After Dario left, he completely worshipped Gary before covering his face and departing.
Arcanine excitedly stuck out its tongue and licked Gary repeatedly. For Arcanine, the three great joys in life are tearing things apart, running, and licking Gary.
Recently, Eevee seemed to have something on its mind, often staying in its Poké Ball to pass the time, leaving the licking duties to Arcanine.
"Alright, alright~" Wiping the drool off his face, Gary sighed. Thankfully, Arcanine wasn't a Gengar, or this intense licking session might have sent him away!
Soon after, Lara looked at Gary enviously. "You and your Arcanine have such a good relationship; no wonder you inherited the Oak name~"
Gary scratched his head. Could this be considered flattery? He certainly didn't want to become a scholar like his grandfather who was constantly attacked by Pokémon!
"Okay, let's chat later. First, let's go see the Pokémon you discovered," Gary interrupted as Lara prepared to continue her praise.
"Sure~" The girl blushed and turned to walk into her family's ranch.
Gary followed closely behind, frowning curiously at her flushed cheeks—what a strange sight...
Moo~ A herd of Tauros galloped back and forth in the pasture. Gary's mouth twitched as he watched the scene unfold.
Feeling the ground shake beneath him, Gary stood still; this seemed a bit risky...
"Ahem, Growlithe, quiet them down," Lara commanded quickly upon seeing Gary hesitate.
"Woof!" True to its herding instincts, as soon as Growlithe appeared, the Tauros in the pasture immediately calmed down.
Leading Gary over to a pile of grass, Lara pointed at a Pokémon nestled within and said with concern, "It's this little one."
Curious, Gary leaned in for a closer look. "Hiss~ How did this little one end up here in Kanto...?"
In the grass lay a completely snow-white horse with purple and teal mane on its head and tail, shimmering with a rainbow-like aura.
Is this the Sunlight Rainbow Ponyta?
"You recognized it?" Lara asked excitedly.
Taking a strange glance at Lara's Ponyta, Gary replied, "Yes, I can definitely tell. This little one is most likely from the Galar region."
"This is a Ponyta?" Lara was astonished. She looked at her own dashing Ponyta, then back at this delicate little creature that resembled a rainbow unicorn; they were not even in the same league!
"It is indeed a Ponyta, just a regional form," Gary confirmed. "The Galarian Ponyta has Psychic-type attributes, which is why its appearance has changed significantly."
"Wow~ How amazing," Lara couldn't help but marvel.
"Whinny~" The previously timid Galarian Ponyta, who had been hiding in the grass, suddenly stood up.
In front of Lara's astonished gaze, it approached Gary, gently nudging his hand with its nose.
"This little one seems to really like you?" Lara looked at Gary in surprise.
Gary shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I smell nice?"
He thought about his ever-present energy...
"Little one, how did you end up here?" He curiously petted the Galarian Ponyta's head.
The little creature leaned into his hand affectionately and kept rubbing against him; it seemed to have attached itself to him.
"Can I take this little one with me? It might not be used to being here, and Galarian Ponyta has different breeding methods compared to regular ones. I think it would be better for it to come with me," Gary earnestly requested from Lara.
Without hesitation, she nodded generously. "Of course! This little one actually hopes you'll take it with you."
"Thank you!" With her permission granted, Gary nodded and took out a Poké Ball. "So how about it? Will you come with me?"
Hearing Gary's words, the Galarian Ponyta promptly tapped the button on the Poké Ball with its horn.
Buzz~ In a flash of red light, it was drawn into the Poké Ball.
"I got myself a Ponyta! Looks like I can charm my way into capturing Pokémon," Gary smiled.
Lara clapped her hands from the side. "Congratulations, Mr. Gary!"
"Well then, it's getting late; I should be on my way." After thinking for a moment, he suggested his farewell.
Lara shook her head. "It's late already; there's no Pokémon Center nearby. Just rest at my house and try my cooking."
Seeing her eager gaze made Gary helplessly nod his head. "Then I'll trouble you."
"No trouble at all~" The girl smiled brightly as she turned and headed for the kitchen.
"Golduck~" This girl is pretty good! Five years from now should be interesting! Golduck popped out and raised an eyebrow at Gary.
"Aren't you bored? Go feed everyone dinner," Gary replied dismissively as he released his Pokémon so that Golduck could have something to do. He then got up to help in the kitchen.
Looking at the newly joined Galarian Ponyta, Golduck paused for a moment. "Cubaa~ (This little one looks pretty unique~)"
Eevee suddenly jumped up and delivered an Iron Tail smack right on Golduck's face. "Bui! (Don't bully the newcomer!)"
Getting slapped away by Eevee's tail didn't faze Golduck at all; he simply flipped over and stood back up like nothing happened.
Rubbing its face, Golduck couldn't help but grumble about Eevee's fiery temper lately—was she on her period?
Ignoring Golduck entirely, Eevee curled up in a corner and began to glow with white light when no one was watching.
With both Gary and Lara's efforts combined soon enough—a table full of farm-fresh dishes was ready!
After finishing dinner and exchanging breeding insights with Lara, Gary picked up Eevee who had run over to his feet and returned to his guest room for a comfortable sleep.
Thus ended an eventful night for Gary, who had successfully captured a Sunlight Rainbow Ponyta while staying in the small town of Laramie tribe. The next morning, Gary holding a cup in hand outside of Lara's house brushed his teeth.
There was no choice; rural life came with these conditions.
Bubbling away~ As he spat out foam while gazing across the endless pasture,
"Wow—this scenery is beautiful." Wiping his mouth clean, Gary couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Then several heads popped out from nearby houses around him.
"Hey! Look at that guy in front of Lara's house!"
"No way! Lara has someone over?"
"That's impossible!"
"How can it be impossible? Look at that kid—one hand holding a toothbrush and another holding a teacup. If that isn't homey enough for him…"
The neighbors around began pointing at Gary causing him to turn around quickly and retreat into the house.
"Oh my gosh! The neighborhood gossip is terrifying," he wiped cold sweat off his forehead while shaking his head in disbelief.
"Mr. Gary! Come quickly! It's your Eevee!" Suddenly, Lara's voice rang out anxiously!
"Eevee!" His brow furrowed as he dashed into the bedroom quickly.
"ヽ′～｀;Bui~" There lay Eevee weakly sprawled on the bed; its body convulsed intermittently while flickering with white light.
"This is evolution resistance!" He slapped his forehead—how could he have forgotten about this!
"System! Exchange for an Everstone!" Spending five hundred achievement points he quickly obtained an Everstone and placed it on Eevee's chest.
Buzz~ The Everstone shimmered slightly as it directly interrupted Eevee's evolution process; the light surrounding Eevee gradually faded away.
"Whew~" With evolution resistance ended Eevee sighed in relief as it lay limp on the bed.
"Eevee-chan! You've worked hard; it's my fault for not noticing your condition," Gary said apologetically as he picked up Eevee gently.
As their bond grew stronger Eevee's emotional fluctuations stimulated its already evolution-prone body leading to its sudden quietness recently.
Because whether day or night—it felt an urge to evolve!
To maintain its current form—Eevee had no choice but to resist that desire fiercely!
"Bui~" Eevee nuzzled against Gary's shoulder gently licking him; she didn't blame him—it was just that she loved her master too much!
Plop! The little one nestled into Gary's arms and closed its eyes tiredly after feeling exhausted from resisting evolution all night long.
As he stroked Eevee's head gently—he frowned sensing warmth radiating from it.
This wasn't normal; logically speaking—as long as the evolution process was interrupted—the energy should return to calmness soon enough…
But clearly not so for Eevee; evidently her energy was still simmering slowly—seeking an outlet!
"Mr. Gary! Is Eevee alright?" asked Lara cautiously observing from beside him.
"I'm sorry for alarming you," he shook his head. "Eevee resisting evolution seems to have triggered an internal energy surge; currently things aren't looking good."
"If that's so—would letting it evolve solve things?" suggested Lara thoughtfully.
Suddenly struck by inspiration—he exclaimed: "That's right! As long as we use this power for evolution—it should work!"
His Eevee possessed more complex genetic chains than ordinary ones—with lower cell stability—even if it evolved into another form—it could still revert back due to its unique characteristics!
Thus—as long as they utilized this new evolutionary form to absorb that excess energy—Eevee would be fine!
In fact—it could be said that every evolution made Eevee stronger!
"It looks like I need plenty of evolution stones…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully while frowning slightly.
"I think I know where there are plenty of evolution stones—loads of them! If you cross through Wild Prairie Zone and go past those forests—you'll find a mountain called Evolution Mountain where there are many evolution stones available in Stonetown," said Lara smiling brightly as she reminded him.