Life on the ranch was always peaceful and comfortable. Every day was filled with scheduled tasks and steady routines.
After finishing the usual daily work and checking on the health of the Chikorita, Silas returned to the small house on the ranch. He leaned back in a lounge chair at the doorway, enjoying the warm breeze lazily.
At some point, Dolliv quietly appeared beside him and tugged at his clothes with its small hands.
Lowering his head in confusion, Silas met its gaze and then lifted the little Pokémon onto his lap.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you playing in the garden with Cinccino and Alcremie?"
Dolliv rubbed affectionately against his palm and made a soft sound.
"Doll Doll~~"
Silas nodded to show he was listening carefully and casually fed a piece of candy into Dolliv's mouth.
The candy was rock sugar that he had refined from the beet sugar he had boiled previously.
It tasted sweet and pleasant in the mouth, and all the little Pokémon on the ranch loved it.
"Doll~!"
Silas gently stroked the olive fruit on top of Dolliv's head while observing it carefully.
Pokémon modeled after plants usually had growth patterns that were quite easy to track, much like plants in the natural world.
Take Dolliv as an example. The green olives growing on both sides of its head had now begun to turn into an orange yellow color with hints of brown.
This change indicated the development of its fruit, which meant Dolliv had accumulated a considerable amount of energy. It was already very close to evolving, only lacking the final trigger.
Silas explained his observations to Dolliv.
The little Pokémon's face immediately lit up with excitement.
"Doll!!!"
It stood on Silas's lap and began spinning around like it was dancing, clearly filled with anticipation.
"So even Dolliv is about to grow up. After evolving you will no longer be a little one. You will become very big."
"Doll?" (So after I evolve, will I become an adult?)
Silas shook his head and tapped it lightly.
"After evolving you will only count as a big kid, not an adult yet."
Dolliv looked a little disappointed at first.
However, when it heard Silas's next sentence, its eyes began sparkling.
"Once you evolve and become a big kid, I will let you help take care of Jigglypuff, Cinccino, and the others. You can be the big sister."
Dolliv's evolution, Arboliva, had a standard height of about 1.4 meters.
That was roughly the same height as three Cinccino stacked together.
Dolliv sat obediently on Silas's lap with its small feet swaying gently.
In its mind it imagined the scene of itself becoming the big sister who looked after everyone. A sweet smile appeared on its face.
"Doll!"
The little Pokémon nodded seriously toward Silas, showing that it would take good care of everyone.
Soon after, Dolliv ran away to find the Mudsdale brothers and the others to help it train and accumulate energy more quickly.
With no Pokémon bothering him, Silas shifted into a more comfortable position and continued lying in the chair.
He had no idea that the Mega Evolution of Giant Dragonite he had displayed at the Snowbelle Gym had already caused quite a stir.
Compared to the Mega Victreebel and Mega Hawlucha that had been announced not long ago, Dragonite becoming the fifth Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution attracted far more attention than the previous ones.
In Celadon City of the Kanto region, inside a department store.
A red haired man wearing a black cloak placed three identical cloaks he had just purchased into his spatial backpack.
Recently he had investigated a secret Team Rocket base and his cloak had been damaged, so he had to come here to get replacements.
The transceiver in his pocket vibrated.
When he took it out, he saw that it was a call from his cousin Clair.
He walked to a quiet corner and answered.
"Cousin! Cousin!"
Clair's voice sounded extremely excited on the other end.
"Do you know about it yet?"
That tone made Lance raise an eyebrow.
Could it be that Team Rocket was causing trouble again?
"What do you mean? Did Team Rocket do something again?"
"No, no!" Clair hurriedly denied and explained rapidly. "Dragonite's Mega Evolution was discovered in the Kalos region. There is a battle video on the League's official website. Hurry and take a look. It's Mega Dragonite! It's adorable."
Both of them were members of the Blackthorn clan. Since childhood they had grown up alongside Dratini, and they had an almost instinctive fascination with the Dragonite family.
In other words, every one of them was a fanatic Dragonite fan.
Now that Dragonite had a Mega Evolution, how could they possibly remain calm?
The power boost brought by Mega Evolution was obvious to everyone.
Lance responded briefly and hung up.
He went to a Pokémon Center and borrowed a computer there to log into the League's official website.
Right on the homepage was an image of Mega Dragonite along with the battle video.
When he saw Mega Dragonite easily playing around with Mega Abomasnow, he could not help but snort proudly.
"See? This is Dragonite. Dragonite are the strongest."
However, as he stared at the Dragonite on the screen, Lance noticed something strange.
"This Dragonite looks extremely old. It seems even older than the elder dragons in the Dragon's Den."
He could not quite understand it.
But he already had the urge to travel to the Snowbelle Gym and personally test the power of this Mega Dragonite.
The one attracted by Mega Dragonite was not just Lance.
Professor Sycamore was also drawn in. After hearing the news, he immediately came to Silas's ranch.
"Professor, please have some snacks first."
Silas welcomed him warmly and brought out some small snacks that were always stocked at the ranch.
On the grass in front of the house, three dragon type Pokémon stared at each other from about half a meter away.
"Cyc!" (Unite against outsiders!)
"Draa!" (No problem!)
The stable triangular balance was instantly broken.
Cyclizar and Giant Dragonite surrounded Professor Sycamore's Garchomp.
Between them was a luxurious platter of berries along with a plate of Poffins that dragon Pokémon loved to eat.
"That one is the Dragonite that performs Mega Evolution with you?"
"That's right."
"It looks very strong."
"Rotom, please help record."
As Sycamore spoke, a Rotom shaped like a Pokédex floated out and began circling Giant Dragonite three hundred and sixty degrees, recording its data in normal form.
Five minutes later, before Giant Dragonite could show obvious impatience, the Rotom Pokédex quickly flew back to Sycamore and reported.
"Your Dragonite's six stats are more than double those of a normal Dragonite. It is an extremely powerful Dragonite."
"Silas, let's test the boost from Mega Evolution."
"No problem."
Silas called Giant Dragonite over. After all, they were only testing data.
And Sycamore had offered benefits.
Using a Malamarite Mega Stone that he did not need, along with this research invitation, Silas had already reserved a newly discovered Mega Stone from the League as well as a certain number of research points.
The Malamarite Mega Stone was useless if he kept it himself, so it was better to exchange it.
After explaining things clearly to Giant Dragonite, the trainer and Pokémon began Mega Evolution.
Sycamore and the Rotom Pokédex rapidly recorded all the data.
After everything was finished, Silas invited the professor to stay for lunch at the ranch.
Sycamore then left as quickly as possible.
The consecutive discoveries of new Mega Evolution Pokémon had given him a renewed surge of energy.
Especially since before leaving, Silas had given him the Malamarite Mega Stone.
He could hardly wait to begin his research.
However, the warning Silas gave him before he left made him fall into deep thought.
From Silas he had learned that Mega Malamar was an extremely dangerous Pokémon.
Returning to his laboratory in Lumiose City, Sycamore finally made his decision.
(End of Chapter)