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Cynthia pointed out the potential drawbacks of using Evolution items, clearly out of concern for Luther.
Luther waited until Cynthia finished speaking before explaining that it was to prepare for Mai's Eevee's future evolution.
Cynthia suddenly became interested. After all, her own Glaceon took quite a long time to decide upon, with a lot of internal struggle, before she finally made the decision with Eevee's help. The hardest part of raising an Eevee was definitely that final moment of choice.
All the items in the Evolution section were protected by a layer of Steel-Type glass, virtually eliminating the risk of accidentally triggering the wrong evolution by touch.
What was amusing was that in the Evolution display area, each Evolution item had a waist-high board in front of it. Whenever it was an Evolution stone usable by Eevee, the model on the board was naturally an Eevee.
Mai had already let her Eevee out. It swayed left and right, staring at the images of various evolved forms.
But Mai's attention was soon drawn elsewhere, to the rack next to a Slowking cutout, where there was a crown the size of a palm.
"Ah, if only I had used the King's Rock earlier. Slowking looks way smarter."
"I actually think Slowpoke is pretty great, its dopey expression is super cute," Luther said, having also noticed the King's Rock.
"Oh? Looks like Eevee is having a tough time choosing." Cynthia crouched down, watching Eevee pacing back and forth in front of the cardboard cutouts.
Eevee kept looking between Leafeon and Flareon. Cynthia tried to pick Eevee up and place it in front of the Glaceon board, but after hesitating, Eevee darted away.
Eevee's paw hovered over Leafeon's sign for a long time, but after some thought, it withdrew and retreated back to Mai.
"You don't like any of them?" Mai asked as she picked Eevee up.
Eevee shook its head.
"Then that leaves Espeon, Moon Eevee, and…" Luther pulled out his phone, found a picture, and placed it in front of Eevee. "What do you think about this one?"
Eevee's eyes immediately lit up. It pressed its paw on Luther's hand, not letting him pull the phone away.
Luther had seen this kind of look before… it was the same look he used to have when staring at his 2D waifu.
Cynthia leaned in. A white body, ribbon-like feelers flowing around it, pink accents on the ears, top of the head, tail, and feet.
"Oh, a Sylveon. According to the Kalos professor, its evolution method is quite special, it depends on the bond with the trainer and mastery of Fairy-type moves. So far, there's no known shortcut."
Mai looked at the Sylveon photo, then at Eevee, who was chanting softly while keeping its paw pressed on the picture. It seemed like Eevee had already made up its mind.
"By the way, how did you get your Eevee to evolve into Glaceon?" Luther asked curiously.
"Pretty much the same as you, I let her choose her own future. I actually hoped she'd become a Sylveon, but she just thought Glaceon looked better."
In Pokémon Trainer circles, this sentence was the ultimate flamebait. Any forum post containing it was sure to ignite at least seven or eight pages of heated debate.
Some forums had outright banned the topic altogether…
Seeing that a decision had been made, Cynthia had no plans to linger on this floor. In her opinion, buying accessories here was a total rip-off.
Cynthia preferred commissioning pieces from local artisans over buying the overpriced luxury goods in display cabinets. Luther agreed after just a glance at the passing display shelves.
The eighth floor mainly featured Pokémon books, documents, and merchandise.
Luther and Mai decisively headed toward the merchandise area. Cynthia hesitated for a moment before turning toward the book section.
Luther had always ignored advertisements when shopping. But today, he was unexpectedly entertained as he strolled along.
A giant Wigglytuff-shaped bed had a tag next to it: "Giving you the best sleep experience."
Luther thought a Jigglypuff design would've been more fitting, after all, that childhood melody really did have a bit of a Hypnosis effect.
"Mischievous Wobbuffet Coin Bank, Locks away your every cent."
Yeah, no thanks… Luther looked at Wobbuffet's oddly "friendly" stare and felt like it might explode at any second.
"Litwick Night Lamp, Lights up every night for you."
Luther pressed the button, and the lamp glowed an eerie blue. The design wasn't bad and should be acceptable to many, but… wasn't Litwick, according to legend, supposed to steal the life energy of living beings?
"Exploud Alarm Clock, The best wake-up experience ever."
He lightly pressed the alarm, and an ear-shattering roar suddenly burst forth, making all the nearby shoppers cover their ears and glare.
"Best"? Luther figured they might need to revise their definition of that word.
"Gourgeist Blackout Curtains, The best light-blocking experience."
They did block light well… but if you needed to get up at night and suddenly saw Gourgeist's giant face, you probably wouldn't be going back to sleep.
"Slowpoke Treadmill…"
Nope, no need to even read the tagline. Luther didn't know where to begin roasting it. Just seeing two vacant-eyed Slowpokes lying on the treadmill handles was enough to know that not many serious gym bros would ever consider buying this…
"Muk Air Humidifier , Care for Your Skin. Pair with Koffing & Weezing Air Freshener for Best Results!"
The Muk's head was tilted upward, mouth wide open , that's what the humidifier looked like…
Luther facepalmed. How did anyone even come up with this? Why Muk and Koffing & Weezing, of all Pokémon?!
"Quagsire Lawnmower, Perfectly Maintains Your Lawn."
Got it. The person who designed this must have had a personal grudge against Quagsire…
"Cofagrigus Body Pillow, The Best Hug Experience, A Cure for Insomnia!"
The designer even lengthened and thickened Cofagrigus's little arms. Perfect. Just right for wrapping around a customer's neck.
Damn it, thought Luther. Did these companies cut their product managers' salaries or what? Why else would they come up with such outrageous merch!
He had originally planned to buy some nostalgic merchandise to relive childhood memories, but instead, Luther discovered a bunch of social-revenge-style products made by disgruntled product managers.
Thankfully, one item turned things around, a U-shaped Altaria neck pillow gave Luther a surprisingly good experience. The U-shaped design made it look like Altaria was spreading its wings to give you a gentle hug. It was so beautiful that even someone like Luther, with minimal shopping desire, was instantly melted. He immediately had the store assistant pack it up. The price? Only 100. Totally worth it!
"Oh, this life-sized Gardevoir plush looks kinda interesting… Wait a sec, did they actually design built-in leggings underneath? That's messed up. Completely tone-deaf. One-star review!"
After walking around a bit, Luther regrouped with Mai, only to find she had also bought a neck pillow, hers was a Milotic version. Honestly, the way Milotic was coiled in a tail-biting pose was impressively well-crafted.
It took them a while to locate Cynthia. Eventually, led by Eevee, Luther and Mai found her deeply engrossed in a book in a quiet corner of the literature section.
"Oh, Luther, come take a look at this , you're gonna love it!"
Cynthia excitedly pulled him over and handed him one side of the picture book.
"…This is…"
Luther's face turned beet red instantly.
"Isn't it amazing? She never even told me about this shoot. Absolute perfection!"
It really was top-tier. In fact, there was no reason not to call it that , it was a photo book of Diantha.
Cynthia, didn't you say you came to check out academic literature? And you're hiding in a corner flipping through this?!
Luther's wholesome view of Cynthia was shattered. He felt spiritually betrayed… but still turned another page.
That beautiful figure , you'd never guess from her usual public appearances. She had been hiding it so well?
Cynthia clicked her tongue in admiration. "Swimsuits and bikinis are boring. I prefer this one. Look , the sheer fabric, that delicate veil, the subtle silhouette. The black stockings underneath add depth and enhance the lighting. Don't you think Diantha would look even better with long hair?"
"…Did you swap bodies with Lance today?"
"Hmph, you clearly don't appreciate art. That body, the lighting, the outfit , how can you not get it? This is art!"
Cynthia was disappointed by Luther's lack of artistic sensibility and felt the need to educate him. She continued her detailed critique of Diantha's photo book.
Luther really wanted to walk away… but his body seemed a bit too honest at the moment.
"Imagine this , long hair cascading down, a backless dress, shot from behind… what a vibe that would be."
Luther suddenly recalled that Alder had once tried to flirt with Cynthia. Now, in hindsight, it seemed like Alder actually got off easy.
"Cynthia, how about you do a photo book too?"
Crap. The photo book must've scrambled his brain , he blurted it out before realizing how wild it sounded.
Cynthia paused. "I'm not some idol or pop star. Why would I shoot one?"
Realizing he'd said something stupid, Luther didn't dare continue the conversation. He awkwardly laughed it off and picked up another book to pretend-read.
Wait, what's this content…?
Machamp posing in various Bulk Up stances. Pangoro shadow-boxing with gloves on…
"Oh, this one's probably made for Pokémon. Even among them, there are fans of celebrity 'mons. See this Feraligatr? Super popular. My Corsola's a big fan."
Dammit, Luther thought. I almost forgot Mai was here this whole time. She probably heard that entire conversation about the photo book…
Corsola suddenly popped out of her Poké Ball. When she saw the Feraligatr photo book in Luther's hand, her eyes sparkled. She bounced up and down eagerly, and the moment he placed the book in front of her, she fell into an enraptured daze.
Then she picked up another one , one with a Gardevoir and Kirlia making heart poses, a Sylveon winking seductively, and an Audino…
This time, Slowpoke appeared from its ball. The usually sluggish Pokémon suddenly burst into uncharacteristic speed, tiptoeing and reaching for the book in Luther's hands.
"Here, take it!"
Luther handed the book over, and Slowpoke instantly reverted to its usual slowpoke-y state.
What the hell is this? Some kind of lewd art switch?!
"…What's with your Pokémon?" Luther hesitated, but finally asked Mai.
"Just these two really… I don't even know when they started getting into this stuff."
'Nope. Can't stay on this floor anymore. Gotta bounce.'
Dragging a clearly reluctant Cynthia, who still wanted to buy another copy of Diantha's photobook, and pushing Mai forward, Luther made a beeline for the elevator.
(End of Chapter)