After successfully capturing the newly hatched Eevee, Aiden Flint finally left Mauville City.
He had stayed there for nearly half a month, and now there were only three months left before the Hoenn League's Ever Grande Conference opened.
Since setting out from Littleroot Town, three months had already passed.
There were still four Gym Badges left to obtain, so his pace needed to speed up.
Riding on Pidgeot, Aiden flew straight out of Mauville City toward Lavaridge Town, home of the Lavaridge Gym.
That night, he found a suitable place to rest and released all of his Pokémon.
Coincidentally, the very first Eevee he had captured had always wanted to evolve into a Dark-type Umbreon.
As long as its friendship exceeded 220 and it leveled up during the night, it would successfully evolve.
Now that Eevee's level was already high enough, it was finally time.
With that in mind, Aiden led Umbreon's future self—Eevee—to search for a suitable opponent.
"Eevee, if you want to evolve tonight, you'll have to work hard!"
In response, Eevee let out a spirited cry.
"Eevee—use Shadow Ball on that Victreebel!"
With a thunderous explosion, Shadow Ball detonated and sent Victreebel flying, while the experience notification rang in Aiden's mind.
"Eevee—use Dig on that Nuzleaf!"
The moment Aiden gave the command, Eevee burrowed underground. When Nuzleaf lost track of it, Eevee burst out from below, the impact of Dig flipping Nuzleaf over.
"Now! Finish it—Shadow Ball!"
Another Shadow Ball exploded, completely draining Nuzleaf's remaining stamina.
"Ding! Eevee defeated Nuzleaf and gained 231 experience. Level up—current level: 29!"
The moment the system prompt sounded, Eevee let out a bright cry.
A dazzling light enveloped its body.
The light of evolution had begun.
As Eevee's body grew and changed, a sleek, pitch-black Pokémon appeared before Aiden.
Umbreon.
"Ding! Umbreon's current attributes are as follows:"
Pokémon: Umbreon
Level: 30
Ability: Synchronize
Type: Dark
Potential: Gold
Bond Evolution: Locked
Mega Evolution: Locked
Moves: Confuse Ray, Baby-Doll Eyes, Pursuit, Dark Pulse, Crunch, Moonlight
Friendship: 225
Background: Met in the Verdanturf Nature Preserve and successfully evolved with its Trainer's help
Preference: Mischievous, loves teasing other Pokémon
Looking at Umbreon's new status, Aiden smiled warmly.
"Congratulations, Umbreon. You finally evolved. Go ahead—feel your new form."
Receiving Aiden's praise, Umbreon immediately leapt into his arms.
With the help of the Potential Evolution Stones, even a Purple-potential Eevee maintained Gold-tier potential after evolving.
That meant every one of Aiden's main Pokémon would have Gold-tier potential or higher after full evolution.
Each of them would be the ace of any top-tier Trainer.
After Umbreon greeted its companions and everyone got acquainted again, Aiden finally went to sleep.
…
Early the next morning, Aiden prepared food for all of his Pokémon. Using ingredients from the System Space and with Infernape's help to light the fire, he cooked a proper meal.
After breakfast, he recalled all his Pokémon and set out toward Lavaridge Town.
To reach Lavaridge, however, he would have to pass through the area with the highest concentration of Fire-type Pokémon in Hoenn—
Mount Chimney.
Although called a mountain, Mount Chimney was actually an active volcano, making it home to large numbers of volcanic Pokémon.
Finding starter Fire-types here wouldn't be easy.
Aiden loved Fire-type Pokémon.
Charizard, Blaziken, Infernape, Arcanine, Ninetales…
Oh—and of course, that one that couldn't fly.
If he could catch some Fire-types here, he would be thrilled.
Filled with anticipation, Aiden quickened his pace and soon arrived at the foot of Mount Chimney.
Right away, he spotted large numbers of Slugma and Numel in the area.
He wasn't especially interested in those two, so he continued climbing.
With Kirlia, Infernape, and Umbreon clearing the way, Aiden encountered little resistance.
The higher he climbed, the stronger the Pokémon became.
Before long, he encountered two Magmar and four Magby.
Their final evolution, Magmortar, was extremely powerful, so Aiden decided to capture them as clan Pokémon for his System Space.
The leading Magmar had Blue-tier potential, while the Magby were all Green-tier—none suitable to become his main partners.
"Ding! Magmar's current attributes are as follows:"
Pokémon: Magmar
Level: 31
Ability: Flame Body
Type: Fire
Potential: Blue
Bond Evolution: Locked
Mega Evolution: Locked
Moves: Smokescreen, Clear Smog, Flame Wheel, Fire Punch, Lava Plume…
"Kirlia—use Psychic on Magmar!"
At Aiden's command, both Kirlia unleashed their power, their psychic waves detonating inside Magmar's mind.
With Magmar heavily injured, Aiden immediately threw a Poké Ball and captured it.
The four Magby were easily defeated by Infernape and captured as well.
Six Pokémon in total were added to the System Space.
Aiden was feeling more and more satisfied.
Then—
A barking sound echoed through the area.
Aiden froze.
In the distance, he saw a black-and-red canine Pokémon flash past.
His eyes lit up.
"Was that… Growlithe?"
Growlithe was an extremely rare Pokémon.
Most of them were bred within Officer Jenny's family.
Encountering one in the wild was incredibly difficult.
If Mount Chimney truly had Growlithe, then he absolutely had to get one.
…
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