"Although I'll report to the League that you've passed the inspection, in my personal evaluation—you haven't."
"In the end, a Gym Leader is judged by strength."
"I'll keep the final result on hold—for now."
Red gripped the Poké Ball at his waist—Tyranitar's—and nodded.
"I agree. In the end, strength is what matters for a Gym Leader."
"Here."
At that moment, Qiao Yixue tossed him a small pouch.
Then she took out Latias's Poké Ball.
"Latias, let's go."
With a clear, melodious cry—
Latias carried her away from the Songzao Gym.
Watching her leave, Red glanced at Latias's panel and couldn't help but sigh:
"As expected of a Legendary… truly standing at the peak of the Pokémon world."
[Pokémon: Latias ♀]
[Level: 60+]
[Talent: Perfect+]
[Ability: Levitate]
[Moves: Dragon Pulse, Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Future Sight, Amnesia…]
[Evaluation: A Legendary Pokémon with boundless power. All attributes exceed the system's measurable limits.]
"…Exceed the system's measurable limits? Your system's kind of underwhelming, huh?"
Red shook his head helplessly.
Then he looked at the pouch in his hand.
"What's this?"
Opening it—
A familiar aura rushed out.
Inside were several Red -and-white scales.
Seeing them, Red suddenly thought of an unbelievable possibility.
[Ding~ Congratulations, host! Obtained Legendary Material: Dragon Scales]
[Legendary Dragon Scales: Naturally shed scales from a Mythical Pokémon. Contain incredible power!]
"…This is quite the gift."
Looking at the five or six scales inside, Red couldn't help but marvel at Qiao Yixue's generosity.
Just then—
His system suddenly emitted a strange sound.
[Ding! Legendary-grade item detected. System upgrading…]
[Estimated time: 24 hours]
Red nodded.
"Fine. An upgrade's good—wouldn't want you falling behind me."
He temporarily set aside thoughts about the system—
And looked at Larvitar, who was currently bragging to Mudkip and Castform.
"Alright, Larvitar. Let's see how much this enhancement boosts you."
Larvitar nodded blankly.
...
Originally, Larvitar had been very excited about the "reward" Red mentioned.
But when Red brought out a bag of gray sand—
Its big eyes filled with confusion.
…Can this even be eaten?
"Don't worry—it's edible!"
With Red 's reassurance, Larvitar reluctantly stuffed the Soul Sand into its mouth.
The taste—
Was nonexistent.
Like eating ash.
Terrible texture, no flavor.
Larvitar grimaced the entire time.
After finishing—
It suddenly felt dizzy, its head swelling slightly.
Several seconds passed before it recovered .
But once it did—
It could clearly sense the Rock-type energy around it much more vividly.
If quantified—
Previously, using Sandstorm required about three seconds of buildup.
Now?
Less than two.
Compared to Castform, it was still slightly lacking—
But the improvement was tremendous.
In battle—
Even a tenth of a second could determine victory.
Realizing the change, Larvitar immediately forgot how bad it tasted.
It grabbed Red 's pant leg, looking up eagerly.
Another one, please. I don't mind the taste.
"…Keep dreaming. That was the only one."
Red rolled his eyes.
Then, like performing a magic trick, he took out two Evolution Potions.
"Come on—drink these."
Larvitar obediently opened its mouth.
The two potions went down quickly.
Almost instantly—
Its body began to change.
Its slightly chubby head slimmed down visibly.
Muscles faintly appeared beneath its brown armor.
Cracks began to form across its shell—
Then—
Crack!
The outer layer peeled off like shedding skin.
After molting—
Larvitar grew slightly taller.
The Evolution Potions hadn't directly increased its strength—
Instead, they refined its body, pushing it closer to perfection.
Red pulled out a measuring tape.
Larvitar was already about 5 centimeters taller than others of its kind.
And it was only level 10.
As it grew—
Its physique would only become more monstrous.
Red rubbed its head firmly.
"Keep it up. Your talent has improved—but don't slack off in training."
"No Pokémon reaches the top on talent alone."
Larvitar nodded vigorously—
Then ran off into the sandy training field to continue practicing.
Watching it, Red couldn't hide his satisfaction.
Then he glanced at Mudkip and Castform playing by the river.
Don't worry—you'll get Evolution Potions too.
As for how to obtain more—
His gaze shifted toward the direction Ash had left.
"Just Gary alone gave me so many rewards… as the protagonist, Ash should bring even greater surprises."
Unfortunately—
Because of the system upgrade—
He couldn't check what kind of Mega Stone he had just received.
But a Mega Stone—
Was undoubtedly a priceless treasure.
Looking at it, Red thought:
"Mega Evolution research should still be in its early stages…"
"Maybe I can start collecting Mega Stones now."
"Whether for personal use, trading, or strengthening the Gym—it's all worthwhile."
"And those people targeting the Gym… they're probably not the same group Qiao Yixue mentioned."
"And there's also recruiting Ash as a disciple…"
Looking at the Pokémon training in the backyard—
And his steadily growing Gym—
"There's still a lot to do."
"Time to keep working."
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