The Tyranitar had become the natural cleaners of this rocky region.
At the same time, the Rock-type Pokémon of the area also provided them with a constant source of Rock-type energy.
Perhaps it wasn't their conscious intention to "cleanse" the other Rock Pokémon, but simply a means of replenishing themselves.
Unintentionally, however, that behavior had ended up becoming their responsibility.
The three Tyranitar hadn't noticed Cain and his group's presence.
They simply grabbed several Geodude and began to retreat.
Cain looked at Pupitar beside him, knowing that deep down he wasn't exactly calm.
Few Pokémon can remain composed when seeing with their own eyes the form they will take after evolving.
Cain smiled and patted Pupitar's shell.
"Come on, let's take a look over there."
"Puppp?"
Pupitar sparkled with excitement, though he showed a bit of hesitation, as if asking whether they might be attacked if they got closer.
Cain nodded.
"We'll go carefully. As long as we keep a low profile, there won't be a problem."
With that said, Pupitar had no further objections.
Aggron and Carbink even less so, as they would never disobey an order from Cain.
"Mismagius," Cain said mentally, establishing telepathic communication with Mismagius, who remained hidden in his shadow.
"Miiis~" Mismagius's voice echoed in his mind.
"I might need your help soon. Here's what you should do..."
As he spoke, Cain began walking toward the pile of rocks from earlier.
Due to the large number of rock formations, they had piled up to resemble miniature mountains.
Cain and his Pokémon walked a good distance until they reached the top of the mound where the three Tyranitar had previously been.
Once they crossed it, they would arrive directly at the zone where the Tyranitar lived.
Pupitar could barely contain the excitement sparkling in his eyes.
Cain thought that perhaps, right here, he might find the opportunity for Pupitar to evolve.
And he also began to understand part of Celebi's intention.
What he hadn't expected was that a pseudo-legendary Pokémon could develop so quickly.
In his past life, his Salamence had taken so long to evolve from Shelgon that it had seemed unbelievable.
...
Upon crossing the summit, they gazed at what lay on the other side.
A valley like a giant crater.
Amidst the rock formations, strangely enough, some plants were growing.
On top of that, there was even a small lake in the middle of the valley.
This was the home of the Tyranitar.
Compared to the harsh surroundings outside, this place was practically a paradise for Rock-type Pokémon.
There were the three Tyranitar they had seen earlier, alongside smaller ones, as well as over ten Pupitar and several Larvitar.
This was definitely something that could be called the Valley of the Tyranitar.
Pokémon so scarce in the outside world had formed an entire clan here.
The only thing Cain regretted was that, for some reason, Poké Balls didn't work properly here —except to summon or store his own Pokémon— they couldn't be used to catch new ones.
Cain had already noticed this earlier when trying to catch a rare Rock-type Pokémon in the area.
If not for that restriction, he could have captured all the Tyranitar, Pupitar, and Larvitar in the place...
And formed his own sandstorm army!
Although the training cost would be high, the reward would far outweigh the effort.
But he could only dream of that.
The arrival of Cain and his Pokémon finally caught the attention of some Tyranitar.
"Tyran!"
The one who spoke was one of the three Tyranitar from earlier, the most muscular one, who also appeared to be the strongest. He roared in Cain's direction.
His voice echoed throughout the valley, and all the Tyranitar and Pupitar stopped what they were doing to look at Cain and his group.
The Larvitar hid behind their parents.
Cain raised both hands, showing he had no ill intentions.
Even so, the three Tyranitar began approaching slowly.
The leader had three crossed scars over his left eye, probably the result of a past battle, giving him an even more fearsome appearance.
Cain activated his system to scan the Tyranitar's data.
Pokémon: Tyranitar (Light Purple)
Gender: Male
Level: 78
Types: Rock + Dark
Ability: Sand Stream
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Stomp, Ancient Power, Dragon Dance, Iron Tail
Base Moves: Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Bite, Leer, Sandstorm, Screech, Chip Away, Rock Slide, Scary Face, Thrash, Dark Pulse, Payback, Crunch, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hyper Beam
Learned Moves: Dragon Pulse, Thunder Punch, Iron Defense, Foul Play, Outrage, Aqua Tail, Ice Punch, Superpower, Stealth Rock, Fire Punch, Focus Punch, Snore, Earth Power
TM Moves: None
Seeing the power of that leader Tyranitar, Cain completely abandoned the idea of capturing the whole group.
That would be absurd.
That level of Tyranitar... not even Regice, the legendary Pokémon with whom Cain had a close bond, could defeat it with certainty.
And judging by the Learned Moves it had, it was clearly an older Pokémon, one that had survived by fighting and honing itself over the years.
Cain had barely explored a small part of this rocky region, but now he was sure: this wasn't the only Tyranitar clan.
There were probably other similar clans, or even other Pokémon groups acting as ecosystem cleaners.
After all, such a vast rocky region couldn't be controlled by just a few Tyranitar and Pupitar.
They were simply the leaders of this particular zone.
"Puppp!"
Pupitar called out to the Tyranitar.
The fierce expression on the leader Tyranitar's face softened slightly.
His energy began to dissipate gradually.
The two Tyranitar beside him were also formidable. Cain scanned their data and saw that both were at Intermediate Elite Four level, level 74.
While not as strong as the leader, they were still beyond Cain's current reach.
Pupitar stepped forward in front of Cain and the others.
He began to speak with the Tyranitar.
The latter responded as well.
Although they didn't know where Cain and his Pokémon had come from, seeing that Pupitar was of their own species caused their hostility to almost completely vanish.
"Tyran!"
"Puppp!"
The two began conversing in their language.
And little by little, Pupitar's eyes lit up more and more; his enthusiasm was evident.
After a while, the conversation ended.
The leader Tyranitar looked at Cain, let out a roar, and turned around with the other two to walk away.
Before leaving, he shouted toward the valley.
The Pokémon who had been on guard relaxed their posture and resumed their activities.
Pupitar ran to Cain, signaling for him to follow.
"Are they inviting us to go with them?" Cain confirmed.
"Pupitar!" he nodded enthusiastically.
(End of chapter)