Chapter 157: Me, Kulu-Ya-Ku, the Collector

"Oh! It's Ms. Cynthia, what a coincidence to run into you here." Professor Rowan was somewhat surprised, though his face maintained its usual stern expression.

"If I'm not mistaken, this must be the reigning Champion of the Sinnoh region. It's a pleasure to meet you," Professor Oak greeted cheerfully.

"Hello, Professor Rowan, Professor Oak. I've heard so much about you both," Cynthia replied politely.

"If I recall correctly, this Pokémon is called Garchomp. I've heard it can fly like a jet plane—I've always wanted to know how it manages that."

Professor Oak's attention was instantly captured by the tall, grayish-blue, dragon-like Pokémon standing beside Cynthia.

"Garchomp?!" Garchomp took a step back, looking somewhat flustered as Professor Oak suddenly leaned in close.

"Hahaha, forgive me. It's just not every day one gets to see such a rare Pokémon, so I got a bit carried away..." Professor Oak laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"It's fine," Cynthia soothed, gently patting Garchomp.

"And this Pokémon is..." Cynthia shifted her gaze to the equally tall Kulu-Ya-Ku.

Kulu-Ya-Ku looked back at Garchomp with matching curiosity.

"This isn't my Pokémon, but rather belongs to a collaborator of mine. It's a newly discovered Pokémon, one that has never been recorded by any League archives before," Professor Oak said, gently patting Kulu-Ya-Ku.

Kulu-Ya-Ku turned its head, let out a cry, and extended a claw right toward Professor Oak.

Professor Oak paused for a moment, then chuckled helplessly, "Understood, I'll give it to you right now."

With that, Professor Oak took three crystal-clear, golden-yellow energy cubes from a small box and placed them directly into Kulu-Ya-Ku's claw.

"Gaa-ah!" Kulu-Ya-Ku happily tossed the three small energy cubes into its mouth.

In an instant, a rich flavor unique to eggs bloomed across its palate, leaving a lingering aftertaste that Kulu-Ya-Ku found endlessly delightful, while its stomach immediately filled with a satisfying sense of satiation.

"Gaa-ah~" Kulu-Ya-Ku squinted its eyes contentedly, the feathers on top of its head swaying gently.

"Hehe, what an interesting Pokémon," Cynthia smiled.

Despite being quite tall, it possessed such a lively and mischievous demeanor.

"Ms. Cynthia, what brings you here?" Professor Rowan asked.

"Well, you see... Come on out, Eevee." Cynthia released a cute Eevee.

"Vee-bui~" Eevee bounded straight into Cynthia's arms, wagging its large tail.

"I've been wanting to evolve this little one. I heard there's a mossy rock in Eterna Forest that allows Eevee to evolve, so I came out of curiosity to take a look," Cynthia explained, stroking Eevee's soft fur.

"Oh? It seems we share the same purpose," Professor Oak said with pleasant surprise.

"We are currently researching the evolution of Leafeon and Glaceon," Professor Rowan explained.

"What a coincidence," Cynthia said in mild amazement.

"And it looks like our destination is right ahead," Professor Oak pointed toward a lush, verdant clearing in the distance.

In the clearing not far ahead, amidst the dense grass, stood a massive boulder completely covered in thick moss.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Kulu-Ya-Ku. Let's make use of what's around us," Professor Oak said, patting Kulu-Ya-Ku.

"Does this Pokémon possess some kind of special ability?" Cynthia immediately looked over with keen interest.

"Gaa-ah~" Kulu-Ya-Ku scurried over to the mossy rock and began scratching rapidly at the ground with both hands.

Instantly, vibrant green energy was drawn up from beneath the earth and attached itself to a mineral rock.

"As I thought, this ability allows Kulu-Ya-Ku to extract the elemental power inherent within materials," Professor Oak said with pleasant surprise.

"Next, let's test whether this energy is the key to Eevee's evolution into Leafeon."

Professor Oak tossed a Poké Ball, releasing an Eevee—a volunteer ready to test the evolution into Leafeon.

"Go touch that rock," Professor Oak instructed.

"Vee-bui~" Eevee trotted over curiously and reached out a tiny paw to touch the energy rock.

Hum!

Eevee's entire body instantly lit up with the brilliant glow of evolution.

"It's actually evolving?" Cynthia gasped in surprise.

"It really works!" Professor Oak exclaimed in amazement.

Clang!

As the light faded, a green-hued Pokémon stood proudly on the grass.

"Vee!" Leafeon let out a joyful cry.

"Gaa-ah?!" Kulu-Ya-Ku stared in astonishment at the little creature's sudden transformation.

"In other words, this mossy rock and the grass-type energy stored in the surrounding earth are the keys to evolution?" Professor Rowan muttered, deep in thought.

"What is the difference between this energy and the energy contained in the grass-type moves used by Pokémon?"

"Why is it that the energy released from moves cannot trigger Eevee's evolution?" Professor Oak immediately thought of a flurry of questions.

"These are all subjects well worth studying," Professor Rowan nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

While the two professors discussed and proposed various hypotheses, Cynthia knelt down to closely observe the newly evolved Leafeon.

Kulu-Ya-Ku looked at the grass-type boulder-breaking energy in its hand, first letting it dissipate, and then pecked at the ground with its beak, testing the soil in various ways.

"Ms. Cynthia, if you'd like your Eevee to evolve into Leafeon, you can have Kulu-Ya-Ku help you."

"The energy it extracts can cause an Eevee to evolve into Leafeon instantly," Professor Rowan said after finishing his discussion with Professor Oak.

"I'm not entirely sure yet. Before this, I also gathered other evolution stones capable of evolving Eevee."

Cynthia reached out and produced three evolutionary stones from her pouch: Fire, Water, and Thunder.

"Actually, I'm still debating what kind of evolution would suit it best," Cynthia mused, pinching her chin in thought.

Cynthia's Eevee trotted over to Leafeon's side, inspecting it with wide-eyed curiosity, and before long, the two little ones were playing together without a a single care in the world.

"Vee-bui..." Just then, a few small figures peeked out cautiously from the bushes not far away.

"It's a Leafeon and some Eevee!" Professor Oak said delightedly.

Leafeon let out a soft cry and approached carefully, accompanied by several wild Eevee, though its gaze drifted toward another direction.

"Gaa?"

Kulu-Ya-Ku paused its digging, having just unearthed a deep green stone patterned with leaf markings, along with several other identical stones which it placed neatly beside itself.

"A Leaf Stone? Did it crystallize from the energy concentrated here?" Professor Oak observed.

"Wait, could it be that a Leaf Stone can also evolve Eevee into Leafeon?" Professor Rowan suddenly hypothesized.

"Vee-bui?" The little Eevee stared at the Leaf Stone, then looked at Kulu-Ya-Ku, hesitating slightly.

"Gaa!" Kulu-Ya-Ku looked at the Leaf Stone in its grasp, hugged it tightly to its chest, and spun away defensively.

Kulu-Ya-Ku: I dug it up, it's mine!

"Vee-bui~" One of the wild Eevee picked up an orange-red stone shaped like the sun in its mouth, placed it right in front of Kulu-Ya-Ku, then pointed at the sun stone and back toward the Leaf Stone.

"A Sun Stone? Is it trying to trade?" Professor Oak watched the scene with great interest.

"Gawah!?" Kulu-Ya-Ku eyed the Sun Stone, looking thoroughly intrigued. It glanced at the remaining Leaf Stones and decisively traded one away.

Kulu-Ya-Ku cradled the remaining two Leaf Stones and the newly acquired Sun Stone, looking utterly pleased with itself.

Me, Kulu-Ya-Ku, am a collector.

...

In Petalburg City, Su Yi sat on a park bench, neatly putting the Balance Badge away into his badge case.

"Ah! Collector's item count plus one!" Su Yi said with a content smile.