Whirlipede - Entoma
Dwebble - Gargantua
Wimpod - Cocytus
Heracross - Kyou
Ribombee - Leinas
Larvesta - Demiurge
I woke to a blast of water. I sputtered and gasped as I flopped out of my sleeping bag. The culprit: Cocytus. The traitorous bastard.
"The hell did you do that for?" I grumbled at Cocytus, who gestured towards Demiurge.
After a brief interrogation, I learned why. Demiurge was hungry and my rest interfered with his ability to get food. He engaged in the noble art of delegation, promptly ordering Cocytus to fix this for him. At the nudging from his new friend, Cocytus fixed the issue in the one way he knew how: brute force.
I guess that one is on me.
"Alright, here's your food." I acquiesced, extracting a bunch of high-nutrition rations from my bag. "You could've just asked Leinas for some Pollen Puffs, you know?"
Demiurge shrugged, proceeding to chow down. Cocytus happily joined in. Demiurge was a growing boy who needed his nutrients and Cocytus was an all-consuming devourer, which meant they shared the 'I want to eat' train of thought more often than not.
Roxy stumbled out of her tent, an absolute mess as usual. I probably wasn't much better, to be honest, but I don't have long hair and a coffee addiction to deal with in the morning. She zombily retrieved a coffee brewer from her bag, silently and mechanically going through the motions of making her morning liter of coffee.
The noise woke my Ribombee. Leinas popped out of her flower-bed, taking the initiative to wake the rest of my team. She shook awake Entoma and Kyou, casually dodging Kyou's half-hearted swipe of retaliation. Gargantua dug himself some tunnels to sleep in, making him somehow the only one of us smart enough to develop a way to sleep in.
Our morning routines continued as usual, Roxie slowly perking up to her usual self. She tidied herself up quickly with the help of Cocytus' Water Gun and released her Pokemon out to eat, joining them after making some food for herself.
"Ah, there he is," I mused as Gar finally emerged from his hole. I tossed him his chunk of food and he caught it between his two forelimbs with ease. "You ready to kick some ass today?"
Gar growled through his bites, a croaking declaration of intent. He is gonna kick some ass.
"Ohh, excited to fight Lenora?" Roxie instigated.
"I am," I admitted. "It's like that urge you get to knock over a baby stroller, except the baby is Lenora and my Type-Advantage is gravity."
"Nico, most people don't get the urge to knock over baby strollers."
"Hm."
"Alright, I'll scan your IDs real quick, and you'll be let into the museum! The arena and Lenora's office are just past the Library, and you're free to visit any of the previously mentioned locations after your match has concluded." The perky receptionist listed off as easy as breathing, snatching up our offered identification. "Alright! You're all signed up for your second badge fights! Head on back to Lenora's office whenever you're ready."
"Oh, gladly," I purred.
We leisurely strolled through the building, glancing around at the exhibits. The most prominent was the iconic Dragonite skeleton, still displayed prominently at the center of the Museum. The lack of any 'strange stone found at the desert ruins' exhibit firmly indicated that events I'm not strong enough to matter in are going on.
It brought clarity, that while I'm going to dunk on this second badge fight, it's not even the eight badge level that matters in the grand scheme of things. It was a contradiction, but even this utopia was a world of rule by power. In the end, if you were the strongest, you made the rules. Alder probably had a Volcarona of his own, and if it's anything like the one in the Ruins, it would be terrifying. And Alder loses to N.
'Course, N has Reshiram, because Hilda has the Black Stone. Reshiram would take fire damage without issue.
Pokemon worlds have champion-scale issues pop up all the time. Hell, I've already encountered one, in the form of the Ultra Beast I've got stalking me. It was rare, but I still got small glimpses of her every once in a while. She's gotten better and faster, which meant that there was a being far outclassing me in my direct vicinity. Even better: she's getting stronger.
I feel I should have the biggest gun in any situation I'm in. I'll endure it, for now. Only because I have no choice. But when I get strong enough to take her on…
"Nico, are you scheming?" Roxie questioned.
"Maybe.".
She snickered. "You're the worst. It's hilarious."
"I can't be the worst. The worst title you can give me is disorderly vagrant."
The library lady overheard and hushed me as we entered the library I chuckled as we slunk through. We followed the sign pointing us to Lenora's office, leading us to a hallway with one door.
The door opened into a lacquered hardwood stairwell leading down into a similarly fancy basement room. The room was empty aside from a neat desk and Lenora, who silently wrote on paperwork.
"Ah, you must be the challengers," Lenora spoke, finally looking up from her paperwork. "Welcome to the Nacrene—Oh. It's you."
Lenora looked at me in silent disapproval, as if expecting me to say something. "What?" I raised an eyebrow, "You want me to tell you all about how I'm going to run your team through a tumble dryer?"
"And there it is," Lenora sighed in disappointment as Roxie giggled. "Every once in a while I have to deal with an arrogant kid like yourself. Very well." Lenora stood up. "As much as I'd love to give you the lesson in humility you deserve, this will be a standard 2v2 second gym battle. As she didn't immediately taunt me, your friend will fight first."
"Oh, don't worry," Roxie smiled innocently. "I just didn't think this fight would be interesting enough to spend time on trash-talk."
Lenora's face grew substantially more exasperated.
"Whirlipede, clean up for me!" Roxie encouraged, sending her Pokemon out first.
"Herdier! Front and center!" Lenora declared.
The two Pokemon squared off in the gym arena, enclosed within psychic barriers. Another Reuniclus was here, no doubt the Unovan standard for a convenient powerful psychic. Roxie grinned cockily from her trainer's box, prepared for a clean sweep.
"Poison Tail!" Roxie ordered.
Whirlipede rapidly accelerated, charging at Herdier. The dog glared, preparing for action.
"Take Down!" Lenora responded.
The pair charged at each other. Whirlipede's spikes oozed toxins, leaving a sizzling trail as it cruised through the arena. Herdier's paws made light imprints in the ground with each rapid step, propelling itself forward at reckless speed.
They hit. The kinetic energy sent both of them ricocheting off each other, skipping off the ground before smacking into opposite sides of the arena walls. Whirlipede quickly readjusted, its heavy shell absorbing the impacts without any permanent damage. Herdier wasn't as lucky.
Herdier staggered up with a limp on the side he first landed on. There were multiple indents in its fur coat, soaked with venom and a bit of blood.
"Impressive," Lenora admitted, giving Whirlipede a studying look. "You have a well-trained Whirlipede. Not freshly evolved, like most who come here. Most couldn't shrug off a Take Down like that."
"Nope!" Roxie grinned, "Whirlipede and I have been friends for years now!"
Lenora recalled Herdier back into its ball. "Regardless, Herdier doesn't have any techniques able to challenge you, so I forfeit him. Go, Watchog!"
Watchog took the field, the large rat glaring down at Whirlipede.
"What, and he does?" Roxie asked incredulously.
Lenora smiled. "Watchog, Retaliate."
Watchog blurred. I wasn't able to track the move whatsoever. One moment they were there, and then Whirlipede was embedded in the psychic barrier next to Roxie and Watchog stood where Whirlipede used to.
Roxie didn't frown. Instead, she started giggling. "Finally! It's been so long!" She cheered, breaking down into maniacal laughter.
What was happening wasn't immediately obvious. Whiripede's eyes were closed and its shell cracked, and it simply stayed stuck in the barrier. Then the cracks in the shell started to leak light and Whirlipede's eyes opened, exposing glowing orbs.
With a loud Crack!, Whilipede's shell split open horizontally, revealing the shell to have been about two inches thick. What lay beneath wasn't exposed tissue, but rather a glowing core. It pushed itself out of the gap, a creature far larger than the abandoned shell crawling out and stretching to it's full height and width.
The light faded and Scolipede remained. Scolipede was roughly the size of a particularly large horse, nearly twice Roxie's height. Covered in red armor and massive horns, Scolipede was genuinely terrifying.
I can't wait to have one.
"Scolipede," Roxie took a deep breath. "Steamroller!"
Scolipede moved faster than it ever had as a Whirlipede. Its footing was a little awkward, but that didn't matter when each step impacted with enough force to carve a small chunk out of the floor and send Scolipede blasting forward.
"Hypnosis! Stop it!" Lenora tried to find a way out.
Watchog tried to put Scolipede to sleep. But there just wasn't enough time for even a half-assed Hypnosis attempt before Scolipede curled up into a ball and wreathed itself in Bug-Type energy.
Watchog could only stare with wide eyes as five-hundred pounds of armored death approached. The high-speed Steamroller flattened Watchog into the ground as Scolipede rolled over Watchog, instantly sending the rat into unconsciousness.
Scolipede unwrapped itself and landed on all fours in a single motion. It slowly and steadily walked back to Roxie's side, adapting to its new limbs with every step.
"Well done," Lenora admitted, only a trace irritation left in her voice as she recalled Watchog. "You're a capable trainer. Scolipede is an impressive specimen. You'll get a more accurate analysis if you go to Burgh over in Castelia."
"Already planning on it!" Roxie grinned.
"Then I present you with the Normal Badge." Lenora walked across the arena as the barriers fell. "I look forward to seeing where you go from here."
In the empty stands, I cracked my knuckles. My turn.
"Audino! Front and center!" Lenora released her Pokemon first.
Audino is a notoriously kind-hearted Pokemon. Even capable of empathic sensing, if I remember correctly. Who better to use against the emotion sensor than the living flashbang of rage himself?
"Go, Gargantua!" I released my Dwebble.
Audino instinctively flinched as Gar glared it down. Gar took that as a personal victory, chittering and swiping small gouges in the arena floor in threat.
"Rock Slide!" I started.
Gargantua launched Dwebble-sized projectiles at Audino, barely bothering to move.
"Protect!" Lenora spoke. Audino summoned a semicircle dome of Protect over itself, casually tanking the blast of rocks before releasing the shield. "Now, Secret Power!"
Audino drew energy from the surrounding environment, a mix of Ground-Type energy from the arena tinged with Rock-Type energy from the surrounding failed Rock Slide. Then Audino released it as a shockwave. The shockwave was too wide for Gar to avoid, so he just turtled up in his shell and was sent skipping by the force.
"Rock Blast!" I changed tactics. Gar emerged from his shell, beginning his rapid-fire assault on Audino.
"Protect," blandly responded Lenora. Audino snapped up a Protect, continuing to hold it as the rocks landed. So, this is what it feels like to get Protect stalled? I almost feel sorry for my opponents.
How do I get around a developed Protect? First, let's kick it to 100%.
"Gar, Shell Smash!"
My Dwebble howled, tearing off his shell and beaning it at Audino. Audino dropped the Protect as Gar removed preformed the technique, beginning to prepare another Secret Power, only to abruptly stop and Protect again as the shell was sent right its way. Like the Rock Slide and Rock Blast, Gar's Shell uselessly pinged off the Protect.
"Rock Slide, slab above Audino!" I didn't give Lenora the chance to speak. Gar responded instantly, rapidly extracting a sheet of stone and throwing it above Audino, who simply raised Protect again in response.
"You're just wasting your energy," Lenora commented idly.
"Now, Stone Edge below!"
Audino and Lenora's faces suddenly twisted in shock. Before either could react properly, Gar slammed a limb into the ground and conjured a spike of stone below Audino. Immobilized by Protect, Audino could do nothing as it was crushed against its shield.
Protect failed, and the slab of stone fell. Audino and the Stone Edge were crushed under the weight of the Rock Slide, which broke into pieces upon hitting the ground. Small bits of Audino were visible from the mound of rocks, the healing Pokemon unconscious.
Lenora recalled her defeated Pokemon with a sigh. "Fair enough. You've figured out some of Protect's weaknesses and exploited them effectively. I'll admit, you're a decent trainer. In fact, I expect you to get your second badge." Lenora pulled another Pokeball out. "But a decent trainer deserves a decent battle. Go, Kangaskhan! Retaliate!"
"Protect!" I tried to defend against the all-out attack.
The released Kangaskhan didn't blur like Watchog, but she moved with remarkable speed. Gar barely had time to raise a Protect before she reached him. Not that it mattered, the incredible power of the Kangaskhan combined with the might of an empowered Retaliate meant the Protect shattered upon impact.
Gar took the blow. The tiny bug hit the psychic barrier like a fly hit a windshield, knocked unconscious. It was hard to watch him toss hundreds of pounds of stone and still think of him as small, but the truth remained that Gar did not have any physical bulk to resist damage. He didn't have the defense of a Rock-Type without a shell to help.
I recalled Gar and focused on Kangaskhan. Despite what the Pokemon Company would have you believe, Kangaskan did not fight with an infant child as a shield. Kangaskhan is just a large, armored, and seven-foot tall dinosaur. It didn't look motherly at all.
My Heracross was what I intended to bring in the first place, and I'm staying with that choice. He has the sheer damage output to put down the thing, plus the type advantage. God, it's the size of a basketball player.
"Kyou! Get close!"
Kyou appeared, fully prepared to deck someone in the face. The muscular, spiky, flying, and undeniably ungodly beetle suddenly approaching immediately had Kangaskhan tensing and preparing to fight.
"Poke with horn attack!"
"Protect and Mega Punch!"
"Follow with Brick Break!"
Kyou dove at Kangaskhan, not impacted whatsoever when he slammed into the Protect with his horn. Khangaskan pulled her arm back, charging it with the energy for Mega Punch as Kyou twisted from flight to his feet, using the twisting momentum to throw a Brick Break. Hit by both a horn attack and a type-advantage Brick Break powered by the murder beetle, the Protect inevitably shattered.
The Brick Break carried through, crashing onto the shoulder about to throw the Mega Punch. armor cracked as the shoulder dislocated.
"Kangaskhan!" Lenora cried. Kangaskhan still threw the punch, but it only knocked Kyou slightly back.
"Low Kick!"
Kyou swept her legs, coming in on the side of the injury. Kangaskhan fell on the dislocated arm, roaring as the damage compounded.
"I surrender!" Lenora yelled, recalling her Pokemon. She took a deep breath and she pinched her nose. As the psychic barriers fell, I barely heard her mutter. "Calm down. It's just another Bug-Type specialist. They're all nuts."
That felt a little rude. Bugs are pretty cool, I think. Especially the ones with spikes that can break your shoulder with a karate chop. Or rip hundreds of pounds of stone from the ground and drop it on you. Plus the rest of the bullshit my team can do.
Lenora remained professional, walking over with the Basic Badge. "Congratulations. Kangaskhan was trained at a third badge level. Nevertheless, you'll have to get your third badge like usual. Burgh will deal with you."
That felt good to hear, aside from the vague threats about Burgh. I'd been training to get strong, after all. Kyou and Gar being highly proficient allowed my Pokemon to have better opponents in spars, therefore raising the overall speed I can train my Pokemon. Kyou and Gar were still more powerful than the others, but it has verifiably helped with our overall growth.
My only worry is we may get too strong to train Demiurge properly. Who would be willing to handicap themselves? Gar would laugh in my face, Kyou probably wouldn't be interested in anything that didn't involve tangible growth or rest. Leinas would be willing, if it wasn't against her morals to hit an infant. I don't know if Wimpod has the will to hit his new eating buddy.
Entoma would probably be willing to gently drive over a child for me.
"Hey, Entoma? How do you feel about hitting children?" I asked her. Entoma blinked twice. "Ooh, a yes!" I cheered.
"Nico, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Well, I need to train Demiurge eventually, and he'll be at a much weaker level than the rest of the team. I figure Entoma's the most likely to be willing to handicap herself in a fight," I answered Roxie, continuing to look at Entoma. She blinked twice again. Score. "I think I'll wait until after we get the third badge to start training them."
"Hm," Roxie grunted at me. "I'll be grabbing a couple more Poison-Types in Castelia. He can fight them, too."
"Ooh, going back to the sewers?"
"Hm? Nah. Castelia waste management offloads spare Poison-Type Pokemon to trainers."
"Wait, then why did we break into the sewers to catch Pokemon?"
Roxie shrugged. "It was more fun."
She wasn't wrong.
We arrived in Castelia the next day, once again setting up camp in Pinwheel Forest for the few days we'd be staying there. It was a familiar path, and the denizens fled the campsite without even a fight. The forest Pokemon knew what would happen if they fought us for it.
Our first stop in Castelia was the department store. Particularly, the Technical Machine department. We get the exclusive chance to avoid paying the exorbitant price for two infinite-use TMs, allowing both of us to add two moves to every member of our team compatible with them. It was a trade-off between choosing moves both compatible with a significant amount of both of our Pokemon and being useful.
"I choose Earthquake," I told Roxie. It felt like the obvious choice.
"Oh, I can't wait to see Scolipede with that!" Roxie grinned. "I'm trying to decide between Protect and Sludge Bomb. I saw how useful Protect was with your Lenora fight."
"Eh," I shrugged. "I've found it's pretty easy to teach Protect between defensive Pokemon. You have Protect on Scolipede, you can probably get it to teach Grimer. Offensive Pokemon tend to have trouble learning Protect and suck at using it."
"Hmm… So you think Sludge Bomb?"
"Yeah, seems like the best option. A long-range, powerful Poison-Type move seems good for you to have. Some of my Pokemon can probably learn it too."
"Hmm… I wonder if I can Toxic-enhance Sludge Bomb?" Roxie pondered.
After that rather scary thought, we redeemed the TMs. We stocked up on other supplies while there and then went out and headed to a park to rest and began inserting the TMs in our Pokeballs.
Roxie's Scolipede accepted both Earthquake and Sludge Bomb, though only Sludge Bomb was accepted by Grimer. Regardless, she was happy.
I was disappointed when neither move was accepted by Entoma, presumably unable to use the moves until she evolves. I guess Sludge Bomb takes a mouth and Earthquake takes limbs. Gargantua learned both which had ominous implications. Kyou learned Earthquake and Demiurge learned Sludge Bomb, leaving Cocytus and Leinas with Entoma as the unfortunate members that didn't get anything out of it.
Two of the three Pokemon who benefited immediately are my two strongest, meaning that the rest will probably start to lag behind. Some would benefit later, but the imbalance of my team worries me. I'll have to correct that.
I have my hopes up that Cocytus will be able to learn the moves when he evolves, but for now, he's stuck in the same boat as Entoma. Sorry, little dude.
The Castelia Gym was the largest and most formal gym we'd been in yet. We signed up for our fights but were told all matches would be held the next day, so we left to galavant around Castelia with our reward money. We'll be back tomorrow.
"You there! You two!" A scientist waved us down as we walked up the street after leaving the Gym. Roxie and I turned to him, genuinely curious about what he had to say. "You're the boy who captured that Dwebble for the Desert Ruins staff, right?"
"Uh, yes?" I responded in confusion.
"How has training been going?"
"Pretty well. I came here for my third gym badge, but can't fight it yet."
"Perfect!" the man beamed. "I've been looking to test some artificial evolutionary stones. I handed out my last sample a while ago, but I've managed to recreate my results! I've been looking for good trainers to provide some reports of the effects."
"Ah, well, I don't have any Pokemon that can evolve from stones."
"That's the thing," the scientist seemed suddenly less hinged. "It doesn't require a Pokemon to evolve, it just requires a Pokemon to have the capacity to evolve."
I suddenly connected the dots, choosing to ignore his obvious fascination. "Please elaborate."
"I call it the Eviolite! It's a strange lump that adapts itself to whatever unevolved Pokemon touches it. Only problem is, it doesn't detach, at least not until a Pokemon evolves fully. This makes it quite difficult to test, as I can only test one Pokemon per full evolution. I don't have the time to train up Pokemon, so I'm looking for strong trainers willing to test it and transfer it between Pokemon as they evolve."
"I'm in," I instantly responded. "What do you want in exchange?"
"Just to observe the application, run some routine tests, and receive a weekly report. On the state of whichever Pokemon you wish to apply it to. If you'll follow me to my lab…"
We followed him to an office building, entering an elevator. As the literal elevator music played, Roxie grew bored enough to ask some questions.
"So, what does the Eviolite actually do?" Roxie inquired.
"The effects aren't noticeable immediately after application, as it takes twelve to twenty-four hours to fully integrate. Essentially, you apply it and it works overnight. The first effect is a significant increase in the Pokemon's durability. This effect appears to be multiplicative, as more naturally physiologically defensive Pokemon are affected more noticeably than offensive Pokemon.
"Eviolite-applied Pokemon also tend to develop defensive physical traits to an exacerbated degree, and even carry these enhanced traits to their final evolution. Not to the extent of still having the Eviolite, but certainly to an atypical level compared to the rest of their species. At least from the few samples I've had."
"Where'd you get those samples?" I asked curiously.
"A while ago, I met a trainer named Hilda. She took the same deal as you, applying her Eviolite to her Drillbur. It's quite an impressive Pokemon now, a very large Excadrill. She also applied it to a Pawniard who's become an impressive Bisharp.
"Though, her most recent attempt to apply it to a Meinfoo has been met will less success. While tougher than the average Meinfoo, it remains a rather fragile Pokemon. Perhaps it will be better served as a Meinshao, but it doesn't seem like it. That's how we know it isn't particularly suited to offensive Pokemon."
Huh. Always good to hear about the soon-to-be hero of Unova. I should call her sometime if she isn't too busy saving the world.
So, who do I want to enhance? Anything not about to evolve is out. Kyou and Leinas simply cannot use it as fully evolved Pokemon.
I thought back to the Scolipede I saw earlier. What if that, plus more armor? Horse Armor DLC, eat your heart out. The decision solidified in my mind as I imagined Entoma as my terrifying heavily-armored bug horse: my noble steed to ride.
Plus, she'd evolve first. Roxie's Whirlipede didn't evolve because she spent so long recreating Toxic instead of training, but Scolipede was a relatively early evolution. Earlier than the starter Pokemon's final evolution, if I recall correctly.
Crustle was a later evolution, though Gar was probably closer to evolution than Entoma. He's simply fought more, due to how useful a Rock typing is. Volcarona wasn't happening anytime soon and Wimpod lagged behind due to being a naturally weak pre-evolution.
If I stop using Gar in major battles until Entoma evolves, that will let me enhance him too. But he's my Rock-Type, and not using him against Burgh is a major handicap.
Hm. Long-term success is a priority. I can't overtrain Gar yet, despite his place as one of the definitive top two, even though he just learned fucking Earthquake. If I want to most effectively train my team, I need to make sacrifices in the short term. Or get him an everstone.
I broke from my thoughts as the elevator stopped. We stepped out and the scientist scanned himself in through a locked door. The door led to a large room, half laboratory and half empty. The empty space was surrounded by recording devices, presumably a testing area.
"Alright, please release your Pokemon in that area over there," The still-unnamed scientist declared, gesturing to the recording circle.
I released Entoma into the circle of recording devices. "Hey, Entoma. This scientist says he can make you tougher. You down to try?"
Entoma blinked twice, her eyes implying interest.
"Great!" I exclaimed. "Hey, what do we call you, by the way?" I asked the scientist.
He looked up after he finished fiddling with another recording device. "I'm Doctor Thomas Richards. Tommy to my friends. I'm researching the possibility of duplicating Elemental Stones. This Eviolite business is actually a side project. The people of the Desert Resort Ruins society seemed to put some value in them and collected them. Without the supply sourced from there, I'd likely never have the resources availiable to craft an Eviolite."
"Will you be making any more?" Roxie asked eagerly.
"Eventually," Dr. Richards shrugged. "If you're looking to get one for yourself, I'll keep you in mind if I get around to making another. Anyway, I'm all set up. Allow me to fetch the Eviolite."
Tommy retrieved a glass case with a purple lump inside. He entered the circle with Entoma and pressed the button on the case, opening it. Then he flipped the case over, allowing the teardrop of purple to fall out. It landed with a plop on Entoma, remaining inert. The Doctor stepped out of the ring.
The Eviolite began to melt. It flowed like fluid, seeping in and filling the cracks and creases of Entoma's shell with the Eviolite. Slowly, the Eviolite fluid seeped into Entoma.
"Integration appears to be successful," commented the Doctor. "Full absorption will happen within the hour and immediate physical effects with develop overnight. Probably."
"How will it get out when they evolve?" Roxie asked as Entoma integrated the Eviolite.
"Our last two samples simply spat it out after evolution. Supposedly this was of their own volition, so you don't have to worry about evolving in a match and accidentally spitting it onto your enemy."
I rubbed the top of Entoma's shell, watching the process. "I know I don't see any changes yet, but I'll thank you now. This is a big deal for me."
"Ah, don't mention it." Tommy shook his head. "Seriously, don't mention it. I'm not supposed to be spending time on side projects. Plus, we wouldn't want the Indigo League to get their claws on this."
"Uh, right," I agreed. "So what now?"
"Nothing special. Come back tomorrow evening and I'll record the physiological changes. I'll give you my number, message me if you have any issues or need to report something."
By the time night fell, the Eviolite was fully absorbed and Entoma was noticeably larger. Cocytus was looking on in mild jealousy, wishing he was growing stronger as quickly. I really felt for the guy, I did. So I fed Cocytus more food, which seemed to cheer him up.
I told my team about the Eviolite and my plans for it. Kyou lost interest when he realized it couldn't help him and Leinas wasn't interested from the start. Entoma was happy to show off her increasing girth, drawing the interest of the Eviolite-capable Pokemon.
Gar is happy that he's next, though he was pissed when I explained that he'd have to be held back from fighting for a bit, unless I can get an everstone. Ultimately, he accepted. Getting one-tapped by Kangaskhan does a number on anyone's ego, even someone like Gar. He was willing to wait in exchange for a defense buff.
Cocytus was thrilled when he learned he was in line for the Eviolite. He'd obviously seen Entoma and hoped something similar would happen to him. I wasn't hopeful for a sudden, dramatic change, but if it ended up augmenting him as a Golisopod it would be worth it.
Demiurge didn't care because it wouldn't affect him for a long while. He simply sat down and instructed Cocytus to fetch them more food, occasionally spitting a small Sludge Bomb or Ember.
Speaking of recently learned moves, I had to put a quick stop to Kyou and Gar's impromptu Earthquake-off when they made the ground around us shake for a solid minute. Gar's Earthquakes had noticeably more power than Kyou's. Their egos clashed over the power disparity, which led to the subsequent seismic situation.
Afterward, Gar called Kyou out for a private chat. No Earthquakes occurred before they returned and when they did they came back in pristine condition, which I think means everything went well.
That night, I dreamed of driving an armored steamroller.