Chapter 114: One-Day Evolution
The next morning, Ryu couldn't get any useful information from Corphish, and he couldn't communicate clearly with Tom. He decided to put the matter aside for now. Corphish seemed happy and healthy, so whatever the issue was, it wasn't causing him any discomfort.
"Cor!" Corphish nudged him, wanting to fish.
"I'm too lazy," Ryu waved him off.
"Cor?"
"You're full of hot air!" Ryu huffed, rolling over. Besides, it was much more efficient to let Corphish do the fishing while he did the battling.
"Cor!"
Hearing the splash, Ryu hopped up. It was a Carvanha. Seeing the aggressive fish, both Ryu and Corphish's expressions changed.
[Razor Leaf]!
Ryu condensed a sharp leaf of grass-type energy and shot it toward the Carvanha. With the type disadvantage, the low-level fish was knocked out instantly.
"Cor! Cor!" Corphish quickly called out to Tom, who saw the fainted Carvanha and immediately became alert. He spun the speedboat in a 180-degree turn and sped away in the opposite direction.
"So that's how it is," Ryu nodded, having learned something new. Corphish explained that the appearance of one Carvanha meant they had entered the territory of a swarm, which was known to attack and sink ships.
After they had traveled a safe distance, Ryu swept the Carvanha back into the sea and continued his leveling. As long as Corphish caught a Pokémon, he would immediately attack. The Pokémon caught were mostly low-level and no match for him.
Under these circumstances, Ryu leveled up to 16 in a single day and, that evening, began to evolve. The light of evolution was like a flashbang on the dark sea.
"Hmm? So fast?" Tom, who was reading in the cabin, came out to watch the wonder of a Pokémon's evolution. When the light faded, a new form stood in Ryu's place.
A Grovyle.
"Wow, what a big Grovyle," Tom said in amazement. A normal Grovyle was less than a meter tall, but this one was already 1.5 meters tall right after evolving. "Aunt Sora was right, this one's potential is extraordinary."
"Cor!" Corphish was even more shocked, circling the newly-evolved Ryu, whose size now dwarfed his own.
Ryu, for his part, was just glad he no longer looked like a frog. "I feel so much faster," he noted, stretching his newly lengthened limbs.
'Personal Panel.'
[Grovyle]
[Potential]: Orange
[Level]: Lv. 16
[Height]: 1.5 m
'To gain 10 levels in one day... this is undoubtedly the power of Celebi,' Ryu thought. His potential had even reached "Orange," a tier he guessed was between Purple (400+ base stats) and Gold (600+), meaning a base stat total in the 500+ range. Simply exaggerated. He also noticed the leaves on his body were a more vibrant emerald green, a clear sign that he was different.
"I can feel it," he mumbled suddenly.
"Cor?" Corphish leaned in to ask.
"You wouldn't understand. Just watch," Ryu grinned, clenching his right fist. Sizzle. Weak electric sparks erupted from his fist before quickly disappearing.
"Cor?!" Corphish retreated several steps, startled by the electricity.
"Failed," Ryu sighed. After evolving, he could feel the other energy types within his body, suppressed by the dominant Grass-type energy. He was trying to "recall" Thunder Punch. It would take time and practice, but being able to mobilize the energy at all was a good sign.
"There's still a lot of time," he said, lying down on the deck to sleep.
"Cor," his friend said, poking him with a pincer. He was holding two small blankets. He gave one to Ryu, then covered himself with the other and lay down to sleep. Ryu rubbed the soft material. It was a small gesture, but it warmed his heart.
[Inorin Note:
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