Chapter 87: The Evolution of Slowpoke

“Slowpoke, use Psychic!” Cheng Cheng shouted loudly from the sidelines. However, it still sprayed Water Gun, and every shot was reflected back onto itself by Slowbro’s psychic power.

“Roar—”

Slowpoke fired another Water Gun, but this time the stream was much larger—it had become a Hydro Pump.

The Hydro Pump shot forward rapidly. Unlike before, Slowbro only shifted its position slightly and didn’t reflect the attack at all.

The Hydro Pump struck Slowbro, sending it flying. Slowpoke fired again, launching Slowbro into the air, where it quickly crashed back down. Slowpoke finished with a Headbutt. Slowbro lost its ability to fight.

“Slowbro is unable to battle. This round goes to Slowpoke. The test is passed.”

King Slowbro announced the victory. Cheng Cheng immediately ran over and hugged Slowpoke—finally, Slowpoke had won.

“All right, the second match is over. You’ve passed the second trial as well. Tomorrow will be the third and final test. For now, go and rest.”

With that, King Slowbro turned and left. The Slowpokes and Slowbros also scattered—some went off to fish, others to sleep.

The next morning, Cheng Cheng and King Slowbro gathered under the great tree once again for the third trial. If Slowbro passed this final test, it could evolve into King Slowbro and inherit the throne.

The thought made Cheng Cheng both anxious and excited, as if he himself were about to be tested. At this moment, he’d even forgotten that after Slowpoke inherited the throne, they’d have to part ways.

“I originally had a plan for this third trial, but now I’ve decided to make some changes.

Slowpoke, you now have two choices. The first is to choose to inherit the throne. However, since you didn’t pass the first trial, you’ll have to stay here and continue practicing until you can lift all four stone spheres at once. Of course, Cheng Cheng, you may leave.

The second choice is to give up the throne. If you do, you can proceed immediately to the third test. Though you’ll lose your chance to become king, if you pass the trial, you’ll still be able to evolve into Slowbro and travel with Cheng Cheng. Now, make your choice.”

“Moo~”

“Think carefully.”

“Moo~”

Slowpoke looked toward Cheng Cheng.

Cheng Cheng crouched down and spoke softly, “Slowpoke, it’s all right. No matter which you choose, I’ll support you.”

“Moo~ Roar~”

“Is that so? You’ve chosen the second option? Very well, follow me. It’s time for the third trial.”

Cheng Cheng hadn’t expected Slowpoke to choose the second path, and apparently without hesitation. The realization warmed his heart.

“In truth, between Slowbro and King Slowbro, I hoped you’d choose Slowbro. From the previous tests, it’s clear your Water abilities are very strong, while your Psychic powers are weaker. Evolving into a Water-specialized Slowbro will be better for your future growth.”

King Slowbro led Cheng Cheng and Slowpoke to the lakeside.

“The third trial is for you two to catch a Shellder together. The kind of Shellder you catch is up to you. Remember, the stronger the Shellder, the greater the help it will be to you after evolution, and the greater your potential. So choose wisely.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

King Slowbro picked a spot and sat down to watch. Cheng Cheng and Slowpoke stood together, discussing how to catch a Shellder.

[Slowpoke, what do you think we should do?]

[Fish with my tail.]

Slowpoke pointed to its thick tail.

[No, if you just fish with your tail, it’ll be hard to catch a Shellder, and even if you do, it’ll probably be a low-quality one. That won’t help your growth. Never mind, I’ll handle it.]

Cheng Cheng stood by the lake and released all his Pokémon.

“Everyone, use Psychic together to bring all the Shellder out of the water.”

“Ching-ching~”

“Sona~”

“Moni~”

“Choo~”

All the Pokémon used their Psychic powers at once. The lake began to churn, and many Pokémon started leaping from the water. One after another, Shellder floated into the air.

King Slowbro watched from the side but did not interfere.

Cheng Cheng quickly scanned all the Shellder with his system, rapidly reviewing their data. He only checked the quality ranking—if he took too long, something unexpected might happen.

Soon, he found the highest-ranked Shellder, a light blue one.

“This is the one.”

Using his psychic powers, Cheng Cheng brought the chosen Shellder to the shore.

“Everyone, gently return the others to the water.”

With careful psychic control, all the Shellder were placed back into the lake. Cheng Cheng didn’t want to anger them—if all these Shellder attacked at once, he might not be able to handle it.

“All right, Slowpoke, put your tail into its mouth!”

Slowpoke placed its tail in front of Shellder, but Shellder didn’t move. Slowpoke waved its tail repeatedly, but Shellder stayed shut, its shell tightly closed. The scene was awkward.

Cheng Cheng was tempted to force Shellder’s shell open, but reconsidered and decided to try communicating with it first.

Using his psychic power, Cheng Cheng reached through Shellder’s shell to speak with it.

“Shellder, I’m sorry for bringing you here, but I need your help. All you have to do is bite Slowpoke’s tail, and then you two can evolve together. Both of you will become stronger—wouldn’t that be good?”

Despite his efforts, Shellder still refused to open its shell, let alone bite Slowpoke’s tail.

Now Cheng Cheng was truly annoyed. Fine, if you won’t listen to reason, don’t blame me for being tough.

He gripped both sides of Shellder’s shell and tried to pry it open, but failed. He then tried using Psychic to force it, but it was no use—Shellder clamped down too tightly.

“All right, you won’t open? That’s fine, I don’t need you. I’ve heard Shellder meat is quite tasty—maybe I’ll just cook you.”

Cheng Cheng pulled a pot from his backpack, set up a stove, and lit a fire. He placed Shellder in the pot and added water.

As the temperature rose, Shellder suddenly leapt out. In that instant, its shell opened.

“Slowpoke!”

Slowpoke immediately swung its tail over, and Shellder clamped down. At that moment, both Slowpoke and Shellder glowed with the light of evolution.

Shellder grew larger, merging completely with Slowpoke. Slowpoke’s front legs rose, its hind legs supported its body, and Slowpoke successfully evolved into Slowbro.

“Amazing! Slowpoke—no, Slowbro!”

Cheng Cheng ran over and hugged Slowbro, then checked its new stats.

Pokémon: Slowbro
Type: Water, Psychic
Level: 38
Rank: Blue
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Oblivious
Hidden Ability: Regenerator
HP: 64/95
Attack: 46/75
Defense: 64/110
Speed: 16/30
Special Attack: 50/100
Special Defense: 60/80
Total: 300/490
Item: Mind Stone
Moves: Curse, Growl, Water Gun, Psychic, Bind, Headbutt, Water Pulse, Zen Headbutt, Slack Off
Learnable Moves: Protect, Psychic Shock, Hydro Pump

After evolving into Slowbro, all of Slowpoke’s base stats had improved significantly—almost doubled. The additional stats must have come from Shellder.

Thankfully, the Shellder Cheng Cheng chose was light blue in rank, so Slowpoke’s rank didn’t drop after evolving. If it had, Cheng Cheng would have been heartbroken.

“Congratulations, Slowbro. And congratulations to you, Cheng Cheng. From now on, you two can travel together.”

“Thank you so much.”

“By the way, now that Slowpoke has evolved into Slowbro, it can’t inherit the throne anymore. What will you do?”

“It’s not a problem. We have plenty of outstanding Slowpokes here, and besides, I’m still young. I could live for dozens, even hundreds of years. There’s no rush.”

Cheng Cheng knew Pokémon lived longer than humans, but he hadn’t expected King Slowbro to live for centuries—it truly amazed him.

“By the way, here’s your Mind Stone back.”

Cheng Cheng reached to remove the Mind Stone from Slowpoke’s neck.

“No need. It’s a gift for you. It’s just a Mind Stone, nothing special.”

“I really can’t accept it. The Mind Stone is precious. Originally, it was meant to help Slowpoke evolve into King Slowbro. Now that you’ve given it to us, what about the next King?”

“It doesn’t matter whether the next King has it or not.”

“In that case, let me offer you something in exchange.”

Cheng Cheng took out an item—a King’s Crown.

“I came across this King’s Crown by chance. It’s of high quality. Let’s trade.”

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to have something like that. Wonderful! Let’s exchange.”

King Slowbro accepted the King’s Crown. This was the special reward Cheng Cheng had previously received from the system. He had originally planned to use it to help Slowpoke evolve, but now that Slowpoke had become Slowbro, it was no longer needed, so he used it for the exchange.

“All right, let’s celebrate Slowbro’s evolution!”

At King Slowbro’s suggestion, everyone began the festivities once more.