Richard's eyelids twitched, his chest tightening at the sight.
This was the Wright family's heirloom.
And just like that, Aaron had walked off with it.
But he had no choice. If this secured Aaron's goodwill, it would be worth it in the long run.
Aaron opened the box with obvious anticipation.
A seed emitting a soft green glow lay inside. He immediately activated the system scan.
The item panel appeared before him:
[Name: Vital Seed]
[Type: Grass]
[Effect: When carried by a Grass-type Pokémon, it accelerates recovery of stamina and injuries…]
Excitement flickered in Aaron's eyes as he read the description.
Incredible.
It was the first time he had ever seen a Pokémon held item in person—and he was instantly hooked.
If Sceptile carried this, wouldn't that make its endurance almost absurd?
Thoroughly satisfied, Aaron looked up at Richard.
"Mr. Richard… Simon and Victor are good friends of mine. As for what happened earlier—I've already forgotten it."
Richard's face brightened at once.
"Yes, yes, of course!"
"Hahaha… You're absolutely right!"
"Come, come! I've already arranged a banquet to celebrate your victory—"
…
Aaron left without attending.
He had no interest in that kind of hollow celebration.
Richard transferred five million PokéCredits to him on the spot—the original agreement had only been one million.
Now it was five times that amount.
On top of it all, he'd obtained a rare Pokémon held item.
This trip had paid off handsomely.
As he walked home, even the evening breeze seemed lighter than usual.
…
After returning home, Aaron headed straight for the back mountain.
There was one more important task waiting.
That's right.
Grovyle was ready to evolve.
He reached the back mountain and released Grovyle.
"Grov—!"
Grovyle landed on the ground and glanced around in confusion. It had been training inside the Pokémon Training Space and had no idea why it had suddenly been called out.
Aaron walked over and gently patted its head.
"Grovyle… this candy's for you."
"Eat it, and you'll grow stronger."
He took the Pokémon Candy from the system backpack and handed it over.
"Grov—!"
Grovyle's eye lit up. It grabbed the candy and swallowed it in one bite.
"Gro…"
It narrowed its eye in satisfaction, clearly enjoying the taste.
Suddenly, its eye snapped open as a powerful surge of energy erupted from within its body.
"Grovyle!"
A startled cry rang out.
Brilliant light burst forth—the unmistakable glow of Evolution.
Aaron watched with anticipation.
Within the radiance, Grovyle's body gradually grew taller.
Its tail lengthened.
"Bzzz—"
A low, resonant hum filled the air as the white glow slowly faded.
Standing before Aaron now was a two-meter-tall, emerald-green, bipedal reptile. Rounded, fruit-like growths dotted its back, and a long, leaf-shaped tail swayed behind it.
Grovyle's evolved form—
"Sceptile—!"
Let out a powerful cry, excitement shining in its single eye.
Not long ago, it had been a bullied Treecko.
And yet, how much time had really passed since it met its trainer?
Now it stood here as a powerful Sceptile.
A faint glimmer shone in its eye.
"Congratulations… Grovyle. No—Sceptile now."
Aaron looked at his Sceptile—noticeably taller than the average one—and smiled.
A typical Sceptile stood at about 1.7 meters at most.
His had reached a full two meters.
Maybe it was the effect of the Wood Release modification.
"Scep—!"
Without warning, Sceptile lunged forward and wrapped Aaron in a tight hug.
"Oof—! Hey! Sceptile, that's too tight!"
"I'm gonna suffocate—!"
"Let go, you brat! If someone sees this, they'll get the wrong idea!"
Aaron struggled in its arms, laughing as he protested.
"Scep—"
Sceptile stuck out its tongue and gave his cheek a quick lick before finally letting him go.
"You little punk—trying to take advantage of me, huh?!"
Aaron lightly punched its chest and wiped the drool off his face.
"Sceptile!"
Sceptile barked again, sounding suspiciously like it was arguing back.
Of course, Aaron had no idea what it was saying.
He opened Sceptile's current status panel:
[Name: Sceptile]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Serious]
[Type: Grass]
[Ability: Verdant Avatar: (Sceptile can restore stamina and heal injuries through plants rooted in the earth. Grass-type moves gain 50% power.)]
[Base Stats Total: 530]
[Level: Advanced (Mid Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Champion Level]
[Known Moves: Pound (Proficient), Leer (Proficient), Absorb (Proficient), Quick Attack (Mastery), Mega Drain (Mastery), Dragon Breath (Proficient), Grass Knot (Proficient), Fury Cutter (Proficient), Leaf Blade (Mastery), Agility (Proficient), Leaf Storm (Basic), Night Slash (Basic)…]
[Special Bloodline: Wood Release Kekkei Genkai]
Skill 1: Wood Release: Wood Clone
Skill 2: Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu
Skill 3: Wood Release: Wood Barrier Jutsu
Skill 4: Wood Release Secret Art: Deep Forest Emergence:
Wood Release — Secret Art: Deep Forest Emergence (Special) (Grass) (Transformation):
Channels grass energy to rapidly force countless trees to erupt from the ground. The trees surge upward as if tearing free from their roots, instantly forming a dense forest. Within this forest, all offensive and defensive actions are under the caster's control.
Skill 5: Wood Release — Flowering Forest World (Special) (Grass) (Poison) (Transformation):
This skill can only be used after mastering Deep Forest Emergence. A number of flowers bloom across the trees. Once in full bloom, they release toxic pollen. Any target that inhales the pollen will suffer paralysis and eventually lose consciousness.
Skill 6: Wood Release — Wood Golem Jutsu (Not yet unlocked)
Skill 7: Sage Art: Wood Release — True Several Thousand Hands (Not yet unlocked)
[Special Skill: Sage Mode]
[Pokémon Held Item: Vital Seed]
[Description: Sceptile, a pokemon of the deep forest and the evolved form of Grovyle. Through highly compatible bloodline modification, it has awakened extraordinary power...]
...