Unlike the usual pure white glow of evolution, the light surrounding Cottonee's transformation contained streaks of crimson red.
Maki knew that this red radiance came from the Sun Stone—it wasn't just any Sun Stone, but one of the highest quality, capable of more than simply triggering evolution.
Shrouded in the intense white light, Maki and the others could only watch as Cottonee's small body rapidly expanded, growing even taller than Mawile.
Mawile's expression turned serious—was its position in the group under threat? That tiny puffball had actually grown taller than it after evolving?
The evolution light, sudden in its arrival, disappeared just as quickly. When the glow finally faded, a brand-new Pokémon stood before Maki's eyes.
Whimsicott had grown significantly compared to Cottonee, though it was still a small-sized Pokémon with a brown body.
Cotton-like fluff still covered its back, neck, and forehead. Just like before, a green, star-shaped stem extended from behind, resembling the connection between a vegetable and its stalk.
Its head bore green, curled horns—or perhaps ears—giving it an appearance somewhat akin to a sheep.
The first thing Whimsicott did after evolving was examine its newly sprouted limbs, hopping lightly on the ground… A strange yet fascinating sensation.
"How does it feel?" Maki grinned at the newly evolved Whimsicott. While its timing for evolution had been unexpected, overall, he was pleased.
More than that, he was curious—just how much had Whimsicott changed after evolving?
"Whim~"
Whimsicott clapped its tiny hands together, still unaccustomed to suddenly having arms.
"Ahem, that's not what I meant. What about the other changes?"
Seeing Whimsicott still fixated on its new hands, Maki couldn't help but chuckle.
Honestly, growing hands after evolving wasn't that bad. Look at Togepi—when it evolved, it lost its arms instead. Now that was tragic.
"Whim!"
Whimsicott pointed toward Mawile and playfully waved its tiny fists, as if declaring: That one? I could take on ten of them!
Maki twitched at the comment, quickly grabbing hold of Mawile, who was about to charge forward in retaliation.
"Calm down! Calm down, she's just a little too full of herself after evolving."
After soothing the provoked Mawile, Maki promptly bonked Whimsicott on the head.
"Settle down and focus. Besides your strength, do you feel any new abilities?"
Compared to Cottonee, Whimsicott could learn a far greater range of moves, and many of them were picked up instantly upon evolution—some of which were downright absurd.
Even though Whimsicott had yet to undergo actual training after evolving, there was no way it hadn't picked up at least one new move.
"Whim~"
Whimsicott bounced lightly again, clearly proud of itself. Thanks to the cotton on its back, its descent felt almost like watching slow motion.
Then, as if responding to Maki's question, numerous sharp leaves materialized in the air around Whimsicott. With a flick of its tiny hands, the leaves sliced through the air at high speed, yet they expertly avoided Maki and the other Pokémon.
"Razor Leaf, huh? Well… I guess it'll do for now."
Maki wasn't particularly impressed—Razor Leaf was a physical attack with low power, and he didn't think much of it. But regardless, learning a move was never a bad thing.
Yet, for Whimsicott, Razor Leaf was merely an appetizer—the real show was about to begin.
A green energy sphere condensed in front of Whimsicott before launching forward, immediately followed by a second blast of soft pink light.
Energy Ball and Moonblast.
These weren't entirely new moves. Even back when Whimsicott was a Cottonee, it had used them before—but only by relying on Nature Power and specific environmental conditions.
This time, however, it had executed them entirely on its own.
Maki figured that Whimsicott's ability to immediately master these moves after evolving was probably tied to how frequently it had used Nature Power before.
Still, since Energy Ball and Moonblast didn't benefit from Prankster's priority boost, Maki thought it best to prioritize training Nature Power. Even so, working on these two moves would still contribute to improving Nature Power overall.
But what truly surprised Maki was the move Whimsicott used next.
Tailwind.
Whimsicott stretched out its body, and in an instant, a powerful gust of wind surged from behind it—not only enveloping itself but also Charmeleon and Mawile.
Charmeleon, caught off guard, took a few steps forward, immediately noticing the remarkable boost in speed granted by the wind.
Mawile, on the other hand, wore a look of frustration—unlike Charmeleon, the wind wasn't aiding it at all. In fact, it was actively working against it.
Even raising a hand felt like struggling against an invisible force. If this happened during battle, it would be beyond frustrating.
Maki observed their reactions—completely opposite from each other—and shot Whimsicott a look of approval.
Yes, this was how Tailwind should be used. Boosting the speed of oneself and allies while simultaneously hindering opponents' movements. He had expected to explain this concept to Whimsicott, yet it had figured it out entirely on its own.
Then, Maki glanced at Mawile…
Hmm. Maybe Mawile deserves some credit for this development.
"Alright, that's enough. If you keep playing around, I won't stop Mawile from coming after you."
Whimsicott had been giggling mischievously behind its hands, its naturally mischievous nature on full display. But as soon as Maki spoke, its laughter froze.
Even after evolving, the image of Mawile's violent tendencies was still burned into Whimsicott's memory.
Quietly, Whimsicott withdrew the Tailwind effect on Mawile.
As the saying goes, 'a wise man knows when to retreat.' Whimsicott had no intention of being dragged into a beatdown.
Recalling the sight of the fallen Malamar earlier, Whimsicott figured it was better to not push its luck.
Yet, before it could fully react, Mawile had already charged straight at it.
"Mawile!!!"
-----------------------
Want to read ahead of schedule?
Join here for advance chapters: PATREON.COM / PRIMALDEMON