Mawile nodded in agreement upon hearing that. This guy had actually tried to harm Maki earlier—there was no way he wouldn't get a proper beating for that!
As for Cottonee, it seemed to find the scene unfolding before it a bit too cruel, so it turned its head away from Malamar… but not before casually casting Helping Hand on Mawile.
After all, it wasn't the one throwing punches—it was just offering a little bit of assistance.
After another solid round of Mawile's beatdown, Malamar was finally recalled into its Poké Ball, though not before Maki gave it one last warning.
"If I don't see that stone there when the time comes, I'll toss you into a volcano."
Hearing Maki's threat, Malamar frantically nodded, desperately trying to convey that everything it had said earlier was absolutely true. Not that it dared to lie anymore after the thrashing it had just received.
"For now, let's set aside the matter of the Mega Stone and talk about something else."
At this point, the likelihood of that particular Mega Stone being of immediate use was low. As for the one inside the volcano, there was no way of knowing which Pokémon it belonged to. Fortunately, Magmar didn't have a Mega Evolution, so at least it couldn't be for that.
Given that the stone was inside a volcano, though, it was highly likely to belong to a Fire-type Pokémon.
However, Maki wasn't in any rush to snatch the Mega Stone just yet. According to Malamar, that Magmar was far stronger than them—by a huge margin.
Based on Maki's estimation, even if that Magmar wasn't at an Ultra Ball-tier level of strength, it was at least on the upper mid-tier of a Great Ball-level Pokémon. Either way, there was no need to act hastily—there would be time to make a proper plan later.
On the other hand, the second stone Maki had found earlier might prove to be even more useful than the Mega Stone right now.
Maki took out the Sun Stone and placed it in front of Cottonee.
"This is a Sun Stone—one of the highest quality ones you'll ever find. Even if I went all the way back to Kanto, I doubt I'd find a better one than this."
Maki's words took Cottonee by surprise. It had only just relaxed after the battle, but the moment it saw the Evolution Stone, it froze in place, unsure of how to react.
Cottonee's situation was a bit unique. Unlike some Pokémon, it didn't need to evolve to learn new moves. In fact, once it evolved into Whimsicott, the moves it could already learn would become even easier to master.
The reason Maki had held off on evolving Cottonee until now was that there had still been some untapped potential exclusive to its pre-evolutionary state. But at this point, that potential had been more or less exhausted.
Despite having the weakest solo combat abilities in the team, Cottonee played a crucial support role. Perhaps because of this, it was easy to overlook just how important it was to the team's overall synergy.
In reality, Cottonee was the key member of Maki's team, and many of Maki's future strategies depended entirely on it.
And when it came to strength—some people seemed to forget—Cottonee was still in its base form. It was the equivalent of Charmander before it evolved into Charmeleon.
Once Cottonee evolved into Whimsicott, the power boost it would receive would far exceed that of Charmander evolving into Charmeleon—perhaps even comparable to skipping straight to Charizard!
That was the sheer difference in strength.
In terms of base stats, Cottonee actually had lower stats than Charmander. The fact that it had managed to reach this level of strength already was an achievement in itself.
Once it evolved into Whimsicott, its total base stats would jump by 200 points, putting it just slightly below Charizard's level.
Of course, using game mechanics like base stats to describe Pokémon might feel a little off, but from Maki's perspective, it was still a fairly accurate way to gauge overall strength.
Why were pseudo-Legendary Pokémon so powerful? Because they had base stats of 600—far beyond what regular Pokémon had. How could they not be strong?
This was also why Pokémon like Absol and Lapras were so popular among beginner trainers.
They started off with naturally high base stats. Even without evolving, they were as strong as a fully evolved Pokémon—like getting a Charizard as a starter. Of course, they were powerful!
But in the end, stats weren't everything.
Evolution had its advantages, allowing a Pokémon to steadily grow stronger, and the moment of evolution was often a Pokémon's greatest power spike.
Not evolving had its benefits too—like maintaining solid battle strength right from the start.
Which was better? It was a matter of perspective, and every trainer had their own opinions.
That being said, Cottonee had already built up a solid foundation of strength. Combined with this high-quality Evolution Stone, Maki was confident that Cottonee would officially reach Great Ball-tier strength upon evolution—making it the first member of Maki's team to break into that tier.
Although Charmeleon could also exert Great Ball-tier power, it required specific conditions and drained a lot of stamina, making it unsustainable in prolonged battles.
Even though evolving into Whimsicott would only bring benefits for Cottonee, Maki still wanted to hear its decision.
Of course, Maki also made sure to tell Cottonee about all the advantages that came with evolving. As for the final choice, it was up to Cottonee to decide.
At first, Cottonee hesitated.
It had always looked forward to evolving into Whimsicott—finally growing arms and becoming stronger. But now that the moment had arrived, it couldn't help but feel conflicted.
Its biggest concern?
If it evolved… would it still be able to sit on Maki's head?
Seeing Cottonee's troubled expression, Maki seemed to understand immediately. With a smile, he lifted Cottonee and placed it on top of his head.
That familiar sensation made Cottonee instinctively relax, sinking into Maki's hair.
Patting Cottonee's cotton-like fluff, Maki reassured it, "If you're not ready, you can take a few days to decide. There's no rush. Evolution isn't the only way to grow stronger. Even if you stay as a Cottonee, I can still make you more powerful."
After all, Pikachu refused to evolve even when it had the chance.
And in Pokémon Adventures, Pryce's Swinub defeated Ho-Oh.
Who's to say Cottonee couldn't do the same?
But Maki's words seemed to give Cottonee the final push it needed.
Its eyes filled with determination.
Before Maki could react, Cottonee leapt off his head—straight toward the Sun Stone on the ground!
The moment its body made contact with the stone, a dazzling evolutionary light erupted!
For Maki—Cottonee had to grow stronger!
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