Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Chapter 210

The next morning, Mike stepped out of his room as usual with a toothbrush hanging from his mouth.

Leaning against the corridor railing, he looked down into the courtyard and found Cynthia and the others already gathered below.

Compared with yesterday, however, there were several new faces.

Sitting beside Cynthia was an elderly woman with short gray-white hair.

The moment Mike saw her familiar face and clothing, he recognized Bertha, one of Sinnoh’s Elite Four.

She wore the wrinkles of age comfortably, usually wrapped herself in a thick brown scarf, and favored simple, durable clothes in earthy colors that suited a Ground-type specialist perfectly.

Beside Lucian sat a broad-shouldered middle-aged man with short black hair, firm features, and a calm, steady gaze.

He wore a reddish-brown jacket over a white shirt, dark trousers, and wooden sandals, his sturdy build and quiet presence giving him the dependable air of a grown man who had weathered plenty in life.

Norman, the Gym Leader of Petalburg City in Hoenn and an expert on Normal-type Pokémon, was widely regarded as a Trainer whose strength approached Elite Four level.

The last newcomer was considerably harder to ignore.

A handsome man dressed in an immaculate dark-gray suit sat beside Norman, carrying himself with effortless elegance.

His short silver-blue hair stirred faintly in the breeze, his clear blue eyes calm and refined, while a wine-red tie complemented his suit.

A mineral brooch on his chest caught the morning light with every subtle movement.

Steven Stone.

Former Hoenn Champion and the heir to Devon Corporation.

Mike had to admit it.

Steven was ridiculously handsome... well slightly less handsome that himself but still handsome!

Still brushing his teeth, Mike looked down at himself, then compared himself with Steven for several seconds.

’All right.’

’I still win by a little right?’

Perfectly satisfied with that conclusion, Mike returned to the bathroom and finished washing up.

By the time he entered the courtyard, Cynthia had already noticed him approaching.

"This is Mike, the person currently responsible for much of our work involving the evolution of Pokémon from the Hisui era," she introduced. "Mike, this is Bertha of the Sinnoh Elite Four. The other two are Norman from Hoenn and Steven Stone."

"Nice to meet you."

Bertha gave him a warm nod. "Likewise. I enjoy watching your videos quite a bit. When are you planning to make one about Ground-type Pokémon?"

"Uh... once I have enough footage."

Mike scratched his head before taking a seat.

He then offered Norman his hand.

"Good morning, Gym Leader Norman."

"Good morning, Research Assistant Mike."

Norman shook his hand firmly.

"We’ll be relying on you quite a bit this time," Mike said.

"I’ll cooperate however I can." Norman laughed. "To tell you the truth, I’m genuinely curious about what Ursaring becomes after evolving. I raise an Ursaring myself."

Mike finally turned toward Steven and extended his hand.

"Champion Steven, nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Mike."

Steven’s voice was every bit as gentle as his appearance suggested.

His attention, however, quickly shifted toward the open case nearby.

"Is this the Black Augurite that allows Scyther to evolve?"

"Yeah—wait."

Mike blinked.

"When did that arrive?"

"Roark sent it over this morning," Cynthia explained from nearby. "They had just excavated another batch, and since the research here needs it, he had it rushed over immediately rather than delaying us."

"Oh, that explains it."

Steven carefully picked up one of the pieces and examined the glossy black mineral from several angles.

His curiosity visibly increased the longer he looked.

"I feel as though I’ve seen this mineral somewhere before," he murmured. "If I remember correctly, I treated it as an ordinary stone at the time and tossed it into one of our storage rooms."

Mike laughed.

"Then you should look for it when you get back. Maybe it’s still sitting there."

"You’re right. I will."

Steven returned the Black Augurite before looking toward Mike again.

"By the way, would it be possible for me to see the mineral used in Ursaring’s evolution as well? I have to admit, I’m extremely curious about that one too."

"Of course."

Mike glanced toward Lucian, who stood and retrieved the Peat Block before handing it over.

Steven put on gloves before taking it, turning the dark block over carefully in his hands.

"This looks almost like coal."

"It basically is," Mike said. "Once Peat Blocks are dried, they can actually be burned as fuel much like coal."

"So that’s why."

Steven studied it with renewed fascination.

"And Ursaring truly evolves into Ursaluna using something like this?"

"If you’re not in a hurry to leave, you can stay and see it yourself," Mike said with a smile. "You might get to witness Ursaluna reappear with your own eyes."

Steven looked toward him and returned the smile.

"That’s exactly why I came. I’d very much like to witness Ursaluna’s appearance personally."

At that moment, Professor Oak’s voice came from the entrance.

"Looks like everyone’s here."

The group turned as Professor Oak, Professor Rowan, and Professor Kukui entered the courtyard.

"Professors."

Everyone greeted them.

Professor Rowan nodded before looking toward Bertha, Norman, and Steven.

"Thank you for making the trip."

"It’s no trouble," Steven replied first. "Seeing an ancient Pokémon return to the modern world is something we’d all like to witness."

Norman grinned. "And depending on what Ursaluna is like, maybe it’ll even become a Pokémon I’d want to train myself."

Bertha smiled as well.

"I’m looking forward to seeing it."

Professor Rowan glanced around the group.

"If everyone’s ready, shall we head out now? The new Black Augurite has already arrived, so we may be able to learn more about Kleavor today as well—perhaps even identify its Hidden Ability."

"Kleavor?"

Steven immediately looked interested.

"You mean you’ve already confirmed Scyther’s other evolution?"

Professor Rowan nodded.

"Come see for yourself."

"May I?"

"Of course. It’s hardly something that needs to be kept from you, and we’ll need your help with the Ursaring research soon enough anyway."

With that settled, the group left Celestic Town and headed into the nearby forest.

...

At the research site, Steven soon found himself standing in front of a Pokémon he had never seen before.

Its overall shape still resembled Scyther, but the scythes on its forearms had transformed into heavy stone axes, while rough mineral structures covered much of its body.

"So this is Kleavor..."

Steven studied it with unmistakable interest.

"Scyther really does have another evolutionary branch," Norman remarked beside him.

One of the professors approached the colony leader and asked whether any additional Scyther were willing to undergo evolution for the continuing research.

After consulting its colony, the leader brought several willing Scyther forward.

The researchers had received a new supply of Black Augurite, so they were able to continue expanding the sample size while keeping some pieces in reserve.

Steven watched without blinking as the Scyther accepted the mineral.

The Black Augurite softened into that peculiar flowing energy they had previously documented and entered the Pokémon’s bodies, immediately drawing a look of surprise from him.

The Scyther cried out as the energy spread through them, but as time passed, evolutionary light began radiating from their bodies.

Their silhouettes shifted inside the glow as their slim scythes broadened into heavy axes and stone-like structures formed across their bodies.

When the light finally dispersed, several newly evolved Kleavor stood before the researchers.

Norman stared.

He had known what he was about to see, yet watching an evolutionary form believed lost since the Hisui era appear directly in front of him was still astonishing.

Research assistants quickly moved in to check the new Kleavor’s physical condition, after which Professor Rowan and the others began another round of examinations from multiple angles.

Once they had confirmed that none of the new specimens immediately revealed the Hidden Ability they were searching for, the group eventually returned to the courtyard for lunch.

...

By the time everyone gathered beneath the trees around the stone tables, the hottest part of the year had already begun giving way to cooler Sinnoh weather.

The air was comfortable enough that nobody felt particularly bothered sitting outside.

Professor Rowan and Professor Oak went through the Ursaring evolution plan in detail, concentrating especially on Norman and Bertha.

Once they had finished, Norman contributed suggestions based on his experience with Normal-type Pokémon, while Bertha offered observations from the perspective of a Ground-type specialist.

The professors discussed each proposal, keeping the ideas they considered useful and folding them into the experimental plan.

Mike stretched and glanced around.

Lucian was staring blankly into space.

Cynthia sat nearby with her eyes closed, quietly resting.

Steven, meanwhile, had somehow acquired both a piece of Black Augurite and the Peat Block and was happily examining the two minerals as though the meeting were merely background noise.

The actual discussion was being handled almost entirely by the professors, Bertha, and Norman, but that was hardly strange.

For this particular part of the research, they were the real specialists.

When the discussion finally paused and Professor Rowan took a drink, Mike leaned over.

"Professor Rowan, are you free later?"

Rowan looked at him.

"What is it? Need help with something?"

"Yeah. Gholdengo Bro’s Gimmighoul is ready to evolve, so I wanted to ask whether you’d have time to supervise the process."

"Oh, him? Certainly. When are you doing it? Over video?"

"No need. He’s already on his way here and should arrive pretty soon."

Mike had barely finished speaking when the unmistakable sound of helicopter rotors began thundering overhead.

Everyone looked up.

A figure was sliding down a rope from the helicopter.

Mike was speechless.

’Do people who own helicopters have some kind of rule that says they have to make every landing as dramatic as possible?’

Manryo dropped neatly into the courtyard and was just about to greet Mike when he finally noticed everyone gathered around him.

Several renowned professors.

A former Champion.

Sinnoh’s Champion.

Elite Four members.

A Gym Leader whose strength approached the Elite Four.

Manryo froze.

’Are... all these people here waiting for me?’

’What did I do to deserve this?’

Mike grinned at his expression.

"Long time no see, Gholdengo Bro."

Manryo finally recovered and greeted him politely.

"Long time no see, Mike."

Then he drew a slow breath and, like someone reading from an attendance sheet, proceeded to greet practically every major name present one by one.

Everyone returned the greeting.

Only after surviving that ordeal did Manryo edge closer to Mike and lower his voice.

"This is...?"

"What do you think? Pretty impressive, right? I gathered all these people for you."

Mike smiled brightly.

Manryo looked like he might cry!

"Impressive? The only thing I’m feeling right now is pressure..."

"Relax. They’re all here to discuss Ursaring’s evolution. Your Gimmighoul evolving is just a little side event."

Manryo: "..."

’That somehow makes me feel worse!’

Professor Rowan looked over.

"So Gimmighoul is ready to evolve?"

He glanced toward Manryo.

"Would you mind letting it out so I can check it first?"

"Of course."

Manryo immediately released Gimmighoul.

The Chest Form Gimmighoul appeared, took one look at the terrifying number of powerful humans and Pokémon surrounding it, began trembling, and promptly slammed the lid of its chest shut.

Steven rested a hand against his chin.

"A Paldean Gimmighoul. If I remember correctly, once it evolves, it becomes Gholdengo—a Steel-type Pokémon."

"Steel/Ghost," Cynthia corrected from nearby. "And a very capable one."

Professor Rowan crouched beside the chest and carefully examined Gimmighoul.

After a short while, he stood again and smiled at Manryo.

"It’s in excellent health. It can evolve whenever you’re ready."

"Thank you."

Manryo bowed politely.

"No need. It’s nothing." Rowan chuckled. "If anything, we should be thanking you for the Peat Block you provided. Without that, our Ursaring evolution project might have been delayed much longer."

"That was Gimmighoul’s contribution too."

Manryo looked toward the closed chest.

"It was the one that picked up the Peat Block and kept it for me in the first place."

"I see."

Professor Rowan nodded before asking, "Do you want to evolve it now, or would you prefer to wait?"

"If possible, now. It’s been impatient for quite a while."

"That’s fine. As I understand it, once Gimmighoul has gathered nine hundred and ninety-nine Gimmighoul Coins, it only needs to gain enough experience to trigger the evolution. You already have the coins?"

"They’re ready."

"Then a battle should do nicely."

Manryo nodded.

Mike immediately moved behind Professor Rowan.

"All right, Bro. Other than me, Professor Rowan, and Professor Oak, you can choose anyone here to battle. I’m sure they’d all be delighted to help Gimmighoul gain some experience."

Professor Rowan slowly looked over his shoulder.

’Why exactly are you hiding behind me?’

Manryo stared at the collection of Champions and Elite Four members around him.

’You want me to battle these people?’

’Are we trying to help Gimmighoul level up, or give it a lifelong trauma?’

"I want to battle you."

Manryo pointed at Mike.

Mike immediately shook his head.

"That won’t work. Battling me would be horribly inefficient. Gimmighoul would take forever to gain experience."

Manryo: "..."

"I’ll do it."

Steven rose with an easy smile.

"I’d like to see Gholdengo for myself once the evolution is complete."

Manryo looked toward the silver-haired heir of Devon Corporation and former Hoenn Champion before bowing politely.

"Then I’ll trouble you, Champion Steven."

"No trouble at all, heir of the Hisaishisai family."

Manryo blinked.

’Hisaishisai?’

Mike blinked too.

’So that’s Gholdengo Bro’s family name?’

"Mr. Stone, you know my family?"

Manryo sounded equally surprised.

Steven smiled.

"We met once before. Devon Corporation has done business with your company, and the fossil restoration technology your company uses was provided through us."

Understanding dawned on Manryo’s face.

He gave a formal introduction.

"Manryo Hisaishisai."

"Steven Stone."

Their introductions were equally polished.

Mike watched them and only now realized that Manryo wasn’t merely some wealthy executive working for somebody else.

He was apparently the heir—or perhaps even one of the people running the company itself.

That raised an important question.

’Between Manryo and Steven, which one is actually richer?’