"Hello, Slowking"
Julian walked up to Slowking, extending his palm with a mix of surprise and pride in his eyes.
This was the first Slowking in the world.
"Slowking!"
Slowking responded, grabbing Julian's hand gently.
Slowking is a unique Pokémon, evolving only when it merges with another Pokémon—in this case, Shellder.
The shell on its head, which looks like a crown, is alive and can even be removed.
Legend has it that Slowking evolves when a Slowpoke gains sudden intelligence due to Shellder's bite, causing toxins to flow into its brain. This awakens its latent intelligence and grants it extraordinary abilities.
It's said that Slowking's intelligence is now comparable to the top scientists in the world.
However, if the crown is removed, it goes back to a state where even simple arithmetic like "one plus one" becomes a challenge.
Metagross gazed curiously at Slowking, admiring its regal look—hands behind its back and a crown perched on its head. The new Pokémon looked quite distinguished.
Pokémon: Slowking (Water/Psychic)
Level: 22
Qualification: Cyan
Ability: Oblivious
Held Item: Twisted Spoon
Gender: Female
Moves: Tackle, Curse, Water Gun, Confusion, Yawn, Disable, Water Pulse, Power Gem, Swagger, Headbutt
Disc Moves: None
Genetic Moves: Scald, Trick, Calm Mind, Psyshock
Having just evolved, Julian hadn't yet taught Slowking any Technical Machines (TMs)/CD/Disc.
"One more month, and I'll have you reach Advanced level"
Julian said to Slowking, mentally noting its current strength.
At this level, Slowking could only handle lower-level opponents. Against stronger Pokémon, it would be a challenge.
Afterall Slowking's basic stats were still pretty normal, not having gone through system enchantments yet, making it hard to battle above it's own level
He glanced at Metagross, now level 55 and nearing the peak of the Advanced tier. Metagross could battle Pokémon at much higher levels, a testament to its raw power and potential.
Slowking, however, still had some work to do before reaching that stage.
"Slow~"
Slowking nodded, already aware that, among Julian's team, it was second from the bottom in terms of rank—only stronger than Aron, who had been with Julian for less than two weeks.
"Let's head back home"
Julian said with a smile, and Slowking followed him back to the house.
"pffft"
Inside, Jake was sipping tea, and the moment he spotted Julian with an unfamiliar Pokémon, he spat his tea out in shock.
Love who was cleaning, silently wiped the tea off the table without a word.
"Julian, what kind of Pokémon is that?" Jake asked, still in disbelief.
"Oh, just another evolutionary form of Slowpoke," Julian said nonchalantly. "I stumbled upon it while doing some research. Guess I got lucky."
Jake, of course, didn't buy that explanation. New Pokémon evolutions hadn't been discovered in over a decade. Among the many Pokémon they study their main focus was on Eevee.
But many scholars had spent their entire lives studying Pokémon without such breakthroughs.
The idea that Julian had "accidentally" discovered a new form seemed like an obvious stretch.
Among the treasures Julian had found in the secret realm, there had been a priceless Fire Crystal. That discovery had already stunned Jake, but now this—an entirely new evolutionary form of Slowpoke—was even more shocking.
After all, it can be said that Julian was lucky enough to get treasures in the secret realm.
But being able to discover a new evolutionary form of Slowpoke was not a matter of luck. If you didn't have the relative research and foundation in this area, there was absolutely no possibility of this.
"Alright, seriously, how did you discover Slowpoke's new evolution?" Jake asked, his tone now more serious as he leaned forward.
At that moment, Love, the Indeedee, put down her cleaning rag and shot Jake an angry look for talking so harshly to Julian, she considered Julian her own cub.
"Ahem—I'm just worried he might go astray"
Jake muttered, noticing Indeedee's disapproving glare. He really didn't want to make his wife's Starter Pokémon angry. If it hadn't been for her, the process of chasing Tina would have been much smoother.
"Dad, don't worry," Julian said with a chuckle. "I didn't steal anyone's research. This is all my own work."
Julian understood why Jake was concerned. The idea that he might misuse his family's status to steal research was a valid worry.
If that happened, it wouldn't hurt the Walker family financially, but their reputation, built over two centuries, would be severely damaged.
Hearing this, Jake's expression softened. He knew his son well enough to trust that Julian wouldn't stoop to such things. He was just being overly cautious.
"You've really been researching Pokémon evolution?"
Jake asked, still finding it hard to believe.
Although he ruled out the possibility of Julian stealing other people's research results, he still did not believe that Julian had researched it himself. It was very likely that someone had helped him.
"Well, I've developed an interest. I'd like to become a part-time Pokémon scholar alongside being a Trainer. I bought a lot of books and research material not too long ago."
In order to reduce the doubts of his family to the greatest extent, Julian had done enough preparations.
Jake recalled helping Julian acquire various research documents from Pokémon scholars and labs, using his connections. It was clear Julian had done his homework.
"So, after reading books for just over a month, you managed to discover a new Pokémon evolution?" Jake asked, still skeptical.
"Yep. Your son's a genius," Julian replied with a grin
Jake, momentarily speechless, had to admit he was proud. His son was indeed talented, not just as a Trainer but also in Pokémon research.
He had done in a month what scholars couldn't achieve in decades.
"Wait, you need to tell your aunt about this. It'll benefit you," Jake said after a pause.
"I know. I already made a video recording of Slowking's evolution. I was just about to send it to her, but you stopped me here."
Julian's aunt was a well-known Pokémon scholar in Drakoria with a solid reputation both at home and abroad. In fact, she was considered a strategic asset, always accompanied by Elite bodyguards whenever she traveled for research.
Among John Walker's three children, Julian's aunt was by far the most accomplished, even more so than Henry, the wealthy businessman and Jake, the National Gym Leader.
*****
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