Chapter 370

Aqua stared in amazement at the large group of Magikarp flopping around on the grass.

"Whoa! That’s a lot of huge carp!"

"With this many, we could eat for ages, couldn’t we?"

Haruto ignored Aqua’s immediate attempt to classify Pokémon as food and looked at her seriously.

"Next, I’d like you to cast your Blessing on these Magikarp."

Aqua blinked.

"Bless these giant carp?"

Then she immediately voiced the thought that seemed perfectly obvious to her.

"Aren’t they for eating? Isn’t it a complete waste to cast Blessing on food?"

"Aqua, Pokémon aren’t food."

Before Haruto could answer, Kazuma was already unable to keep quiet.

"They’re incredible creatures and partners you raise and battle alongside. They’re not ingredients!"

Aqua pouted dismissively and muttered under her breath, "They’re so fat, though. They look delicious..."

Despite her complaints, she had already agreed to help Haruto, so she didn’t refuse.

"All right, I’m starting."

Aqua drew a deep breath, and her expression became solemn as she slowly raised her staff.

At the same time, a long pink hagoromo resembling a trail of rosy clouds materialized behind her.

The cloth floated gracefully around Aqua despite the complete absence of wind.

For once, she truly looked like a goddess descended into the mortal world.

Haruto watched quietly and nodded to himself.

Whatever else could be said about Aqua, she was surprisingly dependable once she actually took a job seriously.

As her chant ended, brilliant blue light erupted from the tip of her staff.

It surged outward like a wave and enveloped every Magikarp on the shore.

Through his senses, Haruto could clearly feel their vitality increasing at an astonishing rate.

Their previously weak life force rapidly grew stronger and more vigorous.

Then something unexpected happened.

Soft white light began appearing around more than a dozen Magikarp.

The glow steadily intensified until each Pokémon was completely wrapped in a brilliant cocoon of evolutionary light.

"It worked."

A smile appeared on Haruto’s face.

Magikarp normally needed sufficient growth and experience before they could evolve into Gyarados, and many of the ones he kept here had still been far from that point.

Yet after receiving Aqua’s Blessing, more than a fifth of this group had begun evolving at once.

The effect was astonishing.

These Gyarados wouldn’t provide any meaningful increase to Haruto’s own combat power, but there was no denying that they looked impressive.

More importantly, this proved that Aqua’s Blessing could dramatically stimulate a Magikarp’s growth and evolutionary potential.

"ROOOAR!"

A thunderous bellow erupted from one of the cocoons.

Then came a second.

A third.

Before long, overlapping roars shook the air.

The dazzling evolutionary light gradually faded.

Thirteen enormous Gyarados, each nearly six or seven meters long, now towered before them.

Twelve had the familiar deep-blue bodies of ordinary Gyarados. Thick, powerful forms were covered in hard scales, while their enormous mouths were filled with sharp fangs and their eyes carried the fierce glare for which the species was infamous.

Three pointed crests rose from their heads, and their long tails swept through the air with enough force to produce audible gusts.

The final Gyarados was different.

Its scales were a brilliant crimson, and its body was noticeably larger than those of the others.

Even the pressure radiating from it felt considerably more intimidating.

"W-What kind of monsters are those?!"

Aqua stumbled backward several steps.

The sheer ferocity pouring off the newly evolved Gyarados made her feel as though they might tear her apart at any moment.

Darkness instinctively moved in front of the others and assumed a defensive stance.

Megumin tightened her grip on her staff, her crimson eyes alert.

Only Kazuma looked absolutely thrilled.

"Relax. They won’t attack us."

Haruto calmly reassured Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness.

Then he walked up to the red Gyarados and patted its massive head.

The red Gyarados immediately lowered itself obediently and rubbed its enormous head against Haruto’s palm, letting out a low, contented rumble.

Seeing that, Aqua and the others finally relaxed.

Haruto nodded in satisfaction before returning all thirteen Gyarados, along with the Magikarp that had not evolved, to the artificial lake.

Their massive bodies crashed into the water with tremendous splashes.

Moments later, the Gyarados were swimming energetically across the lake, occasionally raising their heads and releasing powerful roars.

"Man, Gyarados really is awesome."

Kazuma stared at the imposing Pokémon with naked envy.

If he had something that powerful as a partner, hunting dangerous monsters in the future would become ridiculously easy.

"So... what exactly just happened?"

Aqua pointed toward the Gyarados swimming across the lake, her gaze shifting repeatedly between them and Haruto.

They had just been oversized carp a moment ago.

Then she cast Blessing, and suddenly they had transformed into enormous monsters.

Aqua was beginning to wonder whether her Blessing possessed some mysterious effect even she didn’t know about.

Megumin and Darkness were equally curious.

So were Kagura and Kanna, who had never witnessed Pokémon evolution before.

Seeing all of their questioning expressions, Haruto patiently explained.

"This is a special phenomenon unique to Pokémon called Evolution."

"Your Blessing stimulated the Magikarp’s latent potential, which allowed those particular Magikarp to evolve."

"Evolution?"

Aqua still looked completely lost.

"Most Pokémon can undergo major changes as they grow."

"When they accumulate enough experience or satisfy certain conditions, their bodies transform into a new form, and their abilities usually improve dramatically."

"Take Magikarp, for example. Before evolving, they’re notoriously weak and have very limited combat ability."

"But once they evolve into Gyarados, they immediately become extremely powerful Pokémon."

"Of course, the requirements differ from species to species."

"Some evolve after reaching a certain level of growth, some require special items, while others need particular environments or a sufficiently strong bond with their Trainer."

Haruto gave them a brief explanation of the basic principles behind Pokémon evolution.

Aqua and the others listened with obvious interest.

Once he finished, Haruto brought over thirty-three Feebas.

Their rough, dull brown bodies were covered in uneven dark patches, giving them an appearance that most people would struggle to call attractive.

Haruto turned toward Aqua.

"Next, I’d like you to cast Blessing on these Feebas too."

Since Aqua’s Blessing had pushed Magikarp into evolution, Haruto wanted to see whether it could similarly help Feebas evolve into Milotic without relying on the usual evolutionary requirements.

Aqua looked down at the Feebas.

Her face immediately twisted in disgust.

"Whoa! They’re ugly! I don’t want to waste my Blessing on something this ugly."

"I see."

Haruto remained perfectly calm.

"Then about the payment I gave you earlier—"

"Actually, now that I look more closely, their ugliness is kind of adorable."

Aqua immediately raised her staff.

Blue light swept across the Feebas as she cast Blessing once again.

The fish in the large basin quickly settled down.

Several seconds later, however, only three of them began glowing with white evolutionary light.

The brilliance faded.

Three Milotic appeared before everyone.

Their long, elegant bodies were covered in smooth cream-colored scales.

Beautiful fins flowed from their tails like exquisite silk, their colors shimmering with a rainbow-like sheen whenever they moved.

Even while doing nothing more than quietly resting there, the three Pokémon radiated an unmistakable air of grace.

"They’re beautiful!"

Aqua cried out.

She immediately wrapped her arms around one of the Milotic.

The Pokémon gently rubbed its face against Aqua’s cheek, and Aqua practically melted on the spot.

"So cute! So beautiful!"

She clung to Milotic while repeatedly running her hands over its smooth scales.

"I’ve never seen anything this pretty!"

Then Aqua looked up at Haruto with pleading eyes.

"Haruto, Haruto! Can you give me this beautiful fish?"

Haruto shook his head without hesitation.

"I’m not giving away any of the Milotic."

"But I can give you a Feebas."

"Huh?"

Aqua’s face immediately fell.

She puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"Why?! Feebas are so ugly!"

"Milotic are rare Pokémon. I don’t have many of them myself."

Haruto spread his hands.

"Besides, if you raise a Feebas yourself, your Blessing should make it much easier for it to evolve into Milotic eventually."

Aqua thought about that for a moment.

It actually made sense.

She was the Goddess of Water, after all.

Helping one little Feebas evolve couldn’t possibly be difficult for someone like her.

"Fine."

Aqua reluctantly agreed.

Then she carefully inspected the remaining Feebas and picked the largest one.

She had noticed that the larger Magikarp had produced a particularly large Gyarados, so naturally she assumed the same logic would apply to Feebas.

Once Aqua made her choice, Haruto took out a Poké Ball, handed it to her, and explained how it worked.

Following his instructions, Aqua aimed the Poké Ball at her chosen Feebas and successfully caught her very first Pokémon.