The Porta Vista Marine Ocean Hotel was the only establishment in Porta Vista that combined leisure, tourism, entertainment, and sheer luxury into a single six-star experience. It was said that even the most ordinary single suite cost 3,666 Pokédollars per night.
Kael was the sort who, once he had the means, would never mistreat himself. He had only just crawled out of abject poverty—yet he already dared to splurge at a six-star hotel.
And not just any room.
He booked the undersea luxury suite.
58,888 Pokédollars per night.
Ten nights in one go.
Just like that, 580,000 was gone.
Led by a uniformed attendant, Kael took the elevator down to the lowest level of the Ocean Grand Hotel. The entire bottom floor had been constructed directly beneath the sea.
To ensure guest safety, the hotel used only the highest-grade tempered glass in building these underwater suites. Each pane contained three internal layers. Even if the outermost layer were shattered, the remaining two were strong enough to hold for twenty-four hours.
Kael pushed open the gilded doors.
The moment he stepped inside, it felt as though he had entered the ocean itself.
Beyond the transparent walls stretched vibrant coral reefs in every imaginable color. Countless tiny fish and shrimp darted freely among them.
Horsea, Staryu, Starmie, Tentacool, Cloyster…
From time to time, these marine Pokémon glided past the glass.
A mischievous little Horsea chased after a red-spotted fish, straying from its group.
Drawn by the lights shining from Kael's suite, the small fish swam closer. The Horsea followed closely behind. The spotted fish twisted its body and darted away elegantly—but the separated Horsea wasn't quite as nimble.
Swimming too fast, it slammed headfirst into the tempered glass.
"Wuu…"
Its tubular mouth accidentally suctioned onto the glass from the impact. Regaining its senses, the little fellow flailed backward desperately, finally mustering enough strength to yank itself free with a loud pop.
Now angry, it puffed out clouds of ink at the glass. The specially treated surface required no cleaning—the ink simply slid straight down.
"Knock, knock."
Kael tapped lightly on the glass.
The Horsea, still contemplating revenge, suddenly noticed the human standing on the other side. It jolted in fright and immediately flicked its curled tail, fleeing in embarrassment.
...
"With scenery like this, even 588,888 a night wouldn't be a loss."
Kael tossed his backpack onto the sofa and threw himself onto the enormous waterbed in the center of the room.
"Comfortable!"
He let out a satisfied sigh.
What was the point of earning money if not to spend it and enjoy life?
After resting with his eyes closed for a while, Kael rose from the bed and pulled out his laptop.
Enjoyment was enjoyment—but after that, it was time to make money again. Otherwise, this kind of comfort wouldn't last long.
He didn't release Lulu and the others. He needed a stretch of quiet to concentrate on his work.
After multiple measurements and comparisons, he had finally calculated the approximate data of the giant Rhydon. Opening the encrypted file, he located Rhydon's classification.
Soon, a 3D model of Rhydon appeared on the screen. Arrows extended from different parts of the model, each labeled with detailed statistics for various body regions.
Kael's current task was to consolidate these detailed figures into a six-dimensional chart.
[Giant Rhydon]
Type: Ground / Rock
Height: 4.25 m
Weight: 1235.8 kg
HP: S
Attack: S
Defense: S+
Sp. Atk: D
Sp. Def: A
Speed: C
The six-dimensional chart system was Kael's own design; others wouldn't be able to interpret it. D represented the lowest value within a category, while SSS represented the maximum.
At a glance, Rhydon's physical defense was outstanding, followed by stamina and physical attack. Special attack was nearly negligible. Special defense was decent.
Because this giant Rhydon had long lived on an island, it had learned to dive and fish in order to secure enough food—overcoming its natural fear of water. Type disadvantage still applied, but not as severely as with others of its kind. Hence the slight bonus to special defense.
Speed rated at C.
There was no need to elaborate. With such immense size and terrifying weight, its straight-line charge could surpass a human's running speed—but its agility was lacking. Turning while running would be extremely difficult. With a body this large, a sharp turn could easily cause Rhydon to overturn entirely.
As for training methods, Kael already had a rough plan in mind.
Rhydon didn't need weighted training—that wasn't suitable for it. Kael intended to forge it into the strongest heavy land tank imaginable.
A Tiger tank.
More importantly—
Rhydon could continue evolving.
That's right. The theory held by Kanto researchers—that Rhydon represented the final evolutionary stage—was wrong.
Rhydon could evolve again using a Protector, becoming an even more powerful Pokémon known as Rhyperior.
This major discovery had been announced one year ago by the SR Secret Evolution Research Institute in the Sinnoh region.
Sneasel evolving into Weavile at midnight while holding a Razor Claw was also one of that institute's research achievements. The so-called SR Secret Evolution Research Institute was dedicated to exploring whether Pokémon believed to have reached their "final evolution stage" still possessed further evolutionary potential.
Ever since Kael had accidentally hacked into their main server, he had planted a small backdoor. Any new breakthroughs—they would reach him immediately.
It was shameless, admittedly. One could call it theft of research results. In this world, that was a serious crime. If discovered, he would face at least ten years in prison—along with enormous fines.
But Kael preferred to quietly amass wealth. There was no need for anyone else to know. He would never sell the information for money. Unless the institute publicly released their findings first, he intended to take those secrets to the grave.
As for whether the sudden appearance of a Rhyperior in Kanto would arouse suspicion—
Kael could only say they were overthinking it.
Kanto and Sinnoh were separated by vast distances. Regional independence in this world was significant. Even if the SR Institute learned of it, as long as Kael denied everything and they lacked evidence, there would be nothing they could do.
There was no law in this world forbidding one's Pokémon from evolving.
As for what method was used—
That was none of their damn business.