Elf: Start your slow-paced life after becoming a farmer.

“Okay, Karl, I’ll have Milotic leave you some hot water. You should get some rest too.” Nemo said, waving to Karl before turning and walking back into the camp.

Watching Nemo walk into the camp, Carl stretched, then sat down quietly, waiting for the Pokémon to return.

Because of the extreme temperature difference between day and night in the desert, the desert temperature at night can be considered cooler than during the day.

As a gentle breeze blew by, Karl squinted contentedly, and soon after, Winged Bear returned to Karl's side with Straight-Charging Bear.

Although Carl had just given Winged Eevee a bath yesterday, Winged Eevee, unlike Espeon which is obsessed with cleanliness, sat down right next to Carl.

"came back?"

Upon noticing that Zhenyi had brought the Straight Bear back, Karl immediately snapped out of his daze, looked the Straight Bear up and down, and then asked, "Straight Bear, you didn't bring anything back, did you?"

It wasn't that Carl didn't trust Straight Bear, but rather that the guy didn't have a clear concept of what things he couldn't pick up.

According to Straight Bear, anything placed on the ground and not touched directly by anyone is ownerless, such as fruit on a fruit stand or goods displayed in a shop window.

Upon hearing Carl's question, Straight Bear nodded seriously, his expression as if to say, "I really didn't bring back anyone else's things this time."

Seeing the Straight Bear's appearance, Carl raised an eyebrow, then reached out and picked it up, placing it on his lap for a closer look.

You don't know until you check, and what you find is shocking. Karl found a hairpin, a hundred-dollar Alliance coin, and a teardrop-shaped purple stone in the bear's fur.

Putting aside the question of whether the hairpin and the hundred Alliance Coins were lost by someone else, the stone that Karl finally found was the famous Evolution Stone.

Carl held the Evolution Stone in his hand and looked at the Bear with a serious expression: "Bear, where did you get this?"

"Wow! (I found this in the sand!)"

Upon seeing that Karl was asking about the last glittering purple stone, Zhichong Bear breathed a sigh of relief and then barked without any guilt.

Seeing the unrepentant expression on Ursaring's face, Carl breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to the previous two items, if Ursaring had been "picked up" from some unlucky person, it would have been considered theft, since Evolution Stones are high-value items.

However, Karl quickly realized something was wrong. He looked at the charging bear and said in a low voice, "Then where did this hair clip and this Alliance Coin come from?"

"Ugh—(Can I not say it?)"

"Can't!"

Chapter 277 Pipa: Mega Evolution? What is that?

The next day, Carl, Nemo, and the other two got up at dawn, not because they didn't want to sleep in, since they had just started their holiday the day before.

The reason they got up so early was simply because if they got up any later, the summer desert sun would show them what cruelty was.

Sitting around the folding dining table, sleepy-eyed Pipa slowly ate the smoked sandwiches that Chef Xiong had just made.

Papa, who was staying up late every night to study during final exam week and also preparing for practical assessments, was currently suffering from sleep deprivation.

"Master, what are we going to do during the day?" Shinji finished the last sip of milk in his cup, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and then asked Karl about the day's plans.

"Do you have any suggestions?" Karl didn't answer Shinji's question immediately, but instead asked the three of them.

"Is that even a question? Of course, we should go to Glass Bottle City and find a battlefield to have a blast!" Nemo suggested, her eyes shining.

“…” Piper stared at Nemo with dead fish eyes. “I want to take a walk around Glass Bottle City. I didn’t have a chance to explore Glass Bottle City properly last time because I was in a hurry.”

"Want to go shopping?" Nemo seemed to have thought of something, and she shuddered. "How about we go see the new movie starring the champion Karuni?"

Carl raised an eyebrow at Nemo's unusual reaction. Although he didn't know what Nemo had been through that made her so resistant to shopping, Carl thought about it carefully and guessed that it was because of Nemo's sister.

"I'm not really interested in movies." Shinji paused, then added, "But if you want to watch one, I can go with you."

“Karuni?” Karl stroked his chin, recalling information about the Carlos regional champion in his mind.

To be honest, among all the Pokémon champions, Karene is the one with the least presence in Carl's memory.

Whether in the anime or the game, Karune's presence is far less noticeable than that of Kazuya and Rin, who are also women's champions.

However, it is worth mentioning that as the champion of the Carlos region, Karuni herself is an internationally renowned actress. Considering that the Carlos region is based on France, and her own appearance, it is not difficult to guess that her character is inspired by the famous French actress Audrey Hepburn.

What players care about even more is that Karune is the first champion in Pokémon history to have children.

Kalos is the region where Mega Evolution appears in the game. As the regional champion, Karune's ace is Gardevoir, who has the powerful Fairy Skin ability after Mega Evolution.

However, judging from her performance in the game, Karuni's strength is still guaranteed.

However, Karune's performance in the anime "Eight Masters Tournament" is really hard to evaluate.

However, considering that the animation production team knew absolutely nothing about Pokémon, Karen's behavior was somewhat understandable.

Putting aside the games and anime, in the world Carl is currently in, Karune enjoys extremely high popularity among trainers worldwide.

In any world, humans are visual creatures. If you put a Hydreigon and a Garchomp in front of a trainer, most people would choose the Garchomp if the battle intensity is not considered.

As a trainer with both good looks and strong skills, Karune naturally receives a lot of attention and popularity from trainers, which is also the key to her debut as an actress and her high popularity.

Thinking of this, Karl was reminded of the Metagross Mega Stone, Charizard X Mega Stone, and Charizard Y Mega Stone that he had never met through Karni.

'Oh, my darlings, when will I be able to see you again?' Karl thought to himself.

Seeing Karl suddenly lost in thought, Piper and the other two exchanged glances, all of them seeing a hint of confusion in each other's eyes.

"Karl, wake up!" Piper tugged at Karl's sleeve and shouted loudly in his ear.

Carlton snapped out of his illogical reverie after Piper yelled at him right in the face.

"I'm sorry, I just thought of something very regrettable," Karl said with a heavy expression.

"Pity?"

Before anyone knew it, Zhu Lan and Gadriya had appeared behind Karl. After hearing Karl's words, Zhu Lan asked with great interest, "What's going on here? It's barely dawn, how did we end up having a late-night chat?"

Hearing Zhu Lan's voice from behind, Karl snapped out of his reverie and glanced at her before saying in a relaxed tone, "No, we weren't having a heart-to-heart talk; we were just discussing how to pass the time during the day."

"Thank you, so have you come to a conclusion?" Zhu Lan thanked Master Xiong for bringing two folding chairs for her and Jia Deliya, and then asked.

“Right now, our conversation is stuck on whether or not to go see the latest movie starring Champion Karuni,” Nemo explained to Zhulan. “Brother Karuni just spaced out when he heard this suggestion, and then he said what you heard, Sister Zhulan.”

Caldelia subconsciously turned to look at Karl. Considering the context, she believed that Karl's dazed expression was most likely related to Karuni.

'Could it be that this guy also likes watching Karenina's movies? What bad luck.'

According to normal human reasoning, Cattleya's guess is perfectly reasonable, but unfortunately, Karl is clearly not a normal person.

In this world, people who can make connections based on the sequence of Karune -> Kalos -> Mega Evolution -> Mega Stone are probably quite rare, except for Carl.

“Although I don’t know what you’re thinking, Miss Cattleya, your eyes tell me that you’re probably thinking about something bad.” Karl glanced at Cattleya and then reminded her, “Your thoughts are practically written all over your forehead.”

Perhaps because she had spent a lot of time with Karl, Cattleya seemed to have developed some resistance to Karl's sharp criticisms and was not as easily angered, but her expression still became somewhat unpleasant.

However, the reason why Gadriya's face was ugly was not because of Karl's somewhat barbed words, but because what Karl said was almost identical to what Zhulan had said to her last night, only the tone of the two was slightly different.

"Ahem, so Karl, what were you just thinking about?" Seeing this, Zhu Lan immediately changed the subject. "Could it be that you're interested in the movie starring Karen?"

“No, like Shinji, I have absolutely no interest in movies or anything like that,” Carl immediately denied. “I was just thinking about Mega Evolution.”

"I see." Zhu Lan nodded in understanding. "You connected Karune to the Kalos region, and then to Mega Evolution, which originated in the Kalos region, right?"

“That’s right.” Karl glanced at Zhu Lan with some surprise. He hadn’t expected that Zhu Lan’s thought process was so similar to his.

"Mega evolution? What's that?"

Chapter 278 Deafness, however, is a mark of an emperor!

After Carl and Cynthia discussed Mega Evolution, Pipa and Nemo both cast curious glances at Carl.

When it comes to Mega Evolution, most people who have some understanding of the Pokémon universe can easily rattle off a long list of settings related to Mega Evolution.

However, for most native Pokémon living outside the Kalos region, Mega Evolution is a very unfamiliar concept.

Although the transportation technology in the Pokémon world is very advanced, cultural exchanges between regions are very limited.

For example, Cynthia and Cattleya, who are from the Sinnoh region, were unaware of the Phadoid system, which is unique to the Phadoid region, before they came to the Phadoid region.

If it weren't for Dr. Syracuse's paper on Mega Evolution, which garnered widespread attention from Pokémon scholars worldwide, Cynthia would most likely never have known what Mega Evolution was.

"Mega evolution, also known as super evolution, is a special phenomenon that currently only exists in some Pokémon." After discussing the topic of Pokémon, Karl immediately switched to teaching mode. "Simply put, trainers can use a special mineral called a Key Stone to resonate with a Pokémon wearing the corresponding evolution stone, allowing the Pokémon to temporarily transcend the limits of evolution and enter a Mega state."

"Oh!!!" Nemo's eyes lit up with excitement after hearing Carl's explanation. "So, as long as you have a Key Stone and the corresponding Evolution Stone for your Pokémon, you can enter Mega Evolution mode?!"

“No, according to Dr. Blatano’s paper, in addition to possessing the Key Stone and the corresponding Evolution Stone, the trainer also needs to establish a spiritual bond with the Pokémon in order to complete Mega Evolution.” Cynthia corrected based on the information she knew: “Furthermore, Key Stones and Evolution Stones are very rare items, and not something that ordinary trainers can obtain.”

After hearing Zhu Lan's explanation, Karl's expression turned strange.

According to Dr. Blatano's paper, the explanation of the bamboo orchid is indeed without any problem.

But as someone who had played ZA and followed Pokémon Horizon, Carl knew that Dr. Blatano's theory wasn't entirely correct.

First of all, ZA explicitly states that Keystones and Mega Stones can be artificially crafted, but in this day and age, this technology is most likely not yet available.

Secondly, in Horizon Zero Dawn, a certain protagonist actually used his Key Stone to form a bond with a Shiny Lucario during a battle (this is questionable), which allowed the Shiny Lucario he was battling to Mega Evolve.

When Carl saw this part, he was completely dumbfounded. What? A trainer resonated with a wild Pokémon during a battle and cooperated with it to achieve Mega Evolution?

With his exceptional observation skills, Piper noticed the hesitant expression on Carl's face and couldn't help but ask, "Carl, is there anything you'd like to add?"

“No, it’s nothing.” Karl shook his head.

Karl could accept the concept of artificial key stones and artificial evolution stones, after all, the Pokémon world is full of amazing technology, and you never know if a scientist will come up with something amazing tomorrow.

However, Carl couldn't accept the fact that Mega Evolution didn't require bonds. Bonds were to the Pokémon world what Jerusalem was to the Western world. In Carl's eyes, Mega Evolution without bonds was a soulless existence, and he couldn't accept it.

Nemo's curiosity wasn't affected by Carl's strange behavior at all. She looked at Cynthia with bright eyes and asked, "So, Cynthia, among the Pokémon you know, which ones can Mega Evolve?"

As soon as Nemo said that, Karl couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Although no one knew what Carl had thought of, Cynthia still dutifully began to answer Nemo's question: "As far as I know, my ace Garchomp and Lucario have Mega Evolution forms. In addition, Charizard, Metagross, Gengar, and Swampert in Carl's team are also Pokémon that have clearly Mega Evolution forms."

"Huh? Carl's team actually has so many Pokémon that can Mega Evolve?" Nemo asked in surprise.

“That’s right, but I’d like to add something: my Charizard is the only Pokémon discovered so far to have two Mega Evolution forms.” Karl finally stopped making fun of the Garchomp and explained.

However, in Carl's memory, Mewtwo, Lucario, and Garchomp are also Pokémon with two Mega Evolutions.

However, Mewtwo's Mega Evolution requires custom development, while Lucario and Garchomp's Mega Evolutions are all rather underwhelming.

"But Nemo, so far, you don't have a Mega Pokémon in your team." Carl couldn't help but tease Nemo, looking at her excited expression. "So, Nemo, you should just stick to Crystallize."

"Not even one?" Nemo's expression turned somewhat dejected upon hearing Carl's words, but she quickly recovered. "In that case, I'll have to seriously consider which Pokémon my second team should catch."

Hearing Nemo's words, Pipa couldn't help but whisper in Shinji's ear, "Given Nemo's personality, shouldn't she be the type who wants it all?"

Shinji nodded silently upon hearing this. Based on Nemo's past performance and actions, she was definitely the kind of person who would do whatever came to mind.

Given Nemo's family background, Shinji wouldn't be surprised if she jumped twice on the spot and then flew up.

"Hey, hey, hey, you two, don't talk bad about me in front of me, okay? I'm not deaf!" Nemo said irritably.

dragon?

Upon hearing the keyword, one of Karl's underlying codes was suddenly triggered, and he instinctively blurted out, "Dragon, that's the mark of an emperor!"

While the three little ones present were used to Karl's daily eccentric remarks, the blonde young lady was not.

After hearing Karl's inexplicable words, Gadriya turned her head and looked at Zhulan beside her with a puzzled expression: "Zhulan, what was this guy just saying?"

“Hmm… I don’t know either.” Zhu Lan shook her head in confusion, then speculated earnestly, “It’s probably some kind of slang from an ancient Eastern country? I remember that Karl’s ancestors seemed to have come to the Sinnoh region from an ancient Eastern country.”

Looking at Zhu Lan, who was seriously analyzing her erratic remarks, Karl was both amused and exasperated: "Ahem, Zhu Lan, actually I was just making things up on the spot. Just take it as a joke."

"Oh, I see." Zhu Lan nodded with a look of sudden realization.

From the expression on Zhu Lan's face, Karl could tell that she had obviously known this all along, and had only just been in Du Jiadelia.

Sigh, what's done is done. I'd better go buy some melon seeds for Gadria.

Chapter 279 Cattleya: Ha, childish man.

In fact, Zhu Lan was no stranger to Karl's sudden outbursts.

When Carl was a child, Dr. Yamanashi took him to Dr. Iris's research institute, Iris noticed that Carl often uttered nonsensical words.

However, Carl was unaware that Zhu Lan had discovered this so early; he thought that Zhu Lan had once again connected with him on the same wavelength.

After smiling at Zhu Lan, Karl stood up and said to everyone, "Let's go, don't just stand here. Let's go to Glass Bottle City first and then think about what to do to pass the time."

"Great!"

……

"So how did we end up here?" Pipa stared at Nemo, who was inviting Gadriya to a fight, with dead fish eyes, her voice tinged with resentment.

"Hmm...maybe it's because there's free air conditioning here?" Karl joked with a smile. Well, it must have been a joke, right?

At this moment, Karl, along with Nemo and the other two, arrived at the battle arena that was being rented out in the Alliance Building, together with Zhulan and the others.

To be honest, Carl greatly appreciates Nemo's efforts, after all, he once had an almost fanatical attitude towards Pokémon battles, just like Nemo.