"What do you think he is doing?" Janine peered from behind a tree.
"I don't know," Aya replied from above.
"But he must be doing something important," she added.
Both of them were secretly watching Hisoka in the garden. In the past few days, they had already seen the giant Rhydon. While it was shocking to see such a large Pokemon, they still believed that Koga could solve it easily.
"Strange. Don't you think it's a bit weird? Why would he own a weak, ugly Pokemon like that?" Aya asked in a whisper.
"Hmmm," Janine pondered.
Suddenly, a thought popped up in her mind.
"Do you think it will evolve into a strong Pokemon like Magikarp?" she turned to look at her aunt.
Everyone knew of the legendary Gyarados, one of the most brutal Pokemon in the world. It still amazed many people that a weak Pokemon like Magikarp could evolve into a Gyarados.
Aya looked at her in surprise, then she paused, thinking about what she had said just now.
"Should we take a closer look?" she proposed.
"Let's go," Aya nodded in reply.
...
Hisoka put Feebas back in the water and took the Prism Scale from Kirlia. Then, he crouched in front of her and handed the scale to her.
"Take it," he said to her.
Feebas nodded and did as she was told.
When she took it with her mouth, a gleam of light burst out of her eyes. With a flick of her tail, she disappeared beneath the water's surface under everyone's eyes.
Seeing the worried look on his face, Kirlia comforted him.
"Don't worry, she will definitely succeed."
He smiled at her and said, "Thanks. I hope so."
There was no guarantee that a Pokemon could complete its evolution. Right now, Feebas could only depend on herself.
...
'Come on!' Hisoka clenched his fist as he looked at the water.
Light started flickering from the bottom of the pond. This continued for more than ten seconds before it finally died down. Then, as the water started to ripple, a serpentine Pokemon leaped out of the water.
"Mee!"
Feebas, or better yet, Milotic, flew around Hisoka happily before snuggling into his arms. No word could truly describe its beauty.
"Congratulations, you're a Milotic now," he patted her head.
"Mee!"
...
Several minutes earlier,
Aya and Janine were hiding behind a bush as they watched Hisoka giving something to Feebas. When the light started appearing under the water, their eyes widened in shock.
"It's going to evolve! Quick, get your camera out!" Aya whispered to her niece.
But before Janine could take out her camera, her eyes started to become heavy as her body slowly lost consciousness.
'What is going on?'
The last thing she saw was a blurry figure of a snake coming out of the water before passing out.
Thud!
When the two ninjas fell to the ground, Kirlia stood behind them with her hand raised.
She lowered her hand and shook her head at them. Then, she waved her hand, turned around, and walked toward the house with two unconscious ninjas floating behind her.
She had sensed them much earlier. Since Hisoka was busy with Milotic evolution just now, she took it upon herself to solve these two pesky ninjas, so they wouldn't spy on their secrets.
...
Time slowly passed by.
After living in Dark Gym for more than two months, Ran was already used to her current lifestyle. Every day, she would wake up at six and prepare some breakfast before going for a jog. After that, she would prepare some food for the Pokemon in the gym before resuming her training.
Today was a bit strange. She hadn't seen the two other gym trainers since morning.
'Are they still sleeping? Maybe I should check them out,' she thought.
When she was about to knock on their door, she found that it wasn't locked. She pushed it open and only saw an empty room. There was no one inside the room except her.
Two gym uniforms were neatly folded on the bed with a paper on top. She picked it up and found out that it was a letter addressed to them.
"Sorry for leaving!"
She read the few words written on the letter. There was also a signature underneath them that likely belonged to Aya.
"Oh well. I already knew they would leave someday," she shrugged her shoulders.
The two ninjas acted a bit weird these past few days. She thought it was only a matter before they left.
Then, she tore the letter into small pieces and threw them in the dustbin. There was no need to bother Hisoka with this kind of thing. It was a waste of time.
About two kilometers away from Dark Gym, there was a natural waterfall surrounded by forest.
A snake-like figure could be seen swimming along the river. There was also a human riding on its back. Both of them seemed to be having fun in the water.
"Okay, okay, let me down now," Hisoka laughed.
Milotic nodded happily as she slowly swam across the river and put Hisoka down on the bank using her tail.
Although she looked slender, never underestimate the power contained in her tail. Most of the serpentine Pokemon strangled their prey using their lithe body before eating them. It was in their genes.
During this month, Hisoka put all of his concentration on Milotic. He had a comprehensive training plan for her so she could lay a good foundation during this stage.
Milotic was a highly intelligent Pokemon. Even if she was a Water-type Pokemon, she could still master many other moves. That alone showed how brilliant she was.
A seven-meter-long Milotic hovered next to him. She couldn't fly like birds and could only stay at low altitudes. When Hisoka tested it, she could only fly for about two meters in the air.
After changing his clothes, he stood next to the river with a camcorder in his hand. Whenever he trained his Pokemon, he would record and store them on his laptop.
After that, he would do some training simulations using the virtual combat system. This system helped him a lot when training his Pokemon. It also saved him a lot of time.
"Milotic! Use Surf!" he gave an order.
"Mee!"
Minas responded charmingly as she raised her head slightly. A giant wave of water came from the river before she rode it down on the opposite trees.
Boom!
The trees couldn't bear it and were broken into many pieces.
Surf was a powerful move, but it had a strong weakness. It relied heavily on the surrounding area. To put it simply, this move needed a large body of water to perform at full power. Besides that, this attack could also affect a large area.
"Now! Use Scald!" he continued.
She opened her mouth and released a stream of scalding hot water at a big tree. Then, the leaves on the tree turned yellow as the bark became severely damaged. By the time she stopped, the tree had already changed beyond recognition.
Seeing that, he nodded in satisfaction. This skill was one of her genetic moves. It was a Water-type move that could burn the opponent.
There were four moves that Milotic had mastered. Besides the two previous moves, the other two were Ice Beam and Rain Dance.
Ice Beam would be her trump card against Grass-type Pokemon. It might also freeze the opponent.
Rain Dance would be her support-type move to enhance her Water-type moves.
In the future, he would slowly turn her into a support-type Pokemon, considering the large pool of moves she could learn.
...
The competition was approaching soon.
Grampa Canyon Nature Reserve, which had attracted many people's attention, would be officially open on January 1st.
Today, December 28th, was Hisoka's eighteenth birthday. This meant he would become an adult starting from today.
"Happy birthday, Hisoka!"
Ran congratulated while placing a cake in front of Hisoka.
"Happy birthday, Hisoka!" Kirlia congratulated.
Roar!
Rarf!
His other Pokemon stood around him in party hats.
Hisoka smiled at them and said, "Thanks, guys!"
After that, everyone started to enjoy the birthday party. Kirlia and Milotic were dancing together. The Poochyenas were having fun running around the gym. Meanwhile, Weavile and Rhydon were having a food competition between them both.
Today's birthday party was the happiest for him in many years.
When the sky turned dark, all of them were lying down in the garden, gazing at the stars.
He looked at his Pokemon around him and smiled in happiness.
'Thanks, guys,' he said silently.
...
Grampa Canyon Nature Reserve,
After two months of construction, the protected area for the prehistoric Pokemon was finally completed.
The engineering team was doing the final inspection before it opened to the public three days later. They had to ensure the place was fully secure, considering the type of Pokemon housed inside.
It would be bad if those ferocious ancient Pokemon managed to break free and hurt the tourist. Luckily, the League had provided many guards to secure the nature reserve.
In the protected building inside the large dome, the two mayors from Celadon City and Dark City had already taken their seats.
The first man was Mayor Chris from Dark City. To the right of him was a man in his mid-forties. He was the current mayor of Celadon City.
Suddenly, the door was opened, and an old man in his early fifties walked inside the room.
"Mr. Chris, Mr. Miyamoto," he greeted politely before taking his seat.
"Sorry for arriving late. I had to finish some business in Fuchsia City first."
"It's fine, Mr. Shane," Miyamoto waved his hand.
"It's still early. The League representative hasn't arrived yet," Chris added from the side.
The three of them continued to chat while waiting for the others to arrive. Although they looked friendly with each other, all of them were secretly cursing the other party in their hearts.
No one was willing to back down from obtaining the ownership of the nature reserve, especially Mayor Chris.
Suddenly, the door opened again.
This time, a middle-aged man in blue ninja clothing walked into the room. He had black, spiky hair with a red scarf around his neck.
"Koga, you're here!" Shane smiled.
"Hmm!"
Koga simply nodded in greeting and went to take a seat. Then, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
Shane, who was familiar with his character, smiled wryly. Koga was always known to be a stern gym leader.
He turned to the other mayors and introduced him to them.
"This is Koga, Fuchsia City's gym leader. Three years ago, he had almost defeated one of the current Elite Four," he said in a bragging tone.
Hearing that, the other mayors snorted secretly.
'Tch! Nobody cares about the loser, you old fool!'
After that, a beautiful woman in a blue kimono walked into the room quietly, followed by a long-haired woman in a purple dress.
"Erika!"
Miyamoto stood from his chair and quickly walked to her.
"How are your preparation? Do you have any confidence to win this?" he said softly.
Erika's father was a close friend of his. He had always regarded her as his own daughter.
She clenched her fist and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Miyamoto. I'm very sure!"
"Sabrina, you're here too," Miyamoto looked at the woman behind Erika.
Sabrina nodded impassively.
Knowing her personality, he simply let it go. This woman was even more terrifying than many Pokemon.
"Ahem! Thank you for coming today. I'm Ryoichi, the person in charge of this nature reserve."
At this time, Ryoichi, in his officer uniform, stood in front of the stage with a mic in his hand.
...