"Meow wa?"
Floragato cautiously peeked out, staring at the photo on Lin Feng's phone.
Lin Feng had stumbled upon the image by chance it wasn't carefully chosen.
Until now, he hadn't realized how much Sprigatito cared about its appearance. Thinking back, though, it made sense.
Every time Lin Feng petted it, Sprigatito would gently lick its slightly ruffled fur afterward. Sometimes, when he brushed against the grain, it had even bared its teeth but that had only happened once. Later, it seemed to give up.
Floragato looked at the photo. Though still humanoid in shape, its proportions were more balanced. Two long cloak-like extensions trailed behind it, and the flowers around its neck floated in the air.
Its eyes no longer looked so childish; they held a certain indefinable depth. Its legs were longer, and its body was covered in sleek black fur.
Though it had never seen a Meowscarada, Floragato instinctively knew that the Pokémon in the picture looked far better than it did now.
"Meow wa…"
It finally blinked in respect, glancing at Lin Feng.
"Do you want to evolve into this form?" Lin Feng asked, holding out a half-mature Candy.
"Meow wa…"
Floragato nodded.
"Come here. Let me hold you. Don't be sad anymore."
Lin Feng carefully lifted Floragato from the wardrobe and brought the precious candy to its mouth. "Here, eat this. Once you finish it, your evolution will accelerate."
At the same time, he checked Floragato's status panel.
Pokémon: Floral Fairy
Gender: Female
Ability: Overgrow
Potential: Red
Individual Values: HP (24) Attack (28) Special Attack (22) Defense (28) Special Defense (24) Speed (31)
Level: 21–23
Moves: Ally Switch, Leech Seed, Leaf Blade, Tail Whip, Scratch, Quick Attack, Seed Bomb, Grassy Glide
Friendship: 95
Happiness: 20
"Meow wa…"
After obediently eating the candy, Floragato's energy level rose to 23–24.
Lin Feng did the math. Feeding it a Rare Candy every three days would allow Floragato to evolve again in about a month.
However, the newly evolved Meowscarada might not have full control over its energy.
That wasn't a major concern. As long as Floragato didn't spend every day basking in the sun and instead took time to familiarize itself with its energy, everything would be fine.
With that in mind, Lin Feng gently placed Floragato on the floor. "Floragato, if you want to evolve quickly, you might need some training."
"Meow wa?"
Floragato tilted its head in curiosity.
Lin Feng stroked its head. "For example, going through many battles will speed up your evolution."
Just like in the anime, battle and training can accelerate a Pokémon's energy growth.
In the East Hua region, researchers specialize in this. One of them, Professor Rosen, wrote a paper: Does a Pokémon get stronger faster when battling with its Trainer?
The study clearly concluded:
If a Pokémon is with its Trainer and senses the Trainer's desire for them to grow stronger together, the Pokémon will evolve faster. Evolution probability and speed will also increase.
This wasn't mere speculation. Rosen tracked and recorded 100 new Trainers who had Bulbasaur as their first Pokémon. He visited areas where Bulbasaur congregated, tagging 100 recently hatched Bulbasaur and recording their growth over one, three, and five years.
He found that Bulbasaur who stayed with their Trainer evolved far more frequently often more than twice as often.
To eliminate variability, he repeated the experiment with 100 new Trainers catching 100 Bulbasaur from the same population while also tracking wild Bulbasaur. The data still showed that Pokémon with Trainers evolved more reliably.
The same applied to Meowth, Poliwag, and Bellsprout.
Lin Feng had read the study in high school and had been deeply impressed. He muttered, "No wonder in the Pokémon world, idealism is so powerful."
"Meow wa…"
Floragato looked out the window with some worry. In this weather, unless the sun was shining, it preferred staying by the warm stove. Would battle training be too cold?
"If you want to evolve into Meowscarada quickly, you need to battle. I'll be with you. But if it's too cold, we can take it slow."
Lin Feng didn't force Floragato to train or battle every day. In most cases, effort and reward go hand in hand. To evolve faster, you need battles and skill training.
Under Lin Feng's gaze, Floragato's eyes flickered and soon hardened with resolve. Despite the cold outside, it yearned to evolve quickly.
"Meowoo!" (I want to get stronger. I want to evolve fast.)
"All right."
Lin Feng patted Floragato's head and extended his hand. "Then let's work hard together."
"Meowoo…" Floragato extended its paw.
…
December 7, Afternoon
Today brought no major challenges.
But since Lin Feng had promised to help Floragato evolve quickly, he had no choice but to leave the warmth of home.
The purpose was to allow Floragato to control its energy while consuming Rare Candy efficiently.
To achieve this, Lin Feng implemented two approaches.
One was straightforward battle training. The other focused on mastering skills, much like when he trained Teng Teng with Grass Mixer.
"Seed Bomb, Quick Attack, Leaf Blade…"
Looking at Floragato's moveset, Lin Feng considered the best training method.
As its energy increased, Floragato naturally learned some moves. Ally Switch and Leech Seed were inherited.
After some thought, Lin Feng quickly devised a training method for each move.
Quick Attack was the simplest. It involved having a Staraptor execute maneuvers, letting Floragato participate in aerial challenge dodging. This was one of the best ways to train Quick Attack.
Leaf Blade was also simple. Its stacking state mirrored when Teng Teng trained with Grass Mixer. However, to enhance Floragato's sense of achievement, Lin Feng made minor modifications. This required Staraptor's help to maintain Leaf Blade's form amid its aerial storm.
Next, he proceeded with stacked training in sequence. Although later stages increased in difficulty, witnessing gradual progress brought Floragato tremendous satisfaction.
For Leech Seed and Seed Bomb, Lin Feng had corresponding training methods. These included enhancing Leech Seed's cohesion and Seed Bomb's accuracy, achievable via offensive maneuvers in aerial challenges. Additionally, Floragato could carry Leech Seed in its Leaf Blade to maintain precision even while drifting.
"Okay, that's enough for today."
Lin Feng glanced at Floragato. "The match is about to start. Are you ready?"
"Meow wa!"