Chương 92

I poked the fire with a stick watching as it crackled. It was getting really cold, but between setting up a campfire and Arcanine acting as my space heater I was fine. Not that the rest of the researchers weren't still complaining of the cold. Should have brought Pillow with me, could have offered him out to someone as a space heater. I suppose I could just… Go grab him. I snorted at the thought. No way! It's too cold for me to want to get up and fly or run across Kanto tonight.

"Settling in?"

"Yep!" I told Professor Cerise as he stopped a minute to warm up at my fire.

"Anything yet?" I asked, already expecting the answer.

"Nothing yet. Research takes time!" He assured me, and I just nodded making sure he didn't think I was getting bored or something. I was mostly treating the whole thing as a quiet camping trip.

"Good, maybe we'll find some other factor. Atmospheric?" He mumbled.

"Can I see the data for the evolutions we have?" I asked, and he blinked and nodded.

"Sure, you're here helping so you have the right, who knows fresh eyes might see something we don't!" I smiled back at his response and once he got up and wandered off, I sighed a bit as I leaned back and stared into the starry sky. I wanted to just say it. But I had no way to prove it, and that could end up with the whole thing just ignored. Friendship evolutions. That was a complicated thing to prove. I had some evidence to back me up with Blissey, but how do I convince a bunch of researchers that? I guess…

Act like a scientist. Gather data points that prove my hypothesis, and bring enough that they start considering it. Not long later Cerise returned and handed over a printout.

"Just don't lose that." He said as I grabbed it from him and nodded. Right there on the front was the pages for everything, so I flipped the page to the first evolution data point. Espeon evolution. Young trainer. Had the Eevee for years. Which is a good thing to note. Friendships can take time. He evolved his Pokemon on Mt. Moon, there was a blurb for a direct interview, but it just was confirming where it happened, which was here…

"Hey Professor?"

"Yes?"

"What time did this evolution happen? This has a lot of location stuff, but nothing about time of day for when it happened." There, let's see if that clue could help? He reached over from where he had taken a seat on a camp chair that had been brought to the top and I handed the research notes back to him.

"Time of day… I don't think we gather that. Pinery!" Cerise called out as he rose up and hurried to the research tent that was still lit up as the crew ran around despite the late hour and cold. Hmm.

"Alright, Arcanine. I think we should be nice. Want to come sit by the tent and keep it warm?" I asked her, rubbing at her belly fur and she rumbled before starting to rise. We walked over and Arcanine slipped her head inside the tent as she lay back down, and just with that, I could feel a bit of the chill inside start getting fought off. Pinery was talking to Cerise, but Chrysa looked up and blinked and then smiled warmly at me, and mouthed a thank you. I nodded and joined Cerise.

"Time of day? Is that relevant?"

"It could be!" Cerise said excited and Pinery nodded, going to her laptop.

"I don't think it ever came up, let me re-watch the interviews. Maybe one of them mentioned it?" She asked, and started doing just that. Cerise and I both gathered around, and as we started through a few recorded interviews the crew noticed the warmth and looked up, slowly. Cerise gave me a real honest smile and a pat on the shoulder before we both focused on the laptop. Finally we got a clue.

"So I'd just come up the mountain, it was really awful, I was only going to go in for a few hours, but I got lost, and I was in there all night… I know it was all night because when I finally found the exit path and I hit that open spot, You know the one where the cave opens up and you can see Cerulean? That was… The sun was coming up, so I took a break, just Eevee and I. We were both really battered, I was out of Potion… But we did it. Us." The kid in the interview brightly.

"Eevee and I just looked at each other and… He evolved." The three of us took that in.

"Sunrise?"

"Is that… Could that be it?"

"Check the Umbreon Interview." I called out, before the two could get distracted.

"What?"

"Umbreon and Espeon… They both evolved here… So whatever time it evolved would give us a clearer picture."

"I don't… I don't have a video interview for her. I don't know what time it was." Pinery muttered, and Cerise hummed.

"It's a clue. Thank you Vicky. That…"

"Day and Night." I offered, they had some of the clues, so I'd offer my own confirmation.

"I'd bet money it was day and night. Umbreon, and Espeon. They represent day and night."

"Hmm. There's no data that the two evolutions have a connection other than both being from an Eevee." Cerise reminded me, but I shook it off.

"I had my own suspicions before, and I think I'm right." I told him. I shrugged.

"Both Pokemon are friendship evolutions. And are skewed between when they evolve. Day or night." I explained trying to say it in a way that they might accept.

"Friendship Evolution?" Pinery asked, and even Cerise looked confused.

"Ugh. I know you won't believe me, but I know it exists. Blissey is a friendship evolution." I explained and despite both adults looking at me skeptically, I decided I wasn't going to stay silent this time.

"Friendship is an evolution factor… I know. I tested it with Blissey. She couldn't evolve for a long time despite how strong she was, because our relationship was more acting as my caretaker." I explained and the two both reacted differently. Pinery didn't look convinced but Cerise, actually closed his eyes and considered it.

"I've heard a lot of theories in regards to evolution, but this is the first I've heard of Friendship being a factor."

"Why not? Bonds are a real thing. Trainers that have a strong bond with their pokemon have stronger pokemon. It's one of the reasons my friends are so strong. So why shouldn't it impact some pokemons evolution?" I looked to Arcanine who, while laying down noticed my attention and I could hear her tail thumping outside.

"Interesting." Cerese whispered, and I nodded.

"I bet you have trouble evolving Eevee into Espeon or Umbreon in lab conditions right?" I asked looking at Pinery who blinked in surprise as I suddenly turned things around on her.

"Well yes. It's… Difficult."

"It's because you need more than just training or a stone to evolve some pokemon. You need to become their friend. That bond empowers them and they can then evolve." I stopped because… Yeah. That was all I had to share.

"Heh. Our new research fellow is opinionated about their hypothesis huh?" Ren called out and that broke the tension and Chrysa started giggling.

"I just… I'm fairly confident."

"Yeah, that's pretty normal. Don't bring up Chrysa's theorem of-""I have evidence for that!" The blue haired researcher snapped standing up with a fist raised like she was ready to go at it.

"Sure sure!" Ren repeated hands raised in surrender. Suddenly a hand fell on my shoulder.

"You might be right. You might be wrong, but it's our job not to just say what is right, but to prove it. Science is more than just having the right answer. It's about finding out why that answer is right." Cerise offered me, and I blew out a breath. Dangit. This is why I didn't want to just say it.

"Hmm. Friendship as an evolution method. Interesting, any other pokemon that evolve in this way?" Pinery asked me.

"Chansey into Blissey. And Riolu into Lucario, although Baby Pokemon evolve through friendship much easier. I think familial bonds also work for them." I started counting off my finger.

"Golbat into Crobat." I was stopped as Cerise nodded. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"Vicky, I think this is the perfect time to go over submitting a research paper." Cerise offered, and his smile was nice and gentle, but the lanterns lighting the tent made his glasses glint out and that smile suddenly look more sinister.

"Umm."

"Good luck." Ren offered and I could hear his honest worry, and I looked from him back at Cerise, and he dropped a heavy hand onto my shoulder.

"Oh no." I whispered, but that was ignored as I was settled into a cold seat, and given a laptop to start typing out an official research paper about my exploration of friendship evolutions… I didn't want to be a researcher! —--"That part is wrong." Cerise offered to me, not unkindly, but considering it wasn't the first time. I just thunked my head against the table.

"That's not going to get your theory confirmed!" He said to me, and I just groaned. I suddenly didn't want to confirm my theory, let the pokemon world burn! Hail Giratina! I sighed, no, Giratina was a good boy.

"I'm taking a break… No wait, I'm going to sleep." I decided remembering how late it was, and Cerise just chuckled and patted my shoulder as I trudged out of the tent. Arcanine was still keeping the researchers warm, which meant my tent would be cooler, but at least the fire was still going. I threw on some more sticks I'd collected and was about to settle in when I heard it. Battle.

"Arcanine!" I called out as I rose up and faced the cave that led from Pewter. A moment later Arcane was at my shoulder head hanging over me and ready.

"Whoa! What was that? What's going on?" Pinery called out and the other right behind her as she headed out of the tent, but then they heard it. I waited, the sounds of battle continued until finally it grew closer and closer and then… Wow. Did this kid pick a fight with every Zubat in the cave? A kid was running breathlessly, a Raichu following after him, sending rather weak Thunder Shocks backwards to keep the Zubat off them both.

The boy skidded to a halt, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of Arcanine hunched up and ready for battle. Raichu took a moment longer to notice as it bumped into its trainer and turned around and then both of them stopped.

"Arcanine! Go… Play!" I ordered pointed past the kid not that he would see that and he yelped and raised his hands to try and defend himself, but in a blink Arcanine was gone, leaping fully over Raichu and trainer and with a howl bursting into fire, lighting up the tunnel. She'd slobber over the Zubats for a while until they gave up. I looked at the trainer that looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Hi! We're doing a research camp here. So you're welcome to take a seat if you need to catch your breath." I offered as I headed back to my tent and grabbed my bag. I was gonna bring some Ether and release Blissey but when I got back I stopped. The boy had taken a seat next to the ledge and was staring out into the open sky, his Raichu beside him and both of them… I turned around and headed into the research tent and grabbed something that I probably shouldn't.

It took a second despite Cerise and the others questioning me quietly, to get it right, and then I clicked the button. The camera clicked. Snapping shut on the look between trainer and Pokemon as they slumped into each other after an arduous ordeal.

"Vicky?"

"There." I told him pointing at the boy.

"That's why you have so many Espeon and Umbreon evolving here. Imagine that Raichu was an Eevee, and tell me that isn't friendship." I told the older man as I handed him the camera. There was a look on his face. As if he was taking in the data and processing it.

"Alright. I'm going to go play Nurse Joy." I decided and turned around releasing Blissey and pulling out an Ether from my bag.

"Hey you both okay? Let's get you checked over okay?" I offered sort of startling the boy, but when Blissey walked over and started healing him and his pokemon, he relaxed with a relieved smile.

"Thank you."

"No problem. What happened in there?" I questioned mostly to keep him calm as Blissey took care of healing them up.

"I got lost." He admitted after a while.

"I was exploring for fossils, and I ended up getting lost down a side tunnel. Zappy, kept the Zubat off me, but… Well I ran into a bunch of Geodude and a Graveler, it was a tough battle, and Zappy was low on energy when we were all done. I tried to sit tight to give him time to rest, but the Zubat kept swarming us. I ended up having to run."

"Yikes." It was all I could really offer. What a run of bad luck. About then Arcanine came back slobbering around a Zubat that was still in her mouth!

"Arcanine! Drop it!" I demanded and her ears tiled and she hit me with the big sparkly eyes as she patted her feet on the earth.

"No! You aren't keeping a Zubat as a chew toy! Drop it!" I demanded and finally she whined but opened her mouth. The poor Zubat was knocked out, completely sliding out of her mouth covered in slobber and just splatting against the ground.

"Whoa."

"Jeez Arcanine." I said as I got up, and even Blissey headed over to check on the poor thing.

"Arc!" She defended herself and looked at me pointedly.

"I meant light play, not chew toy. Don't think I don't remember what happened with my Pidgey plush." I told her, with narrowed eyes. A moment later her attitude shifted and she would have been whistling if she could.

"Yeah yeah play innocent all you want." I grumbled at her, as I walked up and started petting her. She had done a good job sending the Zubat packing after all. After a bit of reward attention I sent her off to keep the fire going as Blissey had finished checking on the Zubat, and the Raichu and everything was calming down.

"Hey if you want, feel free to pitch your tent near Arcanine. She'll keep the area warm."

"Oh… Thanks." He said quietly looking at Arcanine like she was… Well an Arcanine. Okay fair. I headed into my tent though. It was late, and I was getting sleepy. —-- A few days of just hanging around on top of the mountain and I was ready for this to be over. I'd even finished up the research paper on friendship evolutions, and submitted it to Cerise to look over, not that he hadn't helped me write the damn thing, but still.

"Alright! Everyone! I want to thank you all so much for your time, but I think we've gotten everything we can. Let's head home!" Cerise called out and everyone cheered, even I did, thankful that this adventure was over… Okay it wasn't too bad, just cold. It was still right in the middle of winter, and a big Arcanine can only do so much when I shared her among the group to help keep everyone warm.

They'd done a good job planning this, but even the electric heaters and things they'd all brought hadn't really been enough. At least in my opinion. I was pretty happy as well. My hypothesis had been the only one that anyone had come up with to explain the evolutions here.

Considering after Abbot the Raichu boy, we'd had a few other random trainers come up here in similar states all of them looking up at the day or night sky in relief to be out of a cave meant I had plenty of people to take pictures of basically all doing the same thing.

I helped pack up, although I left the expensive equipment to the researchers, and with Dragonite and Arcanine within just a few hours everyone was down at the bottom of the Mountain, ready to head to where they'd parked a few trucks to carry all the equipment. Just as everything was packed up, Cerise looked at me.

"Thank you Vicky. Your help sped things up, and kept us from having to deal with Pokemon attacks. Which was actually a nice change of pace."

"It was… I won't call it a pleasure, but it was interesting." I decided and Cerise laughed at my description.

"That's research for you. A whole lot of waiting around or looking at data hoping to find the magic bullet seed… Keep searching for evidence of your own Hypothesis. Gather the data and submit it. Who knows, maybe you'll convince us all some day." He offered with a wink, and I just scoffed.

"Just you wait until I tell you how to evolve Eevee into Glaceon and Leafeon and that turns out to be true too." I said returning his wink, and then I turned to go jump onto Dragonite. I didn't have an Eeveee myself, and I wasn't really planning on going hunting one down, but there had to be some evidence out there I could find to prove it. Frustration? No, that had similar issues, where you can't really easily math out how much of a friend a pokemon was. What I needed was… An old source?

The idea had merit, and he had offered for me to visit, but first time to head home. —--"I'm home!" I called out as I rushed inside. Ah! It was warm!

"Vicky!" Mama called out coming out of the living room and scooping me into a hug.

"Mama! I'm so glad to be home!"

"It wasn't too bad? Tell me everything." She asked as she pulled away and ran a hand over my hair.

"Not terrible, not great. I'll do it again, but I'll bring more Growlithe if it's winter." I decided, and that made me know what I really wanted.

"Can I tell you after I take a hot bath?" Mama laughed and pushed me towards the bathroom. Which I rushed for. A warm bath is everything I wanted. Not long after I slipped in, and sighed into the warm water. I opened my eyes as the door opened and blew bubbles because I was not cleaning up a bunch of naught Growlithe today. But it wasn't. Instead it was Lucario who came in with a grumpy Riolu that had a bunch of wet fur, and mud spots on her.

"Hehehe." I laughed at her put out look as Lucario was not letting her escape. Hearing my laugh she turned and glared and I just ignored her whining as Lucario wasn't interested. Soon enough she and Lucario were cleaned off and slipping into the tub. Despite the fact we were both here Riolu and I both just sank into the warmth with a sigh and quietly enjoyed the peace. Lucario slowly relaxed as we didn't start fighting like normal. I didn't have the energy, and Riolu was actually enjoying the water as well.

"Vicky you- Oh, Lucario, did Riolu get into the mud again?"

"Lu." She barked out sighing and Mama just laughed. I guess with all the snow melt the ground outside was muddy. I don't know how she was getting muddy considering how frozen everything was, but Riolu was a brat so I don't doubt she'd find herself in a mud pit regardless.

"I called your father. He'll be home during his lunch to see you. Shall we wait for your adventure story until he gets home?" Mama asked me and I smiled at the thought.

"That sounds perfect, I'll just soak until then."

"Pfft. That's a couple hours from now Vicky don't turn into a Seal." Mama ordered, and I just grinned.

"Seal! Seal!" I mimicked and Mama sent me a look telling me off. —--"And then we all packed up everything and I shuttled everyone down the mountain."

"It feels like cheating." Papa muttered as I explained the entire trip.

"You just say that because of the hard time you had in Mt. Moon." Mama teased, and Papa rose up.

"That's right! Back in my day we sent children into Mt. Moon with just one pokemon and let them get lost! It builds characters!"

"Running screaming from a Zubat swarm builds character?" I had to ask and while Papa gave an overdone shiver the way he spoke was entirely serious.

"Yes, It builds character."

"If you say so. Thankfully I just leapt over Mt. Moon every time I've had to go near it."

"Wait… You never went into the caves?" Papa asked, surprised.

"No way! I don't want to catch a Zubat, or Geodude, so I just went around."

"That's!" He thundered and then reached down to pat my head.

"Really smart. That's my daughter for you."

"Ugh." Mama whispered, rolling her eyes.

"That's a good point though. Have you done any cave exploration?" Mama asked, and I shook my head.

"Nope. Unless you count the tunnel for Blaines Volcano Gym, but that was a straight shot and some stairs."

"I don't. Ugh, as much as your father is right, you should go walk through Mt. Moon sometime Vicky. Getting lost in a cave and figuring out how to find your way out is sort of important."

"Huh. Is that why the only footpath between Cerulean and Pewter is Mt. Moon?" I could help but wonder, and both my parents did a sort of shrug nod.

"Not exactly, but that is a consideration. The traditionalists are big on making sure Trainers know how to navigate."

"Huh." Maybe I should? Oh!

"Oh wait! I did that in Kitakami! I forgot. I explored the big mountain there. Yeah I got lost and it sucked. Took a while to find and exit. Slime Mountain." I named it because hell if I knew what the actual name was.

"Oh good." Mama said primly.

"At least you have the experience then."

"Heh. That's our daughter goes on so many adventures she can't even remember them all." Papa teased and Mama looked pleased.

"Anyway… I'm probably going to head over to Blackthorn City sometime today or tomorrow. I want to talk to the Elder. I'm hoping he might be able to confirm information on Friendship evolutions so Cerise will stop making me do actual research." Both of my parents blinked and as always when I offered some adventure plan they looked at each other testing the idea against each other, before Mama sighed.

"Okay, but be careful. I know the Elder was kind to you, but… Not all of the Blackthorn will feel the same."

"I know." I agreed. Ah, but that was something for later. It was warm inside, and I just wanted to be warm inside for a while.