"Wait—stop. I forfeit this match."
Just as Kirlia prepared to launch her next attack, Miwako raised her hand sharply. Kirlia immediately halted her offensive, psychic aura dissipating.
"Sis!?" Abi shouted in disbelief, clearly unable to accept her sudden surrender.
"My Claydol has already taken too much damage. Even if I force out a win in this battle, I'd lose the gym badge in the end."
Miwako's tone was calm, almost instructional. "Abi, remember this—knowing when to give up isn't weakness. It's part of being a trainer."
Her words carried the weight of family tradition. Just like Kanto's major families, the Sato family of Johto passed inheritance through the sons. Even if Miwako managed the family resources, she would never become the official Head.
"Kirlia, come back."
Ash returned Kirlia to her Master Ball. He regarded Miwako with newfound respect—retreating at the right moment required courage.
"You've won this gym challenge. As expected of a Champion-tier trainer—I learned a lot from this battle. Thank you. This is the Bug Badge of the Hinoki Gym."
Miwako extended her hand, offering a badge shaped like a seven-spotted ladybug.
"Good fight. My Pokémon learned a lot as well."
Ash accepted the badge. Two badges collected—six more to qualify for the Johto League.
"You remember this!" Abi puffed out his cheeks. "One day I'll beat you with the Pokémon I raise!"
"Anytime. Just don't wet your pants when you get scared," Ash replied casually, stepping around the fuming boy without a care.
After leaving Hinoki Gym, Ash returned to Hinoki Town and headed straight to the Pokémon Center. He connected to the videophone, and soon Professor Oak appeared on the screen—instant noodles in hand.
"Ash! It's been a while. How's the journey going?" Professor Oak said between slurps.
"Grandpa, why are you always eating instant noodles? Didn't you hire a housekeeper?" Ash asked, exasperated. It was honestly impressive how many consecutive meals Oak could replace with noodles.
"Oh, come on. You know the lab doesn't like outsiders, and Delia still brings me meals when she can. It's not as bad as you make it sound."
Despite his grumbling, Oak looked genuinely pleased.
"Grandpa, I'm sending you a Pokémon. Please give it to Gary for me."
"Hm? What Pokémon are you sending to Gary?"
"It's a shiny Noctowl. With proper training, he can definitely reach frontline strength. You know I already have Kirlia as my Psychic-type, so I don't need to raise another."
"Kirlia? So your Ralts evolved already? Seems you've made good progress."
"Oh, and one more thing, Grandpa—I discovered the root cause behind Eevee's evolution. And I also discovered another perfect evolution for it: the Fairy-type Sylveon."
"What!?"
Professor Oak nearly dropped his noodles.
"Hurry, show me this Fairy-type! Isn't that kind of Pokémon supposed to be extremely rare?"
Ash released Sylveon and explained the evolutionary mechanism of Eevee in detail. He also faxed Oak the research data.
Professor Oak was thrilled—though frustrated he couldn't request Sylveon immediately, since Ash still needed her for gym battles.
Three days later, the research paper—documenting both Eevee's evolutionary core and the Fairy-type's perfect evolution—was published under Ash's name, causing an instant sensation.
Eevee's unstable genes, which allowed countless evolutionary paths, had finally been logically explained. Trainers were astonished—and Sylveon's elegant but formidable power drove them into a frenzy.
Soon, countless Eevee owners began desperately trying to evolve theirs into Sylveon. However, Sylveon's evolution required:
a deep emotional bond
and an environment rich in life energy
Such locations were rare.
Forests were the most common choice, as they held high concentrations of life force. But most forests were dominated by earth elements, causing most attempted evolutions to become Leafeon instead.
Even so, many trainers managed to evolve Sylveon—especially those traveling to the Island of Fantasy.
In the Forest of Dreams, Eevee evolved into Sylveon almost 100% of the time.
Ash's discovery sent shockwaves throughout the Pokémon world. Overnight, Magic Island grew even more renowned, and the Dream Forest within it became a place both revered and feared by trainers.
The Pokémon living there—whether in physique, instinct, or raw strength—far surpassed those found elsewhere. Many trainers realized that if not for the strict mystical rules governing Magic Island, the Dream Forest Pokémon would have long been wiped out by overly ambitious challengers.
Fortunately, the island's rules protected the balance. Trainers could not forcefully capture any Pokémon there.
But they could interact with them—battle them, communicate with them, earn their recognition.
And if a Dream Forest Pokémon acknowledged a trainer, it could choose to follow them of its own will.
This unique relationship system made the Dream Forest increasingly famous. In later League seasons, Pokémon originating from that forest—especially Fairy-types like Sylveon—became the center of attention and were considered top-tier partners.
After publishing the groundbreaking paper on Eevee's evolution and the perfect Fairy-type path, Ash gained a new title in the research world:
Pokémon Genetic Research Doctor
It was a name that signified scientific authority and acknowledged his contribution to evolutionary theory. Coupled with the prestige of the Ketchum family and the respected reputation of Professor Oak, outsiders naturally believed Ash possessed extraordinary research ability—even though he was still a traveler on the road to mastery.
But titles or no titles, the truth was undeniable:
Ash Ketchum had changed the entire field of Pokémon evolution.