Corvisquire stood atop the birdhouse, gazing into the distance. Her siblings had all evolved and found such a comfortable place to settle down. But why did these two happy events combined make her feel so sad?
Ah, she understood. Corvisquire's expression turned clear. It was because she wasn't strong enough! This sense of crisis made her fear being surpassed by her siblings and dread that formidable enemies, like the detestable Skarmory, would seize their settlement.
What an ugly thought, Corvisquire silently cursed herself. The experiences of the past month had been a huge shock to her. How had a perfectly fine forest turned into what it was now, teeming with such powerful entities?
The mighty queen of the lake, Milotic, whose charm had all those Wingulls who only knew how to eat fries willingly following her. It was terrifying.
Then there were those two Lilligant. Their power had transformed dramatically; they were merely small Petilil before.
And Thwackey, his strength was becoming more and more unfathomable recently. All these Pokémon were connected to that man—yes, the ranger, Summer!
To become stronger, seek Summer. That was the conclusion Corvisquire reached.
"So, you came to me because you want to become stronger?" Summer asked, looking at Corvisquire kneeling on the ground, feeling an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
"Squawk!" Corvisquire nodded vigorously. More accurately, she wanted to evolve and become as strong as her mother, a Corviknight!
"I understand. Corvisquire, the most direct way for you to become stronger right now is to evolve. Once you evolve into Corviknight, you'll gain unparalleled defensive capabilities."
Corvisquire continued to nod. Summer, you truly understand me. So, how can I evolve?
"First, let's test your current strength. Thwackey, would you mind helping?"
"Thwack!" Thwackey, sitting beside Summer, jumped up.
"Squawk!" Corvisquire was full of confidence. After all, she had a type advantage!
What followed was a not-so-intense battle, ending with Corvisquire's heart-wrenching scream.
"Squawk!" (Impossible, how could I, Corvisquire, be defeated by a mere stick!)
Seeing Corvisquire fall in frustration, Summer took out a potion and sprayed it on her, then said helplessly, "Thwackey has been improving all this time. Your strengths weren't far apart before, and you even had a type advantage. Losing so cleanly, you've been slacking off, Corvisquire!"
Faced with Summer's questioning, Corvisquire couldn't argue. She fell into reflection. Because she was always proud of using her brain to command her flock in battles, she had completely neglected her daily training. Now, she might not even be able to defeat her younger siblings.
"Sigh, you can't evolve without effort. Let's start with daily training. I'll assist you." Summer sighed and said.
In games, a Pokémon's evolution requires reaching a certain level. But in this real world, precise numbers weren't necessary, though they served as a reference.
Corvisquire and Thwackey evolved at roughly the same levels. The significant difference in their current strengths indicated that Corvisquire lacked the basic strength needed for evolution. Once she made up for this, the opportunity for evolution would come.
Intense emotions, strong desires, and drastic environmental changes could all be triggers for evolution. What about Corvisquire? Summer pondered for a moment, then decided to stop overthinking it. He could ask Corvisquire about it later. For now, focusing on strength improvement was key.
From then on, Summer added a new routine to his daily patrols: training Corvisquire.
"Food is very important. You need to eat these five Coba Berries and five Babiri Berries on time today." Summer placed a tray of berries in front of Corvisquire.
"The steel energy in Babiri Berries will help you evolve since Corviknight has Steel-type attributes. The flying energy in Coba Berries will help lay your foundation."
Corvisquire broke into a cold sweat. Eating ten berries yesterday had almost killed her. Now, she had to do it again? And Babiri Berries had hard shells, not to mention they tasted like iron blocks dipped in hot sauce. What Pokémon could handle that?
"If you want to become stronger, you have to make an effort. You understand that, right?"
"Squawk! Squawk!" After a fierce internal struggle, Corvisquire finally started eating. Was this the bitter fruit of slacking off? It was so hard and spicy!
"Second, basic daily training. You can train on your own, whether it's practicing moves or building stamina."
"Squawk!"
Corvisquire was full of fighting spirit. Now she was brimming with energy and ready to use it! She planned to fly ten laps around Sunset Forest, use Air Slash a hundred times, and use Taunt a hundred times!
The training process went smoothly, except for the part where she got electrocuted by a group of Morpeko while practicing Taunt.
"Third, improve yourself through actual combat. Battling Thwackey isn't challenging enough for you. You need to challenge yourself, so, Corvisquire, go find some Morpeko!"
Corvisquire's expression went blank. Her once smooth, glossy feathers now looked singed, and she had to go through it all over again?
Then her eyes filled with determination. Damn, it's just a bunch of electric mice. I, Corvisquire, will defeat you with my incredible wisdom!
"Cough, cough, Corvisquire, are you okay?" Summer asked, looking apologetic.
"Squawk!"
Corvisquire slowly propped herself up with her wings, signaling that she was fine. She now admired her mother even more, realizing how many trials she had endured. To evolve into Corviknight, she would face more intense lightning, not because she enjoyed being electrocuted or anything.
"With your determination, you can definitely evolve. So, I plan to give you a tough challenge." Summer sprayed more potion on Corvisquire.
"Squawk?"
"In extremely dangerous situations, there's a high probability of a breakthrough. So, challenge Milotic!"
Summer's smile was like that of a devil from hell. Corvisquire immediately flew up and clung tightly to a tree trunk, squawking loudly.
No way, battling Milotic, such a terrifying entity, would send me to the Spirit World to meet my ancestors!
"Just kidding. But I believe you're close to evolving. You don't have to fight Milotic."
Corvisquire looked confused. If not Milotic, then what?
"Corvisquire, do you have a wish? You didn't just want to become strong out of nowhere. Ask yourself what your deepest desire is. That's your key to evolution."
My deepest desire? I want to become a noble Corviknight like my mother. No, my most direct thought... Corvisquire suddenly recalled the stupid looks of those Skarmory and the shame of being forced to leave home.
"Squawk!"
Corvisquire suddenly cried out. She understood. Somehow, she felt that if she defeated those Skarmory, she would surely evolve, she would!