Chapter 270

Chapter 270: Chapter 270

"That’s the spirit. Keep up the good work." Mike nodded encouragingly at Candice.

"You know, now that I think about it..." Lorelei turned her attention toward the Hisuian Avalugg cooperating with the researchers.

"When I first saw these Pokémon, I didn’t think much of their appearance. But the longer I look at them, the more appealing they become."

Mike smiled.

"They look pretty cool, don’t they?"

"Well, they’re ugly, but in a strangely impressive way," Lorelei replied. "You can tell they’re incredibly powerful just by looking at them. And that enormous shovel beneath their jaws looks like it would make traveling remarkably convenient."

Mike: "..."

He couldn’t exactly argue with that description.

"Actually, you’re not wrong," he admitted. "From what I understand, the shovel-like structure beneath Hisuian Avalugg’s jaw is primarily used for traveling. They can simply charge forward, plowing through obstacles and clearing whatever happens to be in their way."

Lorelei glanced at the enormous Pokémon again before turning back toward him.

"Does that mean Hisuian Avalugg might be better suited to the modern world than some of the other Hisuian Pokémon we’ve rediscovered?"

"Possibly."

Mike considered the question.

"The main difference between Hisuian Avalugg and ordinary Avalugg is their body structure. Modern Avalugg are composed almost entirely of ice, whereas Hisuian Avalugg have bodies made largely of rock."

He gestured toward the rocky limbs of the Pokémon undergoing examination.

"That also means Hisuian Avalugg wouldn’t necessarily have to spend all their time living on snowy mountains."

Unlike their modern counterparts, they might be capable of adapting to a wider variety of environments.

The two continued chatting for a while before Professor Kukui approached with the other researchers.

He was holding a sheet of paper.

"We’ve finished calculating the approximate values."

Kukui placed the paper on the table.

"Hisuian Avalugg’s base stats."

Everyone immediately gathered around, curious to see the results.

Mike leaned forward and glanced at the figures.

Hisuian Avalugg — Base Stats

HP: 95

Attack: 127

Defense: 184

Sp. Attack: 34

Sp. Defense: 36

Speed: 38

Total: 514

Mike examined the numbers.

’Yep.’

They matched Hisuian Avalugg’s actual base stats perfectly.

Lorelei studied the distribution with growing interest.

"Look at that Defense..."

She paused.

"An excellent physical wall. And with that Attack stat and such low Speed, it could also make a formidable physical attacker under Trick Room."

Her gaze moved toward the rest of the information.

"I wonder what Abilities it has."

"The overall stat distribution is certainly impressive," Lucian agreed. "Unfortunately, with Special Defense that low, it could be overwhelmed pretty quickly by a powerful special attacker."

He adjusted his glasses.

"Still, depending on its Abilities, Hisuian Avalugg could become a very useful choice for certain teams."

Cynthia studied the enormous Pokémon nearby.

"Judging by its appearance, Strong Jaw seems like a possibility."

She gestured toward Hisuian Avalugg’s lower jaw.

"That shovel-like structure is actually part of its jaw, after all. It can open and separate, which would make Strong Jaw quite fitting."

Although Hisuian Avalugg’s jaw resembled a single enormous shovel when closed, it wasn’t a solid, immovable structure.

The two sides could separate when the Pokémon opened its mouth.

Lorelei considered Cynthia’s suggestion.

"Strong Jaw does sound plausible. But since it’s still an Ice-type, Ice Body might also be possible."

Candice, who’d been listening attentively, couldn’t resist joining the discussion.

"What about Snow Cloak?"

"Snow Cloak?"

Lorelei thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Looking at Hisuian Avalugg’s Speed, I don’t think Snow Cloak is particularly likely."

"Perhaps Snow Warning," Lucian suggested from the side.

With everyone offering their own guesses, Mike decided to join in.

"Since you’re all suggesting Abilities associated with Ice-types, I’ll make a guess based on its Rock typing."

The others turned toward him.

"From what I know about Rock-type Pokémon, there’s a possibility Hisuian Avalugg’s Hidden Ability is Sturdy."

Mike smiled slightly.

"Rock-type Pokémon and Sturdy have always had a pretty strong association."

He continued, "And don’t forget, Hisuian Avalugg and ordinary Avalugg are fundamentally the same species. Their appearances changed over the centuries, with the ancient Hisuian form eventually giving way to the modern form."

"That means their Abilities might not have changed at all. Or perhaps only some of them changed."

Lorelei’s expression became thoughtful.

"If that’s the case..."

She recalled what she knew about modern Avalugg.

"Ordinary Avalugg can have Own Tempo or Ice Body, while their Hidden Ability is Sturdy, correct?"

She glanced toward Hisuian Avalugg again.

"Then the three most likely possibilities would be Strong Jaw, Ice Body, and Sturdy."

Professor Oak approached just in time to hear her conclusion.

"Strong Jaw, Ice Body, and Sturdy?"

He considered the suggestion.

"That’s a reasonable deduction."

After thinking for another moment, he nodded.

"Lorelei’s reasoning makes sense. Let’s begin by checking whether these three Abilities are present."

Then Professor Oak looked toward Mike.

A rather amused expression appeared on his face.

"You little rascal. You’ve finally learned to work through the evidence and arrive at a conclusion instead of immediately announcing the answer."

Mike: "..."

He pressed his lips together.

For once, he didn’t dare say anything.

Professor Oak’s observation had hit a little too close to home.

...

After resting for a while, the researchers discussed their next steps.

Once everyone had finished lunch, Professor Oak and the others returned to their work, concentrating on identifying Hisuian Avalugg’s Abilities.

Mike watched them leave before turning toward Cynthia and the other Trainers.

"Hey, how about we have a celebration tonight?"

"A celebration?"

Cynthia looked at him, one eyebrow rising slightly.

"Yeah!"

Mike nodded enthusiastically.

"We’ve discovered an entirely new method of evolution! That’s definitely worth celebrating, don’t you think?"

Cynthia considered the suggestion.

Then she nodded.

"Sounds good."

The others readily agreed.

"Great! I’ll start getting everything ready."

Mike rose from his chair and headed off to prepare the ingredients for that evening’s celebration.

After finishing the preparations, he returned to the rest area.

Not long afterward, Professor Kukui and the others came back from examining the Hisuian Avalugg.

Lucian looked up as Kukui placed a clipboard on the table.

"Already? That was quick."

"We already had a pretty good idea of what to look for," Kukui explained.

He poured himself a cup of hot tea and drank it in one go before continuing.

"Once you’ve narrowed down the possibilities, identifying the Abilities isn’t particularly difficult."

"Let me see!"

Candice leaned toward the clipboard and began reading the results aloud.

"Strong Jaw... Ice Body... Sturdy..."

Her eyes widened.

"Wait! Those really are the three Abilities?!"

Her surprised voice immediately attracted everyone’s attention.

Mike leaned forward.

"Seriously? We got all three right?"

"Indeed."

Professor Oak nodded.

"We examined five Hisuian Avalugg, and between them, we found all three Abilities."

He paused before adding a qualification.

"However, we still haven’t definitively established which one is the Hidden Ability. We’ll need to examine more individuals before we can confirm that."

He glanced toward the clipboard.

"Based on what we know about ordinary Avalugg, though, Sturdy is the most likely candidate."

"Sturdy is a pretty good Ability," Mike remarked.

Lorelei looked toward him curiously.

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Because Sturdy combined with Mirror Coat would be a nightmare for special attackers."

Mike explained, "Even if Hisuian Avalugg’s Special Defense is terrible, Sturdy can prevent it from being knocked out by a single attack when it’s at full health. If it survives a powerful special attack and retaliates with Mirror Coat, the opponent could be in serious trouble."

"Mirror Coat..."

Professor Kukui stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Can Hisuian Avalugg actually learn Mirror Coat?"

He looked toward the Pokémon being examined.

"I haven’t confirmed that yet. But if we use ordinary Avalugg as a reference, it certainly isn’t impossible."

"Mirror Coat..."

Lorelei repeated the move’s name quietly.

She was already considering how she might train her future Hisuian Avalugg.

A Pokémon with such formidable physical defenses, combined with a way to punish special attackers, could be very interesting indeed.

Professor Rowan leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead.

"Well, we’ve more or less established the fundamentals now."

He looked toward the remaining Bergmite.

"From here, we’ll need to assign researchers to continue teaching Bergmite Mountain Gale and helping them evolve. The more successful evolutions we document, the more data we’ll have to verify our conclusions."

Mike nodded.

Then another thought occurred to him.

"Actually, Professor, there’s something we need to consider."

Everyone looked toward him.

"What happens when we publicly announce Hisuian Avalugg’s evolution method?"

Mike glanced around the research area.

"We’ve confirmed that the unusual magnetic field here and Mountain Gale are both essential. Without either one, Bergmite won’t evolve into Hisuian Avalugg."

He continued, "But if we publish those requirements, doesn’t that mean every Trainer who wants a Hisuian Avalugg will have to bring their Bergmite here to evolve?"

The others fell quiet.

Mike gestured toward the surrounding mountains.

"This is still the natural habitat of the Abomasnow, Mamoswine, and other wild Pokémon living here. Articuno lives nearby too."

He frowned slightly.

"If large numbers of Trainers start coming here, they’ll inevitably disturb the local Pokémon. And if Articuno gets angry, things could become dangerous very quickly."

That wasn’t the only concern.

"Besides, the deeper parts of Mount Coronet are far too dangerous for ordinary Trainers."

Even reaching the research site required traveling through harsh mountain terrain.

Allowing inexperienced Trainers to come here simply to evolve their Bergmite would be asking for trouble.

The researchers considered the problem.

For a while, nobody spoke.

Then Oleana raised her head.

"Perhaps we could reproduce the magnetic field."

Everyone turned toward her.

"Reproduce it?" Mike repeated.

Oleana nodded.

"Think about Haunter evolving into Gengar."

She began explaining her idea.

"In the wild, Haunter can evolve into Gengar under certain special magnetic-field conditions. But after being captured, it can also evolve through a Link Trade."

She continued, "The principle behind that evolution involves the magnetic field generated during the machine-assisted exchange process."

"If we apply similar technology to the magnetic field here, we might be able to reproduce the conditions required for Bergmite to evolve into Hisuian Avalugg."

Oleana paused to organize her thoughts.

"Of course, constructing facilities that generate this specific magnetic field in every region would be extremely expensive. The costs would probably outweigh the benefits."

She looked toward Mike.

"But we could potentially adapt existing Link Trade technology instead."

Her expression became more animated as she explained the concept.

"If we can reproduce the magnetic field’s properties inside the trading equipment, Bergmite could pass through the required field during a Link Trade and undergo evolution without ever needing to visit Mount Coronet."

The suggestion immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Instead of bringing every Bergmite to this dangerous mountain range, they could bring the necessary evolutionary conditions to the Trainers themselves.

It was an entirely different approach.

Unfortunately, Candice was beginning to look lost.

’Link Trade?’

’Specialized equipment?’

’Copying magnetic fields?’

She glanced from one researcher to another.

’Wait...’

’Doesn’t Bergmite just need to evolve inside that special magnetic field?’

’How did the conversation suddenly get so complicated?!’

Mike, however, was genuinely interested.

"Would that actually work?"

Oleana opened her tablet.

After navigating through several documents, she pulled up some earlier research papers concerning Link Trade technology and handed the tablet to him.

"These papers discuss some of the relevant principles."

She pointed toward the information on the screen.

"So theoretically, this approach should be viable."

Then she added, "Of course, artificially reproducing a particular magnetic field would require considerable time and funding."

Mike continued reading.

"However, we wouldn’t necessarily need to recreate the entire environment," Oleana explained. "Our main task would be to analyze the energy characteristics of this magnetic field and find a way to reproduce them inside the exchange equipment."

She smiled slightly.

"Overall, I believe the chances of success are quite high."

Mike carefully examined the papers for a while.

Then he looked up.

"Oleana."

"Yes, Boss?"

"Can you do it?"

Oleana considered the question.

"It shouldn’t be too difficult in principle. However, I’d need help from several researchers who specialize in magnetic fields."

"Magnetic fields, huh..."

Professor Kukui spoke up.

"Professor Burnet from Alola might be able to help."

He thought for a moment.

"Her main research concerns other dimensions, Ultra Wormholes, and the magnetic phenomena associated with them, so her field isn’t exactly the same."

He smiled.

"But she’s also my best friend."

"If we’re talking about magnetic fields involved in evolution, I can offer some assistance as well," Professor Rowan said.

Everyone turned toward him.

"Before we began researching Hisuian Pokémon, one of my projects involved the special evolutionary magnetic fields found around Mount Coronet."

He continued, "For example, Magneton can evolve into Magnezone under the influence of such a field, while Nosepass can evolve into Probopass."

Professor Oak nodded thoughtfully.

"And if the goal is to incorporate those conditions into trading equipment, perhaps Bill could help."

He looked toward Mike.

"After all, he’s the one who developed the Pokémon exchange technology we’re discussing."

The researchers began considering the possibilities.

Oleana looked toward Mike, waiting for his decision.

Mike nodded.

"In that case, Professor Oak, could I trouble you to contact Bill? Please ask whether he’d be interested in participating in this research."

"Of course."

"And Professor Kukui, could you ask Professor Burnet for me?"

"No problem!"

Mike then turned toward Professor Rowan with a smile.

"Looks like we’ll be relying on you again, Professor."

Professor Rowan laughed.

"Hahaha! Don’t worry about it."

He glanced toward the research area.

"Even after the rest of you leave, I’ll probably stay here with my assistants for a while."

He explained, "This project is a little different from our previous research. We can’t conduct all the necessary experiments back at the laboratory because the special magnetic field is located here."

"So I’m planning to remain on Mount Coronet and help more Bergmite evolve. That way, we can continue studying the process and gather enough data to understand it properly."

"Thanks for all your hard work," Mike said sincerely.

Oleana: "..."

’What about me?’

’Don’t I deserve a little appreciation too?!’

She silently considered her ever-growing workload.

She still needed to write research papers, oversee the construction of Mike’s institute, continue her studies, and coordinate the other researchers.

And now she was apparently going to help develop an entirely new Link Trade system.

Oleana let out a quiet sigh.

Then she looked at her hair with a distinctly worried expression.

’At this rate...’

’Am I going to have any hair left by the time the institute opens?’