Chapter 205

Chapter 205: Chapter 205

Aaron, meanwhile, had already walked straight up to Kleavor and begun inspecting it like a child who had just discovered a new insect species.

"So it’s still a Bug-type?"

He tapped Kleavor’s body and immediately frowned.

"Then why does it feel as hard as rock?"

"Because Kleavor is Bug/Rock type," Mike explained.

Roark’s eyes lit up even brighter.

Bug/Rock.

In other words, this Pokémon really was practically made for him.

Kleavor seemed eager to test its new strength. It walked toward a nearby small tree, drew back one stone axe, and swung.

The blade cut straight through the trunk.

As the tree fell, countless fragments of broken stone seemed to scatter from the force of the attack and briefly hover around the area before fading from sight.

Cynthia narrowed her eyes.

"Stealth Rock?"

"No."

Mike shook his head.

"What it used just now was a physical attack, but the shattered stone created a lingering hazard afterward."

Everyone turned toward him.

Mike continued, "According to surviving records, Kleavor has an exclusive move called Stone Axe. It attacks with one of the stone axes on its arms, and the fragments scattered by the strike remain around the opponent’s side of the field as a hazard."

The researchers looked at him.

"According to records?"

Mike paused.

Right.

Modern battling didn’t have information nearly this complete.

He coughed lightly.

"Maybe my instincts for Pokémon are just unusually good again."

Nobody bothered digging further into it.

At this point, they were all used to Mike suddenly knowing things he logically shouldn’t.

...

Professor Sycamore looked toward the remaining Black Augurite.

"Shall we continue?"

Mike nodded.

"There are still the two Scyther from Professor Oak’s laboratory."

Aaron frowned.

"But those two couldn’t evolve earlier."

"Exactly."

Mike turned toward the professors.

"So release them first."

Everyone immediately understood what he meant.

The two Scyther had already been captured when they first attempted the evolution and had been unable to absorb Black Augurite properly.

A wild Scyther had now demonstrated that the evolutionary process itself worked, which gave them a perfect comparison group.

If the laboratory Scyther were formally released and then became capable of evolving, it would strongly support the hypothesis that the barrier wasn’t genetic—it was somehow connected to their captured state.

Professor Oak nodded.

"That method is worth trying."

Professor Sycamore smiled.

"You support Mike’s idea too?"

Professor Oak glanced at him.

"This is research. If a hypothesis can be tested safely, you test it."

Roark laughed.

"I keep telling you, Mike really is suited for research."

The others naturally had no objection.

Mike spoke briefly with the two Scyther, and after receiving their agreement, the assistants recalled them into their Poké Balls one final time before formally releasing them.

The two Scyther appeared again outside their Poké Balls.

Monitoring devices were fitted to them just as before.

Mike, Aaron, and Roark watched carefully as Black Augurite was handed to each of them.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then both stones responded.

The Black Augurite softened into that same strange mineral energy and began flowing into the Scyther’s bodies.

Professor Oak and Professor Sycamore looked at one another.

Their eyes lit up.

The two Scyther cried out as the ancient energy entered them, but this time there was no doubt about what was happening.

Their bodies began responding exactly as the wild leader’s had, and before long, blue-white evolutionary light swallowed them both.

Aaron looked toward Professor Oak in surprise.

"Why do they always sound so excited when they evolve?"

Professor Oak laughed.

"When we researched Wyrdeer, we observed something similar. Their bloodline is being reactivated. These ancient forms once genuinely existed, but changes in the environment caused those traits to fall dormant over generations."

He gestured toward the glowing Scyther.

"What we’re doing isn’t forcing something unnatural into them. We’re reawakening something that was already part of their lineage and allowing their bodies to adapt to it again."

The light gradually faded.

Two more Kleavor stood before them.

Professor Oak immediately smiled.

"Mike’s hypothesis was correct."

He looked toward the assistants recording the result.

"Scyther’s evolution into Kleavor is tied to a condition associated with life in the wild. A captured Scyther may lose access to that evolutionary mechanism, but releasing it can restore the conditions necessary for Black Augurite to function."

Aaron nodded.

"That’s strong theoretical support."

The assistants continued writing furiously.

...

There was still Black Augurite remaining, and everyone’s attention once again turned toward Mike.

Mike walked over to the Kleavor leader—the Scyther leader that had evolved first—and asked, "Do the others in your colony want to evolve too?"

Kleavor looked toward its clan and thought for a while before shaking its head.

"Klahr."

[They still need time. They need to understand it first.]

Mike wasn’t surprised.

"You can make the decision for now. That’s fine. There’s no need to force anyone into becoming stronger before they’re ready."

Kleavor nodded.

Several Scyther from the colony had gathered around by then, staring at their leader’s unfamiliar new body with obvious curiosity.

Eventually, one of them stepped forward.

The leader looked at it.

The Scyther gave a loud cry and willingly reached for the remaining Black Augurite.

Another evolution began.

Then another.

By the time every piece of Black Augurite they had brought had been used, the first modern group of Kleavor had fully appeared before them.

Seven Kleavor now stood in the clearing.

One of the newly evolved Pokémon approached the original leader and accompanied it toward Mike.

The leader bowed its head slightly in gratitude.

Mike smiled.

"Kleavor is another evolutionary path that your clan lost a very long time ago."

He looked across the group.

"It’s powerful, but remember something important. Whether you become Kleavor or Scizor, both forms ultimately come from Scyther. You aren’t separate peoples just because you evolve differently."

Mike’s expression became a little more serious.

"Don’t hate one form because it’s different from the other, and don’t treat one evolutionary path as inferior just because you chose another."

The Kleavor leader listened carefully before nodding.

Mike quietly exhaled.

In practice, once enough Kleavor existed again, Kleavor and Scizor would probably develop into distinct communities simply because their forms, environments, and lifestyles differed. Still, they shared the same roots, and that was what mattered for now.

Mike looked toward the leader once more.

"According to our agreement, the researchers may need to return here for follow-up observation. Is that all right?"

Kleavor nodded.

"Klahr."

[Yes. They may approach our territory.]

Mike smiled and rubbed the top of its head.

Before evolving, the Scyther leader had clearly disliked being petted by him even with Mike’s Bug-type affinity.

Now, after everything they had gone through together, it no longer objected in the slightest.

Mike looked at the faint irritation still visible on Kleavor’s face and shook his head with amusement.

’You were practically ready to chop my hand off earlier, and now you’re completely used to it!’

He returned to Professor Oak and the others.

"Professor, they won’t actively participate in every experiment you want to conduct, but they’ll allow researchers near their territory."

Professor Oak nodded.

"Understood."

"One more thing. Kleavor’s temperament is still very mild compared with what people might expect from its appearance, but you should keep proper safety measures in place during future battle research. If any experiment requires direct physical contact or anything that might make them uncomfortable, ask for their consent first."

Professor Oak nodded again.

"We understand."

At last, Mike turned toward everyone gathered in the clearing.

Behind him stood seven newly evolved Kleavor—Pokémon that had vanished from the modern world for generations and had now returned through the rediscovery of Black Augurite.

Mike smiled and spread his hands.

"Everyone, your Black Augurite research project has taken another step forward."

He turned slightly so the cameras could capture the Kleavor behind him.

"Kleavor has returned to our world!"

Applause immediately erupted throughout the clearing.

Professor Oak laughed.

"Yes, yes."

Professor Rowan smiled with equal satisfaction.

"There are still plenty of details about the evolutionary process that need further study, but the result itself is beautiful."

Everyone else was just as excited.

After Wyrdeer, another ancient evolutionary form from the Hisui era had finally returned to the modern world.