Shane glanced at the necklace and quickly ushered Jas—who was still about to pry further—aside with a knowing look.
He then took the freshly baked cake out of the oven.
Jas scampered over to turn off the lights.
In the soft glow of candlelight, Marnie closed her eyes.
"I hope everyone is doing well," she murmured softly.
Time passed into the evening. Just as the last bomb exploded in a corner of the mine, Ron spotted a colorful stone nestled between two rocks.
Ron paused in surprise, then hurried over to pick it up, examining it closely in his hands.
"Is this… a Prismatic Shard?"
This was an unexpected but welcome find. While Ron didn't currently need Prismatic Shards for anything else, he knew he could exchange one at the desert pillars for a Galaxy Sword—a weapon that dealt significantly more damage than Gloom's current Obsidian Edge.
Seeing this, Ron called over Gloom, who had just repelled a flying Dunsparce with a single sword strike.
"That's enough for today," Ron said.
"Gloooom~" Gloom responded, letting Froakie finish off the remaining enemies before trotting over with Froakie in tow.
Meanwhile, Nacli emerged from the sand, balancing two evolutionary stones it had dug up on its head.
The moment it surfaced, it was startled by Sandy, who'd been waiting nearby.
"Good evening," Sandy said, crouching down and greeting Nacli warmly. "Do you remember me? I live in that shop over there."
She pointed toward the only building glowing in the darkness.
She'd been quietly observing Nacli for a while now. With so little to do in the Desert, Nacli was practically the only moving thing around—besides the occasional crows flying overhead and the silent woman living in the distant tent.
"Nacli?" Nacli first carefully repositioned the scattered Evolution Stones back onto its head before turning to look at Sandy.
"If you're not busy during the day, would you like to come play at the shop sometime?"
"Nacli?" Nacli looked back and forth between the distant shop and Sandy, then slowly nodded.
Just then, Ron emerged from the mine and saw Sandy hugging Nacli in the distance, cheering excitedly about something.
Noticing Ron approaching, Sandy sheepishly set Nacli down and waved hello.
Since Nacli belonged to Ron, she explained that she'd invited it to visit the Oasis.
"As long as it's willing, that's fine," Ron said, waving it off—he didn't mind at all. After a brief pause, however, he reached into his backpack, pulled out some healing items, and handed them to Sandy.
"Starting soon, these two—plus a Geodude—will be coming here regularly to mine," Ron added. "If they get hurt, could you please help apply some medicine?"
After all, this wasn't a game. Ron still wasn't sure whether the world followed the same rules as in-game—where Pokémon would automatically wake up in a clinic or Pokémon Center after nearly dying from an accident.
So it was best to leave some insurance behind.
Although Gloom was already strong enough, if something unexpected happened, it would be too late to regret it afterward.
Sandy immediately agreed, carefully stowing away the medicine. After bidding farewell to each Pokémon, she headed back to the Oasis.
Once Sandy left, Ron walked over to the three stone pillars standing in the open space nearby, holding the Prismatic Shard.
Before he could even consider whether any ritual or offering was required, the shard in his hand flew straight toward the pillars.
As if sensing that the true wielder of the sword wasn't Ron but Gloom, the newly summoned Galaxy Sword shot directly toward Gloom.
At that moment, Ron noticed the two Evolution Stones balanced on Nacli's head.
Nacli had wanted to give them to Ron earlier, but seeing how focused Ron seemed on something important, it hadn't dared interrupt him.
Ron picked up the stones from Nacli's head and, after a quick inspection, recognized them as two Sun Stones.
"We actually got two today," Ron mused. He pulled out his Pokédex and cross-referenced the list of stones needed to unlock the greenhouse. Confirming that the Sun Stone was indeed on the list, he praised Nacli enthusiastically.
"Nacli!"
Nacli bounced happily in place, already eager to dive back into the sand to find more. But before it could burrow away, Ron scooped it up swiftly.
"That's enough for today—you've worked hard," Ron said.
"Nacli!"
Nacli stared at Ron and chirped joyfully.
Holding the Sun Stones, Ron turned to Gloom.
Now he had an extra Sun Stone. He recalled that Gloom had two possible evolutions: one into Bellossom using a Sun Stone, and another into Vileplume using a Leaf Stone.
Ron didn't have a strong preference either way—both forms had hands and could wield a sword just fine, so either evolution would work.
If anything, Bellossom was smaller and more agile, though slightly shorter than the sword itself. Vileplume was bulkier and heavier, likely physically stronger, and wouldn't struggle to draw the blade.
But evolution wouldn't reset the stats Gloom had painstakingly built through Potential Points—so there was no risk of suddenly being unable to swing a sword it could previously handle.
Whichever form it took, Ron was certain it would be absurdly powerful.
Gloom, meanwhile, was already testing its new Galaxy Sword. Compared to the old Obsidian Edge, this one was much lighter, allowing Gloom to swing it far faster.
If Ron hadn't announced it was time to return to the farm, Gloom would've gladly charged right back into the mine for another round of slashing.
Gloom couldn't quite explain its own obsession with strength—perhaps it stemmed from countless trembling nights in the forest, or those days spent buried in soil, shivering and praying not to be found.
All it knew was that it wanted to grow stronger. That was its only wish.
Thinking this, it cast Ron a deeply grateful glance, then dashed over, clutching its sword tightly.
Seeing Gloom approach, Ron considered for a moment, then decided to let Gloom choose its own evolution.
"So," he asked, "do you want to evolve into Bellossom or Vileplume? If you choose Vileplume, you'll have to wait a bit longer—but if you want to become Bellossom, I happen to have a Sun Stone right here."
Gloom, still hugging its sword, paused and stared thoughtfully at the Sun Stone resting in Ron's palm.
It clearly understood what its evolved forms looked like—and knew that once it evolved, there'd be no going back.
But…
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