Let's talk about the Water Stone!

 

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“A peculiar stone that makes certain species of Pokémon evolve. It is a clear light blue. ”

The Water Stone is one of the first evolutionary stones discovered and studied, triggering the final stage of six different Pokémon evolutionary lines, all ending in a Water type. 

Depending on the source, it is described slightly differently, such as light blue, ultramarine blue, or simply decorated with "little blue spots"; empirical observation suggests water is trapped beneath its surface. It's not uncommon for the color of a rock or mineral to vary depending on the specific specimen, some varieties more than others, but what's quite interesting here is the connection to the element of water, which obviously can't be explained simply by being blue.

Much more direct and fascinating is the possibility that the Water Stone contained water even before being imbued with evolutionary energy: perhaps, it was nothing other than enhydro agate.

Enhydro, or enhydro agate, is a mineral nodule composed of chalcedony that contains pockets of water (and sometimes petroleum) trapped within the stone during its formation. The water is often visible in the form of bubbles, which can move just below the surface if the stone is turned; shaking it allows you to even hear the splashing of water inside. Each enhydro is precious: the formation of this stone takes thousands of years (new enhydros are likely forming even as you read this article!), which means that even the fluids encapsulated within it, if the enhydro has been kept in optimal conditions, could date back thousands, even millions of years; most of the enhydros in circulation have been dated to the Eocene. Which, yes, is a long, long time ago: between forty and sixty million years ago! 

Even more astonishing, perhaps, is that life has been found within this beautiful stone. In a 2015 study, led by a geophysicist and a microbiologist, living bacteria were found within an enhydro the team had examined: a tiny prehistoric ecosystem.

The next time you evolve your Lombre into Ludicolo and happen to hold this geological marvel in your hands, it's worth thinking about the incredible conditions that allowed it to reach you! 

(If you have a smattering of Galarian, you can find a summary of the aforementioned study here).

Trivia and fun facts:

• In ancient times, agate was described and named right here, in Trinacris! 

• For a brief period in Kanto in the late 1990s, mysterious cases were documented of Pokémon accessing their final evolutionary stage not through exposure to Water Stones, but simply by battling wild Onyx. These events occurred in fleeting encounters that were difficult to study, but the most widely accepted theory to explain this mystery is that the Onyx in question had fed on nearby Water Stones, which had then become part of their rocky bodies. Their power would have no effect on an Onyx, but a Pokémon compatible with Water Stones that came into contact with the contaminated Onyx could have, indeed, evolved! According to this hypothesis, a similar mechanism could theoretically occur in other Rock-type Pokémon, such as the Geodude evolutionary line, but so far the phenomenon has only been observed in connection with Onyx.

• Despite their connection to the Water type, Onyx are more likely to be found around volcanoes.

 

Read about other the other evolution stones HERE! 

 

Prof.ssa Roberta Camara

Università degli Studi di Panormus 

 

🌵🎨 All the drawings in this page (and probably of all the others too, unless otherwise specified) were made by our artists, Furiarossa e Mimma. The artwork depicting the Water Stone is a sprite of the Pokémon Company. 🌵🎨