140th moon [video]

[paladinlost]

Applin evolves into Flapple when exposed to a Tart Apple, and into Appletun when exposed to a Sweet Apple. That's simple enough.


[You know what's a good place for a video transmission? The produce section of Celadon's most overpriced grocery store. Who cares if anyone else is trying to access the watermelons? Some questions need immediate answers.]


But does that still apply if they are cut in pieces, or blended into a smoothie? And what if you bake an apple pie using both types at once? Would the effects cancel each other out, or would the apple that most influences the taste win?


[A man's arm enters the camera's field of view, presumably to grab something off the display Cecil is blocking. Without paying much attention, he moves just enough to allow it through, without actually moving out of the way.]


There's the matter of Alcremie's sweets, too. They could easily be melted in a pan, then mixed together. Would a Milcery holding the resulting confection be able to evolve? Surely someone has tested it before.


[Barely visible over his shoulder, a Sneasler rolls her eyes. She traveled through time to listen to that?]

Comments

[behindblueskin]

You present an interesting question. It is certainly one without a straightforward answer.

[Right now, Keldor's understanding of evolutionary mechanics involves "leveling up", "happiness" and "exposed to elemental rocks"

Things like "take X amount of damage", "must use a certain move X number of times", "be held a certain way" or any other crazy evolutionary requirement Game Freak hasn't thought up yet, like "bounce it on your knee" or "sing it a song" are still things he's yet to deal with.]

I would think that it must be the specific item in question, unaltered. But... Perhaps the only way to truly learn the answer is to experiment.

[On things like sweet and tart apples, of course.]

[paladinlost]

Had I thought about it earlier, I would have tried splitting a Razor Claw or a Peat Block in two.

[While still using them at the correct time of the day/month, because Cecil knows when to not pick fights against this world's logic.]

Still, edible items are, by their very nature, more likely to be substantially modified. Can we even be certain that an unripe or a rotting Sweet Apple would be considered "unaltered"? Would it make a difference?

[behindblueskin]

[Oh boy. The insanity of a world that won't let you step up on a ledge that's three whole inches higher than the ground around it. Keldor ranted about that one for a solid hour while still in the early days of his journey.]

This is true. Freshness level would potentially affect it enough to render it "altered". Perhaps these apples are a special kind of cultivar. One where freshness is prolonged.

[Freshness would be important, because with everything else that gets stuffed inside a backpack, an apple of any kind will probably get lost in there until it starts to smell or turns to sauce.]

[paladinlost]

This world possesses preservation methods far more advanced than any Blizzard spell, but even they have their limits. Modifying and carefully selecting the apples themselves would indeed be helpful.

[He has no idea how that would be done, but it sure would be useful.]

However, any impact freshness may still have on evolution should deserve a warning before the purchase.

[behindblueskin]

An indicator of when the most optimal time for use of such apples is, perhaps?

[Sell-by dates on your evolutionary items. This world is as logical as Trolla.]

[paladinlost]

Something like that, yes. After all, if the state of the apple could potentially affect its ability to induce evolution, it could just as well influence the strength of the resulting form.

[Beyond the weakness caused by the temporary stomachache and discomfort that come with eating a rotten apple, that is.]

[behindblueskin]

An undesirable outcome. Especially if it is one you intend to battle with.

[He'd like his pokemon to be strong during matches, not struggling with evolution-induced food poisoning at the worst possible time.]

[paladinlost]

It could even potentially affect other types of evolutionary items. Would a Starmie transformed by a stone with a greater percentage of impurities be as strong as one that evolved after touching a purer gem?

[And how would they even be able to tell?]

At least in that specific case, we'd not have to worry about the side effects of food poisoning in battle.

[behindblueskin]

[Now you've got Keldor worried. He managed to earn enough money to buy stones for his Growlithe and Hisuian Voltorb. If those stones are bad, it might make their evolved forms weaker.

Assuming Cecil's theories prove correct.]

This is quite the theory. And to properly test it out would require several pokemon and the necessary items if one is to determine if any imperfections would weaken it.

[Shame a pokemon can't be de-evolved to test multiple items on them and thus cut down on how many you'd need.]

[paladinlost]

Both of which would be limited, either by our available PC space or by our wallet. We'd need a way to determine the purity of the stones, too. I'm no jeweler; if an imperfection is not visible to the naked eye, I cannot find it. And surely the initial strength of a Pokémon also matters.

[So many interesting tests to run, yet so many obstacles stopping him from actually trying. How is a man supposed to learn about science in these conditions?]

[behindblueskin]

[Keldor hears you, man. He's a bit of a scholarly type himself, if of a more magical bent. And he'd love to test this out; see what comes of it.]

Then perhaps we may find ourselves relegated to taking whatever we get while hoping for the best, or collaborate with others in order to procure an adequate amount of test subjects.

[He just might be down for that. :>]

[paladinlost]

I'd not mind purchasing multiple stones in order to compare them.

[His wallet would weep, certainly, but raising too many additional Pokémon would be more of an issue?]

I wonder if a Sableye or a Carbink would be discerning enough to identify impurities, if no other method can be found?

[behindblueskin]

[The things we do... ...for science...

Sableye? Carbink?

Keldor hastily checks his pokedex.

Ah. Yes. Right then.]

Both would be suitable, but I think it might be safer to employ the services of a Carbink, lest one is willing to lose the stone to a Sableye.

[paladinlost]

Oh, Shadowbind is well-trained. She'd never take a stone without permission.

[A beat, because that's not entirely correct.]

Very possibly out of fear that a stranger might see her, mind you, so having external supervision would be ideal.

[behindblueskin]

Oh I was not aware you were offering one of your own.

[He had been thinking that the experiment would require a caught pokemon; just, one that would be caught in future, not caught in the past.]

In which case it sounds like she would be an ideal candidate.

[A Sableye wouldn't eat the equivalent of junk food, would it?]

[paladinlost]

One of the advantages of training a large, eclectic team is that they can cover a wide variety of situations and skills.

[Like gemstone analysis, apparently.]

As long as she can hide beneath furniture, she'll be happy to cooperate.