Amidst the rainbow-colored evolutionary glow, Lombre's silhouette shifted and changed rapidly, expanding in size before their very eyes.
When the brilliant light finally faded, his appearance had been completely transformed—
a round, plump body topped with a sombrero-like hat featuring jagged edges, covered head to toe in yellow and green wave-like stripes, looking just like a Hawaiian hula dancer.
This was Lombre's final evolution after using the Water Stone—Ludicolo!
Looking at the newly evolved Ludicolo before her, Cynthia pressed the interaction button and spoke.
"Congratulations on evolving, Ludicolo! How do you feel?"
On screen, the Ludicolo beside her looked itself over from left to right, then broke into an excited grin, giving Cynthia an enthusiastic response:
"Ludi!"
Clearly, he was thrilled with his new body and the power suddenly surging through him.
He even did a little jog around Cynthia, swinging his arms and breaking into a dance.
Though his chubby body swaying around looked a bit goofy, there was definitely some real rhythm to his moves—it was actually pretty unique.
This scene had the livestream chat cracking up.
[Who was it that said "dancing pineapple" earlier? I'm dying! He really does look like one lol]
[I got stronger, but I also got goofier, hahaha]
[Already evolved to final form this early? Interesting. Think she'll win the gym battle?]
Meanwhile, watching Ludicolo beside her, Cynthia couldn't help but smile slightly.
With Lombre's evolution into Ludicolo, there was no doubt his battle capabilities had improved across the board.
Moreover, at this early stage of the game—when most Pokémon could only reach their second evolutionary form—having Ludicolo as a fully evolved third-stage Pokémon made him a powerful asset to the team.
In fact, he might just be the strongest member of her current roster.
With this development, she felt much more confident about challenging the next gym.
Not only that, but a series of notifications had just popped up on Cynthia's screen.
[Congratulations! Lombre has successfully evolved into Ludicolo!]
[Ludicolo wants to learn the following new moves: Bubble Beam, Mist, Zen Headbutt, Giga Drain, and Teeter Dance, but his move slots are full. Would you like to forget some moves to replace them with these new ones?]
This Water Stone evolution had taught Ludicolo a whopping five new moves.
Among these five, three were offensive techniques with solid power for their respective types.
As for the other two—
While "Mist" and "Teeter Dance" weren't damage-dealing moves, the former could prevent ally Pokémon's stats from being lowered, and the latter could inflict confusion on opponents. Both were solid utility moves.
After brief consideration, Cynthia settled on four moves for Ludicolo's final moveset:
[Giga Drain]
[Zen Headbutt]
[Bubble Beam]
[Teeter Dance]
Her reasoning was solid—Giga Drain and Bubble Beam served as STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) moves for Ludicolo's two types, making them excellent choices, especially with their additional effects.
"Giga Drain" could restore HP equal to half the damage dealt, while "Bubble Beam" had a chance to lower the opponent's speed.
"Zen Headbutt," though a physical attack move and not STAB, didn't seem like Ludicolo's specialty at first glance.
But considering the next gym was Fighting-type—and this Psychic-type move would be super effective against Fighting Pokémon—Cynthia decided to keep it.
Come to think of it, she recalled that Ludicolo should also be able to learn advanced moves like Hydro Pump, Nature Power, and Energy Ball.
According to this game's mechanics, maybe he'd need to reach higher levels before he could naturally learn those techniques.
After configuring Ludicolo's moveset, Cynthia opened the Pokémon status screen to check its ability.
Some Pokémon change abilities when they reach their final evolution.
Fortunately, Ludicolo hadn't—his ability was still "Swift Swim."
This meant Cynthia could start gradually building a "rain team" around Ludicolo.
Having sorted out Ludicolo's status and chatted with him a bit more, Cynthia returned him to his Pokéball, planning to head to the Pokémon Center to restore her team before going to the gym for battle.
However, the next moment, someone emerged from the cave behind her.
Familiar blue hair and goggles—it was none other than Brawly, the Dewford Gym Leader.
The instant he spotted Cynthia, he seemed momentarily stunned, then quickly recovered.
"Oh? You used an Escape Rope to get out, didn't you? Smart move. Sorry to keep you waiting out here."
"I did find some Team Rocket members on the second floor just now. They seemed to be searching for something down there..."
"Too bad they all ran the moment they saw me. I was hoping to teach them a proper lesson."
Brawly shared what he'd encountered in the cave, scratching the back of his head.
"Anyway, I'm heading back to the gym now. Looking forward to seeing your awesome performance in our upcoming battle."
He grinned, turned around, and strode off toward the gym.
Cynthia let out a small sigh, her thoughts racing.
She'd learned that this game's core objective was to challenge eight gyms, collect all the badges, and ultimately face the Elite Four and Champion to become the strongest Pokémon trainer.
So these gyms were like checkpoints set throughout the game.
The previous battle at Rustboro Gym had already proven one thing—these gym leaders were no pushovers.
What kind of Pokémon would Brawly use to bring her a brand-new challenge?
Her heart was starting to race with anticipation.
This feeling of facing a formidable opponent—this excitement that made her blood boil—
It had been years since she'd felt anything like this.
Lost in nostalgia and excitement, Cynthia prepared to move her character forward again.
But she'd barely taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped.
Because another figure had appeared before her, blocking her path.
It was a short, chubby middle-aged man wearing a red baseball cap. He looked around cautiously, then sidled up to Cynthia's character and spoke:
"Excuse me, beautiful lady, sorry to bother you.
But... do you happen to like fishing?"
Cynthia: ?
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones