With an unexpected stroke of luck that day, Cain didn’t want to waste the opportunity and decided to wake up Floette, who was peacefully resting in the pocket of his chest.
At that moment, Floette was at level 42 and had mastered both Grass- and Fairy-type moves. Her small size allowed her to stay close to Cain, serving as a sort of second line of defense.
During the exploration of the Hoenn desert ruins, it was Floette’s Protect move that stopped Ninjask after it had broken through Gengar’s Protect.
However, once she evolved into Florges, her size would reach 1.1 meters, making it impossible for her to continue fulfilling that role. Moreover, the time to evolve had already come—her physical development had reached its limit, and advancing further required enhancing that capability.
On the other hand, Floette had the lowest quality among all of Cain’s main Pokémon, with a dark green quality, whereas even Flygon, the Pokémon he used as a mount, had already reached blue quality.
Originally, Floette had been trained mainly as the team’s healer, so Cain hadn’t required such a high quality from her. However, as she perfected her moves, she naturally learned to switch between her Grass and Fairy types.
This led her to take on part of the Grass-type attacker role as well. Therefore, her current quality was no longer sufficient to meet these expectations.
Awakened by Cain, Floette opened her sleepy eyes, somewhat disoriented. She had been sleeping while Cain flew endlessly over the ocean and had no idea how much time had passed. However, upon noticing the glow coming from the Shiny Stone in Cain’s hand, an inner impulse shook her.
"This is for you," Cain said with a smile but added a warning. "First, adjust your state. Prepare yourself as best as you can."
Floette, excited, nodded vigorously. She jumped down from Cain’s shoulder and settled on the ground. Extending small roots from her feet into the earth, she absorbed the sunlight that bathed her body while her petals fully opened. Her body began to emit a faint green glow—Synthesis.
After half an hour, the lights faded, and the roots retracted. Floette was now in her best condition. Her eyes sparkled with eagerness as she looked at Cain, awaiting what was to come.
"First, eat this," Cain said, handing her some Pokéblocks.
Floette obediently began eating the Pokéblocks. Although daily training was intense and battles were exhausting, life with Cain was much more comfortable than her existence in the wild.
Moreover, her training had accelerated growth that once seemed impossible, and the company of the team made her feel safe in every battle.
As she finished eating, Cain pulled out a small vial from his storage—a quality-enhancing potion specially designed for Floette.
Since old Matsuda’s research did not include specific references for Fairy-type Pokémon, Cain had developed the formula by adapting it with the help of his system. Although the ingredients were difficult to obtain, he had finally managed to prepare it.
"Drink this now," Cain instructed.
Floette took the potion without hesitation, but her expression immediately twisted into a bitter grimace.
Cain burst into laughter, and without wasting time, he placed the Shiny Stone on Floette’s head.
To many, using a supreme-quality Evolution Stone on a Pokémon with Dark Green quality might seem like a waste. Adding the cost of the quality-enhancing potion, the resources invested were enough to acquire a more powerful Pokémon from the start.
However, for Cain, the bond and compatibility with his Pokémon were the most important things. If one didn’t fit with him—like what had happened with Poliwag—he was willing to let it go, regardless of the time and resources spent.
As soon as the Shiny Stone made contact, Floette’s body began to emit an intense glow, enveloping her completely—far brighter than in normal evolutions. Beneath the light, her silhouette stretched and transformed rapidly.
The system monitored every detail of the evolution process. Through the glow, it was possible to see how Floette was visibly growing, her form changing in real time.
Floette was evolving into Florges.