EPISODE 58: Whose the Slowpoke now?

Yesterday at route fourteen, while listening to Camellia's boring rock lectures, we were attacked by no other than Zozo and his turf. Zozo had reinforcements from the Pyroar turf with Arthur as their leader. Fennekin also evolved to Braixen after helping Camellia and my friends against Arthur. Arthur fell off a cliff and met his death, while Zozo was betrayed by his allies. Their pride has led them to their last agony.

Me and my friends are currently on route fifteen, a quiet route beside the sea. You could hear the waves coming from the blue sea. The sand was the most gentle hue of gold, almost earthen and muted, the humble star of the scene. 

Pokemons drifted ashore can be seen everywhere as we pass route fifteen. The breeze was also cool, even if the morning flower blooms bright across the azure blue sky.

Passing through the route, we saw someone very familiar. She had black hair and a white coat. She also had her shiny glasses. There was also a young man beside her, the young man was wearing a brown hat with a black jacket, he had a sharp eye with a brown hear.

"That woman looks familiar," Zhery recalled.

"Oh yeah, I know we've met her somewhere before." Camellia tried to recall, until the memory came back rushing to her.

"Ah! It's professor Bellice!" Camellia charmed as she remembered the day she first met the professor back at Covelry town.

"Oh right, it's been months now, and I've never seen her for a long time," I added.

"Come on, let's go greet the professor," Glade suggested. The four of us rushed towards the professor, and hopefully she still remembers me and my friends.

"Hey professor Bellice!" I beamed with joy as we rushed to her to greet her hello before moving on to the next route.

"Huh? Oh my! Well if it isn't Kalem and his friends." The professor looked turned her head around and saw us coming towards us.

"Long time no see professor!" Zhery greeted as we halted on the perfect distance.

"Well look how much you've grown." Professor Bellice teased with a smile.

"Guess what professor, I already have three gym badges!" I boasted as I showed my gym case.

"Astounding, so... I'm guessing you're headed to Silvent City next?"

"Yeah! It's the closest city to the cavern of the deep anyways."

"Oh professor! Take a look at my Pokemons!" Camellia beamed as she sent out all her Pokemons.

"Ah.. I see, so it looks like to me that your Fennekin evolved. Your Ivy looks strong as well. Oh? and this little shy Petilil looks so adorable!" Petilil hid behind Camellia's leg as the professor Evaluated her Pokemon.

"Oh by the way, I want you to meet trainer Arc." the professor introduced as he pointed at the trainer with a black jacket.

"Hi there! The name's Arc, and this is my buddy Chespin." the trainer introduced.

"A Chespin?" I called Irys to scan info about Chespin, a Pokemon with somewhat a green curve on his head with little spikes and a brown body. [Chespin! The Spiny nut Pokemon! A grass type. most gentle hue of gold, almost earthen and muted, the humble star of the scene.]

Then, all of a sudden, Zhery came rushing in with excitement.

"Wait, your Arc as in... THE Arc?" Zhery queried with excitement.

"Of course I am..." Arc smiled.

Glade seems to be familiar with the trainer as well.

"You're Arc, the new champion of the Kanto region right?" Glade reassured.

"Yup, and I also won first place in the Pokemon World Championships." Arc boasted.

"What's the Pokemon World Champions?" Camellia queried.

"Wait, you don't know what PWC is?" Zhery queried in surprise.

"Just like the name states, the Pokemon World Championship is a battle tournament wherein trainers, gym leaders. or anybody across the world can join. Arc is the current world champion after defeating Leon of the Galar region." Glade explained.

"Can I have your autograph please!" Zhery queried.

"Yeah! Me too, I'm so happy that I was able to meet the world champion!" Glade also asked for an autograph from Arc.

"Yeah, no problem..." Arc agreed.

"So Arc, are you going to participate at the Pokemon League?" I queried.

"Of course! That's why I started my journey here in this region." Arc explained.

"So that means, were rivals then!" I burst with passion.

"Umm yeah sure, you can be my rival if you want!" Arc smiled happily.

"The name's Kalem by the way and this is Riolu!" I introduced myself to the so-called World Champion.

"And my name is Zhery! I've been watching your battles for almost four years!" Zhery uttered with excitement.

"So that's why Zhery is good at battling." Camellia concurred on her mind.

"Well, I guess I have a top fan in this region," Arc exclaimed.

" The name's Glade. Don't forget me! I'm a fan as well." Glade beamed with excitement.

"So that's why the both of you are great in battling." I concurred.

"Well, what do you expect, we've been watching a champion... and we've been learning from the champion!" Zhery explained with joy.

Camellia and I were very unfamiliar with Arc. I don't usually watch PWC since when I was a kid, all I cared about was watching dad and mom battle with their Pokemons. Mom would always win since she was a trainer after all.

"So, Camellia, do you want an autograph?" Arc queried.

"Umm, no thanks... I'll pass." Camellia excused.

"About you Kalem, do you want an autograph?"

"Nope, I'm fine." I excused.

"So, enough of the introduction and why don't you four help me and Arc on my fieldwork?" The professor suggested.

"Fieldwork! I love fieldwork! I'll be happy to help professor!" Camellia volunteered.

"Sure professor, we'll be happy to help," Zhery uttered.

"But fieldwork is boring... I use to help my parents in fieldwork when I was young and it was boring. I had to observe Pokemons for hours!" I exaggerated.

"Fieldwork isn't boring! In fact, you could learn a bunch of new things through fieldwork!" Camellia objected.

"Come on Kalem! Stop battling for once in your life." Zhery teased.

"You just want to do fieldwork because Arc is there..." I teased back.

"What did you say!? Come back here Slowpoke!" Zhery teased as she began to chase me.

"And there they go again..." Glade sighed.

"Wait, those two always fight?" Arc queried in shock.

"Yeah, those two never stop fighting. They always tease each other no matter where they are, may it be mountains or even life or death situations." Glade explained with exaggeration.

Me and Zhery got tired after that long chase.

"Alright, since you two are done fighting, we can start the fieldwork!" Bellice uttered with determination.

"Today, I'm here to solve the mystery behind Slowpoke's evolution." The professor explained.

"Slowpoke? But... Nothing is wrong with slowpoke. It evolves into Slowbro and then Slowking." I complained.

"No, I'm trying to solve the mystery behind Slowpoke's tail before it evolves."

"Oh right, there are rumors about a Pokemon which bites Slowpoke's tail and evolves it into a Slowbro," Camellia recalled.

"When a Slowpoke hunts in the sea, its tail would normally be bitten by a Shellder. That's what causes Slowpoke to evolve into Slowbro. The Shellder that latches onto Slowpoke's tail is said to feed on the host's leftover scraps. Though usually dim-witted, it seems to become inspired if the Shellder on its tail bites down" The professor explained.

"What's bothering me, is that every time a Shellder bites Slowpoke's tail, Shellder changes form." The professor added.

"Yeah, Shellder somewhat turns into an unknown spiral Pokemon." Camellia agreed.

"And that's why we're here to find out! Come on out Slowpoke!" The professor sent out her Slowpoke from its Pokeball.

I scanned Slowpoke with the help of Irys, it had a pink body with a white end on its tail. [Slowpoke! The Dopey Pokemon! Water and Psychic-type. SLOWPOKE uses its tail to catch prey by dipping it in water at the side of a river. However, this POKéMON often forgets what it's doing and often spends entire days just loafing at water's edge.]

"Today, we'll be solving the mystery behind Slowpoke's tail." The professor beamed with excitement.

"Alright Slowpoke! Do your hunting job." the professor ordered as Slowpoke dips its tail on the water.

"I guess know we have to wait for Slowpoke's tail to be bitten by a Shellder." Arc hunched.

"This will take forever..." I complained.

"Come on Kalem, have patience. Slowpoke will surely be bitten right away." Zhery encouraged.

We watched Slowpoke for four hours and nothing happened. I don't why Camellia and the professor seem to be enjoying this none sense, I could really tell them the mystery behind Slowpoke's tail, but hey, it's fun to tease people and let wait for hours when in fact you already know the answer, besides, they never asked. Dad is a professor, and I did a similar fieldwork like this when I was young.

"Look, Something bit Slowpoke!" Glade pointed as his boredom disappeared.

Slowpoke lifted its tail only to show us that it was bitten by a Magikarp.

"Aw, I guess we have to wait again!" Arc suggested as boredom strikes back.

"Patience is a virtue, and waiting is a fun game!" Camellia beamed with excitement.

"When is waiting for fun?" I queried sarcastically.

Three hours later and Slowpoke's tail was bitten again.

"Finally! Slowpoke was bitten again!" Glade pointed.

Slowpoke showed that its tail was now bitten by another Magikarp.

"Shellder, please bite Slowpoke's tail already!" I uttered and begged as we waited for hours again.

Zhery, Glade, and Arc fell asleep but I was still observing Slowpoke since I got used to the boredom during fieldwork.

"One... Two... Three...." I was starting to count the grains of sand because of boredom.

"550... 551... 552..." I continued to count until 552 grains when all of a sudden, Slowpoke's tail was bitten.

"Alright Slowpoke, lift your tail!" The professor commanded.

Slowpoke lifted its tail, and finally... It was a Shellder!

"Glade! Zhery! Arc! Wake up! Slowpoke has been bitten by Shelder." I shouted at their ears one by one.

The six of us observed the tail, it wasn't biting Slowpoke... It was somehow eating the tail.

"Look at Shellder's mouth, it seems to be eating Shellder's tail and not just biting it." Camellia pointed.

"Yeah, but why would it eat Slowpoke's tail?" Arc questioned.

"Hmm, let's see... I know some people used to eat slowpoke's tail..." The professor recalled.

"But why would they eat Slowpoke tails? Isn't that illegal?" Glade queried.

"It wasn't illegal before, but now it is. I've tried Slowpoke tail before, the meat tastes sweet." The professor recalled.

"So! Meaning, the reason why Shelder is biting Slowpoke's tail is because of the sweet taste!" Camellia evaluated.

"Amazing evaluation Camellia, I see a future professor." Professor Bellice complemented as Camellia smiled back.

Slowpoke began to evolve, and finally became Slowbro! Shellder turned into that weird spiral rocky Pokemon attached in Slowbro's back.

"But why would it change form?" Arc queried.

"I know! Based on my observation, I can conclude that the reason behind Slowpoke's tail is... the energy found on Slowpoke's sweetmeat in its tail causes Shellder to change shape." Camellia concluded.

"You're right Camellia! That could be the reason." Professor Bellice complemented.

"I never knew you were this smart Camellia!" Zhery complemented.

"Well well, it seems to me that the mystery is solved," Arc uttered.

"Sorry but wrong answer. Heh heh heh!" I laughed slowly.

"What do you mean wrong? Camellia is totally correct." Zhery objected.

"All of you lacked observation!" I teased and laugh.

"And I guess you know the answer Kalem?" Glade enunciated.

My eyes glowed white and I began to explain.

"Of course I do, my dad is a professor remember?" I recalled.

"Wait, so your dad solved the mystery?" Professor Bellice hunched in surprise.

"Yup, and I knew the answer all along!" I boasted.

"Then why didn't you tell us from the very start!?" Zhery queried with frustration.

"Cause nobody asked haha!" I teased as everybody facepalmed.

"So smarty pants? What's the secret behind Slowpoke's tail?" Zhery teased.

"Shellder, in its greed to suck out more and more sweetness from Slowbro's tail, has metamorphosed into a spiral-shaped" I explained.

"So all this time, it was because of greed!?" Glade queried in shock.

"Yup! Shellder wants more or the sweetness in Slowbro's tail, which caused the Pokemon to change in shape." I added.

"Aw, my answer was wrong, and there I was wishing that I could become a Pokemon professor!" Camellia uttered.

"Cheer up Camellia! It's your first time, once you practice your evaluation, you'll be a great Pokemon Professor!" Professor Bellice cheered.

"I guess we're all done with this gobbledygook!" I smiled and laughed.

"You made hungry! On a second thought, you made me Hangry!!!! Come back here Kalem!" Zhery quarreled as she began to chase me again.

"Umm, what's hangry?" Arc queried.

"I guess it means hungry and angry?" Camellia hunched.

"Come on, since we're done with fieldwork, why don't we all eat dinner in front of the sunset!" The professor suggested.

At the end of the day, I was the one who solved the mystery, well technically my dad solved it, but hey? It turns out I'm smart when it comes to slowpokes. We were able to eat dinner on the beach. We watched the sun's galore set before the blue ocean.

Before we parted ways, I met a new rival.

"So, Kalem... Next time we see each other? Lets battle!" Arc uttered with determination.

"Sure Arc, I'll be waiting." I smiled as Arc left to continue his journey.

"There's no way you could beat Arc!" Zhery teased.

"Well yeah? I'll prove it to you! Just you wait!" I badgered.

"Stop fighting for once in your life!" Glade begged.

"Alright Kalem... Zhery... Glade... and Camellia... Good luck on your journey." Professor Bellice greeted.

"Thanks professor! Until we meet again!" The four of us waved goodbye at Professor Bellice as we continued our journey through route fifteen!

As the journey continues...