There's Something Off About My Pokémon. [39]
In fact, Lu Cheng's Treecko had already reached the point where it could evolve, but it still hadn't, which even puzzled Lu Cheng a bit. Ultimately, though, evolving Treecko was his top priority at the moment. As for Vulpix, by the time he received the evolution stone as a reward for winning the championship, it should have learned most of its key moves, and then it could evolve naturally.
However, Lu Cheng was unsure about what exactly triggers evolution.
After thinking it over, Lu Cheng decided to seek help from his school teacher.
"How do you make a Pokémon evolve?"
Ms. Du Min was a recent graduate with a master's degree in Pokémon Research from Magic City University. She had returned to her hometown of Jiangcheng because she couldn't adapt to the fast pace of big-city life and now taught Pokémon courses at Lu Cheng's high school. Since the students' main focus was still on academic subjects, her workload was fairly light. It was rare for a student to ask her about Pokémon-related questions, so Ms. Du smiled warmly and said, "Evolution has always been at the forefront of scientific research."
"In general, Pokémon evolve when they are properly trained and have matured or gained enough battle experience, but the academic community has yet to determine exactly why Pokémon can evolve."
"Many people even say that Pokémon are the best refutation of Darwin's theory," Ms. Du said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "What kind of Pokémon do you have?"
"Treecko!" Lu Cheng responded quickly.
"Oh?" Ms. Du showed a surprised expression. "That's pretty rare around here."
"For Treecko, evolving into Grovyle is quite normal. It's like a second stage of physical development, which we can somewhat understand. But with Pokémon like Doduo, where two heads become three in the evolution, it's much harder to explain."
"Some Pokémon can evolve without training or special care. For instance, Charjabug evolves into Vikavolt when exposed to a strong magnetic field. This type of evolution, which seems almost like a cross-species change, is still a topic of cutting-edge research."
"And then there are those like Gloom, which need evolutionary stones to evolve. I recall you also have a Vulpix, don't you?"
Lu Cheng scratched his head, replying, "I had a little disagreement with a classmate earlier…"
"That's not important," Ms. Du laughed. "Everyone goes through things like that when they're young. As for your Treecko, I think providing the right nutrition to encourage its growth might be the key to its evolution!"
Since arriving in this world, Lu Cheng had been wondering about the true nature of Pokémon evolution. If battle experience alone could trigger evolution, wouldn't it be as simple as having his Pokémon constantly fight to rack up experience? The answer, clearly, was no. This meant that proper training and care were also essential parts of the evolutionary process.
Other conditions for evolution, like friendship-based evolution and trade evolution, were somewhat more straightforward. Pokémon like Crobat and Alakazam were rare, but examples of their evolutions could still be seen on TV.
What puzzled Lu Cheng was that he knew about Mega Evolution and Bond Phenomenon, but there was no trace of either in books or on search engines. Could it be that Mega Evolution hadn't been discovered yet? Shaking his head, Lu Cheng dismissed this idea. Though he had only been aware of the world's changes for less than half a year, this world had existed for over 4 billion years. Historical records even documented wars where both sides used Pokémon alongside modern weapons in battle.
The only reasonable explanation was that things like Mega Evolution and Z-Moves, along with the rare items needed for them, were controlled by high-ranking individuals. For now, this was far beyond Lu Cheng's reach. His most important task was evolving Treecko!
Ms. Du's suggestion was to enhance Treecko's nutrition. In terms of physical training, Treecko had clearly met the standards for evolution, so the delay might be due to insufficient nutrition. Lu Cheng couldn't help but laugh at the realization. No wonder they say being a trainer is a money-burning profession—improper nutrition could even delay evolution!
It made sense, though. For example, Hu Sheng had spent a fortune on Pokéblocks to evolve his Charmander, nearly enough to buy a small car. Lu Cheng checked his system account balance, which showed over 7,000 yuan, an amount he could withdraw as cash from the system if needed. This 7,000 yuan represented his family's entire savings! If push came to shove, he might need to ask his parents for help—after all, he couldn't afford to be careless when it came to Treecko's evolution.
As for being a "fashion model" for his senior's clothing project, Lu Cheng had never planned to charge for it—he considered it just a friendly favor. But now, his priority was finding high-quality Pokémon food to aid Treecko's evolution.
During dinner, Lu Cheng brought up the issue with his father.
"Dad, didn't you mention a colleague who deals in Pokéblocks? Could you introduce me to him?"
"What's this about?" His father, just as he was bringing out dinner for Vulpix and Treecko, looked surprised. "Are Vulpix and Treecko not happy with my cooking?"
Looking down at the two Pokémon, he saw them shaking their heads furiously. Are you kidding? How could Pokéblocks compare to spicy chicken and braised pork? Both Pokémon had completely fallen for his father's cooking, to the point that they didn't even look at Berries anymore.
"It's not that, Dad," Lu Cheng said with a bitter smile. "Your cooking is great, but evolution requires specific nutrients, and only Pokéblocks can provide that."
"I forgot all about that!" His father smacked his forehead as the realization dawned. "No wonder whenever I try their food, it feels like something's missing—it's because I forgot the Pokéblocks!"
Lu Cheng swallowed hard. Dad, you're into eating Pokémon food now? He had clearly forgotten about the time he sneaked a sip of Moomoo Milk. His father continued, "That's not a problem. Tomorrow, I'll take you to meet him!"
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