Chapter 17: Unexpected Evolution

The morning sun had barely peeked over the horizon when Gladion was startled awake by a sudden spike of power on his ever active Psychic sphere.

He saw a brilliant flash of light emanating from his closet. He bolted upright, his heart pounding. "No way," he whispered, scrambling out of bed.

As he flung open the closet door, his jaw dropped. Where once a small, unassuming Feebas had been, now there was an elegant, serpentine creature. Its scales shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow, and its ruby-red eyes gazed at Gladion with a mixture of surprise and affection.

"You... you did it," Gladion breathed, reaching out to touch the newly evolved Milotic. "You actually did it!"

Gladion tried to communicate with the milotic to know how she managed to evolve using telepathy.

He was still bad at communicating with Pokemon with it but he managed to somehow figure out that his last night people talk managed to somehow convince the Feebas that it was beautiful. With the prism scale in the tank, it reached out to it to evolve by itself.

The Milotic let out a melodious cry, seeming just as amazed by its transformation as Gladion was. In its excitement, it attempted to swim in a circle, forgetting it was no longer in a small tank. The result was a comical scene of a majestic Pokémon flopping around in a too-small closet, knocking over stacks of books and tangling itself in hanging clothes.

Gladion couldn't help but laugh, even as he tried to calm his new Milotic. "Shh, shh! You'll wake up the whole house!"

As if on cue, there was a knock at his bedroom door. "Gladion?" came his mother's voice. "Is everything alright in there?"

Panic seized Gladion. He looked from the door to the Milotic, which had managed to wrap itself around his desk lamp like some sort of shimmering, scaled lightbulb. "Uh, yeah, Mom! Everything's fine! Just... dropped some books!"

"It sounded like more than just books," his mother, Erza, said skeptically. "I'm coming in."

"No, wait-!" Gladion started, but it was too late. The door swung open, revealing Erza in her pajamas, her eyes widening as she took in the scene before her.

For a moment, there was silence. Then Erza spoke, her voice surprisingly calm. "Gladion, dear, why is there a Milotic wearing your favorite shirt as a scarf?"

Gladion looked at his Milotic, which had indeed managed to get his Charizard-print T-shirt tangled around its neck. He sighed, shoulders slumping. "It's... a long story."

Over the next hour, as the rest of the household was roused by the commotion, Gladion explained everything. He told them about finding Feebas, about his research into its evolution, and about his plans for a Prism Scale business. His words tumbled out in a rush, punctuated by apologetic glances at his parents and occasional pauses to stop Milotic from knocking over more furniture.

When he finished, there was a long silence. Finally, his father, Ben, spoke up. "So, let me get this straight. You've been secretly raising a Pokémon in your room for months, planning to start a business selling its scales, all while knowing it would evolve into a creature too large to hide?"

Gladion nodded sheepishly. "That... pretty much sums it up."

To his surprise, Ben's stern expression melted into one of excitement. "That's fascinating! The evolution method you described - it's revolutionary! We must document this immediately!"

Erza, however, was less enthusiastic. "Ben, focus. Our son has been hiding a Pokémon in his room. He's not old enough to have more than one Pokémon yet. He already has two, Machop and Larvitar."

"But Mom," Gladion protested, "I've been taking care of Feebs - I mean, Milotic - for months now. And look how well he turned out!" He gestured to Milotic, who chose that moment to accidentally knock over a glass of water with its tail.

Erza pinched the bridge of her nose. "Gladion, it's not about your ability to care for a Pokémon. It's about following rules and being responsible."

Gladion felt his heart sink. He looked at Milotic, who gazed back at him with those large, ruby eyes. In that moment, he realized how attached he'd grown to the Pokémon. This wasn't just about business anymore.

"Mom, Dad," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "I know I messed up by hiding this from you. But Milotic... he's not just a business opportunity to me anymore. He's my friend. Please don't make me give him up."

The room fell silent again, broken only by Milotic's soft, musical cry. Even Gwen, who had been watching the scene unfold with a mixture of amusement and awe, seemed moved.

Finally, Erza's expression softened. "Oh, Gladion," she sighed. "You really care about this Pokémon, don't you?"

Gladion nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

Ben put a hand on Erza's shoulder. "Honey, maybe we could make an exception. After all, Gladion has shown remarkable dedication and ingenuity. And think of the research potential!"

Erza considered for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Alright. But there will be conditions."

Gladion's face lit up. "Really? You mean I can keep Milotic?"

"Yes, but," Erza held up a finger, "you'll need to take full responsibility for its care. That means cleaning up after it, feeding it, and making sure it doesn't destroy the house."

"Done!" Gladion agreed eagerly.

"And," Ben added, "you'll need to work with me to document everything about Feebas's evolution. This could be groundbreaking research! We would not be releasing it anytime soon though."

Gladion nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I've got pages of notes already!"

"One more thing," Erza said, a sly smile playing on her lips. "Since you're so interested in Pokémon care and business, you can take over cleaning the entire family's Pokémon for the next month. Consider it... job training."

Gladion's excitement dimmed slightly at the thought of cleaning up after his mother's fire-type Pokémon, but he nodded anyway. "Deal."

As the family began to disperse, Gwen approached Gladion, eyeing Milotic with a mixture of admiration and envy. "So, you've had a secret Pokémon this whole time? No fair! I want one too!"

Gladion grinned. "Sorry, sis. Guess I'm just the superior trainer in the family."

Gwen stuck out her tongue. "We'll see about that when we start our journey. I bet my Gastly could take your overgrown fish any day!"

As his sister stomped off, Gladion turned back to Milotic, who had finally managed to untangle itself from his clothes and was now sitting serenely in the middle of the room. He reached out to stroke its scales, marveling at their smoothness.

"Well, buddy," he said softly, "looks like we did it. You're beautiful, just like I always said you were."

Milotic trilled happily, nuzzling against Gladion's hand.

"You know," Gladion continued, a thoughtful look on his face, "I started this whole thing thinking about profit and business. But now..." He looked into Milotic's eyes, seeing the trust and affection there. "Now I can't imagine not having you on my team when I become a real trainer."

As if in response, Milotic wrapped its long body gently around Gladion in a serpentine hug. Gladion laughed, feeling a warmth spread through his chest.

"Okay, okay," he chuckled, gently untangling himself. "But first things first - we need to figure out how to get you out of my room without breaking anything else."

The next few hours were filled with laughter and near-disasters as the family worked together to move Milotic to a more suitable habitat in their backyard. There were mishaps aplenty - from Milotic accidentally soaking Ben with a misdirected Water Gun to Gwen nearly being swept off her feet by its powerful tail.

Milotic did not have any training as a Feebas in Pokemon moves and she did not have enough control over her new found power. Gladion promised himself to train her. He knew that because of him trying to evolve her without training it as a Feebas, he might have ruined it's potential.

By the time they had settled Milotic into a hastily constructed pool, the sun was high in the sky, and everyone was exhausted but happy. As they stood admiring their handiwork, Erza put an arm around Gladion's shoulders.

"You know," she said, a hint of pride in her voice, "for all the trouble this has caused, I have to admit I'm impressed. You showed real dedication and ingenuity, Gladion."

Gladion beamed at the praise. "Thanks, Mom. And I promise, no more secret Pokémon!"

"Good," Erza nodded. Then, with a mischievous glint in her eye, she added, "Because if I find so much as a Magikarp hidden under your bed, you'll be cleaning Pokémon habitats until you're as old as your grandfather was!"

As the family shared a laugh, Gladion looked at Milotic, floating contentedly in its new home. He thought about the journey they had been through together - from the ugly little Feebas to this majestic creature. It hadn't been the straightforward path to profit he had initially imagined, but somehow, this outcome felt even better.

With a smile, he realized that in trying to transform Feebas, he had undergone a transformation of his own.

----------Author Notes-------

Thankyou Josh Wells, Howellsy, crazy_empress 39001 for supporting me!

Y'all can read 12 extra chapters on my pat*reon.

https://pat reon.com/mrmime24

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