The next day, Silas woke up early.
After having breakfast together with all the Pokémon, he also replaced Phione's nutrient solution.
Just like before, he asked Kangaskhan to stay behind and watch the house. Then he called over the Noibat trio and the Mudsdale brothers, setting out together from the ranch toward the location where the Carbink tribe was living.
He brought the Noibat along to prevent himself from getting lost inside the cave—after all, ultrasonic waves were an excellent scouting method.
About half an hour later…
Standing beside the cave entrance, Silas patted a Poké Ball at his waist. "Noibat, I'll leave it to you."
The largest and most robust Noibat appeared. It first affectionately nuzzled up to Silas, then controlled its pair of oversized ears to release ultrasonic waves.
The ultrasound swept through the cave like a three-dimensional radar. Before long, Noibat had grasped the full layout of the cave's interior.
"Noi Noi~"
(Silas, I've discovered two kinds of Pokémon.)
"Hm?" Silas murmured softly, thinking to himself, Could it be that the Carbink invited other Pokémon to help them?
"Don't tell me it's a Gabite!"
As far as he knew, the only Pokémon that would help Carbink drive away Sableye was Gabite, and it would usually wipe them out completely.
Of course, it wasn't because Gabite and Carbink had any sort of symbiotic relationship—it was simply because Gabite liked shiny things.
Carbink were covered head to toe in gemstones, perfectly matching Gabite's tastes.
From the Carbink's perspective, having a Gabite living in the cave brought nothing but benefits.
It was basically acknowledging a boss while also receiving guaranteed protection for their lives.
As long as Gabite was kept satisfied, the Carbink could continue doing whatever they normally did.
Overall, the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages.
"Can you roughly describe the outlines of the two Pokémon?" Silas asked.
"Noi~"
This time, Noibat released even stronger ultrasonic waves. Visible rings of ripples spread through the air.
A moment later, Noibat spoke again. "Noi Noi~ Noi!"
(One looks a lot like you, Silas, but it's very small. The other one is round.)
"Humanoid… small…"
Those two keywords immediately ruled out Gabite, and Silas's expression changed.
"Oh no—another Sableye has discovered the Carbink."
He inwardly cursed his luck. He hadn't expected another Sableye to find this place so quickly.
"Noibat, can you locate its position? Take me there."
"Noi!"
(No problem.)
Noibat replied confidently.
In its Tempered state, it was constantly growing stronger.
Its racial talent for ultrasonic waves had reached an almost unbelievable level. It could independently control frequency bands and accomplish all kinds of tasks.
Ultrasonic positioning was just one such example.
Noibat flew ahead, while Silas followed behind at a run together with the Mudsdale. They rapidly closed the distance to the Sableye.
"Kehehehe~"
The Sableye let out a strange, grating laugh as it toyed with the fleeing Carbink ahead of it.
That glittering body made it drool with desire.
In the darkness, its gemstone-like eyes emitted an eerie glow. The Carbink that had been hopping forward suddenly froze in place, its mineral face twisting into an almost human expression of terror.
The Carbink fell into a flinching state, completely unable to move, reduced to nothing more than meat on Sableye's chopping board.
"Kehehehe~"
Rubbing its sharp claws together, Sableye wore a bizarre grin as it slowly advanced, preparing to eat.
At that moment, loose stones at the cave ceiling were disturbed and came crashing down all at once.
Completely unprepared, Sableye was struck head-on, the falling rocks burying it solidly beneath them.
"Noi…"
Noibat appeared at the other end of the cave, laughing loudly. Its scheme had successfully struck the enemy, and it was visibly delighted.
"Watch out!" Silas suddenly shouted.
Almost at the exact moment his voice fell, the pile of rocks exploded outward from within. Sableye burst free, its icy, razor-sharp claws flashing into view.
In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance to Noibat and unleashed a rapid series of slashes.
Fury Swipes!
With Silas's warning, and given Noibat's own solid combat instincts, it wasn't caught off guard.
Facing what seemed like an unavoidable attack, Noibat beat its wings and traced a crescent-shaped arc through the air, not only dodging the assault but also reappearing behind the Sableye.
Ultrasonic waves restricted its movements. Before the Sableye could react, Noibat launched Dragon Rush.
Wrapped in a ferocious momentum, Noibat seized the Sableye from behind and smashed it into the ground, forcibly plowing a trench dozens of meters long before finally coming to a stop.
It wasn't that Noibat didn't want to continue—it was simply that the Sableye had already lost its ability to fight.
Even the gemstones in its eye sockets had popped out.
Its eyes had quite literally fallen onto the ground, an unintentionally comical sight.
"Draa~"
With the battle over, Noibat let out an extremely satisfying draconic roar. Every fight made its blood boil, causing the Dragon-type energy within its body to surge violently.
Today was no exception—and it had already reached a level that could no longer be suppressed.
The cave echoed with Noibat's dragon cry. In the enclosed environment, the sound overlapped again and again, growing increasingly thunderous.
Until, at a certain moment, the roar lost its childish tone, and Noibat was enveloped from within by the white light of evolution.
All of this happened in an instant. From Sableye's ambush to Noibat's victory, only a few seconds had passed.
From Silas's perspective, the Sableye defeated by Noibat had filled its experience bar all at once, causing the light of evolution to flare up around its body.
"You two come out as well! Help keep watch on the surroundings."
Silas released the other two Noibat. Upon appearing, they looked at their evolving companion with undisguised envy—if only they had been the ones to fight the Sableye just now!
Unfortunately, they had missed their chance.
The two Noibat each took a position, releasing ultrasonic waves outward to search for any other Sableye that might still be hiding in the cave.
With their companion evolving right before their eyes, Sableye had effectively become synonymous with evolution in their minds.
They desperately wanted to find another one, defeat it, and evolve immediately themselves.
Sadly, reality did not go as they hoped.
Until Noibat completed its evolution, they failed to find a second Sableye.
"NOOOI~!"
The newly evolved Noivern raised its head and let out an excited roar, venting the exhilaration surging through its heart.
But in the very next moment—
Thump!
Noivern's head slammed straight into the cave ceiling.
Loose rocks rained down all at once, leaving Noivern with a head full of painful bumps.
What should have been a cool, heroic evolutionary debut was completely ruined by Noivern itself, turning the scene into pure comedy.
"Noi~ Noi!"
The two Noibat nearby snickered quietly. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't hide the sour envy in their eyes.
Didn't we agree we'd all be Noibat forever? And yet you secretly went and evolved?!
"Noi!"
Noivern lowered its head in displeasure and looked over. Spreading its wings, it whipped up a fierce gust of wind that blew the two Noibat sprawling, which finally put it in a better mood.
"You've already evolved, and you still don't look like a grown-up at all."
Silas shook his head helplessly and stepped forward to pat Noivern.
What he felt was cold—like touching a piece of metal.
"Noi~"
Seeing it was Silas, Noivern obediently lowered its head, stretched out its tongue to give a lick, and leaned its head against him.
They say girls change drastically as they grow up, and dragon Pokémon aren't much different.
Compared to its time as a Noibat, aside from the iconic pair of enormous ears, it was almost impossible to tell that Noivern and Noibat belonged to the same evolutionary line.
There were many such drastic transformations among Dragon-type Pokémon.
For example: Dragonite and Dragonair, Flygon and Vibrava, Shelgon and Salamence.
The change before and after evolution was so great that even their parents wouldn't dare recognize them.
(End of Chapter)