Slowpoke's Evolution

To evolve Slowpoke into Slowking, it required two things: Shellder and a King's Rock. Slowpoke had two evolution alternatives - it could either evolve into Slowbro by acquiring a Shellder, or it could evolve into Slowking by obtaining both Shellder and a King's Rock.

At present, the evolution to Slowking had not yet been discovered, but the evolution to Slowbro was already known. According to the game data, both evolution alternatives had the same base stats, with Slowking having a greater Sp. Def stat and Slowbro having a higher defense stat. However, Axel believed that Slowking was more powerful in real life.

His reasoning was twofold. First, he believed that the King's Rock provided a significant boost to Slowking, although he wasn't aware of its exact effects. The game data only mentioned that it could evolve Slowpoke and Poliwhirl, but Axel had a strong conviction that the King's Rock would enhance Slowking's abilities.

Secondly, when Slowpoke evolved into Slowking, a Shellder would bite onto its head. The more venom the Shellder released, the more intelligent Slowking would become. Furthermore, whenever Slowking yawned, Shellder would release more venom. This implied that Slowking would possess greater intelligence than Slowbro.

Axel had already instructed Gyarados to find a suitable Shellder in the sea, and it had successfully completed the task. As for the King's Rock, he had enlisted the help of the Pokémon in the forest to locate it. Just two days prior, they had found two King's Rocks and handed them over to Axel. Now, he was fully prepared to evolve Slowpoke into Slowking, with the only remaining task being to find, capture, and evolve Slowpoke with the Shellder.

Axel shared his plan with Noah, who seemed surprised. "Really? Slowpoke can evolve into another Pokémon? And it will be stronger than Slowbro?"

"Yes, that's my hypothesis," Axel replied confidently.

Curious, Noah asked, "So, what exactly is this King's Rock?"

"It's like a special evolution item. Based on my research, it has the ability to facilitate Slowpoke's evolution," explained Axel.

"Alright, let's do it then. When are we going?" Noah eagerly inquired.

"Right now," Axel replied, ready to embark on their journey.

As they stood at the edge of the sea, an expansive and seemingly endless expanse of water stretched before them. Gyarados accompanied Axel, while Noah and Slowpoke tagged along. Gyarados warned them about the dangers of the sea, mentioning that there were many powerful Pokémon lurking within. Even stronger than itself. They had to be cautious while swimming in the treacherous waters.

After searching for a while, Gyarados located the Shellder they were seeking. Axel had specifically come with Gyarados to identify a herd of Shellder in the sea. Upon examining their stats, Axel identified one with great potential, marked by a brown hue. Axel believed that for endeavors like this, having a Pokémon with exceptional potential was crucial. He didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

The evolution process was about to commence, but first, Slowpoke needed to defeat Shellder and convince it to join its journey permanently. When Shellder bit Slowpoke's head under the influence of the King's Rock, the evolution into Slowking would begin.

However, Shellder could detach itself, causing Slowking to revert back to Slowpoke. Hence, Slowpoke had to defeat Shellder in battle and then persuade it to become its eternal companion.

The battle proved to be effortless for Slowpoke, defeating Shellder with ease. The real challenge, however, lay in convincing Shellder to become a lifelong companion. Axel, Noah, and Slowpoke employed various persuasive tactics, offering Pokémon food, friendship, and other benefits. Fortunately, Shellder seemed to be without a family, which worked in their favor.

The persuasion process consumed an entire afternoon and evening. As the sun began to set, they finally succeeded in convincing Shellder to join them.

Axel retrieved the King's Rock and instructed Noah to record the evolution process. He intended to show the footage to Mark and submit it to the league for research purposes.

With Slowking holding the King's Rock and Shellder biting its head, a radiant glow of purple and blue enveloped them as the evolution toward Slowking commenced. After a short while, the evolution was complete, revealing Slowking to everyone present.

Unlike some other evolved Pokémon, Slowking did not go into a rampage; it retained its easygoing personality from before. It exuded intelligence and amiability. With the evolution concluded, they made their way back home.

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Two days had passed, and Axel had already given a Fire Gem to Ninetales, elevating it to elemental rank. Both his mother and father now possessed elemental rank Pokémon. Axel could also sense that Slowking was significantly stronger than Slowbro. In the forest, he had allowed Slowking to engage in battle with a recently evolved Slowbro, and Slowking emerged victorious with ease. Axel captured the battle on video and sent it to Mark, along with the evolution footage, explaining the significance.

Additionally, Axel hinted to Mark that the King's Rock might have the potential to evolve other Pokémon, alluding to Poliwhirl's possible evolution. He refrained from directly revealing Poliwhirl's evolution to avoid arousing Mark's curiosity and potentially encountering unanswerable questions.

Axel also dispatched the remaining King's Rocks to Mark via courier. After months of trial and error, Mark had finally determined the proper quantity for the solution to shadow Pokémon. He had already composed a research paper on the topic and submitted it to the league for verification. It was only a matter of time before he regained his fame, and he contemplated what he would request from the league.

His top priority was healing Noah's Scizor. One of Scizor's wings had been injured due to Axel's mistake, and he carried a deep sense of guilt about it. Axel wanted to rectify his error and assist Scizor in recovering from its injury.

While there were potential cures for Scizor's condition, they were prohibitively expensive, as only a select few Pokémon at Champion rank possessed the capability to provide the necessary treatment. Axel hoped to leverage the league's influence to secure their assistance in healing Scizor.