrath what Aura really was.
So the strange waves it had sensed before had been Aura all along. Mind Reader had triggered that perception, and Poliwhirl had mistaken it for its moisture sensing.
The moisture sensing hadn't been wrong, exactly. It was just a different kind of awareness. One came through the skin. The other came from the mind.
Poliwhirl's Aura talent had never been strong, so it had only managed to feel its way to the edge through its skin. Riolu's help pushed it across that final line.
"Poliwhirl—no, Poliwrath now." Reiji looked at the newly evolved Pokémon, easily a meter and a half tall and much larger than an ordinary Poliwrath. "Congratulations."
Of course his Poliwrath would turn out like this. Its upper body was packed with muscle, and the strength in it was obvious at a glance.
"Poli!!" Poliwrath bounced over to Reiji in a few quick leaps.
After traveling with Reiji for so long, it had finally evolved. It was stronger now, strong enough to protect him better than before.
The bond between them didn't need words. Poliwrath could feel the difference in its own body. Compared with before, it felt like it could fight three of its old self at once. Evolution had changed everything.
"Go celebrate with everyone first. They've all been waiting for this." Reiji patted Poliwrath's shoulder. It was broad, solid, and full of power.
The other Pokémon had already gathered around, all of them curious about just how strong Poliwrath had become.
Scyther was already sharpening its scythes, clearly waiting for another challenge. It wanted to see how big the gap was now.
Reiji slipped out of the crowd and returned to the lakeshore to check the items. The top-grade Water Stone in Poliwrath's hand was definitely gone; it had melted during the evolution. The quasi–Elite Four-tier Black Belt and Mystic Water on Poliwrath's arms were the important ones. The Black Belt was his only quasi–Elite Four-tier Fighting item, something he had picked up by chance during one of his underground jobs.
The burst from the evolution had scattered everything. Some of the items had even been blown into the lake.
Reiji had Tentacruel, Staryu, Whiscash, and Marshtomp search underwater and bring back anything they could find. The items left on the grass were gathered by the others and piled together.
The result was about what he expected. Aside from the top-grade Water Stone, the remaining Gems and Water Stones were still there, but many had become empty shells. Unlike Magmar's resources, they hadn't melted. Their energy had simply been drained, and some hadn't even been fully absorbed.
He hadn't counted everything before laying it out, but the total value had been close to a hundred million Pokédollars, not including the top-grade Water Stone. He had put down every Water Stone below high grade, all his Water Gems and Fighting Gems, and every Mystic Water, Damp Rock, and similar item below quasi–Elite Four tier.
Now there wasn't much left. After checking the pile, Reiji estimated only ten to twenty million Pokédollars' worth of Water-type resources remained. The Advanced-tier items and mid-grade Water Stones had either dropped in grade or lost so much purity that they could only count as low-grade items now.
The items that had already been low-grade were completely drained. The Stones and Gems had turned transparent, without a drop of energy left inside. Those could go to Hanhan as snacks.
He packed away the low-grade Water Stones, the remaining lower-tier items, and the Gems that still had some energy left. He could sell them later, or let Poliwrath absorb them slowly.
With that done, Reiji sat down on the swing and opened Poliwrath's panel.
[Poliwrath]
[Type: Water + Fighting]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 72.13%]
[Level: 58.12%]
[Ability: Damp/56.53%][Hidden Ability: Swift Swim/52.13%]
[Moves]
Water-type: [(Water Gun/52.14%)(Water Sport/45.21%)(Waterfall/53.22%)(Rain Dance/29.11%)(Bubble/22.31%)(Bubble Beam/23.21%)(Water Pulse/12.74%)(Hydro Pump/8.93%)]
Fighting-type: [(Drain Punch/46.84%)(Focus Punch/28.54%)(Bulk Up/13.34%)(Brick Break/12.44%)]
Normal-type: [(Mind Reader/55.21%)(Refresh/50.11%)(Mega Punch/42.82%)(Mega Kick/41.45%)(Protect/51.31%)(Pound/28.91%)(Double Slap/31.12%)(Belly Drum/38.72%)]
Ground-type: [(Mud Shot/49.82%)(Bulldoze/24.42%)(Earthquake/26.42%)]
Ice-type: [(Ice Ball/39.31%)(Ice Punch/50.22%)(Ice Beam/34.34%)]
Other: [(Hypnosis/18.82%)]
Before evolving, Poliwhirl's potential had been 52.9. Now it was 72. Not as high as Magmar, but that was expected.
The lakeside environment couldn't compare to Magmar's volcano, and Poliwrath didn't have the same ability to melt resources and absorb them directly. That weaker absorption was probably why so many items still had energy left.
Magmar's case had been special, tied to its species. Poliwhirl couldn't copy that. Even so, 72 potential was already good. Reiji was satisfied. From here, they could take their time and grind it up.
If he somehow got his hands on a legendary Pokémon's treasure, there might be room to push it higher. But something like that was so hard to find that thinking about it was enough.
Poliwrath's level had jumped hard too, from 52 straight to 58. All the growth it had stored up had erupted at once.
And now it was stuck at the quasi–Elite Four tier.
Reiji felt a headache coming on. Gengar had used a Plate fragment to break through. What was Poliwrath supposed to use?
It would either need a breakthrough in battle, more time to build up, or some rare treasure. One way or another, the Elite Four-tier wall was going to hold it for a while.
Its abilities had grown too. At this point, even one percent of progress took a long time. Advanced-tier growth already ran on a weekly scale, and who knew how long Elite Four-tier proficiency would take.
Next came the moves.
Poliwrath had gained a few new ones: Water Pulse and Hydro Pump on the Water side, then Bulk Up and Brick Break on the Fighting side.
Of the four, Bulk Up and Hydro Pump mattered most. The other two already had stronger alternatives.
Reiji still didn't know Poliwrath had awakened Aura. Once Poliwrath used it in front of him, he would probably notice.
The rest of the move list was nothing special. Everything had improved a little, but not by much.
Reiji closed the panel.
Poliwhirl's evolution had finally taken a weight off his mind. As for the Elite Four-tier wall, there was no point rushing it. Without something like a Plate fragment, Poliwrath could only keep building itself up until the breakthrough came naturally. At least its potential would no longer hold it back.
Today was a good day. Poliwrath had evolved. Now they could eat breakfast, clean up, and report to the Gym.
This was the fourth morning since they had returned to Mikan Island. Two days of rest was enough. If he skipped Mikan Gym again, people were going to accuse him of taking pay for nothing.
During breakfast, Reiji released Magmar, but kept it at a distance. He still didn't know whether it had its body heat under control.
"Mag… mar?" Magmar appeared by the lake, scratched its head, and looked at Reiji and the others sitting far away.
It started to walk over, but Reiji immediately raised a hand to stop it.
"Magmar, stay there for a second. Poliwrath, take a thermometer over and check the temperature."
"Wrath." Poliwrath took the thermometer and approached carefully.
It had seen Magmar evolve yesterday. Anything that could bathe in lava was not something to take lightly.
Poliwrath moved close, then quickly came back. It hadn't felt any dangerous heat, only a mild warmth. For a Fire-type, that was normal.
"Good. Looks like you've got it under control, Magmar." Reiji checked the thermometer. It had only risen by five or six degrees, which was nothing unusual for a Fire-type that could soak in lava.
"Mag…" Magmar scratched its head awkwardly.
Yesterday had been a little much. Its body had been full of restless, scorching heat, and it hadn't been able to control it. After a night's rest, it could finally suppress Flame Body properly.
"All right, come eat. This is your breakfast." Reiji took out Fire-type Pokéblocks. The spicy flavor should suit Magmar well.
"Mar!" Magmar hurried over and sat down with everyone.
As it ate, it kept sneaking glances at Poliwrath. Yesterday, Poliwhirl had still been so much smaller.
Magmar had thought that once it evolved, it would be much taller than Poliwhirl. Who knew Poliwhirl would evolve too—and end up taller than it?
An average Magmar was about 1.3 meters tall. Reiji's Magmar was only a little shorter than Poliwrath, close enough that the difference wasn't obvious at a glance. Blaine really was something. This Magby had definitely been raised with care.
Reiji noticed it too. Both Poliwrath and Magmar were much taller than average. This kind of size difference was normal for Pokémon that had been raised well by their Trainers. Good training and plenty of nutrition often made them grow larger and stronger than average.
After breakfast with the team, Reiji still didn't see Mewtwo. He had already fed the cloned Pokémon, so he began packing for Mikan Gym.
He didn't bring every Pokémon this time. He took Toxicroak and a few others, plus the newly evolved Poliwrath and Magmar. He also brought the Pokémon that needed close care, like Dratini. The rest stayed at the lakeside cabin under Butterfree's watch.
Dratini had shed its skin that morning, probably because it had been eating so well lately and growing nonstop.
That was a good sign. Every shed meant its potential could rise. Once Dratini shed enough and its body stopped growing, it would be time for it to evolve.
Reiji recalled the Pokémon he was taking with him, let Gengar settle into his shadow, then rode Pelipper toward Mikan Gym's orchard with Farfetch'd and Riolu.
The route to the Gym passed by Cissy's family orchard, so he could check on it and drop Riolu off there on the way.
Before long, they reached the air above the orchard. Pelipper descended beneath a citrus tree heavy with fruit, and Reiji released Riolu from its Poké Ball before turning to Farfetch'd.
"Farfetch'd, you can go back for lunch. I left Pokéblocks in the room. You and Butterfree keep order and make sure everyone gets fed."
"Far." Farfetch'd nodded, its leek resting on its shoulder. It glanced at the silent Riolu beside it but didn't say anything. This was something Riolu had to decide on its own.
"I'm heading out. I'll be leaving the island again in a couple of days. If you run into trouble, go to the Gym for me. If I'm not there, ask someone else for help."
Reiji climbed back onto Pelipper, picked a ripe citrus fruit, gave Farfetch'd one last reminder, and flew on toward the Gym.
Farfetch'd watched him leave, then took Riolu along to patrol the orchard. This was their territory now.
"Far." Farfetch'd looked back at the quiet Riolu and asked if it really didn't want to leave. Was it truly planning to spend its life guarding an orchard with Farfetch'd?
Riolu stayed silent.
Farfetch'd didn't press for an answer. Instead, it began talking about its own past, a memory it rarely wanted to touch.
It told Riolu that it had once hated humans too. In fact, it had hated them even more than Riolu did, because it had watched humans eat its companions right in front of it.
Riolu stopped walking.
For a moment, it was too shocked to make a sound.
It had been whipped often, but it had never seen its own kind eaten. It had seen other Pokémon turned into food, but by the time it saw them, they were already dead and cooked into soup.
Farfetch'd went on.
It had wanted revenge once. But it had learned that humans were not all the same. The Pokémon hunters who ate its companions were already dead. It had heard that from other Pokémon.
Reiji had killed them.
And the humans who whipped Riolu were gone too.
Reiji had killed them as well.
"Far." Farfetch'd tapped the stunned Riolu with one wing.
It wasn't telling Riolu this so it would let go of its hatred. Farfetch'd couldn't do that either.
It had simply buried that hatred deep and saved it for the people who deserved it—the ones who hurt it, hurt its companions, or threatened this home.
That was the purpose Farfetch'd had found for itself. It would protect this hard-won little home and everyone who lived here. Reiji was the human who had given it that home.
Farfetch'd kept talking as they walked.
They eventually reached the hilltop and lay down beneath a citrus tree. Farfetch'd continued, its voice softer now.
Riolu was different from the others. Farfetch'd could tell it wanted strength. It wanted battle too. It was only holding itself back because of what had happened before.
The power inside Riolu was real. Farfetch'd had seen it during Poliwhirl's evolution, when it had secretly opened its eyes. That had been a good first step, and Farfetch'd raised one wing as if to praise it.
Everyone in this family had something they could do. Farfetch'd guarded the orchard. Butterfree looked after the little ones.
Riolu shouldn't stay hidden here forever. It belonged on a bigger stage, somewhere like the Indigo Plateau Conference.
After saying so much, Farfetch'd sighed. It knew how stubborn it had once been. Riolu wouldn't change easily either, so it didn't expect one conversation to fix everything.
It had been trying to talk Riolu through this for a while now. Whether any of it was getting through, it couldn't tell. In the end, Farfetch'd only said one more thing.
"Far… Our Trainer needs you. Everyone needs you."
"Butterfree looks after the little ones. I like the quiet orchard. What do you like? What do you want to do? There has to be something. If you find it, then do it. Don't let who you were back then decide who you are now."
"Lu..."
Riolu answered softly, then lay down beside Farfetch'd with its hands behind its head. It listened to Farfetch'd's nagging without feeling annoyed.
A breeze passed through the trees, shaking loose a few citrus leaves. The scent of fruit drifted through the air.
This really was a good place.
Riolu felt sleepy.
Since coming here, the nightmares had stopped. Maybe it was the orchard. Maybe it was Farfetch'd. Maybe it was that strange human.
Whatever the reason, everything here was peaceful.
Jingle. Jingle.
The bell at its chest rang softly.
Riolu closed its eyes. Its breathing gradually evened out, but its heart was not nearly as calm.
For the first time, it felt lost.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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