When it first joined the team, Porygon II most admired the Pokémon Blissey, and that hasn't changed even now. Blissey's soul-deep kindness and gentleness are things it could never learn, no matter what.
It respects this senior deeply.
The call continued.
The main reason for Dr. Akihabara's call was to thank him for the attention he brought to Porygon II.
With his help, Porygon II finally gained attention from various circles, no longer seemingly under a curse preventing it from being promoted forever.
Dr. Akihabara has an idea: once he captures the Zeroth Machine, he immediately plans to boost the promotion of the Porygon series, taking the opportunity to distribute some Porygon to those experienced, elite trainers.
Honestly, he also wants to give them to newbie trainers, but he's afraid newcomers might not know how to nurture them properly.
Plus, most of the trainers are young, and it's easy for Porygon to despise them, causing disobedience.
Baimu strongly agrees with this.
He hangs up the phone.
He lets out a sigh of relief, feeling reassured that Dr. Akihabara is safe. It spares him from troubling Hoopa, and he doesn't have to make an extra trip. After winning the competition, there's still a ton of things to do.
The new hard drive patch ... the more he thinks about it, the more excited he becomes.
"By the way, do you want to evolve?"
Baimu looks at Porygon II and asks, "You've been in this form for several months now. Are you interested in evolving into Porygon Z?"
Dr. Akihabara has a new patch that's safe—at least so far, the No.1 Machine hasn't shown any signs of rebellion, indicating the patch should be safe, without causing any drastic changes in Porygon II's mind.
Given that, Porygon II can start considering whether it wants to evolve.
For a Pokémon like it, evolving has both pros and cons.
From a game's perspective, evolution certainly boosts its output power and speed, but it might not be as versatile as Porygon II.
But from an animation, or rather a real-world perspective, evolution isn't just about an increase in ability values; it also encompasses some magical abilities that exist in game settings but truly do exist.
Porygon II's smart assistant feature on its mobile phone illustrates this perfectly.
Of course.
Whether to evolve or not depends on Porygon II itself.
"Pali..."
Porygon II seemed a bit dazed, wanting to leave the decision entirely to the trainer, but it knew the trainer would only toss the question back to it.
Should it evolve?
It glanced at the Evolutionary Wondrous Stone hidden on itself, finding it difficult to decide.
Consider it after the competition is over.
"Pali!"
Porygon II looks at the trainer, deciding to focus on the match for now, as it's not going to evolve immediately anyway.
Baimu patted its head and continued watching the Altered-color Gengar and Brother Dragapult play games.
Three minutes later.
He took Brother Dragapult's spot, placing it on his head, and eagerly competed against the chubby Altered-color Gengar.
Brother Dragapult, with black circles painted around its eyes, occasionally cheered enthusiastically.
Five minutes later.
Mawile took his place, rapidly pressing keys on the keyboard. Seeing its character's health deplete, its face gradually filled with anger.
Baimu and the Dragapult Siblings watched the keyboard worriedly, with Baimu having a blackened patch on his mouth.
Ten minutes later.
The Altered-color Gengar was gleefully battling Hydreigon, the character on screen being beaten back step by step. Hydreigon, sweating profusely, panicked, with its two side heads frantically tapping the keyboard.
Behind them, Baimu and Brother Dragapult carefully comforted the cross-marked forehead of Mawile, while Sister Dragapult tried to coax it back to watching the TV show.
Fifteen minutes later.
The Altered-color Gengar placed both claws behind its head, whistling complacently while using its feet to control the keyboard, facing off against Steely Aggron, which poked the keyboard slowly like an old-timer with just one finger.
Baimu sighed in exasperation, holding the wailing Hydreigon, whose neck bore a tuft of hair marked with a drawing of feces.
Brother Dragapult could barely hold back his laughter, "Pfft!"
Twenty minutes later.
The Altered-color Gengar donned the trainer's sunglasses, munching on snacks brought by Blissey and operating the keyboard single-handedly, not even glancing at the screen while sipping a drink.
It was incredibly suave.
Altered-color Milotic swayed its tail fins, but they were too wide making it hard to hit the keys, and it cutely asked the trainer for guidance.
"Meega~"
Baimu had to grasp its tail fin to assist in pressing down, with Brother Dragapult looking on in amazement.
Behind them, Hydreigon chuckled as it teased the Steely Aggron with ink marks all over its face. The pattern on Aggron's mane had nearly been rubbed off.
Twenty-five minutes later.
The Altered-color Gengar stared inquisitively at the white Raw Stone on the motionless keyboard, then turned to the trainer in curiosity.
Baimu moved the Corsola in disappointment, while behind him Altered-color Milotic with a drawn-on mustache, Steely Aggron, Hydreigon, and Brother Dragapult tangled into a chaotic mess.
Twenty-six minutes later.
The altered-color Gengar's gaze stretched from the huge tail on the table to the outside. When it spotted the dark eyes of Steelix, it scratched its head with a claw.
Gengar: "?"
Baimu was outside persuading Steelix.
Twenty-seven minutes later.
The altered-color Gengar stared at Porygon II like facing a formidable enemy, but the latter did not escape into the computer. Instead, it used its angularization to create two rectangular arms to battle it.
Baimu and other Pokémon sat in a row, watching this "deicide" battle with anticipation.
Thirty-five minutes later.
The altered-color Gengar chuckled evilly as it pulled out a marker, scrawling graffiti all over the face of the Porygon II that willingly accepted its loss.
Baimu and the other Pokémon were in complete disbelief.
Forty minutes later.
The altered-color Gengar looked awkwardly at the Blissey beside it, whose warm smile made it a bit reluctant.
So it extended a small claw.
Forty-five minutes later.
The Blissey returned covered in black scribbles, still smiling warmly, while Baimu and the group of Pokémon were heartbroken.
He shouted, "Is there really no Pokémon that can defeat it?!"
The altered-color Gengar proudly put its hands on its hips: "Keh-heh-heh!"
Like a demon king!
Baimu and the group of Pokémon's gaze suddenly shifted to Dragapult, which had appeared without anyone noticing and was startled into disappearing.
But under their continual, eager gazes.
Dragapult hesitantly reappeared.
It glanced at the computer and keyboard, then at the provocatively smiling altered-color Gengar, and finally at the trainer and companions who looked expectantly at it.
"...Waddles!"
Dragapult is up!
In front of the twenty-four-inch monitor, the altered-color Gengar and Dragapult squeezed into one spot, engaging in an intense duel based on a fighting game!
This was the battle of the strongest Ghost-type Pokémon!
Facing the fierce attacks of the character controlled by the altered-color Gengar, Dragapult calmly blocked punches, kicks, and skills, then launched a counterattack.
Baimu and all the Pokémon were excited: "Ohhhhhhh!!"
One minute later.
Dragapult endured the silent stares from the trainer and companions, suffering the graffiti torture from the altered-color Gengar.
"Keh-heh-heh—"
The altered-color Gengar laughed wildly.
In this team, it was already invincible in the world (at least in the game)!
——
Deep into the night.
After a noisy evening.
The Pokémon were sleeping soundly.
Porygon II, however, was unable to sleep.
The consideration about the new patch disk soon to arrive and whether to evolve kept it tossing and turning, even though it didn't need much rest.
"Pory..."
It quietly cried out, confirming that Aggron and others were asleep, then snuck out to the balcony.
The night wind was cold, making it shiver slightly until it got used to it.
Outside, the road was illuminated by pale lights, all around silent without any wild Pokémon, accompanied only by the bright moon and scattered white clouds in the sky.
This calmed Porygon II's restless heart.
Previously, it didn't understand why Aggron was so attracted to the moon. It was just an ordinary spherical celestial body, but perhaps in the future, it might have a chance to land on it.
But at this very moment.
Porygon II clearly realized the wonderful feeling of total inner peace that Aggron experienced while gazing at the moon.
"Pory~"
It slightly closed its eyes, trying to let its body carefully feel.
Suddenly.
『Good evening.』
An inexplicable voice sounded nearby.
Porygon II, shocked, quickly opened its eyes, never forgetting this distinctive voice due to its detailed database.
——Zeroth Machine!
It turned around, and the Zeroth Machine, which Dr. Akihabara had claimed to have traced during the evening call, was remarkably present in this place!