Tetsuya looked at the towering mushroom cloud, and his heart sank. The secret base he had worked so hard to find had been destroyed just like that.
However, something unbelievable happened…
"Eh…?"
The mushroom cloud itself consisted of gas produced by the explosion, and it was also poisonous. Moreover, once it gathered in the air, it was difficult for the wind to disperse it. Under normal circumstances, firefighters used special equipment to collect such poisonous gas so that it would not harm people.
Yet the mushroom cloud seemed as though it had been sucked into a vacuum cleaner. It quickly disappeared from the sky, and the towering flames soon died out as well. They were extinguished in an instant, with astonishing speed, as though the fuel had been cut off at its source.
After all, the fastest way to put out a fire was to remove the combustible material. Without anything left to burn, the flames naturally could not continue.
It was truly bizarre…
It was impossible not to want to investigate!
Fortunately, with both Gengar and Ditto protecting him, even if Tetsuya encountered danger, he would not be completely helpless.
At this moment, Ditto stood on his shoulder, Houndoom scouted ahead, Mamoswine followed closely behind, and Beedrill circled around Tetsuya to ensure his safety.
Miltank served no purpose here, so there was naturally no need to send it out. As for Golurk, because of the Bright Powder, it too was unable to play any role.
As soon as Koffing appeared, it seemed to sense something. Without waiting for Tetsuya's command, it immediately rushed forward.
"Koffing? Be careful!"
Tetsuya naturally understood that Koffing had been attracted by the unusual gases over there. It could not wait to absorb them.
Tetsuya put on a gas mask. Faced with poisonous gas, this was his only option.
As soon as he stepped onto the training field of the Pokémon Daycare, he saw that half of the field had already become an enormous crater. The gas above it had grown very thin, but the inside of the crater was still shrouded in a gray haze.
It seemed that this explosion had expanded the underground area of the mine even further.
Koffing had undoubtedly already entered the crater. However, faced with such a deep, bottomless place, Tetsuya had no intention of risking his life. He could only wait patiently.
By this time, someone had certainly already reported the explosion. However, this place was located in the suburbs, so it would still take some time for the fire department to arrive from the city.
Naturally, Tetsuya could not leave. After all, he was now the owner of this place and also one of the parties involved.
Suddenly, a beam of white light shot up from the depths of the crater. Even in broad daylight, it was dazzlingly brilliant, even more spectacular than the towering pillar of fire from before.
All of Tetsuya's Pokémon, along with Tetsuya himself, were captivated by the beam of white light.
"The light of Evolution…" Gengar said through telepathy.
"What!? That shouldn't be possible. Koffing was the only one that went in just now. I know this Koffing better than anyone. For it to evolve, it would need another conjoined Koffing just like itself!
A Koffing like that is one in ten thousand. Finding one was already the good fortune of a lifetime, let alone finding two. No, it's much more likely that it's some other Pokémon."
Tetsuya's thoughts were also transmitted to Gengar.
As the white light gradually faded, the poisonous gas inside the crater began disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was as though a black hole at the bottom of the crater was drawing all of the poisonous gas away, and the walls of the crater gradually came into view.
Tetsuya did not dare blink. His Koffing was still inside the crater. He could only hope that nothing had happened to it.
The crater was a full two or three meters deep. Finally, as it narrowed farther down, it seemed they were approaching the bottom.
'This…
Was that… Koffing?
Ugh…Weezing?
Or… Four-headed Weezing?'
Looking at the creature before him, Tetsuya could hardly believe his eyes. Yet standing before him was indeed… a Weezing with four heads!
He had only ever seen such a creature recorded in ancient tomes. A normal Weezing had two heads, one large and one small.
However, this one was completely different!
To begin with, Tetsuya's own Koffing was already different from the vast majority of Pokémon. It was a conjoined Koffing, possessing two brains and two different toxins.
But the creature at the bottom of the crater had four heads, two large and two small. Each pair was connected by thin tube with another sphere in the center, making a total of four different toxins!
At this point, Tetsuya could not even be certain whether this Four-headed Weezing belonged to him. He had not personally witnessed his own Koffing evolve.
Moreover, for a Four-headed Weezing like this to exist, it meant there must also have been another conjoined Koffing just like his own. Unfortunately, he had not witnessed such a spectacular sight.
At last, all of the poisonous gas within the crater had been completely absorbed.
Suddenly, the Four-headed Weezing rushed upward straight toward Tetsuya. He instinctively stepped back twice, but judging from the two heads facing him, it really was his own Koffing. Tetsuya finally relaxed.
"Wee… WeeWee… Zingzing!"
Weezing soon floated in front of him, constantly nodding while continuously muttering excitedly.
"What is it saying?" Tetsuya asked Gengar through telepathy. He also wanted to know exactly how Koffing had evolved. It had somehow evolved without him knowing anything about it. Even after spending half his previous life researching the Poison type, he had never encountered such a creature.
If Tetsuya did not get to the bottom of this, he would never be satisfied!
After receiving Tetsuya's thoughts, Gengar began translating what the Four-headed Weezing was saying. "…I'm so excited. I actually have a companion in this world… After entering the poisonous gas, I found another Koffing that looked exactly like me absorbing the gas!
I'm terrified of fire, but my companion wasn't afraid of fire at all! I admired it so much. From now on, I'm no longer alone. I finally have a companion…
My companion was also very happy to meet me, but it was searching for its Trainer. We fused and evolved together within the dense gas deep inside the crater. Through our combined efforts, we absorbed every bit of the poisonous gas!"
'There really was another conjoined Koffing in this world…' Tetsuya was genuinely surprised. It had fused and evolved together with his own Koffing, meaning it would now also be his Pokémon.
It could not have turned out better. After all, his Koffing had just said that the other conjoined Koffing had been searching for its Trainer, which meant there was a very good chance that it had been abandoned.
"Tehaha…"
Tetsuya could not help laughing to himself. There was actually such a fool in this world, someone who had abandoned such a unique Pokémon.
Today luck… hit!
"Weez, Weezing…" the Four-headed Weezing cried again.
Gengar translated, "Let me introduce my companion to you. From now on, we're one whole."
Tetsuya nodded. That really was necessary. From now on, with four heads, they all had to work toward the same goal. Only by working together with one heart and one mind could they exhibit the true power of a Four-headed Weezing.
Weezing turned around. The other two heads immediately revealed unusual expressions…
Before long, tears were streaming down their faces, and they suddenly threw themselves at Tetsuya.
"!!?"