"Star!!"
Feeling the tremendous increase in power brought by its evolution, Starmie let out an excited cry. Its core gem continuously shifted between red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, vividly displaying its joy and excitement.
Then, using its newly strengthened telekinetic powers with incredible dexterity, it swiftly floated in front of Sato and circled around him repeatedly.
After evolving, Starmie's body had become at least twice as large as Staryu's had been. It was now more than large enough for Sato to ride on across the water.
At the same time, a second star-shaped body had grown behind it, interlocking with the original one. From a distance, it looked as though Starmie possessed ten points.
This newly grown star could rotate freely in all directions, and through its flexible limbs combined with Harden, it could even reshape itself into a propeller-like form.
In other words, it could greatly enhance Starmie's movement speed in water. Even out of water, it could use Rapid Spin to allow itself to hover briefly in the air.
"So gaining the Psychic typing really does make a huge difference. Here, use these little things to test your current psychic power."
Seeing how skillfully Starmie manipulated telekinesis to float through the air, Sato revealed a satisfied expression. He took out a large box of psychic beads and had Starmie try controlling them with its mental power.
Starmie obediently floated down to the ground and immediately began using its psychic power to manipulate the beads inside the box.
Soon, under Starmie's control, the beads glowed with blue psychic light and floated out one after another.
Starmie seemed eager to show off its strength in front of Sato. It carefully manipulated dozens of beads into various patterns in midair, including easily recognizable figures like Pikachu and Kecleon.
"212 beads. Very good. Your psychic strength has already reached the mid-level range of a beginner Psychic."
After carefully counting the number of beads Starmie had lifted, Sato nodded in satisfaction and praised it with a smile.
Before evolving, Staryu's psychic power value had only been 148 points—barely enough to use Psychic. But after gaining the Psychic typing through evolution, its psychic power had surged by a full 64 points, an enormous increase.
Furthermore, the effects of the top Water Stone had become apparent.
Originally, Staryu's IV value had only been 150, but now it had reached 175.
Although it had only just stepped into the threshold of Gold aptitude, there was no doubt that Starmie's talent had undergone a complete transformation.
.....
Starmie Data
Pokémon: Starmie
Level: 43
Type: Water / Psychic
Ability: Analytic
Gender: Genderless
Level-up Moves: Tackle, Harden, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Recover, Swift, Bubble Beam, Camouflage, Gyro Ball, Brine, Minimize, Reflect Type, Power Gem, Psychic, Hydro Pump, Spotlight, Confuse Ray
Egg Moves: None
Tutor Moves: Gravity, Telekinesis, Light Screen, Rain Dance, Surf
TM Moves: Thunderbolt, Protect, Hidden Power (Ground), Ice Beam, Reflect
Held Item: None
IVs:
HP: 28 (31)
Attack: 25 (31)
Defense: 30 (31)
Sp. Atk: 31 (31)
Sp. Def: 30 (31)
Speed: 31 (31)
Overall IV Rating: Gold (Total IV Value: 175)
.....
From the data, it was clear that after evolving, Starmie had not only greatly improved its aptitude, but had also learned Hydro Pump, Spotlight, Confuse Ray, Telekinesis, Light Screen, Rain Dance, and Surf, resulting in a massive increase in overall strength.
"If I had used the supreme mutated Water Stone instead, Starmie might have become another Pokémon with perfect IVs. Arcanine originally only had Blue aptitude, yet after using the mutated Fire Stone, its aptitude rose all the way to Gold."
"As expected, evolution stones infused with a Legendary Pokémon's source power are far stronger. I'll have to be very careful about who gets the last mutated evolution stone capable of improving aptitude. I need to maximize its value."
After comparing the difference between Starmie's improvement and Arcanine's through the system scan, Sato quickly reached the conclusion that the remaining evolution stone in his possession had to be used with extreme caution.
The commotion caused by Staryu's evolution had naturally been enormous.
Especially in the middle of a desert, the sight of a rainbow was simply too eye-catching to ignore. As a result, many people from the nearby camp rushed toward the lakeside.
Unfortunately, Staryu's evolution process had been rather brief. Only a small number of people managed to witness the very end of it, while most only saw Starmie floating in front of Sato.
Lucy, being a perfectly normal woman, naturally loved gossip and excitement as well. The moment the giant rainbow appeared, she immediately realized something major had happened at the lakeside.
Her curiosity instantly flared to life.
Without hesitation, she dropped the extremely important task of chatting in her group channel and hurried toward the lake on the back of a Talonflame.
Thanks to Talonflame's outstanding speed, Lucy became one of the few witnesses who saw the tail end of Staryu's evolution.
"Congratulations, Mr. Tyler. You've added another powerhouse to your team."
Lucy tactfully waited until Sato and Starmie had finished their warm interaction before approaching him with a cheerful smile and offering her congratulations.
This time, her smile was completely sincere. Deep down, she genuinely hoped Sato would become stronger—because that would mean greater safety for her during the upcoming ruins expedition.
"A powerhouse? Not quite. It still has a long way to go. But thank you."
With Staryu successfully evolving into Starmie and reaching Gold aptitude, Sato was in an exceptionally good mood. Hearing Lucy's praise, he rare smile and answered modestly.
Lucy was sharp as a fox and extremely skilled at reading people. Seeing Sato actually smile at her, she immediately realized her flattery had hit the mark, and the smile on her face became even brighter.
"Pika pika~"
"Kamo~"
"Gwo~"
At that moment, Pikachu and the others swam over from the lake, each offering their congratulations to Starmie.
Among them, Pikachu was by far the most excited. It circled around Starmie several times, then enthusiastically chattered at Starmie, Swampert, and the other Water-types with sparkling eyes.
Soon, after Pikachu pointed at Sato with its tiny paw, Starmie and the others all nodded in agreement.
Next, Starmie lay flat on the sandy shore in front of Sato, tapped his foot with one of its appendages, then tapped its own body.
"You want me to get on?"
Seeing Starmie's body language, Sato quickly guessed its meaning, though he still asked uncertainly.
"Star~"
Starmie immediately floated upright again and nodded enthusiastically, its core gem once more radiating rainbow-colored light.
After receiving confirmation, Sato still didn't fully understand what Pikachu and Starmie were planning, but he decided to go along with it and stepped onto Starmie's body.
"Pika pika~~!"
At that moment, Pikachu leaped onto Sato's shoulder, pointed dramatically ahead with one paw, and shouted excitedly.
The next second, Starmie moved.
Using its telekinetic powers, it lifted Sato into the air before gently landing onto the surface of the lake.
Then, the second star behind Starmie began spinning at incredible speed like a propeller, instantly sending them racing across the water.
Cool wind rushed against Sato's face, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort after spending so long under the blazing sun.
Meanwhile, Swampert and the other Water-type Pokémon weren't idle either. Led by Swampert, they stirred up the lake water and deliberately created massive waves for Starmie to surf across while carrying Sato.
"So that's it… you all wanted me to join in the fun and play in the water too."
As Sato experienced the thrill of surfing through the towering waves, he recalled Pikachu rallying all the Water-types together earlier.
Warmth filled his heart, and he couldn't help but smile.