In the backyard of the Songzao Gym, there used to be many Pokémon living there.
At its peak, the number had once exceeded a hundred.
But now, the entire backyard felt empty. Only the occasional Pidgey or Pidgeotto would briefly stop on the treetops.
The miniature volcanoes, snowfields, and deserts that Red's unreliable father had painstakingly built—all were now devoid of life.
Seeing this, Red sighed helplessly and took out Tyranitar's Poké Ball.
"Come out, Tyranitar."
The moment Tyranitar saw the familiar desert in the distance, its massive green body bounced excitedly as it returned to its territory.
With its arrival, the entire desert seemed to come alive, as if welcoming its ruler back home.
Tyranitar lay comfortably in the الرمال, enjoying a relaxing sand bath.
Aside from the desert, the liveliest area in the backyard was the wetland near the river.
There, Mudkip, Castform, and Poliwrath were all training on their own.
Mudkip focused on basic strength training, with several sandbags strapped to its body.
Castform trained its move accuracy.
Poliwrath mostly acted as a coach, occasionally guiding the two.
When they saw Red approach, Mudkip and Castform immediately ran over excitedly and jumped into his arms.
"Not bad, not bad. Keep training hard—extra food for you tonight."
As for Poliwrath, Red generously handed it a bowl of Pokéblocks.
"These are all yours."
Poliwrath nodded happily.
After two days of training, Mudkip and Castform had each leveled up—Mudkip to level 10, Castform to level 8.
Holding them, Red said:
"Focus on building a solid foundation for now. Once your levels are higher, I'll take you through specialized training."
Mudkip and Castform nodded, half-understanding.
Then Red pointed toward the distant desert where a sandstorm raged.
"You saw that big guy earlier, right? That's your new teacher. If I'm not around, you can ask it anything."
On the surface, Castform, Mudkip, and Tyranitar didn't seem like a natural match.
But Mudkip would gain a Ground typing upon evolution.
And Castform had exceptional adaptability to all weather conditions.
So learning from Tyranitar wasn't a bad idea at all.
If they could pick up even a bit of its battle experience, it would be a huge gain.
Mudkip and Castform nodded thoughtfully, their eyes gradually filling with excitement as they looked toward the sandstorm.
As the heir of the Songzao Gym, Red knew many ways to train Mudkip and Castform.
There was even one method that could raise them to a level infinitely close to Champion-tier.
But the cost of those methods was staggering.
Even Red, as a Gym Leader, felt his heart tremble when he saw the required resources.
Even the Permanent Evolution Stone he had obtained was just the tip of the iceberg.
Fortunately, the resources didn't need to be gathered all at once.
They could be accumulated gradually as the Pokémon grew.
Still, the pressure was immense.
"This is what they call a happy burden, I guess."
A statement that would sound incredibly boastful to ordinary trainers.
Just as Mudkip and Castform happily ran toward Tyranitar for guidance—
The stable sandstorm suddenly trembled, as if it had discovered something exciting.
At the same time, it wasn't just Tyranitar who noticed.
Red's eyes widened in shock—then immediately turned into joy.
"This feeling… it can't be wrong. The Pseudo-Legendary egg has hatched!"
Though Mudkip and Castform looked confused, both Red and Tyranitar sensed a surge of energy underground, converging toward one point.
Red and Tyranitar rushed into the storage room.
Inside, the once-normal room now glowed with a khaki-colored light.
Dense Ground-type energy gathered around the seemingly ordinary egg.
There was no doubt—
This Pseudo-Legendary egg, favored by the earth itself before even hatching, was Ground-related.
Tyranitar looked at Red in disbelief.
Its expression seemed to say: Where did you even get this egg?
The answer was obvious.
This was a Larvitar egg.
As the earthy energy intensified, the egg burst into a brilliant white light under everyone's eager gaze.
It hatched.
As the light faded, a small, emerald-green Larvitar opened its eyes inside the incubator.
Among everyone present, its very first glance was directed at Red.
The signature tear-like markings of the Larvitar line made it look adorably innocent. Even its crimson eyes couldn't hide that naive aura.
Red's entire body trembled with excitement.
Because this Larvitar was completely emerald green.
It was a Shiny Larvitar!
[Pokémon: Larvitar (Shiny) ♂]
[Level: 1]
[Talent: Top (Atk: 30, Sp. Atk: 30, Def: 26, Sp. Def: 28, Speed: 26, HP: 28) Total: 168]
[Ability: Sand Veil (Conceals itself in sandstorms, evasion +1)]
[Moves: Dragon Dance (Inherited), Pursuit (Inherited), Tackle, Leer, Rock Slide]
[Evaluation: A top-tier Larvitar. Even among its kind, it stands out. Its small body holds limitless potential!]
"Shiny Larvitar… it's really a Shiny Larvitar!"