Chapter 42 42: Eterna City
"Eevee!!"
Eevee had no intention of making the decision on her own.
All she wanted was to become a Pokémon useful to Sora—not one driven solely by her personal preferences.
Besides, she didn't understand the strengths and weaknesses of the different evolutions.
Their abilities.
Their advantages.
Their flaws.
Rather than choose blindly and risk becoming a burden—or worse, disappointing Sora—she wanted to become the form he liked most.
"I see…"
Sora thought for a moment, then nodded.
"In that case, I hope you'll evolve into Sylveon."
"Eevee?"
She tilted her head and glanced at the images on his communicator.
"Are these the ones?"
Sylveon?
He hadn't mentioned that evolution just now.
"Oh, not those," Sora said with a small smile.
"These two are Espeon and Umbreon."
Because they didn't require special environments, those two forms were already widely known and officially recorded in the Pokédex.
However, their exact evolution conditions still hadn't been publicly revealed at this point in time.
Trainers only knew one thing:
To evolve into Espeon or Umbreon, the bond between trainer and Pokémon had to reach a deep level.
In a sense, trainers who owned those forms were almost always good people.
Someone who genuinely loved Pokémon rarely turned out to be cruel.
"Eevee?"
That only made her more curious.
She wanted to see what Sylveon looked like.
Whether she liked the form was one thing.
But at the very least, she wanted to know if this new "big sister" looked cool and beautiful.
"Hmm…"
Sora chuckled softly.
"How should I put this?"
"Sylveon hasn't appeared in the world yet."
"In other words, it's a completely new evolution—one that no one has discovered."
He wasn't exaggerating.
For Eevee to evolve into Sylveon, two conditions were known from his prior knowledge:
High affection
Learning a Fairy-type move while still an Eevee
But here was the interesting part.
Eevee could only learn two Fairy-type moves naturally:
Baby-Doll Eyes at Level 15
Charm at Level 45
Both were status moves—skills that didn't deal damage.
If the evolution requirement were truly that simple, Sylveon would have been discovered long ago.
So Sora had reached a different conclusion.
The key wasn't merely learning those moves.
The key was truly mastering Fairy-type energy.
Yes—attribute energy itself was the decisive factor.
Otherwise, once affection reached the threshold, Eevee would naturally evolve into Espeon or Umbreon.
Those two forms already covered day and night.
"Sylveon is difficult to obtain for two reasons," Sora explained.
"First, the timing—Espeon and Umbreon divert most evolutions."
"Second, the Fairy type itself hasn't been identified yet."
Even if a trainer raised Eevee to Level 45 and taught Charm, if they didn't continue developing the Fairy energy within that move, the evolution would still be influenced by day or night—leading to Espeon or Umbreon instead.
"From now on," Sora continued, "I'll have Victini help you explore Fairy energy more effectively."
"Eevee!"
She didn't fully understand what made Sylveon special.
But she remembered one crucial thing:
Sora liked that form.
And to earn more of his affection, she would train hard and evolve as soon as possible.
"Haha, you don't have to take it that seriously."
Sora gently rubbed her head.
"Let things happen naturally. Even if you don't become Sylveon, I still love Espeon and Umbreon too."
One was Psychic-type.
The other was Dark-type.
Both filled roles his current team didn't yet cover.
"Buneary~~"
Buneary nudged her best friend, reassuring her not to be so tense.
Relax. Take it easy.
The two of them really were a buy-one-get-one pair.
Eevee had strong potential and a bright future.
As for Buneary…
After spending time together, Sora noticed she didn't enjoy battling very much.
Instead, she showed a strong interest in cooking.
If that was the case, he had no problem guiding her toward becoming the team's chef.
If that worked out, future wilderness journeys would become much more comfortable.
No more worrying about meals.
"Finally, we're out."
After five full days, Sora and his team finally emerged from Eterna Forest and entered the outskirts of Eterna City.
"Follow this road straight ahead, and we'll reach the city."
He folded up the map and slipped it back into his backpack.
Then he recalled Ursaluna into its Poké Ball, leaving only Ogerpon and Victini outside.
One could turn invisible.
The other looked just like a human child.
So he intended to keep them as traveling companions—similar to how Pikachu accompanied Ash.
As for Ursaluna…
It was genuinely exhausted.
And in a busy city, a massive creature like that would be highly inconvenient.
"Rest well, Ursaluna. You've worked hard these past few days."
Sora watched the Poké Ball in his palm shake slightly.
Smiling, he clipped it to his belt, then took Ogerpon's hand and continued walking toward the city.
In the Pokémon world, Eterna City was a jewel set between forest and technology.
It lacked the towering skyscrapers of Saffron City.
It lacked the seaside romance of Sunyshore.
Yet it was known as "the meeting point of history and the future"—a place every trainer remembered.
"Poné-ao~~"
Walking along the wide roadside, Ogerpon gazed around in wonder.
People bustled past.
Cars and buses flowed steadily.
The city's prosperity dazzled her.
"So many big buildings," she exclaimed.
"They look like palaces!"
"Still not as impressive as Canalave City," Victini replied matter-of-factly.
The two chatted in their own language—one Sora couldn't understand.
Occasionally, passersby noticed Ogerpon.
Children tugged on their parents' sleeves, pointing excitedly at her beautiful mask.
Some adults even approached Sora to ask:
"Excuse me—where did you buy that mask?"
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Pat reon Advance Chapters: /YonkoSlayer