Gains and Lossea

Not long after Yuga contacted Wallace, Wallace used a Pokémon Trade Machine to send two Poké Balls to Yuga.

Inside these Poké Balls were two Shellder with green potential, both bred by the Sootopolis Gym. They had just been born and were still very young.

Yuga had initially intended to pay for these two Shellder, but Wallace refused to accept any payment.

According to the rules, such Pokémon transactions required going through official procedures, but Wallace found it troublesome and decided to gift them to YoYo Day Care on behalf of the Sootopolis Gym.

This way, they could avoid the hassle of paperwork.

The market price for two Shellder with green potential was approximately 300,000 Pokédollar each, so Wallace didn't mind giving them away for free.

Wallace's decision wasn't solely based on having excess money but also stemmed from the close and friendly cooperation between the Sootopolis Gym and YoYo Day Care.

He was benefiting from the collaboration as well.

Selling a favor to Yuga at this moment was worth more than 300,000 Pokédollar.

With the two Shellder in his possession and the King's Rock delivered from his order a couple of days ago, Yuga headed to the Ecopark to prepare for the evolutions of the two Slowpoke.

Yuga had never cultivating these two Pokémon before, but luckily, there were instructional videos available online with successful evolution cases to reference.

Such videos were typically behind a paywall, but Yuga had no shortage of money. He purchased several instructional videos and spent a lot of time studying them.

Upon arriving at the heart of Lake Isle on the Shallow Seashore, Yuga decided to evolve one of the Slowpoke into Slowbro first.

The process of evolving Slowpoke into Slowbro was relatively simpler.

The key to this evolution was for Slowpoke to use its tail to fish for a Shellder.

The reason Shellder would bite onto Slowpoke's tail was because it found Slowpoke's tail incredibly delicious. In Shellder's sensory perception, it could even detect the sweet scent emitted from Slowpoke's tail.

This was a conclusion drawn by Pokémon Professor.

Yuga even attempted to smell the Slowpoke's tail but couldn't detect any scent. It appeared that the human olfactory senses were quite different from those of Pokémon.

However, it was indeed true that Slowpoke's tail was considered delicious.

Although Yuga had never tasted it, he was aware of this fact.

Slowpoke's tails were a highly prized ingredient, found in some upscale restaurants. They were renowned not only for their exquisite taste but also for their nutritional value.

In the Pokémon world, there were dedicated Slowpoke tail farms specifically for producing Slowpoke tails as a delicacy.

Slowpoke's tails had a remarkable self-regeneration ability, and they lacked any pain receptors, allowing them to grow back quickly after being cut. This process did not harm the Slowpoke's health.

However, Slowpoke could not have its tail removed too frequently, as each regeneration required a long period of rest.

This was the reason why Slowpoke tails could not be mass-produced for the market.

Hence, while legitimate Slowpoke tail farms were allowed in the Pokémon League, unscrupulous businesses were severely penalized.

In addition to Slowpoke tail farms, there was another similar place known as the Leek Duck Cultivation Base.

Contrary to its name, the Leek Duck Cultivation Base didn't grow leeks but raised Farfetch'd to cultivate leeks.

It was said that the leeks produced by the Leek Duck Cultivation Base were incredibly delicious, just like Shellder tails. They were considered top-tier ingredients.

Of course, Yuga had never tasted them either.

Both of these ingredients seemed quite expensive.

Thinking about this, Yuga suddenly felt that despite being wealthy, he was still leading a relatively ordinary life.

Yuga: How about we start breeding a group of Slowpoke in the Ecopark and catch some Farfetch'd to grow leeks in the future?

Yuga released the Shellder into the heart of the lake, near the area where the Slowpoke would evolve.

Slowpoke had a natural instinct to fish with their tails in the water, and it was one of their favorite activities.

However, even though Slowpoke's tails were highly attractive to Shellder, getting Slowpoke to fish up Shellder and complete the evolution was not easy.

In this process, Yuga couldn't directly intervene, or he'd end up forcing Slowpoke's tail into Shellder's mouth.

The Slowpoke had a blank expression, and its tail hung in the water, gently swaying, but Shellder showed no interest, making Yuga a bit anxious.

Both of Yuga's Slowpoke had met the conditions for evolution, so theoretically, they should evolve as long as they could catch a Shellder. However, these Shellder seemed slow-witted, and Shellder didn't appear very intelligent either.

Yuga scratched his head, unsure of what to do.

At this moment, Yuga suddenly remembered something from the instructional videos he had watched. Although trainers couldn't directly interfere, they could use some inducement.

If Shellder, which was so close, wasn't biting onto Slowpoke's tail, maybe it felt that Slowpoke's tail wasn't tasty enough? Perhaps it didn't smell sweet enough?

With this thought in mind, Yuga went to the Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark, found some Combee, and obtained some Sweet Honey. Then, he applied the Sweet Honey to the Slowpoke's tails.

After doing this, it didn't take long for Shellder to react.

Shellder gently opened its tightly closed shell, revealing its dark face and tender tongue hidden inside. Silently, it began to move towards Slowpoke.

Slowpoke showed no reaction to this, still gazing blankly upward.

Finally, Shellder couldn't resist the enticing scent of Sweet Honey on Slowpoke's tail. It suddenly lunged forward, gripping Slowpoke's tail with its shell.

At the moment when Shellder clamped onto Slowpoke's tail, a change finally appeared on Slowpoke's previously stupid face.

Its eyes widened abruptly, then squinted slightly, and it displayed an extremely content expression on its face, as if...

As if...

Then, Yuga witnessed the light of evolution.

A milky white light enveloped Slowpoke and Shellder, and the forms of both Pokémon began to change.

Shellder became rounder and more robust, while Shellder elongated and securely fastened itself onto Slowpoke's tail.

When the light of evolution dissipated:

...

<<Slowbro >>

Type: Water/Psychic

Ability: Own Tempo

Gender: Female

Potential: Green

Level: 39

Moves: Curse, Yawn, Confusion, Water Gun, Disable, Water Pulse, Withdraw, Heal Pulse, Psyshock, Calm Mind, Block.

...

Yuga observed Slowbro after evolution carefully and noticed that its potential had improved slightly, although not dramatically.

Trading one green potential Slowpoke and one green potential Shellder for another green potential Slowbro, Yuga wasn't sure if he had gained or lost in this exchange.

Ignoring the potential aspect, Yuga was satisfied with the awakened moveset of this Slowbro. It had Heal Pulse for recovery and Calm Mind for strengthening, which was quite valuable.

¤

The Pokédex mentioned that Farfetch'd was exceptionally delicious when eaten with a specific plant, which should be the leek it carried. However, this book won't follow that setting; it's more humane to just eat the leek.