Chapter 600: Evolution Under the Sunlight

Intense emotions triggered the miracle of evolution; greedily absorbing the moonlight, little Eevee's transformation began.

The blossoming light of evolution naturally caught Luo Mu and the others' attention immediately.

The chopsticks in his hand clattered onto the table; Luo Mu subconsciously stood up at once, while Oranguru and Lei Guan Wang reacted just as quickly.

"It's evolution; everyone keep your distance and don't disturb Eevee."

Waving its feather fan, under the effect of the move "Instruct," Oranguru made the Pokémon crowded around little Eevee move their bodies before their minds could even react.

Tinkaton had just regained its senses when it realized it was already standing over ten meters away.

It stared blankly at its own body; this was the first time it had experienced being controlled like a marionette, and it felt quite wonderful.

Lei Guan Wang was originally holding Cosmog, feeding it Jin Pingtang made by a custom machine Luo Mu had built.

Listening to Cosmog's giggles, Lei Guan Wang likewise wore a smile.

At the same time, its mind was focused on another matter—

It was drawing in the moon's radiance, causing the lunar essence to continuously shower down upon Cosmog.

Ever since hearing from Luo Mu that Cosmog's growth was inseparable from moonlight and sunlight, Lei Guan Wang had done this almost every day for over half a year.

Yet Cosmog was like a bottomless pit; no matter how much moonlight and sunlight it absorbed, there were no signs of growth.

Lei Guan Wang was not impatient about this; the growth period for Legendary Pokémon was inherently long, and it had already prepared itself for decades or even a century without obvious results.

When it discovered that little Eevee was evolving and also absorbing moonlight,

Lei Guan Wang's first reaction was to stop gathering moonlight for Cosmog and instead condense the scattered lunar radiance from the sky around little Eevee.

This caused most of the Paldea region centered on Cortondo, specifically areas not covered by streetlights, to suddenly plunge into darkness.

—It was as if the moon's brilliance had been temporarily borrowed away.

As a massive surge of moonlight poured in, little Eevee suddenly felt as though it had returned to the time when it was still inside its Pokémon Egg.

It recalled the intimacy and serenity of being inseparable from its older sister, along with a slight chill brought by the moonlight that it did not reject.

Under the leap in life hierarchy, especially with the cleansing of abundant moonlight, its once weak and healed body was constantly being strengthened, and the genetic genes within were thoroughly activated, fixing toward a single direction.

To Luo Mu and the others watching from outside, little Eevee's body, enveloped in the light of evolution and moonlight, gradually began to elongate, showing obvious changes.

Its silver-white fur was dyed a pure jet black, while bright blue ring-shaped patterns appeared in the fur of its ears, forehead, legs, and tail.

As the light dissipated, a pair of eyes with yellow sclera and black pupils opened.

Perhaps due to the evolution, those eyes exuded a unique coldness belonging to the moon, resembling a calm predator.

This was completely different from little Eevee's previous soft and cute demeanor; one could even say the contrast was extreme.

The personality changes brought about by Pokémon evolution, the psychological growth occurring within mere seconds—this was a topic that all Pokémon researchers had studied repeatedly for countless years.

Harboring delight and a hint of hesitation, Luo Mu squatted down before the Pokémon whose appearance had changed drastically, now callable as "Umbreon," and asked, "How do you feel, Umbreon?"

"Bui~"

Affectionately rubbing against Luo Mu's pant leg, Umbreon cried out.

Compared to its Eevee days, Umbreon's cry carried more low pitch and calmness; even though it subconsciously used a tone with an upward inflection, it lacked its former softness.

But in exchange, it had gained a slight touch of cool handsomeness.

Although its personality had changed after evolution, Umbreon's attitude toward Luo Mu remained the same; only the way it subtly expressed affection had shifted into something composed and calm.

Under the illumination of the moon overhead, the blue ring-shaped patterns on Umbreon's body were emitting a bright glow, adding even more moon-appropriate coldness and mystery to its figure.

Luo Mu squatted down with a look of wonder, examining the patterns on Umbreon's body.

Although he had often seen Gladion's Umbreon while vacationing in the Alola region, that golden pattern was not as unique as the blue pattern on his own Umbreon.

The distinction between normal coloration and shiny coloration was very obvious.

In Luo Mu's expectations, whether little Eevee evolved into Umbreon or Sylveon, it would look quite good; originally, he had thought that based on little Eevee's personality, it would evolve into a shiny Sylveon.

But Umbreon seemed not bad either; after all, compared to her clever and smart older sister, little Eevee was better at learning various disruption-type moves.

At this moment, big sister Eevee also cautiously stepped over to Umbreon's side, looking at her younger sister who was now much taller than herself, her expression quite complex.

She hadn't expected her younger sister to evolve even earlier than herself.

Facing her older sister, Umbreon still maintained its former attitude.

Affection, trust, dependence, and liking were all completely conveyed to the other party simply through the action of nuzzling.

Watching the two sisters nuzzle, Luo Mu felt extremely happy; he stood up again and nodded to Oranguru.

Seeing this, the Pokémon swarmed forward, sincerely congratulating Umbreon.

The next morning, the weather was rarely sunny.

Hearing Hearing Nimo, who had been delivered by Sebastian early in the morning, looked with wonder at big sister Eevee and Umbreon behind Luo Mu, a flash of surprise passing through Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

Hearing Hearing Nimo already knew that Luo Mu had rescued a pair of twin Eevee sisters, and she also knew that these sisters always acted together, inseparable and close.

She remembered it was still an Eevee last night; what was going on now?

Looking at the shiny Umbreon beside big sister Eevee, after a brief moment of surprise, a thought arose in Hearing Hearing Nimo's mind.

【I want to battle it!】

Hearing Hearing Nimo's burning fighting spirit could not escape Luo Mu's eyes; sighing once, Luo Mu said, "You've come at just the right time; I was just about to test the new moves Umbreon mastered after evolving. Want to spar?"

Luo Mu's original plan had been Feng Su Gou, but since Hearing Hearing Nimo was here, he might as well let her do it.

Hearing Hearing Nimo's eyes visibly lit up; she immediately nodded, "I'd be delighted!"

The two arrived at the open ground usually used for Pokémon training on the farm and took their stances.

"Eevee, Bui..."

Standing on Luo Mu's right shoulder, big sister Eevee looked with some worry at her younger sister's back.

Although Umbreon had now become taller and larger than itself, to big sister Eevee, her younger sister was still that weak little thing needing its care.

If possible, it would prefer to take its sister's place in battle, letting its sister stay in the back and release disruption moves.

Hearing Hearing Nimo hesitated for a few seconds; thinking of the fragile feeling little Eevee usually gave her, the battle maniac's consciousness was suppressed by reason for the first time, and she swapped the Poké Ball containing Pawmi in her hand for another one.

"I'm counting on you, Duskull!"

A flash of Bai Guang passed, and a ghost Pokémon appeared, wearing a mask resembling a human skull, with a black body and a single red eye set in deep sockets, two short, broad hands pressed against its back, and cloud-like feet floating in midair.

Luo Mu: "."

Here we go with type disadvantages again!!!

This pure Ghost-type Duskull was also a Pokémon that Hearing Hearing Nimo had caught in the Hoenn region.

Luo Mu remembered that in the game, her team had another Pokémon from the Hoenn region, though he couldn't quite recall which one; perhaps she would catch it later when she continued her unfinished journey with Zhen Si and Jing Xiang after the Champion Test.

Recalling the move set of Duskull's evolved form, Luo Mu's expression turned strange for a second, but he immediately returned to feeling guilty.

Not only was Duskull countered by the Dark-type Umbreon, but more importantly, the power leap after Umbreon's evolution was slightly too large.

He hoped this wouldn't crush Hearing Hearing Nimo's morale before the Champion Test, though this Miss seemed quite optimistic, so it should be fine.

Thinking this, Luo Mu signaled for Hearing Hearing Nimo to attack first.

Hearing Hearing Nimo was already used to Luo Mu always letting her strike first; she silently thought to herself that once she obtained the title of Champion-level Trainer, she would definitely make him view their battles fairly.

Immediately, Hearing Hearing Nimo shouted, "Duskull, Shadow Sneak!"

Unlike Psychic-type Pokémon attacks, which were completely ineffective against Dark-types, Ghost-type Pokémon, although countered, could still inflict damage provided the Dark-type Pokémon resisted.

A dark shadow beneath Duskull instantly extended downward, quickly spreading to Umbreon's feet, then rose behind it, transforming into a clawing, fanged ghost that lunged at Umbreon.

Shadow Sneak was a priority move, executed extremely fast, leaving Umbreon, which wasn't an Agility-oriented Pokémon, no room to dodge.

—However, Luo Mu had never intended for Umbreon to dodge in the first place.

"Take the hit, then rush forward, Toxic!"

"Oh no, dodge quickly!"

Under Hearing Hearing Nimo's shocked expression, Umbreon endured the shadow's attack without changing its expression, its jet-black fur remaining perfectly neat.

At the same time, Umbreon began to move, pouncing in front of Duskull, which had just withdrawn its shadow, and slapped a blob of poison right onto Duskull's face!

"Dusk!"

Duskull instantly sensed the invasion of toxin, retreated dozens of centimeters in pain, and purple bubbles began to rise from its body.

This was the Teacher's commonly used Toxic tactic!

Hearing Hearing Nimo, who hadn't expected Umbreon to have learned Toxic, secretly chided herself for carelessness and tried to command a recovery.

But the moment Duskull was sprayed with Toxic, the result was already determined.

Duskull was a Pokémon inherently unskilled at offense, and most of the moves it currently knew could be described as causing neither pain nor itch when hitting Umbreon.

In contrast, while possessing superb defensive capabilities, Umbreon's own offensive power was quite decent; its loud roar nearly scared Duskull's soul apart.

But compared to the various status moves Umbreon had displayed, this was not worth mentioning at all.

Maximizing self-healing with "Moonlight" and "Wish," and using "Taunt" to completely prevent Duskull from using status moves.

When Toxic finally drained the last shred of its stamina, Duskull actually produced the thought that it was finally liberated.

Before losing consciousness, Duskull made a resolution.

If you can't beat them, join them; in the future, I must also learn Umbreon's fighting methods, and then we'll see who disgusts whom—

Sister Eevee had watched the entire battle in silence.

Setting aside the bonus points for Luo Mu's command, she was surprised to discover that her little sister seemed to have completely changed.

Her formerly weak constitution seemed like a false memory; enduring consecutive fierce attacks from the opponent, along with defensive capabilities like the Wall of Sighs, Sister Eevee swapped positions with Duskull in her mind and realized she didn't know if she could even break through this layer of defense.

Could evolution really bring about such a huge change?

Suddenly, Sister Eevee's heart also began to yearn for her own evolution.

"As expected, I still can't be as dirty as you, Teacher."

Holding Duskull and silently accepting treatment from Comfey, Hearing Hearing Nimo leaned against the wall with a sigh of emotion.

"What do you mean dirty? This is called tactics."

Unbothered, Luo Mu held a comb and gently groomed Umbreon's fur, which had become slightly messy and dust-covered after the battle.

This straightforward approach, with no twisting turns or successful tricks, only worked because Duskull had an insufficient move pool, hadn't evolved, and lacked battle experience.

If it were Hearing Hearing Nimo's ace, Pawmot, even if all of Umbreon's preparations succeeded earlier, once poisoned, the Terastallized Pawmot would likely send Umbreon packing with three consecutive Electric Double Hits.

This calculation even included the special evolution from last night; influenced by Lei Guan Wang, Umbreon's constitution had absorbed more moonlight during evolution and been strengthened.

In the face of a gap in strength, too many little tricks might make the opponent stumble, but they could hardly decide the victory.

Compared to her former self as an Eevee, Umbreon was much stronger, yet she still had ample room for growth.

After Luo Mu finished grooming Umbreon's fur, he glanced at the time and saw it was nearly nine o'clock, so he simply dumped the troublesome Hearing Hearing Nimo, who hadn't been discouraged at all, onto Luxray and the others.

Meanwhile, he took Umbreon and Sister Eevee to the glass greenhouse to check on the flower seeds that had already taken root and sprouted.

Time flew by, and soon it was noon.

Luo Mu had scheduled a test drive at that car dealership in Naranja City for the afternoon, after all, it would take time for them to transfer a ready-made vehicle over.

But all of that would have to wait until after lunch.

Lunch was eaten outside the house as usual, since the energetic Hearing Hearing Nimo had spent the whole morning seeking special training with the farm's Pokémon, getting everyone covered in dust.

To avoid placing unnecessary burdens on Maushold and Oranguru, it was better to settle things outside before the evening bath.

Hearing Hearing Nimo and her Pokémon, occupying a table alone, ate with astonishing manners; they were probably truly hungry after exercising all morning.

After withdrawing his gaze from that direction, Luo Mu looked at Sister Eevee, who seemed to have something on her mind and appeared to be pondering something ever since the battle between Umbreon and Hearing Hearing Nimo's Duskull.

Just as he was about to speak and chat with Sister Eevee using his specialty of "talk therapy," he noticed that the brown fur on her body suddenly began to glow.

"????"

Luo Mu was stunned.

Wait, again?

(End of Chapter)