Naoki glanced over at wtwo, who still remained in its Y form.
wtwo wore a complicated expression, full of doubt and confusion, staring down at its own palm in a daze.
'What was that power? Why had it changed its body like that?'
From wtwo's actions alone, it was easy to guess what it was thinking.
Naoki decided to explain. "That was ga Evolution."
"ga Evolution?" wtwo lifted its gaze toward Naoki, its voice echoing in his mind through telepathy, full of uncertainty.
Naoki nodded. "When a Pokémon pushes past its limits, it can awaken hidden evolutionary traits buried deep inside. That triggers a release of powerful energy from within. This temporary transformation allows the Pokémon to draw out strength far beyond that of normal evolution. You must've felt it, how much stronger you beca."
wtwo paused, then turned its head toward Rayquaza on the other side of the tree.
"Rayquaza's form… was that also ga Evolution?" it asked.
"Yes," Naoki confird. "In theory, any Pokémon has the potential to ga Evolve. The phenonon has existed since ancient tis."
"Ancient tis?" wtwo blinked. "But I was only created five years ago by humans… Why do I have this power?"
Naoki smiled gently. "Isn't that proof enough that you're truly a Pokémon?"
wtwo was taken aback, but then nodded slowly, its expression softening. "I see."
With that question settled, it was ti to deal with the real issue, the massive stone.
Naoki turned to Rayquaza. "So… are you planning to absorb all the energy from the boulder?"
"Roooaaar!"
Rayquaza gave a confident nod, its golden eyes shining with determination before returning its gaze to the floating stone.
But even for a Legendary Pokémon like Rayquaza, the energy sealed within this boulder was imnse, far too vast to absorb all at once.
It would take a long ti.
Then, Rayquaza suddenly turned to Naoki and let out another low roar.
Naoki blinked. "Wait… you an Jirachi and the others can co here and absorb so of the energy too?"
Rayquaza nodded enthusiastically.
Naoki's eyes lit up with understanding, and a smile spread across his face.
The World Tree was already rich in natural energy. Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza had all benefited from it. There was no need to hog the boulder's power.
Why not share it with others?
Realizing Rayquaza's generous intent, Naoki nodded in agreent. "That's a great idea."
Besides, he had been thinking about cutting the boulder into smaller pieces anyway. He wanted to craft accessories like Keystone bracelets, hairpins, and brooches.
He and Iono might not have any partners capable of ga Evolution right now, but soday, their daughter Elara might et Pokémon that could. When that day ca, these items and the ga Stones he had collected would co in handy.
Without wasting any ti, Naoki turned to wtwo. "Can you use your psychic power to cut off a chunk of the boulder?"
wtwo silently obliged, slicing a clean fragnt from the glowing stone with a shimr of psychic energy.
Naoki had planned to send it to Kelly for crafting, but then he rembered she was out traveling.
After a short pause, he shrugged. "Guess I'll make it myself. Not like I've got much else to do right now."
That night, Naoki opened up his shopping app and placed an order for a compact angle grinder, along with so accessories for making bracelets and hairpins.
In order to receive the goods as soon as possible, he asked Dragonite to pick up the goods for him early the next morning.
Naoki got straight to work. He pulled out the stone fragnt and started grinding it down, shaping it into accessories.
Even in fragnt form, the stone still radiated that beautiful, shifting rainbow glow.
As he worked, a sudden thought crossed his mind.
"Wait a second... didn't this boulder fall from space?"
He paused, glancing at the glowing shard in his hand.
"Does that make it a teorite? Could it be radioactive?"
He frowned for a mont, then shrugged. "Eh, I guess people in the Pokémon world have weirdly strong constitutions anyway…"
Fortunately, according to Lysandre's research, the wavelengths emitted by the boulder perfectly matched those of a typical Keystone. So it should be safe.
In just a few hours, Naoki had crafted an entire batch of accessories, bracelets, hairpins, brooches.
And all from just a few leftover shards.
At noon, Iono returned to the ranch after finishing her work. As soon as she stepped inside, she saw Naoki and a group of Pokémon gathered around a table, fiddling with a bunch of curious-looking trinkets.
"What's all this?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
Naoki looked up from his work with a smile. "These? They're Key Stones for ga Evolution. Just like the Tera Orbs from Paldea, except these let trainers trigger ga Evolutions when carried."
Iono's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, where did you get sothing that rare?"
As far as she knew, this technology ca from the Kalos region, and even there, only a handful of trainers were ever able to get their hands on such valuable items.
Naoki grinned and replied mysteriously, "That's a secret."
Iono narrowed her eyes suspiciously and turned toward Koraidon, hoping to get a clue.
"Gaaah…" Koraidon blinked and shrugged. It had no idea either. It had spent the whole day sunbathing in the pasture and only knew that Naoki had gone to the World Tree at so point.
Naoki chuckled and decided not to keep it secret any longer. "Actually, Rayquaza led to them. These stones are one of its food sources, apparently. I asked if I could take a few back."
Iono blinked, then rembered the ga Stones Naoki had brought back from Kalos a while ago.
"Still, it's a bit of a sha that none of our current Pokémon can actually use them," she sighed.
The couple turned to look at the Pokémon relaxing nearby.
On one side were Koraidon, Miltank, Dragonite, Cyclizar, Alcremie, and FIutter mane.
On the other side were Magnemite, Misdreavus, wattrel, Bellibolt, Luxray, and Voltorb.
They exchanged a long, thoughtful look, and sighed in unison.
"Sigh…"
The Pokémon all looked around at each other, completely confused about why their trainers suddenly seed so disappointed.
Naoki tucked away a small strawberry-shaped hairpin, then carefully stored the rest of the crafted items in their display case.
"This one's going to be Elara's tenth birthday present," he said, admiring the finished piece. "A Keystone hairpin from her dad, to wish her a smooth journey as a Pokémon trainer."
"I really hope Elara manages to catch a Pokémon that can ga Evolve one day," Iono added, her voice filled with warm hope.
...
Before they knew it, six days had passed.
Naoki had fully slipped into retirent mode.
On days when he didn't have any classes to teach, he stayed at the ranch, helping with the chores, playing with the Pokémon, or simply lounging in the garden on a recliner, reading the latest issue of the Paldea Gazette.
Except for a few energetic species, most of the Pokémon on the ranch had embraced this slow, peaceful lifestyle too. The days were calm, simple, and quiet.
Naoki was in the garden this afternoon, a book in hand, as Koraidon lay stretched out nearby, soaking up the sun. Not far away, Cyclizar was watching a group of butterflies fluttering among the flower beds.
Sumr had made the garden bloom in full color. The air was rich with the sweet scent of pollen.
Cyclizar sniffed a little too much of it, and soon started sneezing uncontrollably. It finally gave up chasing the butterflies and darted out of the flowers in a daze.
Koraidon gave it a sidelong glance filled with mild disgust.
Naoki laughed softly at the scene and patted the space beside him. "Co over here, you goof."
"Gaaao!" Cyclizar squeaked happily and hurried over.
"Take a nap here in the sun," Naoki said, gently stroking its head.
Cyclizar let out a pleased chirp and settled down obediently beside him, still sniffling slightly from the pollen but clearly content.
The flower-scented breeze rustled gently through the leaves. The sun was warm. The mont was peaceful.
Naoki took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, letting out a soft sigh.
"Hah…"
As several Pokémon napped under the sun, Naoki smiled softly and picked up the Paldea Daily, which Ivan had delivered earlier that morning.
While reading an article about the new collaboration between Blueberry Academy and Naranja Academy, a mory stirred. Last week, Briar had ntioned sothing intriguing about the disk Pokémon docunted in the Scarlet Book.
Naoki rembered reading parts of the Scarlet Book during his ti in Area Zero, a copy shared by Professor Sada. However, back then, he'd only skimd the sections discussing Paradox Pokémon. He hadn't finished the rest.
Curious to dive deeper, Naoki pulled out his Rotom Phone and ordered a second-hand copy of the Scarlet Book from a nearby bookstall.
Conveniently, the seller was based just next door, in the Glass Bottle City. Less than an hour after placing the order, a Kilowattrel wearing a small courier satchel arrived at the ranch and gracefully landed near the porch.
Naoki thanked the bird, took the book, and returned to his recliner. He began flipping through the sections he hadn't read before.
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