Hearing his old man's furious shouting from the other end of the phone, Red casually placed the phone on the table, a knowing smile appearing on his face.
He leisurely took a sip of tea, listening to his father's exasperated yelling as if it were music to his ears.
"Serves you right for running off with all the Pokémon without a word."
It took more than ten minutes before his father finally calmed down.
"Hey! You brat, are you still there? Didn't you say something about a deal? Let's hear your little scheme."
Only then did Red pick up the phone again and clear his throat.
"Simple. I'll keep the Permanent Evolution Stone, but to handle Gym challenges, I want one of the old Gym Pokémon as my ace."
After hearing the condition, his father thought for a moment.
"That's not impossible. After all, no point wasting the League's funding."
"So, which Pokémon do you want?"
The veteran Pokémon of the Songzao Gym were generally above level 40. With Red's command ability, passing the Gym inspection wouldn't be a problem.
"I want Tyranitar."
On the other end, his father nearly spat out his coconut juice.
"You've got some nerve! I told you to pick a Gym Pokémon and you go straight for my ace?!"
After a brief silence, his father finally relented.
"Fine. For the sake of that Permanent Evolution Stone, Tyranitar can stay with you temporarily."
"Thanks, Dad, for giving me Tyranitar."
The moment he heard that, his father exploded again, practically shouting:
"Temporarily! TEMPORARILY! You'd better take good care of my Tyranitar! If it suffers even a bit, prepare to face my righteous iron fist!"
"Alright, alright, I got it—it's just on loan," Red replied casually.
"And don't worry. Haven't I taken care of Tyranitar during your previous trips? I'll make sure it's nice and well-fed."
Though that's what he said, Red chuckled inwardly.
'Heh… once Tyranitar gets here, whether it goes back or not is up to me.'
His father thought Red just wanted to pass the inspection.
But Red wanted Tyranitar itself.
Half an hour later, Red looked at the Poké Ball resting in the transfer machine and smiled.
"Welcome home."
At that moment, Gary—who had just finished cleaning—walked over and asked curiously:
"Master, what Pokémon is in that Poké Ball?"
"You look pretty happy about it."
"Just an ordinary Rock-type Pokémon. I'm trying to build a sandstorm team, so I borrowed one."
"Borrowed Pokémon? Sandstorm team? Hippopotas?"
Connecting the dots with Red's other Pokémon levels, Gary's eyes lit up.
"Master, how about we have a battle? My Wartortle just came up with a new strategy."
Red glanced at him silently.
Gary, meanwhile, had his own little plan.
"Master's Pokémon are usually low level. This borrowed 'Hippopotas' can't be that strong. If I use Wartortle's new move, I might actually win!"
Red looked at the Poké Ball in his hand and smiled.
"Sure. Let's have a simple battle. It'll also help me get familiar with it."
"Got it, Master! I'll prepare the battlefield!"
Gary quickly tossed aside his broom and rushed to the control room, setting the field to a rocky terrain.
He patted Wartortle's smooth, round head.
"Wartortle, this Rain Dance TM cost me half a year's allowance. We have to win this time!"
"I'll prove to Master that I, Gary, didn't get here just because of my background!"
Wartortle nodded firmly, equally fired up.
Ever since staying at the Gym, it could clearly feel its trainer changing for the better.
And it wanted to repay Gary with a victory!
"Master, we're ready!"
Looking at the determined duo, Red couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
"Nice spirit, Gary. You're starting to look like a real trainer."
"So to show my respect, I'll be going all out in this battle."
"Bring it on, Master! No matter the opponent, Wartortle and I aren't afraid!"
Red threw the Poké Ball, tracing a perfect arc through the air—
The Poké Ball opened.
A Tyranitar descended with a thunderous crash!
Its massive body slammed onto the ground, sending sand and debris flying everywhere.
[Pokémon: Tyranitar ♂]
[Level: 60]
[Talent: Top (Atk: 30, Sp. Atk: 29, Def: 25, Sp. Def: 28, Speed: 26, HP: 28) Total: 166]
[Ability: Sand Stream (Summons a sandstorm upon entering battle)]
[Moves: Sandstorm, Dragon Dance, Earthquake, Crunch, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Stone Edge…]
[Evaluation: A battle-hardened Tyranitar, only one step away from Elite Four level]
"BOOM—!!!"
With a deafening roar, a dark green giant crashed down like a meteor.
The rocky battlefield shattered instantly, cracks spreading like a web from beneath Tyranitar's feet. Sandstorm winds surged, sweeping across the entire arena.
Gary instinctively raised his arm to shield himself from the flying debris, yet he was still forced back a step by the shockwave.
A sandstorm had descended—without warning.
Within the swirling yellow haze, a pair of crimson eyes slowly lit up.
Tyranitar threw back its head and roared, the sound vibrating the Gym's ceiling lights.
Its thick tail swept across the ground, sending shattered rocks flying like bullets.
Wartortle's pupils shrank violently—
It could feel Tyranitar's terrifying strength. Its shell trembled uncontrollably with a clack-clack sound.
Gary's throat went dry.
This wasn't some "Hippopotas" at all.
This was the king of sandstorms—
Tyranitar.