And You Still Say You’re Not Cynthia?!

In the bright sunlight, Feebas gradually shed its blinding white light as its body elongated into a graceful curve. The once bumpy, dull yellow exterior turned sleek and glossy, and its now-revealed red eyes shone with lively vitality.

Its tail, covered in light blue scales that resembled a delicate fan, gently splashed the water. The scattered droplets refracted the light, creating a beautiful, colorful mist.

Click—

Cynthia captured this moment with her phone.

Milotic!

The Tender Pokémon, a pure Water-type and the evolved form of Feebas! Known as the most beautiful Pokémon and the living embodiment of the "Ugly Duckling" story.

"Ooooo—"

Milotic emitted a melodious, flute-like sound that resonated softly. The sight of Milotic's transformation left all the surrounding Pokémon utterly awestruck.

Even Cynthia was momentarily stunned.

Feebas… evolved into Milotic?!

It wasn't exactly a secret that Feebas could evolve into Milotic.

However, the commonly known method required the use of a "Prism Scale" and a trade evolution.

Most of the existing Milotic were either wild ones or evolved by those specific conditions. Some trainers who achieved the evolution had no clear explanation for why it worked.

Some said it was due to rigorous training, others attributed it to strong bonds, and some couldn't explain it at all.

And no one had ever recorded or traced the exact moment and process of this evolution.

To be honest, even Cynthia, who had been closely observing Feebas's progress, couldn't fully understand why it had evolved at this moment.

Was it self-confidence?

Milotic seemed pleasantly surprised by its transformation, but not entirely caught off guard.

It merely felt like the beautiful dreams it had experienced each night had finally manifested in reality.

"Ooo~~"

Milotic approached Cynthia and affectionately rubbed its face against her.

Garchomp, Lucario, Eevee, Roserade, and the other Pokémon in Cynthia's team gathered around, marveling at Milotic's beauty.

Even the previously sullen Spiritomb was left in a daze as it watched Milotic and Cynthia embrace.

After reveling in its evolution, Milotic dove into the water and began gracefully swimming, followed by several other Water-type Pokémon.

"Wonderful."

Cynthia's eyes curved into crescents as she pressed a finger to her lips and murmured softly.

"I should get an ice cream to celebrate."

"Should it be mint-vanilla, or strawberry-chocolate…"

"Garchomp!"

Seeing Cynthia entering her "ice cream dilemma," Garchomp waved its claws to signal to the other Pokémon.

Alright, alright, you all can go. She's not making up her mind before sunset.

"Ka-kah~~"

"Oowu~~"

Looking at the photo of Milotic on Johan's phone, taken by Cynthia, Haunter and Vulpix both zoned out.

So beautiful…

"No need to be envious," Johan said, rubbing Vulpix's head.

"When you evolve someday, you won't lose to it."

"Oowu?"

Really?

Little stars of hope lit up in Vulpix's eyes.

It suddenly felt a desire to evolve.

"Ka-kah?"

What about me? Haunter patted itself with its claws, eyes wide with anticipation.

Johan stared at Haunter for a long time.

"What a nice day we're having today," he said, turning towards the balcony.

Haunter grabbed the table's edge.

"Ka-kah!! (╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻"

Listening to Haunter's "hysterics" behind him, Johan winced.

Do you not even have a clue about what you'll evolve into?

Or are you seriously hoping to evolve into a Clefable?

Johan took out his phone and uploaded the photos of Milotic's evolution and the pictures Steven had sent of the happy wild Pokémon in the ecological zone.

He captioned them with a single line:

"There is always a beautiful side to humans and Pokémon coexisting, isn't there?"

In the Sinnoh Region

"Evolution?"

Professor Rowan had just returned from his field research and was astonished to see Milotic, listening to Cynthia's brief explanation.

Professor Rowan was the leading expert in the Sinnoh region, specializing in Pokémon evolution. His research centered around the theory that evolution could make Pokémon more mature or more "complete."

He had been in the Kanto region recently, conducting research with Professor Oak, but he returned to Sinnoh after discovering more mysteries worth exploring.

However, he still maintained close contact with Professor Oak.

Cynthia had started working as his temporary assistant, which was how she came across Johan online.

"Feeding it energy cubes, Pokéblocks, and telling bedtime stories?"

It hardly sounded like meeting any sort of evolution criteria.

Professor Rowan knew that Cynthia had sought out a Pokémon psychologist online, trying to help Feebas become more confident and lively.

They had indeed witnessed Feebas's changes.

So, was the key self-confidence?

"Let's do a check-up on Milotic first," Professor Rowan suggested, putting down his bag and loosening his tie.

"Alright," Cynthia agreed, helping him with the examination.

Afterward…

"All of Milotic's metrics are perfect."

Holding the report and watching Milotic play in the pond with the other Pokémon, Professor Rowan couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

Cynthia felt both happy and relieved.

"Compared to those that evolve with a Prism Scale, naturally-evolved Milotic tend to be more mature or perhaps more 'complete.'"

"Hmm?"

"It's not that using a Prism Scale is bad, but there are differences—psychological differences."

Professor Rowan elaborated:

"For instance…"

"If Feebas evolves with a Prism Scale, it gradually recognizes its own beauty through others' compliments. It realizes, 'Oh, I've become pretty,' and it subconsciously attributes some of the 'credit' to the scale and to the evolution, as these are what made it beautiful."

"On the other hand, a self-evolved Feebas realizes its beauty even before evolving. After it evolves, it naturally believes that others praising it is only fitting."

Cynthia suddenly understood.

One type of evolution resulted in a gradual, passive recognition of beauty.

The other involved an active, self-driven recognition.

The final outcome might seem the same.

However, Milotic that evolved with a Prism Scale required a process of gradually shifting from passive recognition to self-awareness.

But for those that self-evolved, this self-awareness was established well before evolution.

Thus, Professor Rowan described naturally-evolved Milotic as more mature and more "complete."

This aligned perfectly with his theory.

Although this distinction wasn't always apparent in other Milotic, it was particularly pronounced in Cynthia's Milotic.

It was genuinely confident from the heart.

That made it even more mature and "complete" than many other naturally-evolved Milotic.

"So… is the evolution condition self-confidence?" Professor Rowan muttered.

But instilling confidence in Feebas seemed like a monumental task…

"Cynthia, could you share this 'Grain in the Field's' contact information with me?"

"Hmm…"

Cynthia hesitated slightly.

But in the end, she nodded.

"Hello, I'm Professor Rowan."

When Johan received a call from Professor Rowan, he was a little surprised. But as he listened to Professor Rowan explain the reason for the call, only one thought popped into his head:

And you still say you're not Cynthia?!

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Powerstones?

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