After some hard special training, the results were pleasing.
Krokorok rose from level 29 to 31, Inkay rose from level 27 to 29, Sneasel rose from level 26 to 27, and the most hardworking, Froakie, also rose from level 10 to 13!
As night fell, Ariel returned to the room arranged by the Gym.
He sat cross-legged on the floor, a pile of White Stones placed in front of him.
It was exactly that batch of "psychic miracle stones."
At this moment, Inkay was floating above the stones, its small body emitting a faint halo. One by one, the psychic miracle stones dimmed at a visible speed, eventually turning into spots of light and entering Inkay's body.
During this period, Inkay's absorption of psychic miracle stones had been startlingly large.
At first, it was just one per day; now, in just one afternoon, it had absorbed seven or eight.
The psychic miracle stones that originally occupied most of the space ring now only had a small amount of a dozen or so pieces left, probably less than one-fifth.
Ariel didn't know the specific origin or composition of this thing, nor was he a scholar.
But he knew very well that this thing was of immense benefit to Inkay.
The closer it got to evolution, the greater the amount absorbed, which indicated that its potential after evolution might exceed his imagination.
Ariel had always been willing to make this kind of investment.
He watched Inkay greedily absorb the energy of the miracle stones, the Psychic fluctuations around its body growing stronger, even causing the air to distort slightly.
Ariel silently calculated the remaining amount.
"At this rate, soon... all these psychic miracle stones will be finished by it."
By then, this little fellow who had been following him would also welcome its own transformation.
A flash of anticipation crossed Ariel's eyes.
He patted the dust off himself and was about to wash up and sleep when a voice interrupted him.
"Um... Mr. Ariel."
Ariel turned around and saw a girl about twelve years old.
She wore a simple dress and had her hair in a simple ponytail. Her eyes were clear and bright, and seeing Ariel look over, she lowered her head somewhat shyly.
It was Brawly's younger sister, Shauna.
Ariel had seen her occasionally over the past few days, always quietly helping out in the Gym.
"Brother said your training these past few days has been too desperate, and he asked me to take you to town to eat something delicious and relax."
Shauna's voice was very soft, but her pronunciation was clear.
Ariel originally wanted to refuse.
To him, eating was just a necessary procedure to maintain body functions; where he ate or what he ate made no difference.
But looking at the girl's eyes, filled with a bit of pleading and nervousness, he thought of Brawly, who had spared no effort to help with the special training these past few days, and that hardworking Hariyama.
He still understood this bit of social etiquette.
"Okay."
He gave a response.
Having received an affirmative answer, Shauna obviously breathed a sigh of relief, and a shallow dimple appeared on her face.
The dinner location was an open-air izakaya by the seaside. The sign was very distinctive, featuring a lively golden Magikarp with "Magikarp Feast" written next to it.
Of course, the shop didn't actually sell Magikarp.
A gentle sea breeze blew, the wooden floor creaked underfoot, and the air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat and rich sauce.
Brawly was already waiting at a table near the sea. He was shirtless, revealing bronzed, sturdy muscles, with a large glass of foaming orange juice in front of him.
"You're finally here! You guy, if you didn't come, I was going to eat your portion too!" Brawly laughed and waved as he saw the two of them, his voice loud.
Ariel sat down opposite him, while Shauna sat obediently next to Ariel.
"Come, try this, roasted Krabby legs, a specialty of Dewford Island!"
Brawly generously pushed a large plate of golden, oily roasted crab legs in front of Ariel.
"You, you're just a battle maniac who doesn't know how to enjoy life! Your head is full of nothing but getting stronger and stronger; there's plenty of other fun in life, okay!"
Ariel didn't reply, picked up a crab leg, and began to eat silently.
The meat was firm, with the aroma of charcoal fire and the salty freshness of the sea; it was indeed good.
Shauna ate quietly in small bites, occasionally glancing at Ariel and then quickly lowering her head. After a while, she picked up a piece of Tentacool tentacle, roasted crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, and gently placed it in Ariel's bowl.
"..."
Brawly, who was about to chug his orange juice straight from the bottle, paused, his eyes widening like copper bells.
He looked at the tentacle in Ariel's bowl, then at his own empty bowl, and finally looked at his sister in grief and indignation:
"Hey! Shauna! Your dear brother is still here! Why are you siding with an outsider!"
Shauna shrank her neck at his shout and defended in a small voice:
"I saw Brother Ariel's bowl was almost empty..."
"Mine is empty too!"
Brawly said in deep distress.
Ariel picked up the tentacle and ate it without changing his expression. The texture was bouncy, and the taste was even better than the crab legs.
Several Pokémon were also released, feasting at a small table nearby.
Krokorok's eating manner was the most exaggerated, almost burying its head in the specially made Pokémon food bowl, eating until its face was covered.
Sneasel was much more elegant, tearing at the energy cubes bit by bit with its claws.
Inkay floated in mid-air, using its tentacles to curl up food and slowly putting it into its mouth.
The most eye-catching one, however, was Froakie.
The aroma of the food and the extreme exhaustion from training seemed to finally temporarily suppress the obsession with revenge in its heart.
It was no longer that cold-eyed avenger whose heart was full of nothing but battle; at this moment, it was like a child who had been hungry for three days, its cheeks bulging and its red eyes focused only on the mountain of food in front of it.
That tense body finally had a rare moment of relaxation.
Ariel took it all in.
Striking a balance between tension and relaxation is the true path to becoming stronger. A string pulled too tight will only break prematurely.
The meal was lively and peaceful.
Brawly drank three jugs of orange juice and became even more talkative, chatting about everything from surfing techniques at sea to the powerful challengers he had recently encountered, with spit flying everywhere.
"Seriously, Ariel."
Brawly burped and suddenly lowered his voice, his expression becoming somewhat serious.
"My sister told me that she feels my previous assessment of you was very apt."
Ariel looked up at him.
Shauna's face turned red again, and she said in a small voice:
"I just think Brother was right... He said you are like an abyss before a tsunami, calm on the surface, but hiding a power underneath that can swallow everything; that kind of calmness makes one's heart skip a beat."
"Cough, cough!"
Having his own words exposed by his sister, and thinking about how chuunibyou his words sounded, Brawly's old face immediately turned red, and he hurriedly waved his hand.
"What does a kid like you know! Don't listen to her nonsense!"
Ariel didn't speak, just picked up his glass and took a sip of water.
An abyss before a tsunami?
This metaphor was somewhat interesting.
But he knew himself that he wasn't an abyss; he was just a traveler with a clear goal.
Any obstacle in his path would be crushed without mercy, nothing more.
His thoughts had already drifted back to the dozen or so remaining psychic miracle stones in his space ring.
Inkay's absorption speed was getting faster and faster.
Evolution was close at hand.
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