[video]

[meteorman]

[Do y'all remember that old man that got hit in the face with a stick by his starter? He's back, though this time he's left holding the camera up to his Elgyem and her psychic powers, which produces a much more stable feed and leaves his hands free. It works quite well. Eleanor is a wonderful little assistant now that she's not throwing things at him.]

Greetings, all. I will cut straight to the point: is it possible to delay or even permanently halt evolution in a Pokémon? I would like to conduct an experiment as to the effects of such a thing on Pokémon growth, but first it will be necessary to determine if it's possible in the first place.

[The 'dex didn't have the information he needed, but it's really just a basic field-guide and not an in-depth informational source. It looks like he's already caught a potential test subject: a Starly sits on his shoulder, looking supremely unbothered at the prospect of being a guinea pig. Do guinea pigs even exist in this universe? He doesn't think so.

God, this place is great.]

Comments

[Video]

[monge]

Oh, I know this one, zura! There's this little tiny rock you can buy that keeps them from getting bigger, ah...like this, zura...

[And just to demonstrate, Komasan turns to the Vanillish happily floating next to him, smashes his hand into the Pokemon's snow-covered head, and pulls out an average looking grey rock from within it.]

Yeah, like this, zura.

[His Pokemon looks horrified.]

[meteorman]

[Well that's... that sure is a thing.]

Just a simple rock?

[monge]

Mn...no, I think it's called something, zura...

[As Komasan begins to think about it, he just sort of casually pushes the rock back into his Pokemon, the stone lodged into its forehead. Cross-eyed, the Vanillish can only struggle to look at it, but he can't complain. At least he got it back...]

...Forever stone, zura?

[meteorman]

[Well, if the Vanillish doens't mind...]

Do you know where I might be able to find one?

[video]

[defyingfrigidity]

There are ways to prevent evolution, yes. One way is through the use of an Everstone.

[Elsa's camera shakes a little as she turns it around, the view switching from her to her elegant purple noodle-dragon curled up in the grass nearby. When Idunn realizes she's being stared at, she raises her head and coos softly, revealing the stone hanging from a small, pretty chain around her neck.]

If a pokemon holds or wears one, no matter what level they are, they won't evolve.

[meteorman]

[Alright, so, Elsa is being very helpful (in a much less disturbing way than Komasan decided to be), but Ford is about to ruin it by getting distracted. See, he's read his 'dex through about ten times at this point, and he knows that's not the color that noodle dragon should be. His breeder's handbook explained the basics of shininess, but he's never actually seen one as of yet.]

Thank you; that's a much simpler solution than I thought there might be.

[Still glancing at the Dragonair. Yep. Gosh, that is really something else...]

Your Dragonair is stunning, by the way.

[defyingfrigidity]

It is! I was worried when Idunn started feeling stressed the closer she came to her evolution level... I thought I had to do something extreme. But it's simple, and it doesn't hurt them, so it's a method I can certainly approve of.

[She holds out a hand and Idunn wiggles forward, making a happy noise as Elsa scratches under her chin.]

She is. I received an egg as a gift when I was a new arrival, and she's what came out of it. When I saw that her color isn't the default color for her species... well. [She laughs.] That just made her even more special to me.

[meteorman]

[Shiny Pokemon appeal to Ford probably more than he'd be comfortable admitting out loud. They're like the Pokemon version of deformed jellybeans: still perfectly good, but different in a way that can only really happen by rare chance.]

It's incredibly rare, from what I've read. It must be some sort of ultra-recessive trait, perhaps tied to multiple genes.

[That would explain why it shows up so rarely. It takes not just one switch being flipped but exactly the right series.]

But I'm sure there's research into that I can look up later. You say she was stressed? I hadn't realized they might not want to evolve.

[Video]

[tearsofademon]

Well, there's Everstones, that'll prevent evolution as long as they're holding one. You can get them from Goldenrod.

[don't mind the Paras scuttling by, a stone like that carefully nestled between his mushrooms.]

Sometimes, too, they just don't want to evolve, so they don't. ...Well, I mean, I guess I seem to attract that type a lot, so maybe it's just my experience, but.

[meteorman]

Ah, so they can purposefully prevent evolution. I didn't realize.

[His guides certainly never mentioned. He really needs to pick up some more in-depth literature soon... maybe they'll have that in Goldenrod too?]

Have many of your Pokémon opted simply not to evolve, then?

[tearsofademon]

A few. Glen could've a while ago. Same with Marian, though, well, she's kind of a special case in a lot of ways... And I'm pretty sure Rose doesn't want to either, with the way she avoids Moon Stones, but she probably doesn't really count.

Aran doesn't seem to be able to do it by himself, though. That's why I got him an Everstone, though with the level he's reached, it's probably more of a lucky charm for him at this point...

[meteorman]

[So some can prevent it themselves and some need help with it, just as some prefer to evolve and some are stressed by the idea. It's incredible how intelligent and varied they are as a species.]

So it would be prudent, then, to discuss it with my own Pokemon at some point? We probably ought to all be agreed on something like this.

[video]

[eclectictype]

Oh! I know this one!

[Yes, hello, there's an excitable teenage girl on the feed right now with a just-as excitable orange Pikachu with her.]

You can stop evolution by pushing the "B" button! It startles them out of doing so--somehow it works here as well as it did in the games, it's super weird! But you don't have to do that, either, since there's a held item to keep it from happening or they just decide not to! There are pros and cons to keeping a Pokemon from evolving, they will learn moves at a faster rate and they can still be strong, however their HP will not max out as it should if they do not evolve nor will they be as strong as their fully evolved form.

[She said that practically all in one breath, next Jade swings over the camera from herself and her Pikachu to show a Staraptor perched on a chair.]

This is the fully evolved form of the Pokemon you have right now! He is a Staraptor--obviously a conglomerate of raptors and starlings, though a starling is a passerine. His name is Christopher Robin. [She brings the camera back onto herself and smiles.] His name isn't exactly relevant but he is a good bird and people should know his name.

[meteorman]

[Goodness gracious. He asked for information and boy howdy did Jade deliver. And that's not a bad thing! He's always of the mind that being more informed is better.]

I -- I'm very sure he is.

Is there any marked difference between the methods of halting evolution, in terms of effect on Pokémon? I would still like to carry on with the experiment simply to observe it for myself but if there are differences then I am going to have to capture more Starly.

[eclectictype]

In the game mechanics, though some of these like the Everstone were not in the games I played, no--it does not change. However, I imagine since we are actually interacting with Pokemon and they are interacting with us, the "startling them out of it" method might not be so good. Your Pokemon might not trust you then if you are prone to giving them jumpscares, right?

I think your other Pokemon is a Psychic type, isn't it? It can probably communicate with your Starly and relay messages. In my nuclear physicist opinion, open communication between the subject and proctor of the experiment would make for a more satisfying conclusion.

[meteorman]

Ah -- well. She can communicate with Hermes, yes, but her ability to communicate with me is still limited. She has a metal plate to work around.

[He lifts a hand and clangs it twice against the side of his head to demonstrate.]

Still, considering you aren't the first to give me that advice I will most certainly take it to heart.

[.... Wait. Wait. Back up. Back way up.]

Nuclear physicist?

[He doesn't seem disbelieving. If anything, he seems kind of excited.]

[Action] because YOUNG LADY VERSUS OLD GENTLEMAN

[cyan_maid]

[Jane remembers that old man who got hit in the face with a stick by his starter. Frankly, she's hoping that wherever they might be, they're getting along a lot better - oh hey, speak of the devil, there he is on Route 30. Jane clears her throat as she approaches.]

Hello there, sir! Am I interrupting anything?

[meteorman]

[Ah! It's that girl from the dead world. He turns away from the 'gear, letting Eleanor know to turn it off. The Starly on his shoulder ruffles its feathers but otherwise doesn't seem to mind.]

Oh, no! I was conducting an inquiry but my question's been more than answered.

[He plucks the 'gear out of the air and folds it, tucking it back into his coat.]

[cyan_maid]

Oh? What sort of inquiry?

[Even if his questions have been answered, it's actually kind of interesting to meet someone who is also, by nature, inquisitive.]

[video]

[journalname]

You are...experimenting on your Pokemon?

[He sees he is the only person to respond to this with any concerns at all, okay]

[meteorman]

I see no reason not to. There is already a wealth of scientific information to be found about Pokémon, but I have questions of my own that I will enjoy answering far more via experiment than hoping I hit upon the answer in a book.

[Or a periodical. Does the Pokémon world have scientific periodicals? Oh boy, he hopes so.]

[journalname]

Will preventing their evolution hurt them?

[because tbh permanently preventing it sounds like a thing that will 100% be bad]

[islandshore]

[Well, here we have a young man-- about twenty-one or so, though his hair's awfully grey. He has... mixed feelings on this subject, preferring evolution himself.

Still, it is interesting.]

Sounds like you already got your answers, but have you gone over it with your team? Might want to pick a Pokémon that doesn't mind staying small over one that wants to reach its full potential.

Otherwise, it might make you study a bit tougher.

[meteorman]

You have a very good point. There's no reason for us to be working at cross-purposes.

[He doesn't think of his Pokemon as a team in the traditional sense, but he certainly has begun to think of them as a strange little menagerie of research assistants. The important thing is that they're clearly sentient, so the idea that they should have some say in participating in an experiment makes sense.]

[islandshore]

Yeah, and you'd be surprised at how easy some of them communicate. I've seen Pokémon write and text. Some have even tried to learn to talk...

There's a lot of room for research, I think. Never mind that Psychic types can use telepathy to communicate with people directly.

[Which is great for those who want an easy interpreter. It's certainly helped him a number of times.]