Hikaru didn’t put Victini into a ball; he kept it at his side. The little fellow lay on Hikaru’s shoulder the way Pikachu sprawls across Satoshi’s.

And this was its first time experiencing such “high-speed flight”!

“Ti-ni ti-ni! Hoo—aaah—”

The stronger the wind blasted against them, the more excited Victini became. It opened its mouth wide, letting the gale pour in like a kid facing a box fan.

It even wore a tiny backpack on its back—dainty and adorable.

Genesect’s flight speed was tremendous. In no time they crossed the sea and came back to the skies near Mistralton City!

“How’s Zekrom?”

“Did you make peace with it in the dream?”

Hikaru addressed the Light Stone.

After becoming the Light Stone, most of Reshiram’s consciousness rested in the Dream World, though it could still see the real world—Special manga even depicted Black watching along like a full movie.

[We’ve reached an accord.]

[It said to have you return to the Relic Castle once more. After your bout with Dialga, it will roam the Unova land.]

[I’ve already told it about Kyurem.]

[But Kyurem hasn’t entered the Dream World, so we can’t speak with it there.]

[Zekrom must be revived and go to the Giant Chasm itself.]

The ice dragon hardly sleeps. Though Walking Wake once stepped into Kyurem’s world, the entrance has never been found again—proof that Grand Kyurem-sensei remains awake.

Now that it’s “taking on a pupil,” it sleeps even less.

Last time at the Relic Castle, Zekrom chose to keep sleeping, believing the ideal world it awaited had yet to come.

It still acknowledged its dream-self, of course—but Hikaru didn’t care about that.

Meanwhile, with the Abyssal Ruins trial complete, the ancient spirits of the Castle would now honor their pledge.

Genesect kept shifting gears; after three rounds, its Speed maxed out. The supersonic flight crossed the waters off Mistralton and arrived above the Ancient Passage!

From here, they could go straight to the Relic Castle!

“This speed is so fast—faster than Entei’s Extreme Speed!”

A flight path can bypass many obstacles. No matter how fast Extreme Speed is, it still runs on the ground and has to detour around buildings and terrain.

Beep-beep—

The Poké-Device chimed. An account both unfamiliar and familiar pinged in—avatar: Grimsley.

[What a pain—left that fast. Did you use Teleport?]

[When are you coming to collect your 400,000?]

[Uh… and what exactly is this thing you left me?]

Three questions in a row. Hikaru smacked his forehead. “Almost forgot—I won 400,000 from him!”

“Mm. When we meet at the League, just transfer it to me.”

Four hundred thousand isn’t much to a gambler—especially one who’s Elite Four. It’s not money he lacks.

What stung Grimsley was simply losing the bet.

As for that last question—

“That’s an item called Leader’s Crest. My water dragon attacked your Bisharp in the Dream World. Consider it my apology. I pulled it out of the dream anyway—useless to me.”

“It originally belonged to Bisharp.”

“And by the way—Bisharp can evolve further. That Crest is the key evolution item.”

[You said what?!]

Grimsley was clearly floored. At present, neither he, nor Paldea’s other Bisharp connoisseur Geeta, nor even the villainous Dark Trio were fielding anything but Bisharp, not the “General.”

Bisharp’s evolution method is so strict and absurd that it’s hard to discover in the wild.

It’s likely even wild Bisharp don’t know the rule themselves.

Not until the first Kingambit appears!

“Leader’s Crest is a blade tempered by years. Only Bisharp that command a pack of Pawniard can carry it.”

“In other words, only a Crest that’s weathered time holds the power to trigger evolution!”

Grimsley: […How much for that intel?]

[If even Pokémon Professors haven’t cracked it… are you also a researcher?]

“I’ve got ties with Professor Juniper, Professor Burnet, Professor Fennel, Professor Oak, Professor Park, and Professor Elm…”

Grimsley, stunned: [So you’re a celebrity in research too?!]

[If this is real, presenting it at the next conference will make you famous!]

Hikaru: “I already have new research queued up, and I’ve asked Professor Juniper to mark my contribution—at her insistence, really.”

Orthworm-bridge (Archaludon) evolution is a new discovery as well—timeline’s still early, after all.

I wonder if Piers has passed that on to Raihan.

As they chatted, Hikaru logged Victini’s data into the Pokédex and forwarded it to Professor Juniper.

This is actually one of Juniper’s own research topics. In game and manga, she commissions the protagonist—and Black—to investigate Victini.

He’d simply finished it first.

Sure enough, Professor Juniper quickly replied with a string of [???]!

Professor Juniper: [Vi—Victini! The Mythical Victory Pokémon?!]

“Shh, Professor. Read it yourself, but don’t detail it in any paper. This little one has decided to hide itself in the depths of legend.”

Professor Juniper: [Mm, that may be best. It’s said Victini grants victory to anyone. If people knew it wasn’t just a myth, covetous eyes would gather.]

[A pity, though. Publishing it would stun the field—and also that earlier Genesect and Keldeo find… must those stay secret too?]

Hikaru: “Genesect doesn’t have to. As for Keldeo—well… call it a friend, or same school?”

Professor Juniper: [All right, all right—keep it secret then. The Swords of Justice have an ancient legend anyway, and not many chase their power.]

“No worries. You’ll have another paper soon. And evolution should go perfectly this time.”

“Once verified, I’ll send you the data.”

Hikaru kept messaging with Grimsley, who could no longer sit still.

[My Bisharp evolved from a Pawniard. It’s my first partner—took down every Pawniard in its group and even defeated the leading Bisharp.]

[That said, by your rule my Bisharp may not qualify. It isn’t that old.]

“So I gave your Crest a touch of antiquing.”

With the lore of passing years, plus expert carving and polishing, Hikaru can turn “last week” into “the late Shang dynasty.”

One look and it screams museum piece—even if you dragged an appraiser from Hisui’s era over, they’d call it the real deal.

Grimsley: [Antiquing… that actually works?]

Hikaru: “Trust me. I’m a craftsperson—and I have professional ethics!”

Grimsley: [Ahem, fine! If this is true… what do you want? Money, or something else? I suppose you don’t need a Champion challenge waiver—you already beat me.]

Hikaru: “Got any rare materials? I heard you’re from a fallen noble family.”

Grimsley: [I said we’re fallen. I gambled away the good stuff long ago… otherwise how do you think we fell?]

Hikaru: “Uh—my apologies!”

Grimsley: [Kidding. We’d already declined before I started gambling.]

Hikaru couldn’t help it—dark humor on himself.

“Call it a new tab. If you find anything good later, tell me.”

Near Liberty Garden—

Grimsley sat on the ferry, read Hikaru’s reply, and sighed.

What gambler doesn’t owe?

A gambler who owes nothing isn’t a gambler!

“Hmm… I considered handing over my Dark-type training notes in trade, but thinking it through—his team looks almost all Fighting-type.”

“Still, he surely has one or two that use Dark moves, no?”

Decision made, Grimsley resolved that when he paid him back next time, he’d also slip Hikaru his Dark Secrets manual—and of course, proper compensation as well.

Even if he didn’t have truly precious items right now…

He still had some old ancient gems he’d collected. In Grimsley’s view, ancients carried a bit more power than freshly mined ones.

Even if they looked identical and were hard to tell apart.

He sent his terms to Hikaru, but kept quiet about the manual.

That sort of thing should be a private “thank-you” surprise. Announcing it upfront felt tacky.

Oh, and cards—he had treasured TCG cards. If all went well… for Bisharp’s future, cards could be sacrificed!

“Ancient gems?”

“That’ll do. Deal. The final evolution condition is—”

Hikaru’s answer made Grimsley’s eyes light up!

Grimsley: [Defeat three Bisharp that each carry a Leader’s Crest and each command at least three Pawniard. That triggers evolution!]

[Also, hand your own Crest to a wild Bisharp—then defeat it—and it also works!]

[So that’s the point of the “aging”… I see!]

Hikaru replied, “Exactly.”

“Finding a long-seasoned, powerful Bisharp that commands a host isn’t easy.”

“Because Bisharp has a special ecology—you know it, right?”

Grimsley thought a moment:

[You mean ‘the loser leaves the pack’?]

“That’s it.”

Hikaru explained, “To prevent betrayal, Bisharp keeps its eyes wide, watching its underlings.”

“When a Pawniard evolves into Bisharp, they duel for the leader’s throne—challenging the reigning chief.”

“The loser must leave the team. That’s the rule.”

“Losers are driven from the pack.”

“Likewise, Pawniard that lose turf wars are absorbed one by one by the victors’ groups.”

“And across years of battle, new Bisharp emerge—and the fight for leadership repeats.”

“Those that become solitary Bisharp end up with very savage personalities.”

“And no matter how strong, once the blade on its head is damaged, a Bisharp will retire from leadership.”

Grimsley: [Your explanation’s more detailed than some Professors’. Interesting. I do know that ecology—my Bisharp lived through it. But even after defeating its chief, it didn’t evolve.]

[So you need a mighty Bisharp that’s led for years, with an unblemished head-blade, and still commanding a host… aye aye, these conditions are exacting!]

[Once it evolves, it becomes… what?]

Hikaru: “Kingambit, the Big Blade Pokémon.”

“In a grand army, only the Bisharp who stands at the very pinnacle can evolve into Kingambit!”

“And it gains a unique new Ability.”

“But hearing it won’t give you the feel. Go—seek out those wild Bisharp who lead their legions and have been tempered by time!”

“Speaking of which, Paldea’s Bisharp groups produce Kingambit more readily.”

“Likely because of its unique ecosystem.”

“Tinkaton bands assault Bisharp packs to harvest metal for their giant hammers.”

“To fight back, Pawniard and Bisharp must unite. That survival pressure swells the number of Bisharp armies there.”

So even if Hikaru said nothing, in time Geeta’s Bisharp would evolve into Kingambit.

It’s ecological pressure—competition for survival.

That’s why the first discovered Kingambit is highly likely to be a wild one.

After which, the evolution would be found, researched, and publicized.

Grimsley: [Ecology-driven competition, huh? Fascinating! In Unova, Bisharp truly doesn’t face that kind of brutal ecological rivalry.]

Even though Unova has many Fighting-types, they aren’t in an ecological contest with Bisharp.

Grimsley: [I owe you big for this.]

[Debts are paid. I’m a gambler—not a welcher.]

[See you at the League.]

After finishing with Grimsley, Professor Juniper messaged back—Hikaru had forwarded that block to her as well.

Professor Juniper: [So it’s true?!]

[Another new evolution!]

[Actually…]

Right now she felt both delighted and distressed.

Delighted—these discoveries could rock the field.

Distressed—so many new topics demanded cross-exam, verification, trials. One paper wouldn’t do—she’d need many. How was she supposed to finish them all?!

You get your Doctorate and still keep getting assigned homework?!

[But evolution is really Professor Rowan’s field. Asking me—the “origins” researcher—to write those papers is a bit much.]

She thought, then typed:

[Are “non-evolving” Pokémon considered “complete”? Are “evolving” Pokémon in some sense “incomplete”?]

[This is Professor Rowan’s recent thesis. Until now, Pokémon like Duraludon were classified as “complete.”]

[And yet… that “complete” Pokémon evolved!]

[Now, even Bisharp, likewise labeled “complete,” has a new evolution. We’ve not yet seen it—but if you say so, I believe you.]

[By those conditions, we can infer Paldea already has wild Kingambit!]

[Though… Professors over there don’t seem keen on evolution.]

Hikaru smiled. “Professors aren’t afraid of overturning theories.”

“I think if this reaches Professor Rowan, he’ll be thrilled—maybe even overjoyed.”

“Will you send it to him?”

Hikaru remembered that Rowan was also a customer of his—though their relationship was purely buyer and seller.

Professor Juniper: [What is the true mystery of evolution? Is it that human activity and natural shifts are producing new evolutions?]

Hikaru: “Under survival pressure, amidst drastic environmental change, and with human influence—some Pokémon develop regional forms; some birth brand-new forms; even ‘complete’ Pokémon can go further.”

Juniper agreed.

[Indeed—Duraludon was shaped by human activity, while Bisharp’s is survival pressure. Then perhaps there are more “new evolutions” yet undiscovered—in other words, evolution rests on a species’ latent potential?]

[I must see Kingambit myself. Once confirmed, I’ll inform Professor Rowan! I’ll note that this is your discovery—your data—not mine.]

[And I need to do a full data capture of Grimsley’s Bisharp!]

[I’m heading to the League now!]

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep