Intense white light burst from Yujira's body.
And instantly enveloped it.
Inside, the most miraculous and anticipated thing is happening for the Pokémon.
Evolution!
Among Natsuhiko's main Pokémon, besides Beedrill which evolved early due to its species, the rest are either in the second stage of evolution or just joined the team like Chimchar.
And now, the evolving Yujira is about to become the second Pokémon to evolve to its final form.
Suddenly.
Two pink threads emerged within the white light, flowing over Yujira's evolving glow.
"Two threads?"
Upon seeing the pink threads, Natsuhiko was startled.
Did Yujira just completely absorb the fragment of the Superpower Stone Plate so quickly?
It shouldn't be.
One of them is the fragment it originally absorbed, but what is the other?
This left Natsuhiko a bit puzzled.
However, before he could think too much, the evolution process quickly completed, and amidst the faint white light, the subtle changes in the Pokémon could be seen.
As the white light gradually faded, a brand-new Pokémon appeared in front of Natsuhiko.
Alakazam!
Just from the appearance, it wasn't too different from Yujira, with only some detailed changes.
First, its height slightly increased to 1.5 meters, and its two whiskers grew longer, its ears finer and sharper, the star on Yujira's forehead and the stripe on its abdomen were all gone, and even Yujira's large tail completely disappeared.
The most noticeable change was the item in Alakazam's hand, which changed from one spoon to two, and the Buddha beads in its left hand were now strung on its wrist, radiating a faint red light.
Its overall spiritual demeanor improved significantly, particularly with that gleaming forehead.
Legend has it that Alakazam's IQ reaches a terrifying 5000, and while its power diminishes after evolution, its psychic abilities reach a horrifying level.
Their brain cells are very developed, resulting in a gleaming forehead, and the older an Alakazam gets, the larger its head becomes, and the brighter its forehead.
"Hudi——"
Alakazam gently called out, a bit disoriented from just having evolved.
It felt as though it suddenly reached the time for evolution.
Natsuhiko smiled as he walked up to Alakazam, which now reached his chest, seemingly recalling when it was just an Abra hiding in his pocket, always sleeping.
"You've grown." Natsuhiko patted Alakazam's sturdy shoulder, genuinely expressing.
"Hudi——"
Alakazam also felt a bit nostalgic, having experienced so much alongside Natsuhiko, it never expected to truly reach its long-desired final evolved state.
Suddenly, it felt a bit lost, missing a goal.
"Evolution is a good thing, but it seems you'll need to work hard for a while to adjust to your changes before the competition starts." Natsuhiko said with a smile.
"Hudi!"
Alakazam has never turned down training.
"Alright, let me see your abilities and power after evolving, Alakazam."
"Hudi!"
With a response, Alakazam turned around, instinctively summoning its psychic power.
However, when the psychic aura appeared, it paused.
Originally, the deep blue psychic power was mixed with a trace of pink psychic power from the Superpower Stone Plate.
But now, in its subconsciously released psychic power, the pink took up at least one-third of the proportion, and it could sense that these pink psychic powers it produced itself, not derived from the Stone Plate.
Moreover, these pink psychic powers were clearly more potent than the blue ones.
Most importantly.
It suddenly had a feeling, as if...
As if these pink psychic powers ought to be its original power, and the blue ones just a disguise.
Not knowing why it had this feeling, though it felt assured it wasn't an illusion.
Shaking its head.
If it couldn't figure it out, it decided to set the thought aside for now.
Watching as Alakazam controlled its powers, the deep blue psychic gradually enveloped the pink psychic until all abilities returned to their original form.
Seeing this scene, Natsuhiko nodded secretly.
Alakazam had truly matured.
It knew Natsuhiko disliked ostentation, so it proactively masked the stronger pink psychic to avoid unnecessary attention in front of others.
At the same time, Natsuhiko could feel the pink psychic was distinctly stronger, though he didn't understand Alakazam's feeling.
After a simple adjustment to its state, Alakazam began to act.
With a flick of its spoon, a transparent blue barrier appeared in front of Doublade, significantly diminishing the physical attacks from Avalugg.
"Reflection Wall." Natsuhiko nodded silently.
The Reflection Wall is a technique that can last for some time, and while the Reflection Wall is present, the power of physical attacks Pokémon experience is halved.
Together with Doublade's defensive power and the Iron Wall technique, even though Avalugg is a Gym Leader Level Pokémon, it poses little threat now.
Soon after, a powerful spiritual force emanated from Alakazam, swiftly crossing the distance and entering Avalugg's body.
Strong Mental Will!
Avalugg staggered, unable to stand, and fell heavily to the ground, making quite a commotion.
Avalugg is a typical Pokémon with strong Physical Defense Ability but almost zero Special Defense Ability, and Alakazam's Strong Mental Will inflicted tremendous damage upon it.
With this move, Natsuhiko gained a clearer understanding of Alakazam's strength.
Gym Leader Level!
Yujira evolved due to the catalyst of the Superpower Stone Plate fragment, becoming Alakazam, and its strength directly crossed the threshold of Gym Leader Level, officially stepping into Gym Leader Level!
The first Pokémon among Natsuhiko's to truly step into Gym Leader Level!
Counting Mega-evolved Beedrill, capable of surpassing ordinary Gym Leader Level strength, Natsuhiko now has two Pokémon that can exert Gym Leader Level combat power!
Before the Lily Youth Competition starts, Alakazam stepping into Gym Leader Level absolutely provides a strong booster for Natsuhiko's ability to qualify for the Gym Leader assessment.
With Jynx gone, a few Pokémon easily defeated Avalugg with combined efforts.
Finally.
They had the opportunity to express their joy over Alakazam's evolution and subsequent strength enhancement.
The competition between them certainly brought Beedrill and the others considerable pressure, though it's positive, spurring them to work harder while feeling exhilarated for Alakazam.
Overall.
Alakazam's reaching Gym Leader Level as a core Pokémon identified by Natsuhiko is a significant improvement greatly affecting his overall strength.
With Alakazam's support, even Elite Level Doublade can now confront Gym Leader Level Avalugg head-on, which speaks volumes.
Of course.
Alakazam's evolution is an occasion for celebration, though their current operation isn't finished yet.
After evolving, Alakazam's psychic powers grew stronger, its Perception Ability markedly enhanced, and its comprehension of the technique Future Sight deepened.
Thus, it sensed this Ice Cave hadn't reached its end yet.
Inside, there might indeed be the Stone Plate fragments Natsuhiko awaits.
Not just the small piece obtained from Jynx, possibly one the size of a palm.
——————
Ten updates finished! Exhausted~~Finally asking for a vote one last time!
Thanks to the big rewards from the Dark Star Emperor and two rewards from Meows, thanks to all partners for their support of rewards and votes! Love you~~waiting for my next CD to recover~~