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Kirilia's evolution was both expected and unexpected for Liam.
Originally, Kirilia's level was already quite high, and it had learned several high-level moves. Logically, it should have evolved long ago, yet for some unknown reason, it had remained stuck in its first evolutionary stage.
This time, however, after several days of fairly intense training, Kirilia's physical condition improved. And so, on the second night after entering the mountains, right after dinner—
"Kiri!!"
After eating the high-quality Pokémon food Liam provided and quickly recovering its stamina, Gallade suddenly let out a cry as its body began to glow with white evolution light.
"Kirilia!!"
As the evolution light enveloped it, Kirilia's expression twisted in pain. Immediately afterward, a surge of pink psychic energy burst out from its body and then rebounded straight back onto itself.
Boom!
"Kirilia!"
The psychic blast struck Kirilia directly, sending it flying backward!
As Kirilia tumbled across the ground, the evolution light around its body dimmed significantly, though it did not completely disappear.
"Kiri!!"
Seeing that the evolution light still persisted, Kirilia did not hesitate and launched another psychic attack at itself.
The commotion quickly drew the attention of the other Pokémon nearby.
Liam, of course, was no exception.
From the moment Kirilia began acting strangely, Liam had already been watching closely.
Now, seeing Kirilia's actions, he finally understood that it had been using this method of self-harm to forcibly suppress its own evolution. The sight was shocking, but Liam couldn't help admiring Kirilia's determination.
Seeing Kirilia knocked down once again by its own attack, the evolution light now extremely faint, Liam could no longer stand by. He reached out and sliced the air beside him. A flash of blue light appeared, and a deep blue gemstone the size of a pigeon egg materialized in his hand.
Then—
"Kiria! Catch this!"
As soon as he spoke, Liam threw the stone with force toward Kirilia.
"Kirilia?"
Kirilia, battered and injured, opened one eye in confusion upon hearing Liam's voice. It saw an unknown object flying toward it. Instinctively, it raised its hand to knock the object away. But the moment its hand touched the Dawn Stone—
"Kirilia!!"
The nearly extinguished evolution light suddenly flared back to life, shining even brighter and more intense than before.
"Kiri! Kirilia!!"
With a loud cry, the dazzling white light faded. Kirilia had successfully evolved into Gallade, staring at its new body in astonishment.
Seeing the successful evolution, Liam finally let out a sigh of relief.
.....
After descending the mountains, Liam and his group finally arrived at Rustboro City. After more than a day of adjusting, Kirilia was clearly very satisfied with its new form, its sharp eyes filled with visible joy.
At the city entrance, Liam paused to recall all his Pokémon into their PokeBalls. The training weights on Garchomp and Aerodactyl had also been removed.
Only then did Liam stride into Rustboro City.
Rustboro City was one of the more prosperous cities in the Hoenn region, known for three major landmarks.
The first was, naturally, the Rustboro Gym.
The second was Devon Corporation, the largest manufacturer of Pokémon equipment in Hoenn.
The third was the Trainer School, a highly renowned institution dedicated to training and educating Pokémon trainers.
At this moment, Liam was passing by the school.
Before him stood a row of neat black railings. Inside lay a wide training field with numerous battle arenas. Several students in uniform were currently engaged in Pokémon battles.
Trainer Schools existed in every region and were supported by their respective Leagues. Outstanding graduates could enjoy privileges that ordinary people could not.
For example, participation in League tournaments.
Ordinary trainers needed to collect eight Gym Badges to register for a League competition.
But Trainer Schools had the authority to recommend select top students to participate directly, without needing badges.
Because of this, many prestigious families sent their children to such schools, turning them into institutions that were practically elite academies.
And just as Liam was thinking about elite students, he spotted a familiar face.
Standing outside the railing, he looked toward one of the nearby battlefields.
Both trainers wore similar stylish school uniforms, and one of them had fought Liam before.
"Go! Metagross! Use Meteor Mash!"
"Metaa!!"
Boom!
"Ah! Heracross! Are you alright?!"
On the battlefield, a handsome young man commanded a silver Metagross, which cleanly defeated the opposing Heracross in just a few moves.
"Wow! Amazing! As expected of Senior Steven! One of the Top 8 in the last Johto League! His strength is incredible!"
As soon as the battle ended, the surrounding students began discussing excitedly.
"Exactly! And I heard Senior Steven has already collected all eight Gym Badges in Hoenn! He's qualified to challenge the Ever Grande Conference!"
"That's right! He's already registered! But since there's still some time before it starts, he came back here to help train us juniors!"
"Mm-hmm! That was Hong just now, one of the top students, right? Even his Heracross couldn't last more than a few turns against Metagross! Just how strong is Senior Steven?! He's definitely going to win the championship!"
Yes, the one who had just commanded Metagross to victory was Steven, who hadn't appeared in quite some time.
Steven nodded slightly to his opponent Hong, then turned to look around at the crowd.
"Anyone else want to challenge me? There's only one match left for today. Who's next?"
Although the crowd buzzed with excitement, no one dared step forward.
"Hm?"
Steven shook his head slightly in disappointment. But at that moment, the corner of his eye caught sight of Liam standing outside the railing.
In an instant, Steven froze. But only for a moment.
The surprise in his eyes quickly turned into joy. He immediately started running, pushing through the surrounding students, and hurried toward Liam while the others looked on in confusion.