14 Chapter 14: Evolution

When the blue light faded, Vulpix had completely transformed.

The colors of her body had been inverted, leaving most of her body blue with only the tips of her tails, her feet, and some other small parts white. She had also grown a foot in height and several feet in length, not counting her tails that were just as long or even longer than her body. Her looks also became more mature and sharper, with the fur on her hair unfurling into flowy curls and hovering on their own.

Xander and the others instantly felt the room get even colder than when Vulpix was going through her evolution.

'So this is revered as a deity. No wonder these guys are worshiped by those who found them in ancient times,' Xander felt the chill reach his bones but the heat in his chest from having such a Pokemon as his own overwhelmed that feeling.

Xander pulled up his Poketech and turned on the Pokedex to scan Vulpix's new form.

[Ninetales, the Fox Pokemon. Possessing a calm demeanor, this Pokémon was revered as a deity incarnate before it was identified as a regional variant of Ninetales. It creates drops of ice in its coat and showers them over its enemies or uses them as a shield. Anyone who angers it will be frozen stiff in an instant.]

Ninetales reveled in its new power for a few more moments before absorbing the cold in the area. She looked at Xander apologetically.

'Apologies. I didn't mean to lose control like that,' Ninetales instantly apologized. Thanks to her evolution, her personality had gone through a significant change. She had gone from an arrogant princess to a noble queen.

This was common with many Pokemon, their evolution being similar to maturing. It could be said that a Pokemon's true nature could not be fully seen until they reached their final evolution. Many trainers would think that innocent Pokemon turning fierce had something wrong with them when it was their true nature all along.

"No worries," Xander reassured her while reaching out and stroking the fur on her head. It felt cool to the touch but not uncomfortably so. Ninetales leaned into his hand, also enjoying the contact between the two. 

It was a very sweet moment of trainer and Pokemon bonding that was soon interrupted by an unexpected and welcomed guest.

"That's a pretty nice Pokemon. Wanna trade it with me for an Eevee?" a nasal voice said from behind them

Xander turned and saw a young man in his mid-teens walking over to them. His green hair almost made Xander laugh in his face but he was able to hold it in.

"Not interested," Xander tried to dismiss him and get him to leave them alone, not wanting anything to do with the guy. Unfortunately, the guy didn't seem to take the hint.

"Wait, wait, wait. Don't think that I'm trying to scam you. Eevees are super rare and can evolve into a bunch of different Pokemon, including an Ice Type like the one that you have," the guy continued to try and get Xander to trade his Ninetales. If it was not obvious before, it was obvious to the trio now that the guy was trying to scam Xander.

Ninetales were already very rare Pokemon on their own but the Alolan variants were even more rare. They would rarely leave their packs and trying to catch a member of a pack would usually result in a trainer's death.

"I said: Not interested! I won't give away my partner," Xander glared at the teen, wanting to send a clear message that he was not one to mess with. Unfortunately, the person he was talking to seemed to be illiterate.

"If you don't wanna trade, how about a bet?" the guy offered. "You must be here to challenge the gym. Why don't you battle against the gym leader with only that Pokemon there? If you win, I'll give you 500k. If you lose, I get that Pokemon."

Xander smirked when he heard the bet. He looked toward Ninetales to get her permission and the Pokemon nodded in agreement.

"You have a deal. My match is at 3 tomorrow. We'll make the deal in front of the Gym Leader so that neither person can back out afterward."

"Fine with me," the green-haired teen replied before walking back to his group of friends.

When he was gone, Cynthia and Dahlia rushed up to Xander to tell him how reckless he was.

"That was stupid, Xander. You can't act on emotion," Dahlia reprimanded him

"She's right. Even though Ninetales is strong, she is still an Ice Type," Cynthia also showed her concern

Seeing them both worried, Xander smirked. He leaned in close to them and whispered his key to victory and why he was not afraid.

"Don't worry. What you don't know is that when this version of Vulpix turns into Ninetales, she gets a second typing. She becomes an Ice/Fairy Pokemon," Xander told them with an evil glint in his eyes. Since this version of Ninetales was seldom seen outside of Alola, it was obvious that they didn't know this secret just like the teen didn't.

When the duo heard this, they both let out breaths of relief and looked at the teen in pity.

Although Ice Type Pokemon were weak to Fighting, Fairy Types had the advantage over them. Not only was Ninetales' defensive disadvantage taken away, but she also had the firepower. Ninetails was a Pokemon that used her elemental energy for long-range attacks which was the common weakness of Fighting Types who were the exact opposite and had weak defenses to energy-based attacks. Thanks to this, she could beat the basic Fighting Pokemon that the Gym Leader would use in one move.

The scammer had turned into the one getting scammed.

The trio left the room to rent out a private room where Xander wanted to practice Ninetales' new move that she got upon evolution.