Whimsicott turned around just in time to see Mawile lunging toward her. Startled, she instinctively leaped—only to land directly on Maki's head.
However, she seemed to have forgotten one crucial detail: after evolving, not only had her weight increased more than tenfold, but her body had also grown significantly larger. The moment she landed, her fluffy cotton completely engulfed Maki's vision.
Maki struggled to push Whimsicott away.
"Get—get down first! I can't see anything!"
But no matter how much he pleaded, Whimsicott stubbornly clung to his head, making it clear that she had no intention of moving.
...
With Whimsicott's evolution complete, Maki now had only one thing left to consider—how to persuade these Florges to leave with him.
His trump card, of course, was the high-quality Pokéblocks. Even though this hidden sanctuary had plenty of Berries, there was no way their taste could compare to Pokéblocks and Poké Beans.
However, after some hesitation, the Florges ultimately decided to stay. This was their home. If it had been so easy to abandon, they would have left long ago when Malamar first invaded.
Although they were grateful for Maki's help, they had no intention of leaving their homeland.
As a token of appreciation, the Florges gathered nearly all of their stored nectar and presented it to him.
Maki didn't push the matter further. His haul from this trip was already substantial—the Key Stone Absol had given him at the beginning alone was priceless, not to mention the Mega Stone and Sun Stone he had acquired later.
Since they wished to remain, he respected their decision.
Instead, he turned to Absol. While the Florges had no plans to leave, there was still a chance he could convince Absol. After all, the only reason Absol had stayed here in the first place was to protect the Florges from Malamar's tyranny.
Now that Malamar had been taken away by Maki, there was no longer any pressing reason for Absol to remain.
Under Maki's invitation—and the expectant gazes of both him and the Florges—Absol hesitated for a long time before eventually shaking his head.
He wanted to stay a little longer to ensure that no new threats would emerge.
"Alright." Maki sighed in resignation. It was obvious that Absol wanted to leave with him. By nature, Absol was a proud and ambitious Pokémon.
He knew that staying by Maki's side would allow him to grow much stronger, much faster.
But his concern for the Florges ultimately held him back.
Before Maki could say anything else, the Florges suddenly began to chatter anxiously around Absol, whispering into his ears.
They might be innocent, but they weren't foolish—they knew full well that Absol was only staying for their sake.
And their reaction gave Maki renewed hope of convincing Absol.
"You're staying because you're worried about them," Maki pointed out. "But do you really think they still need your protection?"
Absol froze, then turned to look at the Florges behind him. For the first time, his eyes showed a trace of relief.
He was right.
These little ones were no longer the fragile beings they had once been when he first arrived.
"So, come with me," Maki said, his tone carrying a subtle challenge. "You want to grow stronger, to see the world beyond this place, don't you?"
Under the hopeful gazes of both Maki and the Florges, Absol finally, slowly, nodded.
...
With a Mega Stone and Key Stone in hand, Whimsicott successfully evolved, and Maki even managed to recruit an Absol—this hidden sanctuary expedition had been nothing short of a jackpot.
But instead of heading straight to the volcano in search of the second Mega Stone, Maki decided to make a quick stop back home first.
For one, he had been gone for over a day without any updates—Uncle Mohn was probably starting to worry. Secondly, he needed to replenish his Pokéblocks.
Charmeleon had enough Pokéblocks to last at least another two weeks, but Whimsicott and Mawile had used up a significant portion of theirs when they shared with the Florges last night.
Plus, now that Whimsicott had evolved, her Pokéblock formula would need some adjustments. The previous blend might no longer be the best fit for her.
The same went for Absol—his Pokéblocks would have to wait until they got back to Uncle Mohn's so he could properly craft them using fresh Berries.
Absol's Ability was Justified, rather than the more commonly sought-after Super Luck. But in Maki's eyes, Justified had the potential to be just as powerful—perhaps even more so—if used strategically.
After all, Justified triggered a +1 Attack boost every time Absol was hit by a Dark-type move. And if that move happened to be a multi-hit attack?
Take, for example, Beat Up.
By leveraging the power of teammates, Absol could be struck multiple times in quick succession, rapidly stacking Attack boosts.
And Beat Up was a move Whimsicott could also learn.
That was the beauty of Whimsicott—its move pool was so vast that you never knew what tricks it might pull. You'd think it was about to set up Tailwind, only for it to turn around and use Trick Room instead.
Following the markings left behind by Whimsicott earlier, Maki retraced his steps to the exit of the sanctuary. With one step forward, he crossed through the hidden gateway and returned to the small island.
By the time he made it back to Uncle Mohn's cabin, the sun had already set. After all, the journey had been quite long.
"Maki, you're back! I was starting to get worried something had happened to you!"
Uncle Mohn, who had been roasting fish in the corner, quickly ran over the moment he saw Maki, relief evident on his face.
Maki chuckled. In a place as isolated as this, it was a comforting feeling to have someone who genuinely cared about you.
"I'm fine," he assured him. "I just got a little sidetracked. But unfortunately, I still haven't found a Dugtrio."
He shrugged.
Now that he thought about it, his original goal for this trip had been to catch a few Pokémon for farming.
Yet somehow, he had ended up recruiting an Absol instead.
Would that count as getting off track?
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