The next morning, Hayato Sora woke up early.
After having breakfast with his Pokémon, he replaced the Nutrient Solution for Phione.
As usual, he asked Kangaskhan to watch over the ranch. Then he called Noibat and Mudsdale and left the ranch, heading toward the place where the Carbink colony lived.
He brought Noibat along to avoid getting lost inside the cave—Ultrasonic waves were excellent for scouting.
About half an hour later…
Hayato Sora stood near the cave entrance and tapped a Poké Ball on his waist.
"Noibat, I'm counting on you."
The largest and strongest Noibat appeared. After affectionately rubbing against Hayato Sora for a moment, it spread its large ears and released a burst of ultrasonic waves.
Like a three-dimensional radar scan, the ultrasound quickly mapped the interior of the cave.
"Vwooo~"
(Hayato Sora, I detected two kinds of Pokémon.)
"Hm?" Hayato Sora muttered to himself.
"Did the Carbink ask other Pokémon for help?"
"Don't tell me it's Gabite!"
As far as he knew, the Pokémon that sometimes helped Carbink drive away Sableye was Gabite, which would even hunt them down relentlessly.
Of course, it wasn't because Gabite had some kind of symbiotic relationship with Carbink.
The real reason was simple—Gabite loved shiny things.
Carbink were covered in gemstones, perfectly matching Gabite's preferences.
And for Carbink, having a Gabite living in the cave wasn't a bad thing at all.
In a sense, they were just acknowledging a powerful protector. In exchange, they gained a guarantee of safety.
As long as the Gabite was kept satisfied, the Carbink could continue their lives as usual.
Overall, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
"Can you roughly describe the shapes of those two Pokémon?" Hayato Sora asked.
"Vwooo…"
This time Noibat released even stronger ultrasonic waves. Ripples visibly spread through the air.
After a moment, it reported:
"Vwooo! Vwoo!"
(One looks kind of like you, Hayato Sora—but very small. The other one is round.)
"Humanoid… and small…"
Those two key words immediately ruled out Gabite, and Hayato Sora's expression changed.
"Oh no. Another Sableye has found the Carbink."
He hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
"Noibat, can you pinpoint its position? Take me there."
"Vwoo!"
(No problem!)
Noibat immediately flew into the tunnel.
Under the influence of its Veteran (battle-hardened) state, it was constantly growing stronger.
Its natural ultrasonic talent had reached an astonishing level. It could independently control different ultrasonic frequencies and accomplish many things with them.
For example—ultrasonic positioning.
Noibat flew ahead while Hayato Sora rode Mudsdale and followed closely behind. They rapidly closed the distance.
"Kehehehe~"
The Sableye let out a strange laugh as it toyed with a Carbink fleeing ahead.
The glittering body of the Carbink made its mouth water.
Its gemstone eyes gleamed eerily in the darkness.
Suddenly, the Carbink that had been hopping forward froze in place. Its rocky face showed a surprisingly human expression of fear.
The Carbink had fallen into a flinching state, unable to move—like meat placed on Sableye's chopping board.
"Kehehehe~"
Sableye rubbed its sharp claws together with a sinister grin and slowly stepped forward, preparing to eat.
At that moment—
The rocks above the cave ceiling began to shake and crumble.
Chunks of stone rained down.
Caught completely off guard, Sableye was smashed by the falling debris and buried beneath a pile of rocks.
"Vweeheehee…"
From the other side of the cave, Noibat burst into laughter.
Its plan had worked perfectly.
"Watch out!" Hayato Sora suddenly shouted.
The moment his voice fell—
Boom!
The pile of rocks exploded from within as Sableye burst out, flashing icy claws.
In the blink of an eye it rushed toward Noibat, slashing rapidly multiple times.
Fury Swipes!
But with Hayato Sora's warning—and Noibat's solid combat instincts—
The seemingly unavoidable attack was evaded.
With a beat of its wings, Noibat traced a crescent arc through the air, dodging the strikes and appearing behind Sableye.
Ultrasonic waves briefly disrupted Sableye's movement.
Before it could react, Noibat launched its attack.
Dragon Rush!
Carrying a fierce momentum, Noibat grabbed Sableye from behind and slammed it into the ground, plowing forward across the stone floor.
A gouge stretching dozens of meters appeared before the attack finally stopped.
Not because Noibat wanted to stop—
But because Sableye had already lost the ability to battle.
One of the gemstones in its eye sockets had even fallen out.
Literally.
Its eye had dropped onto the ground—an oddly comical sight.
"Vwoooaar!"
After the battle, Noibat let out an incredibly satisfying dragon's roar.
Every fight made its blood boil, stirring the Dragon-type energy within its body.
Today was no exception.
In fact, the energy had reached a point where it could no longer be suppressed.
Noibat's dragon cry echoed through the cave. The enclosed space amplified the sound layer after layer until it became thunderous.
Then—
At a certain moment, the roar lost its youthful tone.
A bright white light of evolution erupted from within Noibat's body.
The entire Pokémon was enveloped in radiant light.
The whole process was extremely fast.
Only a few seconds had passed since Sableye launched its sneak attack and Noibat defeated it.
From Hayato Sora's perspective, it was simple:
After defeating Sableye, Noibat's experience instantly filled, and the light of evolution appeared.
"You two come out as well—keep watch around us."
Hayato Sora released the other two Noibat.
The moment they appeared, they looked at their evolving companion with undisguised envy.
If only they had been the one fighting Sableye just now!
What a shame they missed the chance.
The two Noibat took positions on either side, releasing ultrasonic waves outward to search for any other Sableye that might be lurking in the cave.
With the evolving Noibat right in front of them—
They now mentally equated Sableye = evolution.
They were desperate to find another one.
Defeat it—and they might evolve immediately as well.
Unfortunately…
Things didn't go as they hoped.
By the time the evolution finished, they still hadn't found a second Sableye.
"Rooooar!"
The newly evolved Noivern raised its head and howled excitedly, venting its exhilaration.
But in the very next moment—
BONK!
Its head slammed straight into the cave ceiling.
Loose rocks rained down instantly.
The stones hit Noivern squarely on the head, leaving it covered in bumps.
What should have been a majestic evolution debut instantly turned into a comedy scene.
"Vweehee~ Vweehee!"
The two Noibat snickered from the side, though the jealousy in their eyes was impossible to hide.
Weren't we supposed to stay Noibat together forever?
And you secretly evolved?!
"ROOO!"
Noivern lowered its head in dissatisfaction and looked at them.
It spread its wings and whipped up a gust of wind, blowing the two Noibat over.
Now it felt better.
"You've already evolved, yet you still act like a kid."
Hayato Sora shook his head helplessly and walked forward, patting Noivern.
Its body felt cold to the touch—almost like touching metal.
"Rooo…"
Seeing it was Hayato Sora, Noivern obediently lowered its head. It stretched out its tongue and licked him, then rested its head against him.
They say girls change dramatically as they grow up.
Dragon-type Pokémon evolutions were similar.
Compared to its Noibat stage, aside from those iconic giant ears, it was almost impossible to tell they were part of the same evolutionary line.
Many Dragon-type Pokémon had similarly drastic transformations.
For example:
Dragonite and Dragonair
Flygon and Trapinch
Salamence and Shelgon
The changes before and after evolution were so huge that even their parents might not recognize them.
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