Chapter 33: Ludicolo! Little sister, want to go fishing?
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Amid the radiant, multicolored light of evolution, Lotad’s silhouette rapidly changed, visibly growing larger by the second.
When the light finally faded, its appearance had undergone a complete transformation.
A round, pudgy body. A circular grass hat with jagged protrusions on top. Yellow and green stripes rippling across its entire body, making it look like a hula dancer from Hawaii!
This was Ludicolo, the final form Lotad would evolve into after using a Water Stone!
Looking at the Ludicolo before her, Cynthia pressed the interaction button and spoke.
“Congratulations on evolving, Ludicolo. How do you feel?”
On the screen, the Ludicolo beside her looked up and down at its new body. An excited smile spread across its face as it gave Cynthia an affirmative response.
“Ludi!”
Clearly, Ludicolo was extremely satisfied and delighted with its brand-new body and the power that had suddenly surged through it!
It even jogged a circle around Cynthia, waving its arms and breaking into a dance.
Although its chubby body swayed in a rather clumsy fashion, there was still a hint of genuine rhythm to its movements. It was, to put it simply, quite unique.
The sight sent the viewers in the livestream into fits of laughter.
[Who was it that just called it a dancing pineapple? I’m dying. It really does look a little like one.]
[I got stronger, but I also got dumber. Hahahaha.]
[It evolved all the way to its final stage this early? Interesting. Will it be able to win the Gym battle?]
...
At the same time, seeing Ludicolo beside her, Cynthia could not help but let the corners of her lips curl upward.
After Lotad evolved into Ludicolo, there was no doubt that its combat ability had improved across the board.
Moreover, at this early stage of the game, when most Pokémon could evolve only into their second forms at best, Ludicolo—as a fully evolved third-stage Pokémon—had undoubtedly become another powerful member of the team.
In fact, it could now be said to be the strongest Pokémon on the team!
With that, Cynthia felt even more confident about challenging the next Gym.
That was not all. At that very moment, a series of notifications appeared before her eyes.
[Congratulations! Lotad has successfully evolved into Ludicolo!]
[Ludicolo wants to learn the following new moves: Bubble Beam, Mist, Zen Headbutt, Mega Drain, and Teeter Dance. However, its move slots are already full. Would you like to forget some moves and replace them with these new ones?]
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This evolution triggered by the Water Stone had actually allowed Ludicolo to learn five brand-new moves at once!
Among those five moves, the three offensive skills were all quite powerful for their respective types.
As for the other two...
Mist and Teeter Dance were not damaging moves, but Mist could prevent allied Pokémon from having their stats lowered, while Teeter Dance could inflict confusion on opponents. They were both quite useful utility moves.
After briefly weighing her options, Cynthia ultimately settled on four moves for Ludicolo.
[Mega Drain]
[Zen Headbutt]
[Bubble Beam]
[Teeter Dance]
There was naturally a reason for this arrangement. Mega Drain and Bubble Beam, as Ludicolo’s attacks corresponding to its two types, were both excellent choices—and each came with an additional effect.
Mega Drain restored half as much HP as the damage it inflicted, while Bubble Beam had a chance of confusing the opponent.
Although Zen Headbutt was a physical move and did not share Ludicolo’s type, making it seem ill-suited to the Pokémon...
The next Gym she would be challenging was a Fighting-type Gym, and this Psychic-type move was super effective against Fighting-type Pokémon. For that reason, Cynthia chose it anyway.
Come to think of it, she remembered that Ludicolo should also be able to learn advanced moves such as Hydro Pump, Nature Power, and Energy Ball.
According to the rules of this game, perhaps it would have to reach a higher level before it could learn and master them on its own?
After arranging Ludicolo’s moves, Cynthia opened the Pokémon menu once more and checked its ability.
Some Pokémon underwent changes to their abilities upon reaching their final evolution.
Fortunately, that was not the case with Ludicolo. Its ability remained Swift Swim.
That meant Cynthia could now begin gradually preparing Rain Dance teammates for Ludicolo...
...
After organizing Ludicolo’s status and speaking with it for a while, Cynthia returned it to its Poké Ball. She planned to restore the team at the Pokémon Center before heading to the Gym for battle.
However, in the next moment, someone emerged from the cave behind her.
The familiar blue hair and goggles belonged unmistakably to Brawly, the Gym Leader of the Fighting Gym!
The moment he saw Cynthia, he seemed to freeze for a second before immediately realizing what had happened.
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“Hey? You used an Escape Rope to leave, didn’t you? Smart. Sorry to have kept you waiting here so long.”
“When I went up to the second floor just now, I did find some members of Team Rocket. They seemed to be looking for something up there...”
“Unfortunately, the moment they saw me, they all ran away. I was hoping I’d get the chance to teach them a proper lesson.”
Brawly scratched the back of his head as he shared what he had seen and heard inside the cave.
“All right, I’m heading back to the Gym now. I look forward to seeing what you can do in our battle shortly.”
He smiled, turned around, and quickly departed in the direction of the Gym.
Cynthia let out a quiet breath, her thoughts racing.
She had already learned that the central objective of this game was to challenge eight Gyms, obtain all the Badges, and ultimately battle the Elite Four and the Champion of the Pokémon League, becoming the strongest Pokémon Trainer of all!
The Gyms were like levels set throughout the game.
The earlier Rustboro Gym had already proven one thing to her: none of these Gym Leaders were pushovers.
What sort of Pokémon would Brawly use to bring her an entirely new challenge?
To her surprise, a faint restlessness began stirring within her.
The feeling of facing a powerful opponent. The anticipation of blood rushing hot through her veins...
She had not experienced it in many years.
Amid her excitement and emotion, Cynthia prepared to control her character and set out once more.
However, after taking only a few steps, she suddenly stopped.
Another figure had appeared before her, blocking her path.
It was a short, stout, middle-aged man wearing a red baseball cap. After glancing around in all directions, he sidled mysteriously up to Cynthia’s character and spoke.
“Pardon me, beautiful lady.”
“May I ask... do you like fishing?”
Cynthia: ?
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