Luther served a bowl of rice to Gardenia, then asked, "What do you think is the most important trigger for Pokémon evolution?"
Gardenia held the bowl, thought for a moment, and replied, "That question is still debated in academic circles. From my perspective, I personally believe that once a Pokémon's experience and strength reach a certain level, evolution naturally follows."
"Of course, I've also seen in the wild where a fully evolved Pokémon leads others to a specific location and, through certain opportunities, helps them evolve together."
Luther handed food to the Pokémon around him and said lightly, "Indeed, strength and experience are crucial components of Pokémon evolution. I believe Ralts already has both. So, if she still can't evolve, what do you think the reason is?"
"A mindset issue?"
Luther glanced at Ralts, who was still sparring with Exeggutor in the distance. "I've heard that some Pokémon unleash great power when they're near death and then evolve. I've also seen Pokémon evolve suddenly in the midst of intense emotions, whether those emotions are positive or negative, they act as a strong stimulus that pushes the Pokémon to transform."
"But Ralts hasn't encountered such a trigger."
Luther sighed. "It's my fault. All along, I've ignored what she truly wants. She's always been under the protection of me and the other Pokémon. Even her training has been gentle and mild."
"You plan to change your approach?"
"Something like that. I've now given her a visible goal through a quantifiable method that allows her to feel like she's constantly improving. This kind of excitement and drive will keep stacking."
"Sounds like a video game mechanic," Gardenia said, thinking of how games make numbers visible to give players direct feedback.
Luther had given Ralts a progress bar, a visual chart that showed Exeggutor using moves with power levels ranging from one to ten.
"You're not seriously thinking of…" Gardenia suddenly realized something.
"I wouldn't try it unless I had no other choice. I haven't fully made up my mind. It's a little cruel to her… I'm still hesitating."
"Does she have the resolve?"
"She told me she wants to get stronger. She doesn't want to be the one dragging the team down. She's been working hard this whole time. But long periods of effort without any clear feedback can wear down a person's passion and patience. I understand that well. That's why she needs visible progress, something she can see with her own eyes."
Gardenia took a bite of rice. "Then just do it. If you can't be ruthless, she might keep wandering just outside that door to evolution. Someone has to give her a push. If her mindset isn't strong enough, then you need to be a little forceful."
"Sounds like you've been through something similar?"
"Do you know how long it took for my Snover to evolve?"
Luther shook his head.
"I raised him since I was a kid. He evolved only four years ago. It took over ten years."
Luther looked at the nearby Abomasnow, who was devouring his food, and found it hard to imagine that one of Gardenia's current ace Pokémon had once been stuck just before evolution for so long.
"It was just like your current situation, I couldn't bring myself to be tough. I knew Snover was timid, so I trained him slowly and gently, thinking he'd grow on his own and eventually take that step."
"So what did you end up doing?"
"Not much, really. That year, I had just passed the assessment to become a Gym Leader. Since it was my first year and I didn't want the Pokémon League inspectors to criticize me for poor performance, I carefully planned every battle with my strongest team lineup. I only awarded badges to challengers who truly stood out in battle."
"Snover probably wasn't part of your main team of six," Luther chuckled.
"Gym Leader, huh… That was my childhood dream. A Gym belonging to Grass-type Pokémon, the exclusive Gym of Eterna City. So during the first unstable year, I pushed myself hard, I really cared. Snover sensed that he was being neglected, and during that time, he was a bit gloomy."
"Then one morning, when I woke up to feed them, I found that Snover was missing. The other Pokémon and I searched for a long time, and finally found him sitting outside the Gym's entrance, looking over his own body, he had become an Abomasnow."
"When I first saw Abomasnow, I almost didn't recognize him. The Snover I had raised for over ten years had suddenly become this massive being, I felt like I was looking at a stranger. It was my Pokémon who rushed up to him first, surrounding him in cheers and excitement."
"I still don't know what he thought about that night, or what kind of decision he made that led to his evolution. But what I do know is this, he wanted to help me. He wanted me to have options for rotation. Because back then, without any rotation, everyone was just too exhausted. It was like an endless series of battles every single day."
"From the first seven Pokémon to now a courtyard full of them… that sense of accomplishment, you know?"
Though the topic was drifting further and further away, Luther didn't stop Gardenia from reminiscing. The more she recalled, the more she shared, and every now and then Luther burst into laughter at her "dark history."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. I was just sharing the choices I made back then. It's not wrong to care deeply for your Pokémon but most of the time, they just want to help their Trainer. If you can give them that feeling of being helpful, they'll believe that all the effort and pain was worth it."
The sound of eating all around made Luther quite pleased, proof that his cooking was well received.
Gardenia stopped talking and began enjoying the meal too.
Luther would occasionally explain some cooking techniques to her. He didn't talk about heat control or recipes, just the ingredient combinations and some basic marination methods.
He planned to demonstrate the entire process for Gardenia tomorrow—nothing beats a live demo when it comes to teaching.
Holding another serving of food, Luther signaled for Exeggutor to stop Ralts' training.
Ralts, completely exhilarated, didn't even realize how out of breath she was until Exeggutor withdrew its psychic field.
Gardenia called Exeggutor away. Luther set the plate down, picked up a towel, and gently wiped down Ralts. He waited for her to catch her breath, gave her a bit of water, and then began feeding her with a spoon.
"The training intensity this afternoon might increase. Are you feeling confident?"
Ralts, still chewing, responded excitedly to Luther's words. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the feeding and eagerly opened her mouth again, waiting for the next spoonful.
"Good. As long as you have confidence. Only by constantly challenging Pokémon stronger than yourself can you truly improve."
Luther spooned food into Ralts' mouth one bite at a time, then wiped the oil off her lips with a napkin and told her to rest up before the afternoon training began.
When he returned to Gardenia's side, all three of Exeggutor's heads were eating. Gardenia remarked that Exeggutor didn't actually eat that much, but since all three heads wanted a taste of everything, it made him look like a huge eater.
"This morning, you kept your psychic strength at around level 10 during training with her, right? For the afternoon session, double the damage output."
Exeggutor stopped eating. All three faces showed the same shocked and distressed expression.
(End of Chapter)
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