In this situation, it was extremely similar to when Lilligant gathered energy to form an Energy Ball, continuously drawing in the energy of the natural world.
But this time, the difference was striking: instead of Lilligant absorbing life energy, the life and grass energy of nature itself was actively surging toward her.
"Lilligant… did she just—break through?"
Even Aven was momentarily stunned.
They were clearly supposed to be helping Magikarp with its training, yet somehow Lilligant was the one who had completed a breakthrough first?
Realizing what was happening, joy bloomed across Aven's face. He could clearly sense that Lilligant was undergoing a transformation—an evolution of her own, one deeply connected to the power of life and grass energy.
A moment later, Lilligant slowly opened her eyes, and within them shimmered an unusual glow.
Then, with a gentle wave of her hand, a soft green light suddenly enveloped the Magikarp who was still struggling against the raging current, healing the wounds all across its body.
And it wasn't just Magikarp—at that moment, the entire back courtyard of the castle was wrapped in a dense tide of the two energies.
Every Pokémon currently training in the area became surrounded by that same healing green glow.
At this moment, Lilligant resembled the true ruler of life within this region, freely commanding and shaping the life and grass energy within nature itself!
"What an incredible level of control over both energies…"
Aven's expression turned astonished once again.
He could sense that Lilligant no longer needed to gather life energy from nature first before activating it.
She could now directly command the free-flowing life energy like grass energy in the natural world and use it to heal the Pokémon around her!
"Lilli~"
Lilligant had already risen to her feet.
She raised one delicate hand toward the sky, and instantly, countless specks of green light gathered above her.
Those countless points of light merged together, rapidly condensing into a glowing green Energy Ball, one that continued expanding, devouring all the surrounding life energy within this space.
But ultimately, Lilligant did not release the Energy Ball.
Instead, she allowed it to collapse on its own in midair, its energy dispersing and returning naturally to the environment.
Plop… plop…
Magikarp froze for a moment.
Its body suddenly felt filled with power, granting it the strength to surge forward with renewed determination!
This time, it finally overcame the overwhelming resistance of the torrent.
With a powerful burst of speed, Magikarp shot forward through the raging waters, rapidly closing the distance between itself and the Tentacruel ahead!
And in the process of resisting the fierce current, the life energy that had been accumulating within its body suddenly erupted, surging wildly throughout every part of Magikarp's physique!
Then, in the blink of an eye—a brilliant flash of white light exploded from Magikarp's body, spreading rapidly outward and faintly outlining the shape of a massive creature!
"Magikarp is evolving!"
Aven's eyes widened.
Although he knew Magikarp had significantly strengthened itself after half a day of training, he had never expected it to evolve so easily and so suddenly!
His gaze shifted toward Lilligant in the distance. He understood that Magikarp's evolution was thanks, in large part, to Lilligant's life energy—helping Magikarp achieve a true elevation of life.
After all, life energy inherently possessed the ability to promote evolution in Pokémon.
Now that Lilligant had entered this special state, her mastery over nature's life force successfully helped Magikarp evolve!
Of course, if Aven had known that Lilligant's breakthrough was actually triggered by watching Magikarp struggle against the forces of nature and exceed its limits, he would have been even more shocked.
Right now, Lilligant and Magikarp had truly accomplished each other—both achieving breakthroughs simultaneously, both becoming far stronger than before!
"ROOOOAR!"
A sudden, deafening roar erupted across the courtyard.
As the white light faded from Magikarp's body, a massive, six-meter-long, blue-scaled, yellow-bellied, dragon-shaped Pokémon materialized before everyone's eyes!
Magikarp had evolved into Gyarados!
Although it possessed a dragon-like form, its fish-like fins and whiskers were still clearly visible—and nothing was more striking than its enormous, gaping jaws.
"Lass?! Kir!"
Froslass and Kirlia turned toward the commotion, drawn in by the spectacle.
They had originally been watching Lilligant with envy, unable to understand how assisting Magikarp in simple training could result in such a breakthrough.
And now, seeing Magikarp evolve as well, their astonishment only grew.
What on earth had happened between Lilligant and Magikarp?
"Lilli~"
Lilligant's attention was now fully focused on the newly evolved Gyarados.
She could clearly feel that after its evolution, Gyarados' energy fluctuations had become overwhelmingly stronger.
Before evolving, Magikarp could barely be considered a proper Pokémon, its strength hardly exceeded that of an average human.
But now, the energy waves emanating from Gyarados had clearly stepped into the realm of an intermediate-level Pokémon.
The difference was immense—truly a leap from fish to dragon!
"ROOOOAR!"
The newly evolved Gyarados lifted its head and released a thunderous roar, venting its overflowing emotions.
Then its gaze fell upon Lilligant. Its enormous, somewhat ferocious head slowly lowered and moved toward her.
Sensing Gyarados' intimidating presence, Froslass stiffened slightly, her expression instantly turning cautious.
But Lilligant did not retreat in the slightest.
Instead, she took two steps forward and gently reached out her hand.
Gyarados halted its movements right in front of her, lowering its head and allowing Lilligant to stroke the horn atop its skull.
Its eyes narrowed, revealing a deeply content expression.
The contrast between the massive Gyarados and the small Lilligant created a visually striking scene—yet the atmosphere was undeniably warm.
Clearly, Gyarados understood that breaking through the limitations of its life essence was entirely thanks to Lilligant's life energy.
It was expressing its gratitude wholeheartedly.
From now on, it was willing to remain by Lilligant's side forever, protecting her in return for this kindness.
"Lilligant, Gyarados—congratulations to both of you."
Aven stepped forward.
Upon seeing Aven, Lilligant immediately squinted her eyes happily and hurried toward him, brimming with joy.
Gyarados, watching from a distance, paused for a moment.
When it no longer felt Lilligant's touch on its head, it felt an inexplicable emptiness, then slowly turned its attention toward Aven.
Lilligant proudly demonstrated her new abilities before Aven, beaming with excitement.
"You can command the life energy…?"
"This ability… only certain special Legendary Pokémon are capable of such a thing!"
Aven's mouth fell open in shock, joy overflowing from his expression.
This meant that Lilligant now possessed the potential to reach the realm of Legendary Pokémon!
Of course, she had only taken the first step, and mastering this power would still require long-term effort.
"Legendary potential…?"
Froslass and Kirlia heard Aven's words as well.
Their eyes filled with envy yet again—then drifted toward the massive Gyarados.
Maybe… they should go find a Magikarp to train too?
"Rooaar~"
Gyarados had now slithered its massive body over to Aven.
It felt immense gratitude toward Aven as well, knowing that it was he who had given it this chance to transform.
"Gyarados, how do you feel?"
Aven looked up at the gigantic creature before him.
Compared to size alone, Gyarados was now nearly as large as an Onix, radiating an incredibly intense aura.
It was now a true intermediate-level Pokémon—
And considering its species' naturally high base strength, its combat power far exceeded that of most intermediate-level Pokémon!
Having successfully raised this Gyarados, Aven's next objective became clear—using it to gather the Magikarp scattered throughout the surrounding seas.
Although evolving a Magikarp into a Gyarados was notoriously difficult, their numbers were immense.
If he continually subjected them to this rapid-current training method, he should still be able to raise several more Gyarados.
Once a Magikarp evolved, it would gain tremendous power.
If he could form a guard unit composed entirely of Gyarados, it would be an incredible asset.
The security of the water Pokémon breeding zones would be vastly strengthened!
Moreover, with their massive size, Gyarados could serve as living transport.
Even without ships, knights could travel freely across the sea—more flexible and reliable than boats!
And thanks to Gyarados, they could even conduct maritime trade; each one could carry cargo or metal containers with ease, along with several people.
Especially during such a turbulent period—
With a Gyarados escort squad, Aven could personally lead them into the open sea to search for Heatran.
Even encountering large ships would no longer intimidate them!
(End of Chapter)