Chapter 76: The King's Rock and the Wild Shellder Appears!

The Pokémon on Natsume's farm were always a bit peculiar, with distinct personalities and strong opinions. This was something Natsume had long come to understand.

Even Slowpoke, typically known for being slow-witted, sometimes displayed remarkable wisdom.

One sunny afternoon, Natsume was lounging by the lakeside with his shiny Furret in his arms, basking in the sun. Out of boredom, he struck up a conversation with Slowpoke.

To call it a conversation was a bit of a stretch—Natsume was mostly talking to himself. After all, one couldn't realistically expect to have a smooth exchange with a Slowpoke.

Even though Natsume could understand Pokémon speech, that didn't mean the Pokémon could always understand him.

Slowpoke's general response seemed to be: What you're saying is too profound; I don't quite get it.

Whenever Natsume started a new topic, it usually took Slowpoke a good while to process what he had said.

But when Natsume casually brought up Slowpoke's potential evolution, it showed a surprisingly 'excited' reaction.

"Slowpoke, do you think you'll evolve into a Slowking or a Slowbro in the future?" Natsume had asked lazily, his shiny Furret resting in his lap. "If you want to become a Slowking, I'll need to get you a King's Rock."

If Natsume had to choose, he'd definitely prefer Slowking. With its sharp rise in intelligence, communication would become much easier.

He hadn't expected Slowpoke to respond. Typically, it would take another minute or two for Slowpoke to even realize what was being discussed.

But to Natsume's surprise, Slowpoke responded almost instantly.

"Slow~"

I want to evolve into a Slowking, it said, lying calmly beside Natsume.

"Huh?"

Startled, Natsume sat up and removed his Psyduck-themed sleep mask, staring at Slowpoke.

Slowpoke, in turn, gazed back at him with an unusually wise and serene expression.

"Slow."

Slowking, the smart one, it clarified after a few seconds, as if afraid Natsume didn't understand.

"Sometimes I really don't know what to make of you..."

Natsume sighed, unsure how to respond. He had noticed early on that this Slowpoke was different from others of its kind—particularly when it came to intelligence.

Most of the time, it behaved like a typical Slowpoke: slow to react, seemingly clueless, and prone to bizarre actions, like fishing with its tail only to have it yanked into the water by the fish.

It had plenty of antics that could make your blood pressure spike.

But occasionally, it displayed behavior that was far from 'slow.'

Like now.

Fast forward to today, Natsume walked toward the lake, carrying a small gift box. The contents were obvious—it could only be a King's Rock.

This particular King's Rock hadn't been easy to acquire. Unlike evolutionary stones like the Dawn Stone, the King's Rock also served as a held item.

Its Pokédex description read: When held, it may cause the target to flinch after being hit.

In simple terms, it granted a chance to inflict a flinch status on opponents, and with multi-hit moves, each hit had its own probability of triggering the effect.

"I wonder if Slowpoke is ready to evolve," Natsume mused.

To evolve, Slowpoke not only needed the King's Rock but also a Shellder.

If its tail was bitten, it would evolve into Slowbro. If the King's Rock was equipped and its head was bitten, it would evolve into Slowking.

Both evolutions had a base stat total of 490, with Slowbro excelling in physical defense and Slowking in special defense.

Before the introduction of Mega Evolution, most trainers favored Slowking due to its higher intelligence and overall utility in both battles and daily life.

However, after Mega Evolution became a thing, Slowbro's Mega Form earned it more fans.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Slowpoke. Your package has arrived!"

Natsume called out to Slowpoke, who was lazily fishing by the lakeside.

Package? What package?

Drowsy from basking in the warm sunlight, Slowpoke was momentarily dazed.

Then, as if struck by a sudden epiphany, its eyes lit up.

The package! It must be the King's Rock!

Realizing this, Slowpoke shot up and 'sprinted' toward Natsume with a speed that seemed entirely uncharacteristic of its species.

It looked almost like a Husky dashing toward its owner.

"Alright, alright, here you go."

Amused by Slowpoke's eager expression, Natsume couldn't help but laugh.

It was the first time he'd seen such emotion in Slowpoke's usually vacant eyes.

Normally, it wore an expression that seemed to say, Oh, you're so smart, good for you.

But now, it seemed genuinely invested.

"Slow."

Slowpoke plopped down on the ground and began tearing into the gift wrap, its tail wagging faintly behind it.

"Don't litter."

"Slow."

Don't worry, I'll clean it up later.

"Really?"

"Slow."

Nope.

After unwrapping the box, Slowpoke stared at the somewhat 'cheap-looking' crown inside. For a moment, its emotions seemed to fluctuate, but it quickly regained composure.

Carefully placing the crown on its head, it stood up, as though trying to sense some new power.

"Do you feel anything?" Natsume asked curiously.

"Slow."

Not really, I just wanted to change my pose.

It glanced at Natsume with an expression that was either exasperated or sarcastic, as if to say, How could you expect me to feel anything? It's just a crown, not actual royalty.

"You're really dropping the act now, huh?" Natsume chuckled.

"Slow?"

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Crown on its head, Slowpoke tilted its head and stuck out its tongue, fully adopting its usual 'dimwitted' persona.

Seeing Slowpoke's playful antics, Natsume didn't press further.

"Well, now that you've got the King's Rock, you just need a Shellder to complete the evolution. Do you need my help?"

"Slow."

No need. I'm ready for this.

Shaking its head, Slowpoke signaled for Natsume to follow it to the lakeside.

Once there, Slowpoke slapped the water's surface with its tail.

"Slow~"

Its drawn-out call echoed as if summoning something.

Moments later, ripples spread across the water, and a wild Shellder leaped out!

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