Chapter Forty-Three - Evolution via Friendship and Head Trauma

Jazz's head snapped up the moment the room filled with light.

She knew what this was. Not only from having seen it on TV a thousand times, but from experiencing it herself. There was always a sort of tingle in the air when a pokemon evolved, an energy that had nothing to do with powerful moves and everything to do with potential being realized.

Azurill was no longer an azurill, it seemed.

Jazz patted Bellsprout on the head as he too watched the little pokemon swell up within the glowing light.

Sage hovered by her, eyes turned up a little in pleasure as he too watched. She released Zubat as well. All three of her pokemon had taken a bit of a beating back there.

That Team Rocket guy had come out of nowhere at a dead run and had released both of his pokemon at the same time. A Supersonic to Bellsprout's face, then a Leech Life followed by a quick Wing Attack on Sage had shoved her pokemon back. His were—she was able to admit—stronger than her team.

In an even fight, she was pretty sure she'd make a good showing for herself, but it hadn't been an even fight at all.

Anyway, it was over now. The Rocket leader was on the ground, groaning as he clutched his chest. His pokemon were on the ground, insensate.

And the cause of all that was staring at a brand new marill with her mouth agape. "Azu... Ma... Marill!"

Broccoli blinked at the marill, then leaned in closer. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Ma!"

Broccoli smiled, then hugged the blue ball close. Marill cooed, then wrapped her stubby little arms around Broccoli as best she could.

Jazz stood up and wandered closer. "Congratulations on the evolution," she said to marill. Maril had grown quite a bit, from a little ball that Jazz was pretty sure she could wrap her entire hand around to a... much larger ball that was at least the size of a human head, if a little bigger. Her ears had grown out into a pair of round loops atop her head with a pink interior, and she'd gained a large white circle over her stomach ahead.

Her hands looked too small and too far apart to touch each other, but maybe she'd work around that. Chanseys and a few other rounder pokemon had the same issue and it didn't stop them any.

"Jazz, is this normal?" Broccoli asked.

"Evolution?" Jazz asked.

"This is evolution?" Broccoli asked. "When you said that, I thought it was just a fancy way of saying that a pokemon grew stronger, like a class-up!"

"A class-up?" Jazz asked, now she was confused. She shook her head. "No. Plenty of pokemon evolve when they grow strong enough. Or meet certain evolutionary conditions. It changes a little. Most evolve when they're older and stronger, but some have specific needs. I guess that Marill evolved because she was old enough and ready for it. Maybe the fight helped? Baby pokemon tend to evolve relatively quickly."

"Whoa!" Broccoli said. "That's so cool! Look at you! You're so much bigger, and heavier! And look at your widdle hands!"

"Ma! Marill rill ma!"

"You... want my phone?" Broccoli asked. "Well, I guess you have the hands for it. We'll have to get you a little bandoleer or something to place it in! Oh, but you're going to have to pick up reading and writing first!"

"Mar!" Marill said with a serious nod.

"Congratulations," Tabitha said as she came over.

Broccoli grinned, then stood up, still hugging Marill close. "I guess I really have no excuse not to teach Azurill... Marill? How to fight now, huh? If you still want it?"

Marill answered by doing some shadow-boxing while still in Broccoli's arms. "Rill, ri ri ri rill!"

"I like the enthusiasm!" Broccoli said. She knelt down, then placed Marill onto the ground. "I'm happy, but still... be careful, okay? You gave Choco and I quite the fright."

That dampened Marill's spirits a little, and the blue pokemon nodded her head. Broccoli was still clearly proud of her, and Choco soon gave Marill a hug and started to tease her... maybe about being fat? Jazz couldn't understand their words, but she could understand his 'tubby' gestures and Marill's tail smacking the buneary in the face.

"I'll go make sure that guy's not dead," Jazz said. "Broccoli, you're in the best shape here, can you go and wait for the police? Tabitha and I will tie the rest of them up and keep an eye on them."

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"Okay!" Broccoli said before she skipped off, her pokemon following after her while bickering.

Tabitha didn't take long to point out the obvious. "You sent her away. Was there a reason for that?"

"Yeah," Jazz said before licking her lips. They'd gone dry. She inspected Tabitha for a moment. "You know what was going on down here? I... feel like maybe you know more about the bad sides of life than others do."

"I am intimately aware of many bad things. It's why many psychics don't consider their abilities to be only gifts."

"Yeah," Jazz said. "I found the place where they were cutting off the slowpoke's tails. It's... gruesome." She swallowed. "I don't know... Broccoli can probably handle it, but her pokemon are all babies."

"I understand," Tabitha said. "But on the topic of Broccoli. She used Ember. Multiple times. And I believe Quick Attack, as well as an unfamiliar room-clearing move that negated that Poison-type move the koffing used previously. It had a wide area of effect and was quick to act. Otherwise we'd all be breathing poison. I also noticed that her pokemon were cleared of their afflictions rather rapidly."

"Yeah, she can do that," Jazz said.

"Can you please elaborate?" Tabitha asked with a blink.

"Not really? You know all those stories about heroes that can do incredible things? Aura masters and such?"

"Those are stories."

"Psychics are also stories," Jazz pointed out.

Tabitha stared, then nodded. "I see your point. Perhaps I can ask her myself at a later date. In the meantime, I will be speaking to the slowpoke."

"Uh, okay? You wanted to catch one, right?"

"Yes. Team Rocket might have done me a favour by gathering so many in such a place. And some might be motivated to fight in a way they wouldn't be under normal circumstances. It will take a very particular specimen to want to become a king."

There was a lot of weight on that word for Tabitha, but Jazz wasn't sure she wanted to dig just yet. The girl had more issues than Pokemag Weekly.

"Right... you go have your chat with the slowpokes, I'll tie this jerk up," Jazz said. She stomped her way over to the Team Rocket leader, then shoved him over onto his back with a foot. He glared up at her, but she had her pokemon backing her up, and his were knocked right out.

It didn't take too much effort to ignore his slurs and grumbling. She confiscated his pokeballs, recalled his pokemon, then tied the idiot up. He didn't deserve what he had.

"A koffing and a zubat. Strong ones at that," she grumbled.

"Not strong enough," he shot back.

"Shut up, you," she snapped. "You're giving Poison-type pokemon a bad name with this kind of stunt. Now people who try to befriend and train koffings will have to think twice because they're Team Rocket pokemon."

"What's left of Team Rocket," he grunted.

Well, that was something, wasn't it? Not that she cared too much. Once he was strung up ankles and wrists together, she rolled him across the floor. The only downside was that Broccoli had been around and the floor wasn't nearly as dusty and dirty as it should have been, so he didn't look as messy as he could when she finally stopped by the centre of the room.

"Now... let's see about looting!" Jazz cheered.

"I'm sorry, Miss Poison, but that wouldn't be right," Tabitha said. "The materials and items here are the belongings of criminals, and they'll be part of active investigations into what they're doing. If we take anything then that would be tampering with a crime scene. Not only might it jeopardise the investigation, it might give Team Rocket's lawyers the excuse they need to free their people."

"Urgh," Jazz grunted. Those tents looked so much better than hers though!

Tabitha returned to the corner, where she knelt down and stared at the slowpoke. She'd opened up the cage, and the slowpoke, both those with and without their tails, were... still in the cage. Only a couple seemed to have noticed that the doors were opened, and they looked like they were still wondering what to do about that.

What felt like a year later, the police finally arrived. A pair of officers with a few eager growlithes and a pair of pokemon rangers with their own pokemon. Once they were in the cave and saw the size of the operation though, and the Rocket grunts they captured, reinforcements were quickly called.

Jazz groaned. They were going to be here all night, weren't they?

***