"No wonder Senior Yozora is so amazing… he even owns a Shiny Miltank!"
Max's eyes shone as he examined Jade, the green-hued Miltank calf. Then he grinned."But… judging from its movements, that Miltank must still be a rookie-level Pokémon. I still have a chance to win!"
With that thought in mind, Max swung his arm forward and commanded:"Mudkip, use Water Gun!"
"Puh!"Mudkip opened its mouth and fired a thin jet of water. It truly was just Water Gun—the stream barely two centimeters wide. Its power was obviously limited.
The speed, however, wasn't too bad.
Unfortunately for him, Jade was faster.
"Jade, dodge it!" Yozora ordered with a smile.
Jade twisted its plump little body, nimbly sidestepping the Water Gun.
"Damn, that was so close…"
Max grit his teeth, refusing to give up. "Mudkip, keep using Water Gun—don't stop!"
As he gave the order, he secretly prayed: Mudkip, please, just hit it once…
"Puh-puh-puh!"Mudkip spat out three more Water Guns in rapid succession. But Jade twisted away from all of them, none connecting.
"Mudkip…" Max's partner was already panting heavily. As a rookie-level Pokémon, its stamina was far too limited—just a few consecutive moves and it was already exhausted.
Jade, on the other hand…
Its body was as sturdy as a Legendary Beast cub, and dodging merely required a small twist of its body, hardly consuming any energy at all. Jade remained lively and full of vigor.
"No way… how can a Miltank move like that?" Max's eyes widened in disbelief.
In his impression, Miltank were just fat cows. Heavy, slow.Yet Yozora's Jade, despite its plump body, moved with surprising speed.
Yozora chuckled and shook his head."You're mistaken, Max. Don't be deceived by appearances—Miltank are actually speed-based Pokémon."
Max blinked in shock. "That can't be true…"
"Especially when rolling."
"Jade—use Rollout!"
Jade pressed its four hooves into the ground, curled into a ball, and spun forward like a green boulder. With a booming impact, it sent Mudkip flying.
"Mudkip is unable to battle. This match goes to Yozora!" announced Professor Birch.
The result was decided. But Max didn't feel discouraged—on the contrary, his respect for Yozora only deepened.
Of course he's that strong. He's Yozora, after all.
"Alright, Senior Yozora, I'll be taking my leave. Next time, I'll challenge you again!" Max recalled his Mudkip, bowed deeply, and slowly walked away.
Yozora glanced toward Ash, smiled, and said, "Looks like it's time for me to head out as well."
After parting ways with Ash, Yozora set off with Larvitar in his arms.
About two hours later, Yozora reached a dense forest. Unleashing his Aura, he instantly pinpointed the strongest presences within.
They were the strongest in this forest, yes… but still only senior-level Pokémon.
Yozora wasn't looking for high levels—he sought high potential. Levels could always be trained, but potential… that was destiny.
Unfortunately, Aura could only sense a Pokémon's level, not its innate potential.
Still, as a general rule, the strongest in a given area were usually those with the best potential. After all, higher potential meant faster growth.
So, Yozora simply needed to find the highest-level Pokémon in this area, and the rest would follow.
The first was about five hundred meters southwest.
Within minutes, he arrived.
"Larvi!" Larvitar, hanging around his neck, suddenly pointed toward a large tree.
On a branch above, a Pokémon stood proudly—Nuzleaf.
"A Nuzleaf…" Yozora sighed, disappointed.
Clearly, it wasn't what he wanted.
In Hoenn, the Grass-type he was truly after was Treecko.
Still, he checked the Nuzleaf's stats through his system. Interest or not, if it had Champion-level potential, he wouldn't ignore it.
Because… Champion potential was simply too rare, too precious.
[Nuzleaf]: Senior level. Elite potential.
"Only Elite…" Yozora shook his head, instantly losing interest.
For Pokémon he liked, he was willing to lower his standards a little.But for ones he didn't like, unless they had Elite Four-level potential or above, he wouldn't bother.
So, with no interest left, Yozora turned to leave.
But the Nuzleaf cried out in indignation. His casual dismissal had wounded its pride.
"Swish! Swish!" Two Razor Leafs sliced toward Yozora.
He raised a hand, Aura forming a shimmering barrier that blocked them effortlessly. Without even looking back, he walked away.
Leaving the Nuzleaf frozen on its branch in silence.
Over the next week, Yozora scouted the forest thoroughly. Beautifly, Dustox, Beedrill, Nuzleaf, Zigzagoon, Poochyena…
Every "strongest presence" he tracked turned out to be disappointing.
Almost all had only Elite potential.
Useless for his goals.
"This forest is too small… no real treasures here." Yozora finally shook his head, stepping out of the woods. Passing along a winding path, he arrived at bustling Petalburg City.
Petalburg housed the Petalburg Gym, led by Norman—the father of May and Max.
But according to the Trainer's Handbook, one needed at least five Hoenn Badges before being allowed to challenge the Gym.
And besides, Yozora had no Pokémon ready for Gym battles yet.
Jade had some battle strength, but Larvitar… none at all.
Still, over the past week, Yozora had carefully raised Larvitar, feeding it daily with high-quality Moomoo milk from Mei, his mother Miltank.
The milk's nutrition was extraordinary. But Larvitar's growth remained painfully slow.
Such was the fate of pseudo-legendary hatchlings. Their infancy could take two to three years.
With Miltank's milk, Yozora hoped to shorten that period significantly. But when exactly Larvitar would emerge from its infancy remained uncertain.
After a full week, Larvitar's skin had only grown slightly tougher. Its aura was still frail, a clear mark of being in its helpless infant stage.
Once it crossed that threshold into rookie level, raising it would become much easier.
But as a pseudo-legendary, each level demanded exponentially more experience than normal Pokémon.
Slow growth. Late blooming. That was their nature.
And yet, trainers worldwide—Yozora included—gladly embraced the hardship.
Because pseudo-legendaries were irresistible.
"Hey, Senior Yozora! I didn't expect to see you again so soon!"
On his way to Petalburg's Pokémon Center, Yozora ran into Max once more.
"Are you planning to challenge the Petalburg Gym?" Max asked excitedly. "My dad's the Gym Leader. Normally you need five Badges to qualify, but if it's you, I'm sure he'd make an exception!"
Max's sincerity was obvious—he was even ready to lobby on Yozora's behalf.
Yozora shook his head with a smile. "Thanks, but no. For now, I only have Larvitar and Miltank with me. I'd rather capture new partners first."
Max nodded, enlightened."I see! You want to challenge Gyms with a fresh team of new partners!"
Yozora smiled in confirmation.
"In that case," Max said, "right outside Petalburg is the Petalburg Woods. There are tons of wild Pokémon there! I can take you!"
As they spoke, they arrived at the Pokémon Center, handing their partners over to Nurse Joy for care.
When they were ready, the two entered the vast Petalburg Woods together.
"Now this is a forest…" Yozora muttered. Extending his Aura, he tried to scan the area—only to cover less than a third of it.
This forest was massive. Comparable even to Viridian Forest in Kanto.
Petalburg Woods was famous for its sheer size, and within were many rare Pokémon. In the anime, Ash's group even encountered a whole colony of Treecko here.
Yozora smirked to himself. Just one Treecko is worth a million. But an entire colony? That's priceless.
Naturally, the forest also attracted poachers and hunters who coveted its bounty.
By dusk, Yozora and Max had set up camp under a towering tree, preparing dinner together.
This time, without Mei at his side, Yozora had brought a stock of Miltank milk instead, sharing some with Max.
"Wow, this is amazing! So this is Miltank milk?" Max and his Mudkip both drank eagerly, their eyes lighting up in delight.
Yozora chuckled inwardly.It's not just delicious—the nutrition is monstrous.
Sure enough, after just a few sips, both Max and Mudkip were hiccuping and burping.
"Strange…" Max blushed. "Why am I already full after just a little? Is it… too nutritious?"
"If you finished the whole bottle," Yozora said with a grin, "you probably wouldn't need to eat again for days."
"W-what?!"
Max froze in shock.A drink like this… isn't it basically a Dragon Ball Senzu Bean?
He glanced over at Larvitar, who was happily guzzling down its bottle without pause. His jaw dropped."Wait—if it's that filling, then why can Larvitar keep drinking so much?"
"Because it's Larvitar," Yozora laughed. "Haven't you ever heard the legend of Larvitar eating an entire mountain?"
Max's eyes nearly popped. "E-eating a whole mountain?!"
Sure enough, after finishing its milk, Larvitar wandered off, digging into the dirt—and began eating the soil.
Yozora's eyes widened, stunned and delighted.
This was the first time Larvitar had eaten something besides milk. Even if it was just dirt…
Max, meanwhile, felt his worldview collapse. "It's eating… dirt? But there are fresh Berries right there!"
Jade and Mudkip also stared blankly. Curious, they each scooped up a bit of dirt and stuffed it into their mouths.
"P-puh! Blech!" Both spat it out instantly, faces twisted in disgust, glaring at Larvitar as if it were insane.
"This idiot… dirt tastes awful!"
Yozora and Max both burst into laughter at the sight.
Under the judgmental stares of the other two, Larvitar just giggled, then happily continued munching away at the soil.
"Well…" Yozora cleared his throat, trying to explain under Max's eager gaze. "Larvitar's a Ground/Rock type. Compared to Berries, it probably prefers soil—it can absorb energy from it."
"But Senior Yozora," Max pressed, "you said Larvitar could eat an entire mountain. If that's true, shouldn't it prefer rocks instead of dirt? After all, its evolution Tyranitar is Rock/Dark type, losing the Ground typing."
Yozora chuckled. "It doesn't even have teeth yet, Max. Remember, Larvitar—and really, all pseudo-legendaries—grow very, very slowly."
Max's eyes lit up with realization. "I see! Another lesson learned!"
As night fell, Yozora lit a campfire. While they ate dinner, he watched Larvitar continue digging and chewing dirt with fascination.
The fact that Larvitar was now eating more meant its appetite was growing. More appetite meant more food. More food meant more nutrients absorbed.
Which, in turn, meant faster growth.
It was just a tiny step, but for Yozora, even this little progress filled him with joy.
"Puchi-puchi~"
Suddenly, a rustling in the grass caught their attention. Drawn by the smell of food, a Zigzagoon emerged, approaching their camp.
"A Zigzagoon!" Max exclaimed, instantly thrilled. As a rookie trainer, encountering any wild Pokémon made his blood race. Mudkip felt his excitement and stepped up to face it.
"Alright, Mudkip! I choose you! Use Tackle!"
"Mud!"Mudkip charged with all its might. But Zigzagoon showed no fear, countering with its own Tackle.
Boom!
The impact sent Mudkip flying backward. Zigzagoon's raw strength was clearly greater.
"Mudkip!" Max cried out, rushing to check on his partner.
Meanwhile, the Zigzagoon ignored them entirely. It trotted straight to their cooking area and began devouring the food with complete disregard for Yozora or Jade.
(End of Chapter)