After reaching an agreement with Grandpa Gideon on the plan for promoting berries, Summer's life as a forest ranger returned to tranquility.
Every day, he patrolled Sunset Forest, checking trees and grass, occasionally assisting Pokémon training in the forest, and helping everyone with berry picking.
Marnie's Gym Challenge journey also went smoothly. With her ace Morpeko, she easily conquered the Hulbury Stadium. Due to her outstanding performance, her fan base gradually grew.
The promotion of berries and Marnie's Gym Challenge complemented each other. As Grandpa Gideon said, people were now deliberately visiting Spikemuth.
The despondent townsfolk saw hope. Now Spikemuth was undergoing a vigorous transformation, aiming to leave a good impression on tourists and not disappoint Summer, Marnie, and everyone's efforts.
"Here, Phantump, this wooden badge belongs to you."
In the cabin in the woods, Summer hung the wooden badge with the position engraved on it on a branch above Phantump's head. It was the third Phantump born in Sunset Forest.
Then, Phantump's two predecessors floated over and touched its head with their branches. This was the unique way Phantump communicated, conveying joy.
"Please continue to protect the forest. Good luck."
Summer bid farewell to Phantump and the others. They happily swung their bodies, then disappeared through the wall, a convenient feature of Ghost-type Pokémon.
[New member forming a group, obtained item: Kasib Berry Sapling. Kasib Berry: The favorite fruit of Ghost-type Pokémon, possessing magical powers. Can be made into a Lucky Charm after drying in the wind.]
The voice of the ranger assistant sounded. This time, the obtained item was indeed related to Phantump, but compared to the previous berry introductions, this one had an additional effect.
[Obtained item: Evolution Box (one time use). Evolution Box: Can be transformed into any item required for Pokémon evolution through the use of an aid item.]
In this world, Pokémon evolution took various forms. Some Pokémon required items to evolve, such as the Eevee family. Due to their unstable genes, they would evolve after touching Evolution Stones containing large amounts of elemental energy.
For example, Eevee would evolve into Flareon after touching a Fire Stone, and into Jolteon after touching a Thunder Stone.
Phantump also underwent a special evolution. Unlike items, they needed to evolve during the process of trading Pokémon.
According to researchers' experiments, it seemed that Pokémon received electrical stimulation during the trading process, causing them to evolve.
Based on this research, they explained why these special Pokémon could evolve even before the invention of Pokémon trading.
The conclusion was simple: stimulation. They evolved due to some form of stimulation in their natural environment.
This conclusion also helped everyone understand why some Pokémon were so rare in the wild, as they not only needed stimulation but also specific items to evolve.
Could the Evolution Box be transformed into the item Phantump needed?
Summer believed it was possible. I heard that there was once a special item called the Link Cable, which allowed Haunter to evolve into Gengar, achieving the same effect as Pokémon trading.
It was said that the Link Cable appeared suddenly in the a certain area after the distortion of time and space dissipated. Summer speculated that this might be an item invented by future researchers based on the principle of evolution, but it arrived in a time and space where it didn't belong.
Now Summer faced a choice: whether to help Phantump evolve.
The Pokémon that Phantump evolved into was called Trevenant, a terrifying name, but it was actually the guardian of the forest.
It had the ability to manipulate the trees in the forest and would punish humans who damaged the forest. It was very friendly to the Pokémon living in the forest, and some powerful individuals even had the power to regulate the forest's ecosystem.
"Well, it wouldn't hurt Sunset Forest. Let's ask it for its opinion next time we meet."
If Summer were a Pokémon hunter, he wouldn't want to visit a forest inhabited by Trevenant, but as a forest ranger, he would definitely welcome its appearance.
[The second temporal distortion will begin in five minutes. Please prepare.]
Suddenly, a voice in his mind interrupted Summer's thoughts. Was the second temporal distortion really starting in five minutes?
He quickly prepared his supplies, packed his backpack, and brought Grookey to the outside of the cabin.
Thanks to the thorough preparation for the first temporal distortion, Summer wasn't panicked by this sudden event.
"Grookey is ready. The second temporal distortion is about to begin."
"Groo!" With the experience from the first time, Grookey wasn't nervous at all. If there were any troubles, they would handle them. Its training over the past few days wasn't in vain.
[Temporal distortion, initiating.]
The scenery before him changed rapidly. When Summer opened his eyes again, he found himself in a vast, sparse grassland, with dark clouds covering the sky. A faint mist floated around him.
Due to the mist, the air around was very humid, giving off a gloomy atmosphere.
"Is this some wilderness in a certain area?"
Summer looked around through the mist, finding no traces of humans, confirming his guess.
Grookey, perched on Summer's shoulder, disliked this humid atmosphere, especially on such a gloomy day, which was its least favorite weather.
Its favorite scene was gentle sunlight shining through the gaps in the treetops, illuminating its body. It would be even better if Summer stayed by its side, listening to its performance.
Thinking like this, Grookey began its familiar performance. Its melodious drumming could even dispel the gloomy mood caused by the overcast weather.
"Dong dong dong~"
Grookey's drumming was full of penetrating power, quickly spreading across the vast grassland.
"If anyone or any Pokémon hears the drumming, they'll react, right? That's a good idea, Grookey."
Summer's praise made Grookey a bit embarrassed; it had only acted on impulse and hadn't thought so much.
Then, Grookey's performance became even more energetic, wanting to drum out the powerful beats worthy of Summer's praise.
"Well, let's move forward."
Due to the mist, Summer walked slowly, constantly observing the surroundings. Suddenly, he stopped, a huge Onix lifting its head from the ground, roaring terrifyingly at them.
"An Onix?!"
Summer whispered in shock, then slowly backed away, fearing to provoke it.
But the Onix clearly didn't want to let them go. It swung its huge rock tail toward Summer, overturning the soil on the ground.
Thanks to the improvement in his ranger skills, Summer could barely dodge this dangerous attack. Looking at the deep trench left in the grassland, he breathed a sigh of relief:
"That was close. Are wild Pokémon in the field all this aggressive?"
This was completely different from the Pokémon in Sunset Forest.
Then Summer turned to look at Grookey. Just as he was about to ask if it was okay, he saw its guilty expression. Did Grookey think its drumming woke up the Onix and caused us to be attacked?
Then, Summer showed a gentle expression:
"Grookey, listen. Your drumming will not make anyone or any Pokémon irritable. This Onix probably attacked us because its territory was invaded."
"Roar" Grookey's eyes were dazed. It didn't expect Summer to still take care of its emotions in this situation.
"Since the other party is merciless, we don't have to endure it." Summer took a commanding posture, "Go, Grookey, let it feel your power!"
"Roar!" Grookey returned to its usual state, pulled out the wooden stick on its head and fell on the grass.
Onix was full of disdain. Such a small thing also wants to defeat me?
(End of this chapter)