After I ended the stream, the lakeside felt strangely quiet.
Arcanine—the leader—walked up to me.
"Thank you," I said softly. "For witnessing this."
He let out a low, approving rumble, then barked once.
A signal.
His entire pack immediately gathered behind him.They bowed to me—a gesture of acknowledgment—then followed their leader back into the forest.
The moment they left, my team relaxed.
Tanisha stretched her arms.
Imran exhaled like he'd been holding his breath for an hour.
Ritu started packing the camera equipment.
Rawat adjusted his cap, looking ready to leave, but alert as always.
But I raised a hand.
"No hurry, guys. We still have one more evolution today."
Six pairs of eyes snapped toward me.
"Another?" Arjun asked. "Who's next?"
I looked at Imran.
"Come here."
He walked forward, Shellder in his arms. The little purple troublemaker clicked its shell at me.
I crouched.
"Shellder," I said calmly, "are you sure you want to evolve? Once you do, you'll be bonded to Slowpoke permanently. You can't just evolve and then leave him high and dry."
Shellder stared at me for a moment.
Then nodded.
A very firm, serious nod.
Slowpoke—who had been eating grass peacefully, completely unaware of the conversation—looked up at us with his usual expression:
(…huh?)
"Alright then."
I took out a peculiar crown-shaped rock from my pocket.
Light red, polished, with pointed ridges.
The King's Rock.
The team murmured behind me.
"So Slowpoke is evolving?"
"To what?"
"What does the rock even do?"
I placed the King's Rock gently on Slowpoke's head.
…
Nothing happened.
Slowpoke blinked once, then went back to chewing grass.
The team looked utterly confused.
Tanisha whispered, "Uh… Aakash? Did we break it?"
Even Rawat tilted his head.
Imran scratched his chin.
"Wasn't Shellder supposed to evolve?"
I grinned.
"No."
Everyone blinked.
I turned to Shellder.
"You know what to do."
Shellder clicked excitedly—then hopped down from Imran's arms—waddled around Slowpoke—and with absolutely zero hesitation—
CHOMP
Shellder bit down on Slowpoke's head.
Not the tail.
Not the side.
The head.
Slowpoke froze mid-chew.
His eyes widened ever-so-slightly.
And then—
The King's Rock shone like molten gold.
A shockwave burst around them—
RIPPLE—
RIPPLE—
RIPPLE
The air vibrated.
Energy spiraled upward in a crown-shaped vortex.
Everyone stepped back instinctively.
Ritu gasped.
"Everyone… is this being recorded?!"
She fumbled for her phone, already filming.
Slowpoke's silhouette expanded—shifted—straightened.
The glow intensified, swallowing the entire lakeside.
Then—
WHOOMF.
The light exploded outward.
Standing where Slowpoke once sat…
…was a tall, regal figure.
A confident posture.
A red cloak-like tail.
And atop his head—
Shellder, transformed into a spiral-shaped crown, sparkling with golden energy.
"Slow… king."
Slowking opened his eyes.
Bright.
Focused.
Intelligent.
He looked around with a calm, wise expression.
Then turned to me.
And bowed.
Actual, full bow.
The team froze.
Rawat muttered, "What the hell… he looks smarter than half the officers under me."
Imran was speechless, holding the now-empty Pokéball like he'd forgotten how to breathe.
Slowking walked up to him and tapped the Pokéball with a single finger.
Click.
Imran breathed out a shaky laugh.
"I… I have a Slow… what is it's name?"
"Slowking"
Imran released slowking.
The newly crowned Pokémon gave a warm, approving nod.
Then Shellder—now shaped into a crown—clicked smugly.
As if saying:
"You're welcome."
I smiled.
"One of the rarest evolution paths. And you guys saw it first."
Rawat crossed his arms.
"You really planned a whole evolution showcase for Maharashtra Day, didn't you?"
I shrugged.
"Every festival deserves fireworks."
Slowking hummed softly.
A psychic ripple washed across the lake.
The water glowed faintly.
Fish Pokémon surfaced.
The forest rustled.
Everything around us seemed… calmer.
More balanced.
More connected.
"There is a reason why I didn't show this evolution form before," I said, turning back to the stunned group. "This is of strategic importance to India."
Everyone focused instantly.
"Slowpoke has two evolutions," I continued,
"and both require Shellder.
The first is Slowbro—stronger than Slowpoke, yes, but still lazy and… frankly, not very efficient."
Slowking tilted his head politely, as if agreeing.
"But this…" I pointed to him."…is an entirely different matter."
Slowking straightened, posture regal.
"Slowking has very high intelligence and incredible psychic potential.He can assist in scientific research, solve complex problems, analyze psychic readings, and—"
I paused dramatically.
"—he can even learn human language."
And right on cue, Slowking blinked once, looked around…
…and said, in perfectly clear speech:
"Hello."
Ritu dropped her camera.
Tanisha gasped.
Imran nearly fainted.
Even Rawat stumbled back a step.
I turned to the Colonel with a smirk.
"You must've gotten many of these rocks from other countries, right?"
Rawat nodded stiffly, still staring at Slowking like he might start floating.
"Yes… we saw you collect one of these stones from the Pidgey flock that day. We suspected it might be valuable. We purchased as many as we could before the market froze. At least a hundred and fifty."
"Nice," I said. "Good work."
I looked at Slowking again—his eyes glowed with faint psychic shimmer.
"With this, India can lead the research field from now on. Bring your best researchers here. Get them Slowpoke and Shellder. Let them bond properly. We need a generation of Slowking assisting in labs, universities, and psychic departments."
Rawat composed himself and saluted.
"It will be done."
After settling everything around the lake, I gestured toward the forest trail.
"Let's go. Next stop—the mountain."
The climb wasn't long.
Machoke was already waiting halfway up the rocky slope—arms folded, chest puffed, flexing aggressively at a nearby boulder.
He saw me and immediately struck a dramatic bodybuilding pose.
The boulder cracked.
Ritu laughed.
Even Arcanine leader had been impressed earlier—Machoke was genuinely proud of his evolution.
But I wasn't here just to admire muscles.
I turned to Rawat.
"Colonel, it's your turn today."
Machoke grinned, stepping back and motioning toward a group of young Machop coming down the slope. Their tribe leader—an older Machoke—watched us with sharp, calculating eyes.
Reason we came here:
1.Newly evolved Machoke wanted to show off.
2.We needed a Machop partner for Colonel Rawat.
Machoke communicated something in gestures—showing Rawat's discipline, calmness, and strength—basically advertising him like a proud salesman.
The tribe leader nodded.
Three small Machop stepped forward.
But after watching Rawat's posture and aura, only one stayed.
A younger Machop, maybe level 7 or 8, walked forward confidently and tapped Rawat's boot.
Rawat froze.
"Is… is he choosing me?"
I smiled.
"Seems like it."
Machop puffed his chest.
"Ma-chop!!"
Rawat knelt, extending his hand slowly.
Machop placed his tiny palm on the Colonel's hand.
The pact was formed.
The tribe accepted it immediately.
Machoke let out a victorious flex, proud that another human–Machop partnership had been formed.
Rawat, for the first time since I'd met him, grinned like a kid on his birthday.
"Thank you… truly."
I nodded.
"One more strong trainer for India."
The wind blew gently across the mountain path.
Three evolutions in a single Day.
Slowking.
Arcanine.
Machoke.
India's future was changing—
faster than anyone could predict.
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