Just then, a loud and urgent bird cry echoed from the distant horizon.
Ariel put down his spoon and looked up.
A black dot grew larger as it approached rapidly from afar; it was a fierce-looking Swellow.
That familiar flying posture belonged to none other than Ariel's exclusive "Gold Medal Courier."
Ariel stood up, walked to an open area, and waved at the sky.
"Bird Bro, over here!"
In the air, the Swellow heard the voice that made its body shudder, and its sharp eyes Lock-On to Ariel below.
In the next second, its flight pattern visibly became flustered, and the frequency of its wing flaps increased significantly.
It recalled some unpleasant memories.
Seeing Ariel's "kind" smiling face, the Swellow shuddered and braked hard in mid-air.
It suddenly loosened its claws, and three boxes tightly wrapped in waterproof cloth fell from the sky.
Having done this, it didn't even have time to say hello; with a flap of its wings, it turned and fled as if some prehistoric beast were chasing it.
Its speed was at least twice as fast as when it arrived, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Ariel watched its retreating figure as it fled in panic, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"What a cowardly fellow."
He shook his head and walked to the drop site.
The three boxes weren't large, but they were quite heavy.
He checked the codes and seals on the packages, and after confirming they were correct, he easily shouldered them and returned to the Pokémon Center.
Inside the room, the curtains were tightly drawn.
Ariel placed the boxes on the floor and sliced through the seals with a dagger.
In the first box lay two silver discs: the Fire Fang and Brick Break TMs.
He picked up one of them; the surface of the disc shimmered with a digitized luster, looking very high-tech.
In the second box were rows of neatly stacked advanced pokéblocks.
Each piece was crystal clear, emitting faint energy fluctuations, clearly crafted with care from high-quality berries.
These two boxes were both rewards from this mission.
The third box contained extra resources he had exchanged in the Team Rockets' internal mall using league coins and points earned from recycling high-quality Charcoal.
A bottle of High-protein nutritional supplement for Pokémon, which could accelerate muscle Growth.
Three Water-type ite fragments, intended to supplement Froakie's energy during evolution and guide it to sense higher-level energy in advance.
There were also various other miscellaneous supplies needed for Pokémon Growth.
After sorting and storing all the supplies, Ariel leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.
The sense of security from his increasing strength brought him unprecedented satisfaction.
He took out three small transparent glass bottles.
Inside the bottles were three water-blue crystal fragments.
They were only the size of a fingernail with irregular edges, but in the dim room, they emitted a faint blue glow; for a Pokémon on the verge of evolution, these mild and easily absorbed fragments were the perfect catalyst.
On the Team Rockets' exchange list, these fragments were not cheap.
Ariel placed the fragments on the table, and as his fingertips touched them, a cold sensation traveled through his nails to his nerves.
Without any hesitation, he pressed the Poké Ball, and with a flash of white light, Froakie appeared on the table.
At this moment, Froakie's aura was extremely unstable, with faint wisps of water vapor rising around its body before quickly dissipating.
This was energy overflow caused by the precursors of evolution; its body had reached its carrying capacity, like a water-filled ball about to burst.
"Can you feel it?"
Ariel's voice was very low.
Froakie stared at the blue fragments on the table and let out a low, short cry.
It could sense the pure energy contained within the fragments, which shared the same source as its own.
That energy was tempting it, calling out to it.
"Eat it."
Ariel gave the command.
Froakie extended its suction-cupped paws, precisely grabbed a fragment, and stuffed it into its mouth.
There was no chewing. The moment the fragment entered, it transformed into a rich blue stream of light, flowing through its esophagus into its entire body.
Froakie's body shuddered violently.
Under its skin, blue veins bulged—a sign of energy surging wildly through its meridians. Then came the second piece, and the third.
All three fragments were consumed.
The originally dim room was instantly flooded with a blinding white light.
Ariel did not close his eyes; he stared intently at the center of the light.
He could feel the humidity in the room climbing frantically, with fine droplets of water even condensing on the walls.
This was the result of Water-type energy being forcibly materialized.
Evolution is, in essence, a violent leap in life.
For a Pokémon, it is an intertwining of pain and rebirth.
When the last trace of blue light was absorbed into the brand-new body, the water vapor in the room instantly burst, falling as a light rain.
On the table, the original Froakie had disappeared.
In its place was a sleek, deep blue Pokémon.
It sat there quietly, with a thick ring of white bubbles around its neck like a fluffy scarf.
Its eyes had become narrower, and its pupils held a cold sense of reason. Its hind legs were tense, as if ready to explode with amazing Bounce power.
Frogadier.
It looked down at its claws and then turned to look at Ariel.
Ariel picked up the pokédex and aimed it at the Pokémon.
"Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokémon, Level 16, Ability: Protean... Potential Assessment: Quasi-Elite Four Level!"
Level increased to 16!
Although it was only one level, the overall increase in Base stats from evolution made its combat power worlds apart from before.
Ariel walked to the table and reached out, pressing his hand on Frogadier's moist head.
Frogadier did not dodge; feeling its master's body temperature, its throat emitted a low vibration.
"How do you feel?"
Frogadier suddenly Splash from the table.
Its speed was astonishing, leaving a blue afterimage in the air.
In the next second, it was hanging upside down from the ceiling's chandelier, the suction cups on its claws firmly gripping the metal edge.
It opened its mouth, and a condensed Water Swirl quickly formed, emitting a sense of pressure several times stronger than before.
"Put it away."
Ariel said calmly.
Frogadier dissipated the energy and landed lightly on the ground without making a sound.
This level of body control was exactly the qualitative change brought about by evolution.
Ariel sat back in his chair, looking at the Frogadier before him.
Level 16, evolved into its second-stage form.
In the eyes of Trainers of the same age, this was already an achievement to be proud of.
But to Ariel, this was only the beginning.
Releasing Krokorok, Ariel took out the Fire Fang and Brick Break tm, giving them to Krokorok and Frogadier respectively.
Given their potential, Ariel wasn't worried at all about any setbacks during the learning process.
He spread the ancient map he had obtained from Soro on the table.
The map was made of some unknown animal hide, and its edges were severely worn.
What was drawn on it wasn't a standard map of the Hoenn region, but rather a rugged mountain range.
The lines were rough, and the markings were very strange, resembling more of a private treasure map.
In the center of the map, a special symbol was drawn in red dye.
Ariel's gaze fell on that symbol, his eyes turning deep.
Soro, illegal experiments, Black Charmander, sickly purple flames, mysterious ores... all clues pointed to this location on the map.
"Let's take a trip there."
۞۞۞۞
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