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Mudkip used Rock Smash, and Growlithe followed up with Take Down. The Graveler, hanging on with barely any health left, had no chance to fight back. Struck head-on by both of them, it lost consciousness completely and collapsed with a heavy crash.
A bright white light burst from Mudkip's body.
Mudkip had finally reached the level needed to evolve. Thanks to its trait, Philosopher, Mudkip could gain experience points simply through its daily periods of deep thought. Because of this, its level had grown faster than any of Nova's other partners. And this time, teaming up with Growlithe to take down a Level 58 Golem had earned it a large amount of experience points, making evolution all but inevitable.
Unfortunately, by the time Corviknight carried Nova to the right bank of the lakeshore, Mudkip's evolution had already finished. Nova hadn't made it back in time to watch it evolve.
When Nova finally saw his partner again, Marshtomp stood there looking as blank-faced as ever. That small, round Mudkip who used to tuck itself away in Nova's backpack was gone. In its place was a stocky, wide-eyed Marshtomp with an expression that could only be described as a living meme.
Species: Marshtomp Level: 23 Ability: Torrent Hidden Ability: Damp
Traits:
Philosopher - Marshtomp has seen through everything. It naturally knows how to use Detect, a move that the Mudkip line normally cannot learn. After successfully using Detect, it can immediately launch a counterattack. The type of the counterattack prioritizes the opponent's weakness, and favors moves with higher power. The counterattack is guaranteed to hit.
Fast Thinking - Even after evolving, Marshtomp still enters periods of deep thought or Calm Mind. However, its brainpower has grown significantly. Marshtomp's thinking speed is now very fast, usually finishing a thought within just one or two seconds. After each period of deep thought or Calm Mind, it gains a small amount of experience points.
Knowledge is Power - Philosophical thinking has strengthened not only Marshtomp's mind but its body as well. The power of its physical moves is greatly increased.
Marsh Hunter - The Ground-type energy within Marshtomp runs deep. The power of Ground-type moves is slightly increased, and the power of mud-based moves is significantly increased. Marshtomp's perception is greatly enhanced. By sensing its surroundings through the fins on its head and the receptors on its gills, it can detect hidden items and treasures like a trained search Pokémon.
Hard Vortex - The power of Water-type physical moves is slightly increased. When using Whirlpool, the number of turns it lasts is extended by two. Whirlpool also now traps the target, making it impossible for them to escape while they are caught inside it.
Moves: Ancient Power (Egg Move), Mud Shot (Egg Move), Wide Guard (Egg Move), Mirror Coat (Egg Move), Sludge Bomb (Egg Move), Detect (Unique), Protect, Rock Throw, Water Gun, Water Pulse...
Training Direction: ...
Specific Training Methods: ...
All things considered, the first stage of evolution had not brought a massive jump in power for Marshtomp. Aside from looking noticeably more blank-faced, the changes were steady rather than dramatic.
After spending time recovering, Marshtomp's earlier weakness in Water-type energy had been fully made up for. The Hard Vortex trait was not truly something new. It had always been there, buried inside Marshtomp even back when it was a Mudkip. It had simply gone unnoticed because of that energy deficiency.
In Nova's eyes, the most meaningful change after the evolution was a simple one. Marshtomp no longer had to retreat into the backpack just to think. Its Fast Thinking ability meant it could fall into deep thought anywhere, and at most it would pause for a second or two before catching back up with Nova's pace.
It reminded Nova of Little Blue, his Corviknight. When Little Blue evolved from Rookidee into Corvisquire, the change in strength had not been dramatic either. It was only after that final evolution into Corviknight that Little Blue had truly grown into its full potential.
That seemed to be the way of things. For many Pokémon, the first stage of evolution was less about a sudden leap in power and more about changing form to keep building energy. The real transformation almost always came at the final stage.
With that thought in mind, Nova turned his gaze toward Sprigatito.
The small Grass Cat Pokémon was sitting comfortably on top of a fainted Geodude, licking its paw and grooming its face with the kind of ease that suggested it had not a single care in the world.
Nova stared at it quietly.
Sprigatito had already passed Level 24.
In general, Sprigatito evolves at Level 16 or higher. Being a few levels late was nothing unusual. Marshtomp itself had been two or three levels behind schedule, and that had turned out to be perfectly fine. But Sprigatito was nearly ten levels past the usual point, and it showed no sign of evolving at all. That was harder to overlook.
If Mudkip had not evolved into Marshtomp today, Nova probably would not have given it much thought. He might have assumed Sprigatito simply needed more experience before it was ready. But now that Marshtomp, who had joined the team later, had already evolved while Sprigatito was still in its first form, Nova could not help but feel suspicious.
Had this little Grass Cat secretly decided on its own not to evolve, counting on the fact that Nova would never find out?
Of course, suspicion was just suspicion. Nova had no proof, and without proof, confronting Sprigatito directly would get him nowhere. He knew exactly how that would go. Sprigatito would act sweet and innocent, pressing close for comfort until he softened. If that did not work, it would puff up and roll around dramatically until he gave in. And if even that failed, it would go quiet and sulk, giving him those wide sad eyes until he felt guilty. Sprigatito had studied his reactions carefully. One of those tricks was always going to land.
So Nova made a quiet decision. He would find a way to test it. He just needed the right opportunity.
As it turned out, that opportunity was closer than he expected.
The group had spent the last stretch clearing out a colony of Geodude that numbered in the dozens. As was Nova's habit, even though these wild Geodude and Graveler had been the ones to start the fight, he still would not allow his partners to deliver finishing blows once the battle was over. However, his Pokémon did not tend to hold back during battle itself. Except for Nidoking, who Nova had told to avoid using his more brutal attacks, the others had fought at full strength. The Geodude colony had taken heavy losses.
Nova walked through the area with his partners, checking on the fallen Rock-type Pokémon one by one. They were all completely unconscious. He figured that, in that state, they probably would not mind if he carefully took a few things from them.
Rock-type Pokémon naturally carry various minerals and gemstones within their bodies, ranging in color and quality. As Nova made his way through, he turned up a decent haul. More than a dozen pieces of corundum of various colors, along with several rubies and sapphires. The quality was nothing special, so their resale value was not particularly high. Still, he could find a way to grind them down and use them as food supplements for the Ground-type and Rock-type Pokémon on his team.
Beyond the gemstones, he also found two Everstones.
An Everstone is a held item with a rather specific effect. It prevents the holder from evolving. Because of how narrow that use is, demand for it has always been low, while supply tends to be plentiful. The Geodude and Graveler line are among the most common natural sources of Everstones.
In terms of market value, an Everstone was not worth much. Nova had no particular use for one either. But the effect it had was perfect for what he had in mind.
It was exactly what he needed to test Sprigatito.