Two days later, which was also the very last day of March.
Behind the ranch, at the deepest part of the mountain cave.
Before Silas lay an extremely vast space. Luminous minerals were embedded in the cave walls, bathing the entire cavern in bright light.
Of course, compared to the radiance emitted by the pink diamond formed from Diancie at the very center, this illumination was nothing more than fireflies vying with the brilliance of the full moon.
In just two short days, an environment suitable for Diancie's metamorphosis had been transformed and completed.
This alone showed just how hard the Carbink had worked—running around the clock for a full twenty-four hours a day, all for the sake of providing Diancie with a comfortable and ideal environment.
Below this location lay the deep layers of the Earth's crust.
The dense Rock-type energy permeating the surroundings was the best possible catalyst.
After observing for a while, Silas still couldn't discern anything particularly obvious.
He turned to the elder Carbink accompanying him and asked, "How long will Diancie's metamorphosis last?"
"Bink~"
The elder Carbink shook its head and explained, "I don't know, mi."
"I've already sent some Carbink to look for the Diamond Minister. When he was young, he once raised a Diancie Highness."
"Alright then."
Silas gently touched the pink diamond. The information on the panel remained unchanged, with no additional feedback appearing.
He began to suspect that some conditions were still missing.
Diancie was a Pokémon with dual Rock and Fairy typing.
Its metamorphosis should logically require the fulfillment of conditions for both typing.
The Rock attribute was already present—but the Fairy type was lacking.
His gaze fell upon the busy Carbink around him. It seemed that expanding the Carbink population was still necessary.
After conveying his speculation to the elder Carbink, the latter expressed agreement.
All the Carbink were called together, and an experiment was immediately carried out.
With the elder Carbink taking the lead, all the Carbink simultaneously used Misty Explosion, a Fairy-type move that could be learned through tutoring.
A faint pink mist spread outward, filling the entire cave.
Standing right beside Diancie, Silas was the first to notice the change.
The constant light it emitted now brightened and dimmed like steady breathing. Gradually, Diancie formed an indescribable connection with the land itself and with the surrounding Carbink.
He reached out again and checked the panel information.
[Diancie (Undergoing Mutation): Current Progress 1%]
"So that's how it is!" Silas thought to himself.
Ordinary Pokémon needed to accumulate energy in order to evolve; pseudo-legendary Pokémon required massive amounts of energy to do so—just like Tyranitar's evolution during the Beach Festival last time.
As for Legendary Pokémon, their metamorphosis would only demand even more immense, perhaps even oceanic, quantities of energy.
Having found a genuinely feasible method, both he and the Carbink were delighted.
After observing for a while longer and confirming that no unexpected issues arose, Silas prepared to leave.
"Carbink, today I'll be taking the ranch Pokémon away for a week. Later, Pyroar will come over here. If anything happens, you can ask Pyroar for help."
"I'll also inform Pyroar myself," Silas added, just in case the Carbink didn't take it seriously. "You don't want Diancie to be affected, right?"
"Bink!"
The Carbink nodded earnestly.
Loyalty!
After temporarily bidding farewell to the Carbink, Silas went to find Noivern.
It was lazily sprawled atop a pile of glittering gemstones, fast asleep—gems that the Carbink had collected and gifted.
One share for Diancie, one share for Noivern.
He looked around but didn't see the two Noibat.
"Where are the other two little guys? Call them—we're heading out."
"Noi!"
Noivern rubbed its head against Silas, its large ears releasing ultrasonic waves.
Before long, the two Noibat flew out from the passageway.
They had gone nearly mad with urgency for evolution, spending every day frantically searching for a Sableye.
After recalling the two Noibat into their Poké Balls, Silas led Noivern out of the cave.
He shouted loudly across the ranch, and the Pokémon on the other side of the riverbank—Minccino and the others—came running back.
"Min?"
(Are we leaving?)
Catching the Minccino that leapt toward him, Silas pinched its ears and said, "It's about time. You should all go pack the things you want to bring."
"Min!"
Hearing that, Minccino broke free from his arms, called Morpeko over, and hurried into the house.
Meowth, Flabébé, Mareep, and the others were no exception.
They all went to gather the items they wanted to bring, packing them into the spatial backpacks Silas had prepared for them.
Just then, Cyclizar ran over from the direction of the chicken coop.
It was holding a large chicken cage and cried, "Cyc~"
"Living creatures can't be put into spatial backpacks."
"Cyc!"
After raising them for so long, Cyclizar was extremely reluctant to part with them.
Smiling at Cyclizar, Silas said, "Don't worry about the chickens. I've already arranged things with John and the others—the flock will be temporarily fostered at their ranch."
"In a week, we'll come back to pick them up."
Hearing that everything had been properly arranged, Cyclizar immediately stopped feeling sad.
After putting down the chicken cage, it also ran toward the house—it had things it wanted to bring as well.
With some time to spare, Silas went to the lakeside. Beneath the water, hints of green had already appeared—fresh lotus sprouts just beginning to break through.
"Relicanth, are you sure you're not coming along?"
While stroking the Veluza that had swum over to him, Silas called out to the Relicanth at the bottom of the lake.
"Bo…"
Relicanth responded dully. Right now, it only wanted to stay in one place and didn't feel like moving at all.
Seeing this, Silas recalled the Veluza into a Poké Ball and hung it at his waist.
Walking toward the nearby stable, he saw Mudsdale brothers bringing along mud biscuits and little snacks, afraid that it wouldn't have anything to eat once they arrived.
After confirming that everything was packed, Silas recalled them one by one into their Poké Balls.
He didn't forget the five little Mareep from their sheep village either. Aside from necessary food and snacks, there wasn't much for them to pack.
By the time he returned to the front of the ranch cabin, a whole string of Poké Balls hung from Silas's waist.
Thankfully, Poké Balls came with a built-in scaling function—otherwise, carrying more than twenty Pokémon from the ranch would have been a real challenge.
Once most of the Pokémon had finished packing, the male Pyroar hurried over.
Arriving at the ranch without a shred of a kingly presence, it collapsed onto the grass, panting heavily, its hind legs trembling, looking utterly drained.
Female lions… truly ruthless!
It was just one week—did it really have to be that intense?
"Thanks for your hard work, Pyroar. When I get back, I'll make you a special dish that can restore your vigor. I guarantee it'll raise your 'status' within the family."
"Roar~"
Pyroar responded weakly, barely having the strength even to speak.
Silas chatted beside Pyroar for a while, then had Noivern call over the elder Carbink to explain things again.
Only then were all his preparations before departure truly complete.
"Cyclizar, all of you go into your Poké Balls first. I'll let you out to play once we arrive."
Beams of red light flashed one after another as the Pokémon were recalled into their Poké Balls.
Kangaskhan was no exception, being returned to the Poké Ball hanging from Silas's neck.
The entire ranch instantly became empty and quiet, leaving only Noivern by Silas's side.
Wait—there was still an egg. Silas carried it strapped against his chest.
Everyone else could go have fun, but this little one absolutely couldn't be forgotten.
More importantly, there was the information on the panel.
[Phione's Egg: Time Until Hatching — 5 days 15 hours…]
That's right—the egg was about to hatch.
They had been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time.
After making a final farewell with Pyroar and the Carbink, Silas mounted Noivern.
Noivern grabbed the chicken cage, and they first headed to the Miltank Ranch.
After settling the chicken flock there, Noivern plunged into the clouds, soaring high into the sky and racing toward Lumiose City at top speed.
(End of Chapter)