Dr. Quackenpoker didn't explain further. Instead, he glanced at the time, and seeing how much had passed, he frowned. "Alright, there's no time to waste here. Everything will be clear when you reach the destination. For now, let's hurry up."
With that, he turned and quickened his pace, heading for the mountaintop.
Through their brief interaction, Natsui and the others had gotten a slight understanding of the old man. They knew he wasn't a bad person, just a bit socially awkward like some eccentric scientists.
Although they still had many questions, seeing that Dr. Quackenpoker was already far ahead, they had no choice but to keep up.
Beside them, the Magikarp continued to tirelessly swim upstream.
Soon, however, the Magikarp reached a small cluster of three waterfalls.
They began to attempt to climb the falls, but even with all their might, many Magikarp couldn't withstand the rush of the vertical current and fell back down.
Only a select few, thrashing their bodies desperately against the immense pressure, managed to luckily ascend to the upper stream.
Natsui had to stop and watch again.
This was clearly a huge obstacle for these Magikarp, and it was hard to imagine he was witnessing such a magical scene.
It was more like the Japanese legend of the koi fish that swims up a waterfall to become a dragon..
But in this world, after these Magikarp leaped over the gate, they were destined not to become soaring dragons, but rather ferocious and terrifying Gyarados.
He took out his phone again and captured the scene. In that short time, hundreds of Magikarp had already failed their ascent, losing their strength and being washed downstream. But the remaining Magikarp continued to charge the waterfall in a relentless, successive wave.
Beside him, Tracey also turned to watch for a moment and asked in surprise, "Mr. Quackenpoker, what on earth is at the top of the mountain that's making these Magikarp so frantic?"
Without stopping, Dr. Quackenpoker replied as he walked, "At the top of the mountain, there's just an ordinary lake. Though it may not look like much, I call it the Lake of Birth and Evolution."
Everyone was surprised. "The Lake of Birth and Evolution!?"
"That's right," Dr. Quackenpoker said. "That is the place where these Magikarp were born. And at this time every year, they return here to complete their evolution!"
Complete their evolution!?
Hearing this, Natsui was stunned.
He knew that for an ordinary Magikarp, evolution was no easy feat and often required careful cultivation by a trainer. But from what Dr. Quackenpoker was saying, it seemed that the Magikarp here could evolve successfully just by swimming back to that lake.
It was truly incredible. If the news was true, then for Magikarp trainers, this place was definitely a magical holy land.
It wasn't strange for Natsui to have such thoughts; it was simply a matter of different perspectives.
As a Pokémon trainer, his way of thinking was naturally different from that of an ordinary person. At least Tracey, as a Pokémon Watcher, had a different take on the matter.
"Mr. Quackenpoker," Tracey asked with great interest, "excuse me, but how many Magikarp actually make it up there each year?"
Dr. Quackenpoker gave Tracey a meaningful look, then glanced at the waterfall and shook his head. "That's hard to say, but based on past years' experience, at most only one-tenth of the Magikarp can successfully leap over the waterfall and swim to the summit."
Only one-tenth?
The number surprised Natsui and the others, but on second thought, it made sense.
Although one-tenth seemed small, given the sheer number of Magikarp, that would still mean nearly a thousand of them would successfully reach the mountaintop.
However, Ash was still flabbergasted by the number. He asked in amazement, "So do all the Magikarp that reach the Lake of Evolution complete their evolution?"
"Don't be silly," Dr. Quackenpoker shot him a look, his tone a mix of amusement and annoyance. "Even if they swim to the Lake of Evolution, it doesn't guarantee they will evolve. Only about one-tenth of them will be able to evolve into Gyarados."
One-tenth of one-tenth?
That would still be a hundred newborn Gyarados, which was not a small number at all.
Ash scratched his head and was about to speak again, but seeing that he had more questions, Dr. Quackenpoker waved his hand impatiently.
"Alright, no more questions! If we don't hurry, we'll really miss their mass evolution!"
Hearing this, Natsui and the others quickly shut their mouths.
Since they had come all this way, they naturally wanted to see how the Magikarp evolved en masse.
Everyone quickened their pace and left. What they didn't know was that not long after they had gone, a bush nearby suddenly rustled.
"Hey, hey, did youse all hear that!?"
A voice, almost human but slightly hoarse, came from the bush, and a moment later, the three members of Team Rocket poked their heads out.
"Of course we heard it!" James said, his eyes wide with excitement. "The Lake of Evolution! That's amazing! This is another incredible discovery!"
"You idiot!" Jessie crossed her arms, rolled her eyes at James, and snorted. "This is a rare opportunity."
"Oh?" James said, confused. "Why do you say that?"
"Hehehe," Jessie lifted her chin. "Since it's the Lake of Evolution, that means if we catch enough Magikarp and throw them into the lake, won't we get a whole bunch of powerful Gyarados right away? And with those Gyarados, can't we create an earth-shaking, terrifying, perfect, and historically strongest, invincible Gyarados army?"
"A Gyarados army!?" James's eyes grew wider, his mind already picturing himself commanding numerous Gyarados. "Does that mean we'll finally get the boss's attention and even be able to hold our heads high in front of that four-eyed secretary with the bowl cut!?"
"That's right!" Jessie clenched her fists, her eyes seeming to burn with fire. "And with this Gyarados army, Team Rocket will be invincible! No one will be our opponent anymore!"
"But…" James suddenly hesitated. "Will it really be that easy? You know we've never gotten along with Gyarados."
"Don't you worry about that," Jessie laughed, full of confidence. "I've already thought of that. It's simple! As long as we catch them while they're still Magikarp, we won't have to worry about them disobeying our orders when they become Gyarados!"
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