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Haro's second evolution happens under much less dramatic circumstances than the first, which Sherri can't help but be grateful for; he's given her enough heart attacks to last a lifetime already. Today, he'd managed to coax Casey into having a friendly bout on the beach, never one to back down from a type disadvantage. Sherri had looked away for just a second, laughing at something True said, and then there was blinding white light in the corner of her vision, a second sun igniting on the beach.
She hears his joyful laughter before the light clears to reveal him already spinning around, trying to take in every bit of his new form. He's almost tripled in size, his whole body elongated, the top half lightened in colour and crowned with a banner of flowing blue hair. She can hardly believe this is the same Pokemon who'd leapt so easily into her arms on that stage all those weeks ago, but his eyes shine just as they did then, even without the torches to brighten them.
"Did you see that?" Haro yells, racing down the beach towards them. Sherri doesn't have time to admit that she actually kind of didn't; he skids to a stop in front of her, eyes wide, and says "Hey, I bet you could still carry me!"
That's all the warning she gets before the newly-evolved Primarina attempts to launch himself into her arms, and she instinctively reaches out to catch him, staggering under the weight. He's actually not quite as heavy as she expected, but he's big, taller than her, and his tail drags on the ground. She couldn't carry him any distance; she can barely hang on to him as it is.
"I think you might have outgrown this," she puffs.
"This is why I have two trainers," he declares proudly, with an eager look at True, who'd been trying valiantly to suppress her laughter.
"Help," Sherri begs her girlfriend, and True obliges, lifting up Haro's back half so his tail drapes over her arms, and, okay, maybe Sherri gets a little distracted looking at True's muscles flexing and almost drops her half of Haro, but she manages to hang on. Off to the side, Casey watches with amusement as badly concealed as True's laughter.
"Wait," Haro says, slithering out of their arms and eyeing Sherri, who breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm big enough to carry you now!"
"Now this I've got to see," True says.
Sherri's pretty sure Primarina flippers weren't made for carrying much of anything, but she's done way crazier things since coming to Alola, so she laughs and lets Haro try. It's wildly awkward and slippery and he almost drops her several times, but eventually she's wrapped up in his flippers like the world's most wriggly burrito.
"I bet I can do anything now," Haro declares, a bold statement from someone who's clearly struggling to hold up Sherri even more than she struggled with him. "Even jump off a boat!"
"What," Sherri says, her voice muffled by his flippers. He sets her down on the ground and does a little twirl (or a big one now, technically; she still can't believe how big he is).
"Remember when you said I wasn't allowed to jump off a boat because I was still kinda small?" Oh, he's looking at her with those pleading eyes again. "I'm big and strong now! I can handle it!"
"There aren't any boats around right now," Sherri points out, rather than crush his dreams entirely. "Why don't you just start by getting used to your new form? Go for a swim. You'd be a lot faster now."
"Oh! You're right!" Haro makes a dash for the water, willing to let boats wait another day.
True walks over, Casey back on her shoulder, and slips her hand into Sherri's. Together they watch Haro moving through the water with newfound grace, dotting the air with constellations of bubbles. It hasn't been an easy road to get here, Sherri thinks, but she wouldn't trade it for the world.
