Time passed second by second. As several Tangrowth and their allies continued absorbing Grotle's energy, they suddenly realized that Grotle possessed an astonishing resistance to their draining attacks. With this realization, they altered their strategy—simultaneously draining energy while accelerating their own growth.
A red light beamed onto Grotle's body, siphoning its strength while another beam landed on the broken ancient tree, channeling energy into its fractured trunk to stimulate regrowth.
"Waaah!~"
At that moment, Grotle let out a powerful roar, stopping the surrounding Pokémon from further absorbing its energy. With another commanding bellow, it forced them to disperse before stepping forward to take matters into its own hands.
Without hesitation, Grotle retaliated with Giga Drain, releasing an eerie crimson glow that ruthlessly drained the Tangrowth and their allies of their energy. It then turned its gaze toward its own teammates, targeting them as well. By siphoning energy from its own allies, Grotle rapidly refined its newfound power.
Once it felt it had absorbed enough and had barely mastered its new ability, Grotle shifted its focus away from the exhausted Pokémon lying on the ground. Instead, it turned toward the ancient tree and released a vibrant green light.
—Shuaaah!
Unlike the thin energy beams emitted by the Tangrowth earlier, Grotle's green light engulfed the entire fractured section of the ancient tree in a radiant glow.
While the Tangrowth had only infused the tree with pure Grass-type energy to promote growth, Grotle's energy combined the forces of Grass, Earth, Sun, Life, and Nature. The result was immediate—a surge of vitality pulsed through the ancient tree.
The broken trunk began to mend, sprouting new wood and sending fresh shoots toward the main body. Before their eyes, the tree's severed section visibly regenerated at an astonishing pace.
In less than five minutes, the ancient tree had been fully restored, its vitality rekindled.
"Grrrr~"
Seeing that it had successfully saved the tree, Grotle—though exhausted—allowed a rare smile to creep across its face.
Just then, the ancient tree suddenly emitted a brilliant emerald glow.
From its branches, leaves, and the vast network of roots that stretched in all directions, shimmering green light drifted through the air before descending upon Grotle.
In an instant, Grotle felt completely rejuvenated. Its stamina was fully restored and even its overall strength had increased slightly.
—It was as if the ancient tree and the forest itself had bestowed their blessing upon it!
Absorbing the sacred energy, Grotle seemed to experience an epiphany. Its gaze shifted to the weakened Pokémon it had previously drained, and a knowing smile formed at the corner of its mouth.
Then, as if becoming one with the forest itself, Grotle's entire body radiated a green aura of life, spreading outward in waves. The healing light cascaded over every Pokémon present, while at the same time, new blades of grass sprouted from the earth.
From the fresh grass, pure life energy shimmered into existence, floating upward like glowing particles before merging into the bodies of every Pokémon around them.
Bathed in this warm verdant glow, the exhausted Pokémon slowly regained their strength, their conditions rapidly improving.
"What move is this?"
Paul, who had been watching from the side, remained expressionless—but internally, he was deeply astonished.
As far as Grass-type healing moves went, Paul knew of only two:
Grassy Terrain – which gradually restored the stamina of grounded Pokémon while boosting the power of Grass-type moves.
Jungle Healing – the signature move of the Mythical Pokémon Zarude, capable of restoring both HP and curing status conditions for the user and its allies.
Yet, the technique Grotle had just used was clearly different from both.
Although it bore a faint resemblance to Grassy Terrain in its ability to revitalize the land, its core function was entirely distinct.
—This was a pure healing technique, focused solely on restoring HP!
It did not enhance Grass-type attacks. It did not cure allies of status ailments like Jungle Healing. But it could heal the user's own status conditions while recovering HP.
Taking everything into account, Paul quickly reached a conclusion:
—Under the blessing of the forest, Grotle had mastered a completely new move!
"From now on, this move will be called—Forest Healing."
Paul declared decisively.
Forest Healing
A Grass-type healing move that channels the power of Grass, Sun, Earth, Nature, Life, and Growth, converting them into a pure restorative light.
Restores ½ of the user's HP; Restores ¼ of allies' HP; Cures the user's status conditions.
"Grrr~"
Grotle let out a contented chuckle and nodded in agreement before continuing to use Forest Healing to revitalize the surrounding Pokémon.
"Grrrr~"
Just as all the Pokémon had fully recovered, a blinding white light suddenly erupted from Grotle's body!
"Evolution?!"
"Eeno~"
"Wooo~"
"Gaa~"
"...!"
Paul and the other Pokémon widened their eyes in unison, all turning toward the glowing figure of Grotle.
Inside the dazzling white light, Grotle instinctively began to absorb all available energy sources, merging them into its evolving body without hesitation.
The roots it had extended underground now grew deeper, greedily extracting every bit of nourishment needed for its evolution.
Gradually, new colors began to mix into the blinding light.
Just like during its previous evolution, green energy intertwined with the radiant glow. But this time, yellow and red hues also emerged, swirling within the white brilliance.
At this moment, Grotle's body seemed to merge with the world itself, resonating in perfect harmony with nature. The ancient trees and the entire forest bathed in a radiant green glow, their shimmering light drifting toward Grotle.
The endless surge of verdant energy poured into Grotle's body!
With an abundance of energy fueling it, Grotle's body began to expand rapidly—1.7 meters, 1.8 meters… 2.2 meters!
In less than three seconds, the evolving Grotle had already surpassed the normal height of a Torterra, continuing to grow into an even more massive form!
2.3 meters, 2.4 meters… 3 meters!
In the blink of an eye, its towering height had caught up to Ursaring—but this was still not the end.
3.5 meters, 3.6 meters… Only when it reached a staggering 4 meters did the transformation finally halt, shifting from sheer expansion to refining its form.
As the last traces of radiant energy faded, the fully evolved Torterra revealed itself—a behemoth of strength and natural majesty, resembling a grand living landscape.
The shrubbery on its back had disappeared, replaced by a single, thick and sturdy tree. Beside the tree stood three symmetrical, gray, triangular rock formations.
Torterra's upper body and lower jaw were a deep green, while two sharp conical protrusions extended from its cheeks.
Its crimson eyes gleamed with an intense aura, and its jagged serrated mouth had a beak-like black tip.
This Pokémon seemed both a guardian of life and an enforcer of judgment.
"Vireee~"
With just a single glance, Electivire—standing over two meters tall—suddenly felt insignificant. It immediately lost interest in playing around!
How the hell did this happen?! This turtle was shorter than me before, and now it's this massive?!
Unacceptable! I challenge you to a duel!
Of course, that was merely its internal monologue. Right now was clearly not the best time for a battle.
"Not bad... not bad at all."
Paul ran his hand along Torterra's massive frame, as if he could feel the very essence of the forest's vitality and the unshakable weight of the earth itself. He repeated his praise twice.
"Raaaa~"
Torterra's eyes curved into a crescent shape—it clearly enjoyed Paul's compliment.
"Raaaa~"
After basking in the moment for a bit, Torterra let out another cry, its gaze turning serious.
"You've mastered a new power? Show me."
Paul took a few steps back, giving Torterra enough space to demonstrate.
"Raaaa~"
Torterra tensed, then stomped its massive feet into the ground. Immediately, thick, thorn-covered vines burst from the earth, rapidly extending toward a distant boulder.
Frenzy Plant!
BOOM!
In an instant, the boulder shattered like brittle paper, obliterated by the sheer force of the attack.
As the vines retracted, Torterra momentarily struggled to move, affected by the move's recoil.
However, thanks to its immense physical fortitude and prior mastery of Power Whip, the aftereffects of the attack didn't last long—within two seconds, Torterra had completely recovered.
With further training, it might not take long before it could ignore Frenzy Plant's recoil entirely.
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