After so many days spent digging through documents and papers, and asking Dad and Grandpa about it, Auron finally wrapped his head around things—at least a little.
Pokémon like Haunter, Kadabra, Machoke, and Graveler, which evolve simply by using a trade, can evolve directly in this world.
But for ones like Onix, which needs to hold a Metal Coat to evolve into Steelix, and Scyther, which needs to hold a Metal Coat to evolve into Scizor, the trade condition is still required for evolution.
As for Electabuzz and Magmar—who normally evolve when traded while holding an Electirizer and a Magmarizer—those are special cases because of Grandpa Ashford. One of the papers that earned him his professorship was "The Evolutionary Lines of Electabuzz and Magmar and Their Conditions."
Back in the day, his Electabuzz had a run-in with a Legendary Pokémon—Zapdos. Later, during a battle with Zapdos, not only did the bird's Electric-type energy melt a lot of Thunder Stones, but Electabuzz accidentally inhaled a massive amount of electricity, triggering its evolution into Electivire.
That was all it took to hook Grandpa's curiosity. Using his Aura, he discovered that Electivire's body was packed with a more violent, higher-grade Electric-type energy than Electabuzz's.
Building on that discovery, he developed the Electirizer—an item specifically designed to spur Electabuzz's evolution.
At first, the Electirizer didn't actually cause Electabuzz to evolve. Later, he realized the evolution wasn't just about the Electric-type energy; it might also involve the evolutionary force produced when Thunder Stones melt.
So he added that Thunder Stone–derived evolutionary force into the Electirizer. That did it—Electabuzz now had a measurable chance to evolve into Electivire.
Over the years he kept refining it. The Electirizer went from an initial sub-50% success rate to essentially a guaranteed evolution.
However, once he succeeded in blending that melted-Thunder Stone energy into the Electirizer, his Aura sensed a strange energy within the device—something he couldn't identify. Unwilling to let it go, he set his sights on Electabuzz's best buddy, Magmar.
His thought process was simple: if Electabuzz evolved thanks to an even stronger Electric-type energy, then might Magmar—Electabuzz's good buddy—also evolve when exposed to a higher-grade Fire-type energy? And would that same strange energy appear?
No sooner thought than done. Grandpa Ashford took along a Magmar, the Magma Stone he'd formally requested from the authorities, and a large number of Fire Stones, and set out.
With an official escort, he quickly arrived at the Kōro Volcanic Belt near the Daxing'anling Mountains—Heatran's turf.
That's right—he wanted to replicate Electabuzz's evolution by sourcing a more intense Fire-type energy.
Do the math and Heatran—who also lives in magma—was the best candidate. If he had gone to Groudon… well, forget the temper; even the Fire-type energy alone wouldn't be something a Magmar could withstand.
Heatran, on the other hand, has long been on friendly terms with Longguo and had even split its Magma Stone in two, basically saying, "If you ever need anything, come find me. Us Pokémon from the Northeast are as loyal as they come—solid to the core."
So Grandpa Ashford brought the Magma Stone to request Heatran's help. Worried Magmar might be in danger, he even brought [Sacred Ash]—the kind of thing that makes even the authorities wince at the cost—to ensure Magmar's safety.
Grandpa had also asked that particular Magmar in advance. It was a battle-hungry bruiser in its group; the moment it heard there was a way to massively boost its fighting power, it volunteered on the spot.
Even after Grandpa explained there could be mortal danger, it was all, "Pick anyone but me? Not happening."
Later, Grandpa took Magmar to meet Heatran. With Heatran's help, Magmar successfully evolved into Magmortar. The plan worked.
Striking while the iron was hot, Grandpa stayed in the volcanic cave and, using the Electirizer as a model, fabricated the Magmarizer.
At first, the Magmarizer didn't include the evolutionary force from Fire Stones. Grandpa wanted to test a hypothesis, so he probed it with Aura.
Sure enough, without that mysterious energy, another test Magmar wouldn't evolve into Magmortar.
After that, he made a Magmarizer infused with evolutionary force. This time, that same strange energy appeared in the device—and the Magmar evolved successfully.
That only made Grandpa more confused. The first Magmarizer—without the Fire Stone evolutionary force—didn't contain the strange energy.
Likewise, Fire Stones, when checked by Aura, didn't carry that energy either. But combine the two and—bam—it appeared. Weird, right?
Grandpa spent years researching that odd energy and came up empty. He had no choice but to shelve it.
To this day, the research write-up on that strange energy is still pinned on the institute's intranet. The authorities have even stated that anyone who cracks it will walk away with a Senior Researcher title, no question.
Anyway, back to Auron.
To verify his latest hunch, he had already called Grandpa Ashford to say, "Hold on to the Poliwhirl for now. It's not the priority anymore."
Then he told Dad and Grandpa he needed an Onix and a Scyther—he had an idea he wanted to test.
Dad asked him why those two, specifically.
Auron couldn't really say more than this: his Aura told him both Pokémon had something to do with Steel-type evolution, even though, on the face of it, neither one had any obvious connection to Steel.
But his Aura had just flared again. He felt like he was onto something. All he needed was experimental proof.
Dad chuckled. As it happened, Dax Jonas had an Onix on hand.
Auron blinked. "Isn't he a Steel-type specialist? Why does he have an Onix?"
Dad explained:
"Because he's one of the Elite Four, he often ventures into newly opened Secret Realms. If the realm's ruler is easy to talk to, that's great."
"If they're not, then it's trouble. You can only beat them into submission first, and then have a proper conversation."
"That Onix is a special case. Not only was it impossible to reason with, it wouldn't be cowed. Every time he knocked it flat, it would stiffen its neck like, 'I'm not listening, I'm not listening!'"
"In the end, he had no choice but to catch it and bring it out of the Secret Realm."
"And that's not all. He also has a Mimikyu. Word is, after he defeated it, nothing he said would make a difference—it just clung to him and refused to leave, insisting your Uncle Dax take it home."
"These days, that Onix acts like the boss of his back yard. Aside from the occasional smackdown, life's pretty cushy for it."
"Mimikyu's the same—its talent is ridiculous. Plenty of Ghost-type Elite Four members and City Guardians have tried to catch it, but Mimikyu won't have it. It only wants to stay at his place."
"When it's bored, it bullies Onix out back; when that gets old, it wanders around the house. And now that Dax brought Ji Qianyi home, it's even happier—spends all day hugging a cloth doll, 'practicing' what it's like to take care of a kid."
This chapter did wander off a bit, didn't it? But hey, I guess I've also previewed what's coming next. (í_ì)
(End of this chapter)