"Woof! Woof!!"
Growlithe dashed toward him in excitement, something clamped in its jaws.
The barking told Yang Tao his partner had dug something up again. Besides the initial fire stone, Growlithe had unearthed a Pokémon World-related material every single day.
Their value, however, was completely random.
Items like regular Potions, Berries, Nuggets… He reached out and took what Growlithe offered.
'Moomoo Milk'
Hunger +10, Saturation +10
Nutrient-packed fresh milk that leaves Pokémon brimming with energy.
'Right, there are production Pokémon like Miltank…'
Miltank milk is one of the Pokémon World's signature delicacies.
Yang Tao uncapped the bottle and took a swig; the uniquely sweet milk was incredible—far tastier than Minecraft's plain, flavorless milk.
[Delicious food lifts your mood]
[Max HP +1]
Half the bottle gone.
"Growlithe, open wide!"
Tail wagging, the pup gaped; Yang Tao poured the rest of the Moomoo Milk straight in.
A moment later white light burst from Growlithe's body.
Yang Tao: "…"
You evolved from a sip of milk???
I haven't even used the fire stone I saved for you. He fished the stone from his pack and tossed it into the glow.
A few seconds passed.
The 0.7-meter Growlithe vanished, replaced by a two-meter-tall Arcanine.
Gone was the cute look; this Arcanine radiated mature, majestic coolness.
Fluffy flaxen fur framed its face, eyes a brilliant violet instead of the usual brown. Tiger-like purple-orange stripes streaked its body; fur tufted around the paws, and a long tail whipped behind. When it ran it seemed to merge with the wind—utterly imposing.
Every strand of its coat looked like living flame.
Staring at the two-meter Arcanine, Yang Tao pictured what would happen with a Big Bone.
A ten-meter Arcanine sounded terrifying.
Giratina is only 4.5 m; the Earth-Bound Groudon 3.5 m, official heights, anyway. Even anime sizes would pale beside a ten-meter Arcanine.
The only confirmed bigger Pokémon is Bruno's super Onix, well over fifteen meters.
Yang Tao wasn't worried; he'd raise Arcanine big and strong, then add Dynamax on top.
"Rooo~" (Evolved at last!) Arcanine roared.
"You don't bark anymore?"
"Woof~"
"Good—scared me there."
Arcanine is still a dog; lion roars every day would be weird. He patted its head—then Arcanine froze.
It began to dig, flinging a disc into the air before neatly refilling the hole.
A disc? A move!
Yang Tao picked up the pale-blue disk.
HM
Fly
Pokémon using Fly ascend the first turn to charge power.
"They even have these? A disc… how do you think at the Pokémon…?"
The disk dissolved into light and streamed into Arcanine.
Yang Tao: "…"
He was sure now: what Arcanine dug up wasn't from the anime, maybe not even the core games—it was from the Minecraft Pokémon mod.
But a flying Fire-type? That's broken.
"Arcanine, use Fly!"
"Woof!" It sprinted forward, paws running on thin air as it soared skyward.
Watching Arcanine airborne rivaled seeing Dumbo the flying elephant.
"Hss—" Yang Tao sucked in a breath.
A Fire-type that can fly, wasn't this basically Charizard?
Clearly exhilarated, Arcanine circled endlessly overhead.
Yang Tao left the dog to its aerial joy and headed behind the Gym.
He'd carved out an orchard there, planting rows of tree fruit.
With earthworms, Acceleration Torches, and Tilled Loam, even real-world saplings thrived.
[Pecha Berry] – Cures poison/badly poisoned.
[Oran Berry] – Restores 10 HP
[Persim Berry] – Cures confusion
Truthfully, Yang Tao barely needed them; milk covered most status problems, and as a doctor he could handle the rest.
But berries are the raw material for Pokéblocks: drop two to four into a Berry Blender and the machine auto-produces them.
Its principle is basically "I reckon it works" energy.
He harvested the whole patch.
"Still need to get a Berry Blender."
He's short not only the blender but also Joy and Officer Jenny.
'Maybe slip into a Team Rocket uniform and visit Goldenrod City…'
After mulling it over he dropped the idea—he owns a legitimate Gym now. Robbing the League? Bad. Robbing Team Rocket? They can hardly call the cops, right?
In the end he decided on a Hoenn trip: Contests, Magma, Aqua, plus region-exclusive Pokémon as featured attractions.
"Dopey~" (Someone's coming.) Slowking called.
He hadn't expected visitors so soon; he'd planned roads and publicity first. Guess gold shines anywhere.
He handed the berry on his shoulder to Caterpie. "Let's see who's here…"
From the Gym roof a beacon beam lanced skyward; its golden base glinted like a small sun-bathed pyramid.
He stepped onto the vast plaza outside the entrance.
The visitor made him blink.
Gary Oak, Ash's rival and friend.
In barely half a month the kid had cleared Goldenrod and reached him, practically flawless en route.
Beside his sports car Gary stared up at the dazzling Gym; even as Professor Oak's grandson he looked staggered.
"Gary, that was fast."
Gary turned. "You know me?"
"I was in Pallet Town when you got your starter. How about a thrilling Pokémon battle?"
Realization dawned, then excitement. "Absolutely! I'll be Pokémon Champion!"
Though later he'd follow Professor Oak into research.