Jun stared out the train window as the Galar landscape whizzed by, sprawling fields intermingled with hills adorned with wildflowers. Today marked the official beginning of his field research on branching evolution. Nestled behind him in the hood of his black hoodie, Echo, his starter Blipbug wriggled animatedly, his massive silvery eyes glimmering with curiosity as he watched the outside fly by.

‘Explore,’ Echo chirped, a word it had become quite attached to. Despite being a baby Pokémon, the Blipbug’s curiosity was insatiable. ‘Explore, explore!’

“Yes, Echo,” Jun chuckled, reaching behind and gently ruffling Echo’s delicate antennae. “We’re about to explore a ton.”

After a long but rewarding session of sorting out and reorganizing the data given to him by the Pokemon Research Lab on the branching evolutions of Galar, Jun had decided on a Pokémon to focus his research on to start with. The Applin that is present in Route 5. From the SystemDex, he knew that there are 3 evolution paths diverging from the initial form of Applin, and through his SystemDex, he also knew exactly how to trigger each one. He just had to figure out a way to structure his experiments, but first, he needed to familiarize himself with their habitats.

As the train rolled into Turffield Station, Jun felt the energy of the vibrant town energizing him further. “Let’s head to Route 5,” he announced excitedly, standing up to gather his bag.

With Gardevoir leading the way, Jun and Echo met little trouble along the way, the psychic Pokemon's unretracted aura sending the lower level pokemon scurry away. As they approached the lush terrain of Route 5, the air was filled with the cheerful sounds of Pokémon calls harmonizing with the bustling movement of trainers and wild Pokémon engaged in their daily lives.

Echo, cradled in Jun's hood, swiveled his head left and right, peering at every new thing that they came across. ‘Explore! Explore!’ he repeated excitedly. Jun smiled at Echo's enthusiasm; the little Pokémon had already wormed his way into his heart.

Their expedition led them to a colorful building marked as a Pokémon Nursery. It was nestled to the side of the main road of Route 5, a copse of trees poorly hid the sprawling high fence that blocked off a significant area. Curiosity piqued, Jun decided to step inside.

Inside, the nursery was a bustling hub of activity. Breeders cared for various Pokémon, ensuring they were healthy and happy. "Welcome!" an older woman greeted warmly, her hands busy tending to a gaggle of baby Pokémon, a group of Toxel that was a wriggling mass trying to escape her ministrations.

Jun introduced himself as an intern researcher from Sinnoh, relatively new to the region of Galar, he then briefly shared his research focus, hoping to document and verify through what processes or under which conditions these pokemon would diverge during evolution. The woman's brow furrowed in thought. "You’re researching branching evolution, like how Toxel has two separate evolutions? How coincidental! As you can see, we actually just hatched a clutch of Toxel eggs last week. Most of them are accounted for, 1 each to the trainer of the parents and 1 was spoken for by a passing trainer, however that still leaves this little one."

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She picked up a squirming Toxel that stared back at him with unfocused eyes.

"I was just going to release her into the Wild Area once she's grown up a little," the breeder explained. "But if you're looking for a Toxel for your research, she might be a good fit for you. This little lady is the quietest of the bunch, and she hasn't exhibited any aggressive behaviors yet. Rather rare for Toxels I must say."

Taking a brief moment to consider, Jun mulled over this decision. “I’d love to take her!” Jun decided. “She would be a perfect subject to begin my studies on what causes them to evolve differently. How much would I owe you for her?”

The breeder cradled the baby Toxel with one arm and waved his question away with the other, “I was going to release her in a few weeks anyways, you're actually doing me a favor by taking her off my hands.” She stood up slowly, depositing the squirming baby into Jun’s arms. A slight tingle spread from where the pokemon contacted his skin, nothing painful but just a little numbing. The breeder then led him to a cozy corner of the nursery where there was a tiny cubicle squared away from the hustle and bustle with flimsy plastic barriers, messily covered with documents. “Sorry for the mess, I swear sometimes the paperwork fights back harder than the babies,” the breeder chuckled. “Let’s sign the release forms and then I can hand over her pokeball.”

Jun took a moment to let the idea settle in, he supposed it was true that plans couldn't keep up with changes. He had all these plans in his head for the Applin experiments but it wasn't too much of a waste to switch to Toxel, the difficulty would be higher, but it was just a matter of time. Sooner or later, he would like to do a paper on every Galarian branching evolution anyways.

Setting the Toxel down gently, he prodded the bulge in his hood. “Echo, meet your new friend!” Jun lifted the Blipbug out of his hood and set him on the ground, Echo swung his oversized head excitedly, repeating the name ‘Toxel!’ in its melodic chirp. Toxel wobbled over to Echo, intrigued by the smaller Pokémon’s telepathic call.

With a gentle wave from Gardevoir, the two babies soared through the air with a chirp and a cry, before landing directly in Gardevoir's embrace. Her motherly nature shine through as she babbled telepathically at the two, inciting cries of joy from both.

With Toxel happily nestled in Gardevoir's arms and Echo nestled safely back in his hood, the trio turned quartet bade farewell to the breeders and stepped back into the beautiful expanse of Route 5. Jun could barely contain his giddiness, but there was still an underlying tone of uncertainty that simmered beneath his excitement.

As the sun dipped low in the sky, painting the horizon in hues of crimson and gold, Jun ruminated on how they would capture data on Toxel’s behaviors over the coming weeks.

“Let’s set up camp here for the night,” he decided, glancing at Gardevoir, who nodded affirmatively.

Under their shared awning of stars, Jun reflected on his day’s events, retrieving his laptop from his backpack, he started brainstorming ideas to verify Toxel’s diverging evolutions.

With the backdrop of Echo’s chirps and Toxel snoring lightly on his lap, Jun leaned back against Gardevoir and closed his eyes, opening the SystemDex while gently stroking the newest member of their party.

In the end, Jun had decided against bonding with the Toxel. He had spent the last few hours debating with himself, weighing the pros and cons. On the one hand, she was cute and he felt responsible for her but on the other he wasn’t the biggest fan of Toxtricity. He was also certain that the professor might want to include a few of the Toxel line to enrich the variety of pokemon in the lab, and it didn't feel right to bond with a pokemon just to send them away later on. Toxel would just be a temporary partner in this journey, but Jun would do his best to give her the best care he could while they were still together.

Bringing up Toxel's stat sheet,

Pokemon: Toxel

Ability: Static

Gender: Female

Level: 1

Moves: Nuzzle, Growl

Jun glanced over it, slightly disappointed that the unbonded page didn't include the Pokemon's nature. He really had his work cut out for him, maybe he should ask Professor Aria if there were any papers on accurately determining or quantifying Pokemon Nature back in Sinnoh. He exited the SystemDex, sent a quick email to his mentor, closed his laptop, picked up the babies and headed back into his tent.