Chapter 15: Has Evolution Theory Ceased to Exist?

What was that? Yamada's body began to tremble involuntarily as a figure, like the Grim Reaper itself, emerged from the white light, its slightly hunched body poised in a hunting stance.

An inexplicable fear filled his entire being, making his fingers too stiff to move. 

The extreme pressure was so intense it caused hallucinations—the roughly 5'7" figure appeared dozens of times larger in his vision. 

The facial features were hard to distinguish, as if lost in chaos, except for two sharp blade-like black markings on the cheeks and those crimson eyes that seemed to have already sentenced him to death.

His back was completely soaked with sweat. Yamada bit his tongue hard, and the pain finally freed him from this suffocating sense of death.

There's still time! Just need to pull the trigger... Wait, where's my hand?

Confused, he watched a muscular arm holding a hunting rifle fly past him. That arm... why did it look so familiar?

"AAAAHHH!"

The intense pain finally registered, and Yamada's ear-piercing screams echoed throughout the cave. The black shadow that had filled him with endless terror held his severed arm in its mouth, tossing it aside like garbage.

Blood gushed from the wound like a fountain. The massive blood loss in such a short time made his vision blur, and his brain could no longer maintain consciousness.

Damn it, damn it, damn it! Wasn't it just a Poochyena? How did it evolve into something like that? Wait, could it be...

In his fragmented memories, there seemed to be some related information. He vaguely recalled that the Association had been trying to research a special type of evolution... What was it again?

Before Yamada could fully remember, through his murky vision, he saw what appeared to be an iron rod being raised high above him, about to strike down...

It was finally over. Kazuki stood up from the now lifeless corpse, tossing aside the blood-stained iron rod.

His emotions were far calmer than he had expected, despite having taken a human life with his own hands for the first time.

Was it because the dead man was an unforgivable villain? Kazuki wasn't sure, but he felt something strange, as if there was some inhuman quality within himself that he had never noticed before.

Fortunately, there were more pressing matters at hand, allowing him to ignore this instinctively uncomfortable question.

His gaze shifted to what should be "Hei"—her post-evolution body had clearly grown considerably—

A pair of upright wolf ears, smooth black hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall. Dense, long bangs covered her forehead, beneath which were crimson eyes. Two blade-shaped black markings beneath her eyes added a touch of valor to her frost-white, elegant face.

Below her head, the black fur was no longer as thick as before evolution. 

The gray-black down formed what looked like a swimsuit-like structure, covering only the most private areas. 

Below the clearly defined collarbone, the down hung from both shoulders like a bra, covering two prominent peaks while exposing two milky hemispheres. 

Further down... was a delicate navel and abs that made one want to lick them.

Her fluffy tail swayed behind her, long white legs stood together, skin smooth as pudding. 

The sleek leg lines combined both power and sensuality, and her jade-like feet showed warm redness between the toes.

How sexy... no, wait, that's not the point here.

"H-Hei?" Kazuki tentatively called out.

Hearing his voice, the furry ears atop her head moved with spirit, her red eyes blinked, then narrowed into two downward-curved crescents. 

She hunched down, raised her paws, and showed her canine teeth in a predatory pose.

"Kazuki~~"

Hei used Play with Kazuki. It's super effective! Trainer Kazuki has fainted.

The slender body pressed against the boy, her pink tongue sticking out, happily licking his face.

"Ah, Hei... stop for a moment."

Looking at Hei, who had completely shattered her previous cool and handsome demeanor, Kazuki somewhat helplessly stopped her affectionate behavior and wiped his now-wet face.

"So, why did you transform into this form?"

Although Pokémon evolution was always a transformation of species, Kazuki had never heard of an evolution that seemed to change the entire species like this. 

Well, there were cases of normal fish-like Pokémon evolving into octopus forms.

Setting aside such common knowledge, Kazuki was very familiar with Poochyena's evolution line—basically just a change from small dog to large dog, looking more imposing, but how could it become like this...

Her ears moved restlessly, seemingly not understanding his words at all, her clear eyes blinking with an altogether innocent expression.

At this moment, Kazuki suddenly realized his current viewing angle was dangerous, as Hei's chest fur only covered the top, and he, being below her, could completely see that deep, tempting valley.

Hei obviously hadn't noticed... or simply didn't care about this point, and even unconsciously occasionally rubbed her exposed skin against the boy beneath her, causing his expression to change dramatically again.

"Do you feel anything different... or uncomfortable about your body?" Suppressing his inappropriate thoughts, Kazuki forced a calm expression as he asked, though his facial features remained visibly stiff.

"Hmm~ If I had to say what's different... my limbs and paws feel much more flexible than before, and rubbing feels even better, hehe~"

Hearing this, Kazuki's nose suddenly felt hot. Although he understood she was purely expressing her direct feelings, the way she phrased it was far too suggestive!

"But it feels like I can't use my full power~ Hmm, I should probably use this..."

What did she mean by not being able to use full power? Just as he was about to ask about this seemingly crucial information, Hei, still lying on top of him, underwent another transformation.

A ethereal white light emanated from Hei's body, and in the blink of an eye, the black-haired beauty with fangs and wolf ears vanished, replaced by a large wolf-dog covered in black-gray fur, displaying impressive fangs and an imposing presence.

"Awoo~"

...

"I think I understand now. You can freely switch between human and beast forms, and in human form you can actually speak human language, but you need to be in beast form to use your full power..."

He rubbed between her two wolf ears. Even though she had grown so much larger, she still enjoyed Kazuki's head pats and fur stroking, her eyes narrowing in contentment.

As Kazuki's fingers stroked through her fur, he began to ponder. Even now, he hadn't fully recovered from the feeling that "evolution theory had ceased to exist."

Having spent so many years with Professor Oak, he was certain that there were cases of Pokémon transforming into human form in this world, but those were basically all achieved through some kind of illusion. 

The actual physiological structure never changed. A case like his Hei's current situation had never existed before... or perhaps it had existed but was never clearly documented.

Strangely, he recalled his biggest childhood embarrassment. 

Could it be... that everything his father said back then was true?

He shook his head vigorously, pushing the scattered thoughts aside. 

Regardless of how she had changed, the fact that Hei was his family would never change.

His hand slid down from her head, gently stroking her face and scratching under the large wolf-dog's chin. 

The comfortable sensation made Hei open her mouth, tongue lolling out as she panted, giving off a distinct husky vibe.

Looking at her expression, somehow, Kazuki's mind substituted her human form into her current behavior. The moment that image was created in his mind, his scratching fingers suddenly froze.

"Um, Hei... from today on, unless I bring it up, please don't transform into human form!"

"Awoo?"

Kazuki could swear this was all to prevent Hei from suddenly transforming and frightening others on the street... definitely not because if Hei maintained that form, he might not be able to resist committing a crime! 

...

"Honestly, I didn't want to go this far." 

A well-dressed man adjusted his glasses as he stepped out of the shadows. Beside him, a menacing black hound growled low, its voice dripping with threat. 

The creature had two large, curved horns on its head, with bone-like gray rings around its neck, back, and legs. Its long, triangular tail swayed in the air, and flames flickered in its mouth as if it were about to spew scorching fire. It looked like a demon straight out of hell. 

The prey of this demon was a boy on the ground, trembling with fear, his hands pressed against the dirt. Terror had filled his legs like lead, rendering him unable to stand. A wet stain spread across his pants, emitting a heavy, pungent odor. 

Beside him lay several Pokémon like Raticate and Caterpie, all of them battered and bruised. Their wounds ranged from claw and bite marks to burns that left charred scars. 

Hikaru stared at the boy, whose spirit had been completely shattered. Behind the glare of his glasses, a flicker of disdain crossed his eyes. 

"What a pity. Consider this a lesson… Remember well in the future: if something isn't meant for your eyes, don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." 

His tone was gentle, almost like a teacher's, but it sent chills down the spine. He casually fiddled with a pale silver crystal in his hand and commanded, "Houndoom, use Flamethrower." 

At his words, the hellish hound opened its jaws wide, spewing a torrent of scorching flames toward the boy on the ground. If it hit, the inferno would reduce him to nothing but ashes. 

"Eevee!"