"TYRAAANNN"
The roars of the Tyranitar echoed throughout the valley.
Pokémon outside the valley were probably trembling in fear at that very moment.
Cain's Tyranitar, aside from his size difference compared to the others, had another peculiar trait.
Above his right eye, he bore a red stripe, like a scar, which made him look even more imposing and majestic.
That color, in fact, might've been something Tyranitar really liked. After all, when he was small, he used to run around everywhere with a little red backpack on his back.
He had finally completed his evolution!
Cain could finally let go of that heavy weight on his heart.
However, what came next was an even more overwhelming pressure.
With Aggron's and Tyranitar's current size, Cain felt that one day he really would go bankrupt just trying to feed them.
Right now, after just evolving, their energy demands weren't that high.
But as their power increased, their energy requirements to continue progressing would grow exponentially. Maintaining their growth rate was going to require a huge investment in resources.
Between the two of them, they would probably consume more than an entire team of Pokémon combined.
Pain and joy at the same time!
Luckily, Aggron hadn't let him down, and Cain was confident Tyranitar wouldn't either.
He watched with satisfaction as Tyranitar and Aggron embraced and jumped joyfully among the other Tyranitar, while Carbink happily bounced from one of their arms to the other.
Cain was quite pleased with the relationship between his Pokémon.
He took the opportunity to scan Tyranitar's complete data after evolution.
Pokémon: Tyranitar (Quasi-Black)
Gender: Male
Level: 58
Type: Rock + Dark
Ability: Sand Stream
Held Item: Smooth Rock, Tyranitarite
Egg Moves: Dragon Dance, Outrage, Ancient Power, Stealth Rock
Basic Moves: Bite, Leer, Sandstorm, Screech, Chip Away, Rock Slide, Scary Face, Thrash, Dark Pulse, Payback, Crunch, Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Fire Fang
Learned Moves: Snore, Earth Power, Precipice Blades (imperfect version), Dragon Pulse, Iron Defense, Aqua Tail, Ice Punch, Stomping Tantrum
TM Moves: Protect, Earthquake, Thunder, Brick Break, Flamethrower, Shadow Claw, Rock Polish, Stone Edge
Quasi-Black!
Black Color!
When Cain saw Tyranitar's complete data, he was speechless upon observing that dark purplish-black hue.
In all his lives, Cain had never seen a Pokémon with such a level of potential.
Strictly speaking, reaching Black color quality means possessing the presence of a deity.
The "Quasi-Black" is a category the system can't fully identify: it lies between the dark purple color quality and light Black color—somewhere in between purple and black.
Sometimes, Pokémon surpass their previous level without fully reaching the next, resulting in this type of "quasi" qualification.
But regardless of the technicality, this "Quasi-Black" was already a form of Black color quality.
And the fact that Tyranitar had reached this level placed him in an entirely different league.
Unlimited potential!
Moreover, seemingly due to the concentrated internal energy after evolution, his level had jumped three points at once.
This didn't surprise Cain.
With those two energy rocks, and the help and blessing of the entire Tyranitar group, achieving that leap was totally reasonable.
In fact, Cain believed that Tyranitar likely still had the potential to rise even further. Perhaps he had only reached level 58 due to the physical limits of his body.
He might soon experience another explosive breakthrough.
However, now that he had evolved, his typing changed to Rock + Dark.
And that, for Tyranitar, came with a certain strategic weakness.
That typing made him four times weak to Fighting-type moves.
In addition, he was doubly weak to Ground, Bug, Steel, Water, Grass, and Fairy types.
A total of six types with double effectiveness, plus one extremely vulnerable point.
But considering Tyranitar's sheer power and explosive potential, that weakness could also be viewed as a form of balance.
After all, he was a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, not a true legendary.
Otherwise, how would legendaries be able to maintain their status?
As long as Tyranitar's power continued growing, Cain believed he could even stand against legendaries of a similar level.
Of course, he was referring to those in the elemental trio or the like.
But Cain and Tyranitar still had an ace up their sleeve: Mega Evolution!
Now that he had evolved into Tyranitar, Cain could finally sync with him to achieve Mega Evolution.
That was the true reason behind his unlimited potential.
As far as Cain knew, among pseudo-legendaries, only Tyranitar, Metagross, Salamence, and Garchomp could Mega Evolve.
It couldn't be denied: those four had a much higher ceiling than other pseudo-legendaries.
Also, the Red Orb that Cain threw during Tyranitar's evolution had now completely vanished.
He didn't know whether Tyranitar had gained any benefit from the Red Orb, but it was likely that his rise to this level of aptitude was also related to the Red Orb.
Cain watched his Pokémon happily playing, with no intention of interrupting them.
Even though the side effects of the quality-enhancing potion were beginning to show, they hadn't limited Tyranitar's mobility.
So he was still fully integrating with the group.
Cain set up a large grill near them.
Today was a day for celebration, and nothing better than a good barbecue to reward his Pokémon.
He was sure the wild Tyranitar had never tasted anything like it.
Luckily, Cain had hunted many wild animals while in Celebi's space and had them stored in his spatial storage.
Although it was impossible to satisfy all the Tyranitar, at least they'd get a taste of a fine meal.
A grand dinner began with the lighting of Cain's campfire.
...
After dinner, Cain sat beside Tyranitar on a pile of rocks overlooking the valley, gazing up at the cloudy sky, dimly lit by the moon.
The newly evolved Tyranitar sat by his side.
With his current size, Cain, who stood at 1.78 meters, looked tiny next to him.
The image was like that of a prince beside a beast.
Yet the atmosphere was peaceful.
Even with his fierce appearance, Tyranitar exuded no aggression.
He looked like a gentle dinosaur, sitting with his knees hugged, quietly next to Cain.
"Tyranitar, how do you feel now?" Cain asked with a soft smile.
Though Tyranitar seemed happy, Cain could still sense that deep sadness and pain buried in his heart.
They were the aftereffects of the harsh treatment he had endured. And releasing that burden was now the responsibility of his trainer.
Otherwise...
Mega Evolution might remain out of reach.
(End of Chapter)