Chapter 58: New Attributes

After everyone had resolved the issue with the Rakuten Kappa, they quickly returned to the main assembly hall in Futaba Town. Upon arriving, they were surprised to find another Professor Oak standing on the stage.

The discovery of two Professor Oaks astonished everyone present.

“What’s going on here? Why are there two Professor Oaks?”

No one had expected that two Professor Oaks would appear before their eyes.

“This one here is the real Professor Oak. That one over there must be a fake,” Ash declared, pointing at the Professor Oak opposite him.

Cheng Cheng, of course, knew that the other Professor Oak was an impostor, for he detected a familiar psychic energy emanating from him.

“Who are you? Why are you impersonating me?”

“I am, of course, Professor Oak. You’re the one pretending to be me!”

“You’re the fake.”

“No, you’re the fake!”

The two Professor Oaks began to argue.

“Wait a moment!” Suddenly, a young boy stood up from the audience. “Professor Oak, my Tyranitar has recently become inexplicably agitated and is starting to disobey me. If you’re truly the real Professor Oak, you should be able to tell what’s wrong with my Tyranitar!”

Tyranitar? Cheng Cheng was nearly exasperated—a random child could possess a pseudo-legendary Pokémon? After all his efforts, his strongest was only a Lunatone, and he had yet to obtain even one pseudo-legendary.

The boy had already walked onto the stage and released his Tyranitar. As the Pokémon landed, the entire stage trembled.

Upon seeing this Tyranitar—or rather, Larvitar in its evolved form—Cheng Cheng realized it wasn’t very strong. It was relatively small, likely still growing. To evolve a Pokémon before nurturing it properly was a grave mistake for a trainer, as it would limit its future potential strength.

“Professor Oak, can you check what’s wrong with my Tyranitar?”

“Let the Professor Oak who arrived first handle this,” someone suggested.

“All right,” came the reply.

The impostor Professor Oak approached Tyranitar, attempting to soothe it.

“There, there, calm down now.”

But with a thud, Tyranitar sent this Professor Oak flying with a single swipe of its tail.

“What an unpleasant sensation.”

The voice was unmistakable—it was James from Team Rocket. Cheng Cheng’s admiration for Team Rocket grew; their disguises were so flawless they defied the naked eye. If he couldn’t sense people’s psychic energy, even he might have been deceived.

The real Professor Oak now approached Tyranitar and began to soothe it.

“There, there, everything’s all right.”

He gazed into Tyranitar’s eyes.

“I see. Yes, I understand now.”

“Professor Oak, do you know what was wrong?” Ash asked.

“Of course. Tyranitar just told me. Cheng Cheng, I believe you’ve figured it out as well?”

“Yes, it must be something lodged under its right foot.”

“Exactly.”

Tyranitar raised its right foot, and Professor Oak removed a sharp thorn from beneath it.

“This thorn was causing Tyranitar’s distress. Now there’s nothing to worry about.”

“What a relief! So you’re the real Professor Oak.”

“Well then, everyone, the incident has been resolved. Now that it’s clear I’m the real Professor Oak, let’s officially begin our lecture.”

“Wonderful!”

Cheers erupted from below. Cheng Cheng and Ash, along with their friends, took their seats—reserved for them by Ayako—in the front row.

After a brief preparation, Professor Oak began his lecture.

“Today, I’d like to talk to you about the relationship between Pokémon and Evolution Stones.

“First, what are Evolution Stones? Can anyone tell me?”

Many hands shot up in the audience. Professor Oak selected one at random.

“Evolution Stones are stones that can make Pokémon evolve.”

“That’s correct, but not entirely precise.”

“Evolution Stones are a class of stones with mysterious powers that cause certain Pokémon to evolve. They are single-use items, applicable only to specific Pokémon, and can trigger immediate evolution.”

“Now, can anyone tell me what types of Evolution Stones there are?”

He called on another person.

“Fire Stone, Water Stone, Thunder Stone, Leaf Stone, Moon Stone, Sun Stone, Shining Stone, Dusk Stone, and Ice Stone,” a boy answered confidently.

“Excellent, but apart from these, there’s one more. Does anyone know?”

“There’s another one?” the audience murmured, curious about this last stone.

Cheng Cheng raised his hand.

“The Dawn Stone.”

“Exactly, the Dawn Stone.”

“The Dawn Stone is also an Evolution Stone. Currently, there are two Pokémon that can evolve using it. One is Kirlia, which evolves into Gallade. The other is Snorunt, which evolves into Froslass.”

This time, Cheng Cheng hadn’t consulted the system—he had long known about the Dawn Stone, especially since he owned a Kirlia and had discovered it could evolve into Gallade using such a stone.

“Now, who can tell me which Pokémon can evolve with a Fire Stone?”

A boy raised his hand.

“Vulpix evolves into Ninetales, Growlithe into Arcanine, and Pansear into Simisear.”

“And Eevee evolves into Flareon,” Brock added.

“Correct. Eevee is a particularly unique Pokémon; it can evolve with almost every Evolution Stone. As of now, we know of seven Eevee evolutions: Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Umbreon, Espeon, Glaceon, and Leafeon.”

Cheng Cheng remembered that there should be eight—there was also Sylveon, the Fairy-type evolution, which no one had discovered yet. He knew he had to act quickly.

Professor Oak then asked about the Pokémon that evolve with other stones, filling in gaps and sharing additional Pokémon knowledge. He truly was a Pokémon expert.

“Next, I’d like to discuss the final stone. This stone has the opposite effect of Evolution Stones—it is the Everstone. Pokémon holding an Everstone will suppress their evolution. So if you don’t want your Pokémon to evolve, let them carry this stone.”

“That concludes today’s lecture. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask.”

A crowd surrounded Professor Oak, bombarding him with questions well into the afternoon.

“Glug-glug—ahh!” came the sounds of contentment.

“This soup is wonderful, Ayako. You’ve gone to so much trouble.”

“No, it’s you who’s gone to so much trouble, coming all this way for the festival.”

“Not at all. Sharing knowledge about Pokémon with everyone is always a pleasure.”

“Professor Oak, may I ask you a question?” Cheng Cheng inquired.

“Of course, Cheng Cheng.”

“Professor Oak, are there really only seven Eevee evolutions?”

“Yes, only seven have been discovered so far. Perhaps more will be found in the future.”

“Actually, I know of another Eevee evolution.”

“What?”

Professor Oak set down his bowl, visibly surprised. Ash and the others turned to Cheng Cheng, equally astonished.

“Cheng Cheng, really? Which Pokémon is it?” Dawn asked excitedly.

“Dawn, quiet down and let Cheng Cheng speak.”

“Yes, Professor Oak. There’s another evolution called Sylveon.”

“Sylveon? Where did you see it?” Professor Oak was quite agitated.

“I encountered one during my travels. It’s a pink Eevee—very cute.”

“Do you have a picture?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“Then where did you see it? I’d like to visit.”

“Professor Oak, don’t be anxious. What I want to tell you isn’t just about Sylveon—it’s about a new type.”

“What!” Professor Oak could hardly contain himself. A new Pokémon type was on a completely different level of significance.

“Tell me, what is this new type?”

“Please, Professor Oak, don’t be so impatient. If you discovered a new type, what would you do?”

“I’d immediately form a research team! A new type hasn’t been discovered in ages.”

“Would you let me join your research group?”

“Haha, so that’s your intention! Of course, if such a new type truly exists, you’ll be the most important contributor.”

“No, no, I just wish to participate in the research. I want to become a top Pokémon Breeder, so I need to make some achievements.”

“No problem—but first, we must confirm the new type exists.”

“It certainly does. The new type I’ve discovered is the Fairy type.”

“Fairy type? Is it related to Sylveon?”

“Yes, Sylveon is a Fairy-type Pokémon.”

“Then we need to find a Sylveon.”

“No need, Professor Oak. I’ve discovered other Fairy-type Pokémon, and I have one right here.”

“Really? Show us.”

“Come out, Kirlia.”

“This is Kirlia, but it should be Psychic-type, shouldn’t it?”

“Indeed. Kirlia possesses both Psychic and Fairy types.”

“How do you know?”

“Because Fairy types share a common trait.”

“What trait is that?”

“Professor Oak, which type do you consider the strongest?”

“At present, it’s the Dragon type.”

“Exactly. Dragon-type Pokémon are generally stronger than others. But that’s no longer true, because Fairy Pokémon are completely immune to all Dragon-type attacks!”

“What?!”