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Wurmple crawled slowly through the swarm of Hoppip, swaying like a drunkard.
Pachirisu, unable to shake off his worry, stayed close by, following Wurmple's every move.
Wurmple felt sick, but the symptoms were strange. She didn't feel unwell; instead, she experienced a constant, floating sensation. It was as if she was suspended in the clouds. Her body felt unusually light, and she felt as if she could take flight at any moment.
The downside was a complete loss of her sense of direction while crawling; she had completely lost her sense of orientation. She also slept more than she was awake every day, frequently blacking out and only realizing after waking up that she had fallen asleep without noticing.
Mai watched over Wurmple daily, still unable to pinpoint what was happening to her. She resolved that if her condition persisted, she would have her thoroughly examined at the next Pokémon Center.
A Hoppip, jostled from the crowd around Mismagius, tumbled out, rolled twice, and crashed into Pachirisu. Losing his balance, Pachirisu fell heavily onto Wurmple.
Wurmple already had trouble discerning directions, and after getting hit like that, stars filled its vision.
Hoppip hurriedly helped Wurmple up. Sensing a Pokémon assisting him, Wurmple tried to thank it, but instead, silk thread spewed from her mouth.
Hoppip and Pachirisu both jumped in fright and stepped back.
Wurmple didn't mean to attack anyone, but the silk continued pouring out of her mouth, as if responding to instinct. She raised his head and stared straight at the sky, spitting the silk upward.
The white silk rained down, gradually enveloping Wurmple as a radiant glow emanated from her body. The noisy surroundings instantly fell silent. The Jumpluff that had been making a racket all turned back to look at Wurmple.
Luther and Mai, who had been calming the Jumpluff, quickly squeezed over. When Mai saw that Wurmple was evolving, she clenched her fists in excitement.
The spray of silk gradually slowed, and Wurmple's form began to change. When the light faded, a white cocoon appeared in front of Mai, revealing only a pair of red eyes.
Still adjusting to her new body, Silcoon struggled to move, finding her movements clumsy and awkward. She wiggled her body, managing a clumsy hop that brought her a little closer to Mai.
Mai quickly hugged Silcoon, gently patting away the excess silk threads clinging to her body.
Luther pulled out his Pokédex and scanned Silcoon. The Pokédex confirmed that she would definitely evolve into Beautifly. He had always been confused about which Wurmple evolution corresponded to which cocoon form, but now he had finally memorized it.
"That explains it," Luther said, recalling Wurmple's earlier behavior. "His strange behavior before must have been because she was about to evolve."
Bug-type Pokémon like Wurmple don't require much energy for evolution. However, because they are inherently weak, it takes them a long time to gather enough energy to evolve.
After joining the team, Wurmple enjoyed abundant meals, with Chansey often giving her extra portions. She ate with gusto every time, and when she couldn't finish, she'd share the rest with Marill, growing without any burden.
Not to mention the activities after meals and sparring practice with Milcery. It was an all-around training plan, and evolution came naturally.
Espurr floated down from the tree with Milcery. Milcery looked at Silcoon in confusion, as if trying to find traces of Wurmple in Silcoon.
Meanwhile, Mai was scanning the Pokédex. She remembered that Wurmple could evolve in two ways. Silcoon's evolution route corresponded to...
"Stop looking. It matches Beautifly. You can tell by the color. Cascoon is the one that's more purplish."
Luther thought Dustox wasn't bad either, but he figured girls would like Beautifly more. For Mai, this was a pretty good outcome.
She was just about to take a closer look at Silcoon when she heard sobbing from beneath her feet.
Espurr looked helplessly at Milcery, who had started crying, completely at a loss as to what to do.
'What was going on? Shouldn't Wurmple's evolution be something to celebrate?'
Completely baffled, Espurr anxiously circled around Milcery.
Luther vaguely sensed what was happening. He lifted Milcery up and gently teased her with his finger, making her stop crying.
Silcoon was just about to jump back into her Poké Ball when Mai hugged her instead.
Ever since hatching, Milcery had never experienced anything like this. Although the instinct to evolve was etched deep into her genes, seeing it happen for the first time frightened her.
Seeing her partner transform into an unfamiliar form made it difficult for her to adjust.
Luther patiently explained the situation to Milcery, who gradually calmed down. Realizing she might have hurt Silcoon's feelings, Milcery broke free from Luther's grasp and rushed to Silcoon's side, showering her with apologies.
Silcoon blinked her large red eyes and happily responded to Milcery.
Seeing the two Pokémon become familiar with each other again, Luther and Mai exchanged gratified smiles.
Suddenly, a flash of light shone. Luther froze for a moment, looking toward the source of the light. He wondered which Pokémon was evolving this time.
What he saw next made him freeze in shock. The ground was covered in Hoppip, each one flickering with a faint glow in rapid succession.
Marill and Mismagius, who had been tossing a Skiploom back and forth, froze mid-air. The Skiploom they had just thrown began to glow as well.
"Group evolution..." Mai gasped, staring in disbelief at the scene unfolding before them.
Luther hurriedly rummaged through his backpack and frantically pulled out his camera, twisted off the lens cap, and began snapping photos of the astonishing spectacle.
Within the faint glow, large numbers of Hoppip evolved into Skiploom, which then evolved into Jumpluff.
Professor Rowan had once said that Pokémon evolution carries a certain kind of "contagiousness."
When one Pokémon in a group evolves, the others feel something from that evolution. Guided by it, they are prompted toward evolution themselves.
This phenomenon is more likely to occur in larger Pokémon populations, but such a spectacle remains a rare and sought-after sight for Pokémon Trainers and observers alike.
Encountering a Pokémon that is evolving and triggering a group evolution at the same time is practically a once-in-a-lifetime miracle.
Espurr also felt an impulse rising from within her body. Even though the Everstone was suppressing it, the urge was still obvious.
Espurr believed that if she removed the Everstone, she would evolve immediately.
The newly evolved Pokémon spun and hopped around, adapting to their new forms. The Pokémon that hadn't evolved yet looked at them enviously.
Mai turned her gaze toward the instigator of this evolution feast.
Milcery was sitting on top of Silcoon, who had fallen asleep again. He wanted to play with Milcery, but drowsiness caught up with him again, even stronger than before.
By the time the last Hoppip evolved into a Skiploom, about half of the Jumpluff clan had evolved.
The evolved Pokémon gathered around Silcoon, swaying their bodies rhythmically as if performing a strange ritual.
It wasn't until a Jumpluff placed a floral wreath around Silcoon's body that Luther finally understood what was happening.
The Jumpluff all knew very well what had triggered their evolution. They really couldn't come up with anything particularly valuable to thank Silcoon, so they could only use the simplest possible way to express their gratitude.
As for the pile of Berries stacked nearby, in their eyes it couldn't possibly convey what they were feeling at this moment.
Wild Pokémon need far more triggers to evolve, and the process is nowhere near as smooth as it is for Pokémon that are close to Trainers.
For an entire clan to be transformed like this, gaining strength and becoming able to withstand more dangers, it was an immense gift.
Unfortunately, Silcoon was asleep and didn't get to see this scene. As the team's resident unlucky one, if he had been awake, he probably would have been overjoyed.
(End of Chapter)