"Roaring Moon's little cousin—Scream Tail—has already appeared… Could it be that you really are going to pull a pseudo-legendary?"
Su Bai glanced at Scream Tail, which Liu Yunlan had placed on Arcanine's back. The little creature was mischievously burrowing itself into Arcanine's enormous mane, looking perfectly content.
Then Su Bai turned toward his best friend, Wang Tao.
The expression on the chubby man's face was absolutely priceless.
Clearly, Scream Tail had given him quite a shock.
His plump lips trembled with excitement.
"A pseudo-legendary… Mom, Dad… I might actually get a pseudo-legendary…"
If Wang Tao really managed to draw a pseudo-legendary from the Pokédex, he would probably spend quite some time staring miserably at it inside the device.
After all, his financial situation had improved dramatically thanks to Pokémon.
But pseudo-legendaries still belonged to a price range that Wang Tao could barely even imagine.
Eighty million!
You could sell this fat man by the kilogram and still probably wouldn't have enough to buy one.
Being fatter wouldn't help, either!
But getting one as a prize was an entirely different matter.
For Wang Tao, who wasn't exactly wealthy, this was one of the few ways he could possibly obtain a pseudo-legendary.
"All right, all right. Stop looking so pathetic."
Su Bai couldn't help laughing at Wang Tao's expression. He casually extended the Pokédex toward him.
This really was one of his best friend's opportunities.
And considering how Wang Tao had started behind everyone else yet fought his way all the way into second place, his talent as a Trainer was honestly even better than Su Bai had expected.
No matter how terrible the circumstances became, this chubby fellow always managed to find a way to catch up.
Add to that the fact that his awakened ability was among the weaker ones for a Trainer…
Perhaps Wang Tao really was a natural-born Trainer.
Giving him a pseudo-legendary wouldn't be wasting the Pokémon's potential.
As for the financial burden of raising one, Wang Tao probably wouldn't have to worry too much.
The fatty had already saved up quite a bit of money.
And if that still wasn't enough, wasn't there Zhang Qun—the walking moneybag?
With Zhang Qun's father possessing such an exceptional eye for investments, he certainly wouldn't mind putting some money into this seemingly ordinary-looking fatty.
"Phew…"
Wang Tao took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself.
The next moment, he firmly pressed his large hand against the Pokédex.
Unlike Liu Yunlan, Wang Tao kept his eyes wide open from beginning to end.
He wanted to see for himself whether he could really draw a pseudo-legendary!
The silhouette reflected in his eyes shifted again and again.
Finally, it stopped on a completely unfamiliar figure.
The moment Su Bai saw the silhouette, he laughed and shook his head.
It was a pseudo-legendary.
Sure enough—it really was a pseudo-legendary!
Although he'd said it countless times before, he still couldn't help thinking it again.
The system's rewards really were ridiculously generous!
Su Bai's head shake naturally caused Wang Tao some distress.
He stared at Su Bai anxiously.
"What Pokémon is it? It's not a pseudo-legendary? Then what is it?! Su Bai, stop keeping me in suspense!"
Su Bai glanced at him and laughed.
"Why are you so nervous? I'm here to congratulate you. Your dream has come true!"
"This little guy isn't merely a pseudo-legendary…"
"Even among pseudo-legendaries, it's an exceptionally powerful one."
He pointed toward the screen.
A small dinosaur appeared before Wang Tao.
It had grayish-green skin that resembled rough stone, covering its entire body. A blunt horn rose prominently from the top of its head.
Its tail was formed by a ring of thick, plate-like protrusions, giving it an unusually sturdy appearance.
A diamond-shaped patch of red scales covered its belly, while four diamond-shaped black openings along its waist added an even fiercer touch.
But what drew the most attention were its pair of arrogant, crimson eyes.
The little Pokémon looked as though it couldn't care less about anyone around it.
Not even Wang Tao, its new Trainer, seemed worthy of its attention.
"This guy… somehow looks even prouder than my Empoleon."
Mu Rongnan glanced at her own Empoleon, which was standing beside her with its head held high.
For some reason, she immediately felt that the two Pokémon had a similar air about them.
"Looks like all the bad luck you suffered during the exploration has been converted into good fortune now."
Su Bai chuckled.
"This is Larvitar. Pretty imposing, isn't it?"
"It's still in its baby stage right now. But once it grows up and eventually reaches its final form, Tyranitar…"
"Let's just say that 'imposing' won't even begin to describe it."
"Wait. Little guy, what are you doing?!"
Su Bai's explanation was suddenly interrupted by Larvitar's movements.
The little Pokémon had just arrived in this new world.
It looked around curiously for a moment.
Then, with astonishing confidence, it swaggered straight toward the counter of the Pokémon Center.
Its arrogant little eyes swept disdainfully over the Trainers who were staring at it with drool practically hanging from their mouths.
Then it suddenly opened its mouth, revealing a neat row of sharp teeth.
Crunch!
It bit directly into the Pokémon Center's counter.
Larvitar was hungry.
Larvitar wanted food!
Larvitar had always lived by a simple principle:
If it wanted to eat something, then it would eat it!
Even the earth itself wasn't safe from its appetite.
Let alone this small, strange-looking thing that seemed like it might be delicious!
"Holy crap… You can't bite that!"
"You… You can't even bite through it!"
Su Bai watched helplessly as Larvitar sank its teeth into the counter and covered his face with one hand.
A series of sharp crack, crack, crack sounds rang through the room.
Then—
"Vroooh!"
Larvitar let out a miserable cry.
The arrogant little creature from moments ago immediately turned around with tears welling in its eyes and buried its head in Wang Tao's chubby embrace.
It looked utterly wronged.
How could this table be so hard?!
Its teeth were practically broken!
Wang Tao was both heartbroken and amused as he comforted the pseudo-legendary that had caused such a ridiculous scene the moment it was born into the world.
Things inside the Pokémon Center weren't meant to be touched carelessly!
The place had practically become a sacred site in Haicheng.
Su Bai watched the scene speechlessly.
Everything inside the Pokémon Center was protected by the system's rules.
Forget Larvitar.
Even if Groudon itself came over and tried to bite the counter, it wouldn't be able to leave so much as a tooth mark.
He shook his head repeatedly.
"Actually, you can't really blame the little guy."
"Normally, Larvitar is born deep beneath the earth."
"Without a Trainer to interfere, from the moment it's born, it does nothing but eat. And eat. And eat."
"Once it has consumed enough earth and stone to form an entire mountain, it enters its cocoon-like evolutionary stage—Pupitar."
"After an incredibly long period of dormancy, it eventually evolves into Tyranitar."
"Just like I said before, the growth of a pseudo-legendary is an extremely, extremely long process."
He glanced toward Zhang Qun.
"Look at Zhang Qun. It took him this long just to raise his Gible into a Gabite with a certain degree of combat ability."
"Larvitar's childhood stage is even longer than Gible's."
"And its requirements are even more demanding."
"In short…"
"Pseudo-legendaries are difficult to obtain, but they're just as difficult to raise."
"That part isn't exactly good news for you."
Then Su Bai looked at Larvitar, who was so heavy that even Wang Tao—a powerful awakened individual—had to strain until his face flushed just to hold it.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"But this little guy…"
"It fits your team surprisingly well."
Su Bai pointed at the Larvitar in Wang Tao's arms.
"Your team finally has its core!"