Petilil Evolves into Cherrim

In the days that followed,

Aiven trained his Pokémon methodically.

Besides that, eight more Walking Grass had joined the farm.

After learning that they would be rewarded for catching Walking Grass and bringing them to Darby Farm, the villagers were clearly eager to help.

Once Aiven got the Walking Grass, he put them straight in the meadow. He didn't need to explain anything; his companions would take care of that.

"There are more and more Walking Grass. Looks like I'll have to visit the Black Forest soon."

Aiven thought it over. Winter was drawing closer, and he had to make sure the Walking Grass learned Triple Powder Move before it arrived.

Still, he could wait a little longer—at least until Cherubi evolved into Cherrim.

Another day passed.

Just as he had expected, Cherubi finally absorbed all the Evolution Energy stored in its fruit.

Suddenly, a brilliant white light burst from Cherubi's body.

It was evolving. Aiven stopped some distance away and quietly watched the light enveloping it.

He could just make out Cherubi's silhouette changing within the light, gradually evolving into a higher form of life.

As the light of evolution slowly faded, a Pokémon appeared before them, wearing a short pink skirt shaped like cherry blossoms, with pink petals adorning its head.

Cherrim. Looking at the Pokémon before him, Aiven smiled. Another piece of the farming puzzle had fallen into place.

After evolving, Cherrim studied its new body. When it noticed Aiven looking over, it beamed at him, its smile so bright it was impossible not to feel uplifted.

In an instant, Aiven felt all the frustration he had been carrying melt away. Smiling, he walked over to the little Pokémon.

Petilil jumped down from his arms and bounced over to Cherrim to share in its joy at evolving.

At last, Cherrim came to Aiven. Its eyes narrowed as it gave him a heartfelt, grateful smile. Without Aiven's promise and all the help he had given afterward, it would never have been able to evolve.

"Congratulations, Cherrim."

Aiven smiled and patted the little Pokémon on the head. Watching the Pokémon laugh together, he felt his heart grow tender, as if he had returned to the world where humans and Pokémon lived in harmony.

That evening.

As usual, Darby came to the Fruit Grove to check how the berries were growing.

"This is Cherubi's evolved form?"

Darby stared at Cherrim in astonishment.

For Cherubi to evolve into Cherrim, it had to store enough Evolution Energy in the fruit on its body.

But since this fruit was a rare source of nutrition for both humans and Pokémon, few Cherubi ever managed to store enough energy to evolve.

That made Cherrim extremely rare in the wild, and rarer still among Cherubi raised on farms by humans.

This was the first time Darby had ever seen a Cherrim. Without thinking, he looked it up and down, wondering whether it was still edible after evolving.

Cherrim suddenly felt a chill run through its body. The petals on its head quickly folded together and turned purple, completely enclosing it like a flower bud.

"What's wrong with Cherrim?" Uncle Darby asked, sounding a little uneasy.

Aiven smiled at the sight and picked Cherrim up. "This is Cherrim's Overcast Form."

Uncle Darby still didn't understand, and Aiven didn't explain further. He just said that Cherrim would bloom again once the sun came out tomorrow.

That night, in the dim glow of an oil lamp,

Aiven sat at his desk, drawing up his next training plan.

Petilil lay comfortably in its flowerpot, its body shining with a faint green light as it absorbed the Growth Fertilizer.

After seeing Cherubi evolve into Cherrim with his own eyes, Aiven could tell how badly Petilil wanted to evolve.

The little Pokémon thought that if it kept getting stronger, it would surely evolve. It didn't know that it needed a Sun Stone to do so.

A Sun Stone was a kind of Evolution Stone. It held mysterious power that could help a Pokémon transform and complete its final evolution.

I'll look for a Sun Stone when I visit the Black Forest... Aiven thought, adding it to his list of things to do.

"Now that Cherubi has evolved into Cherrim, I've managed to achieve part of my plan."

"Cherrim may be very weak, but its Flower Gift Ability is powerful. It can boost a Pokémon's Attack and Special Defense."

"Ironclad Rhinoceros is already a capable fighter, and Flower Gift will make it even stronger. Mukkuru is another perfect match for the Ability."

"So the most important part of my training plan from here on is Cherrim's Flower Gift Ability. Before that, Cherrim needs to learn Sunny Day. Flower Gift can only reach its full potential in harsh sunlight."

Aiven took out his training notebook and wrote down the Pokémon at the farm. As he did, his training plan gradually took shape.

The following morning.

Before dawn, Aiven took Petilil to the Fruit Grove.

Mukkuru was always the most alert one in the grove. The moment it noticed someone approaching, it opened its eyes.

Seeing that it was Aiven, Mukkuru yawned, closed its eyes, and went back to sleep.

Aiven quietly greeted Mukkuru, then entered the grove and found Cherrim and Cherubi sleeping huddled together.

Seeing how early it still was, Aiven sat beneath a tree with Petilil in his arms and looked east. There was still some time before sunrise.

The key to Sunny Day was sensing the sun's power. So he waited there, planning to have Cherrim sense Solar Energy as the sun rose.

Still half-asleep, Cherrim opened its eyes and immediately spotted Aiven. It happily shook its body.

"Cherrim, the sun's about to rise. We're going to train for Sunny Day now." Aiven had already told Cherrim about Sunny Day.

Cherrim eagerly nodded. Aiven picked it up, and they waited for the sun to rise.

At last, a glimmer of light appeared on the horizon. Cherrim focused on sensing Solar Energy, and its body began to tremble. Its body was naturally responding to the sun's power.

As the sun rose higher, Cherrim trembled more and more. The purple petals wrapped around its body slowly began to open.

Finally, as the sun fully rose, the petals around Cherrim's body opened all the way and changed from purple to pink. A sunlit smile appeared before Aiven's eyes!

"Can you feel it? The Solar Energy."

Looking at Cherrim's delighted expression, Aiven couldn't help smiling.

Cherrim nodded happily. A faint milky-white glow radiated from its body, bringing a soothing feeling.

For Cherrim, changing from its Overcast Form to its Sunny Form was one of the effects of its Flower Gift Ability. By changing its form, Cherrim could then channel the Ability's power.

However, Flower Gift wasn't very strong when powered by the sun in its natural state. The Ability could only reach its full potential during harsh sunlight.

From then on, Cherrim's training was clear: it would keep absorbing Solar Energy, deepening its understanding of Flower Gift so it could master Sunny Day.