"Roar—"
"Master, I really can't do it anymore!"
Another day of relentless training.
Groudon was the first to collapse on the ground from exhaustion. The fatigue from yesterday hadn't fully faded, even after a night's sleep. Yet, just after breakfast, Riku dragged them all out to train again.
This was practically tormenting four legendary Pokémon.
Riku frowned slightly, slowly lowering his right leg, which had been raised for half an hour.
"Just this little bit of training, and you're already giving up?"
"Besides, I've been training right alongside you."
"You should have some sense of responsibility. Look at Feebas, flopping around helplessly on the ground. Don't you older brothers feel sorry for it?"
Older brothers?
Since when did we become the older brothers?
The three legendary birds and Groudon looked at each other in confusion.
Especially Groudon. It had only been on the island for a few days—barely earlier than Feebas. So why was Feebas treated like the youngest, pampered and spoiled, always cared for first and receiving all the benefits… while Groudon was treated like an older brother and trained until it nearly vomited white foam?
"I'll give you two more minutes to rest," Riku sighed. "Try to be a bit more understanding."
"You may be stronger than Feebas now, but you probably can't evolve anymore, and your potential's mostly tapped out."
"Feebas is different."
"Once you've all trained up a bit more, we'll bring Feebas out to gain some battle experience."
"May said that Milotic, Feebas's evolution, is both beautiful and powerful."
"If Feebas is trained properly, it might even be able to lead you 'older brothers' one day."
The three legendary birds and Groudon rolled their eyes at Riku's nonsense.
Meanwhile, Feebas swam happily in its large water tank.
It looked carefree—completely unconcerned by the presence of the legendary birds, Groudon, or even Riku's daunting aura.
"This still won't do."
"I need to exchange for an Exp. Share and ask May to train the little guy… it's a bit pricey though..."
Seeing the three silly birds and the little red shrimp looking resentful, Riku sighed and spent 20,000 points in the system shop to exchange for an Exp. Share.
He called May, and an hour later, she arrived on the island riding Blastoise.
---
"You want my Pokémon to train Feebas?"
Hearing Riku's request, May was visibly surprised.
"I called Professor Oak again yesterday, and he clearly said that Feebas must meet certain Beauty stat criteria in order to evolve."
Riku insisted, "That can't be right! Feebas and 'beauty' don't even belong in the same sentence."
"Let's train it first and see. If it really doesn't work, I'll think of another way."
Under Riku's persistent request, May could only helplessly summon Blastoise and bring them both to a nearby uninhabited island.
There were far too few Pokémon on Riku's island.
May remembered that before Riku had drifted there, the island had a decent population of Pokémon. She had no idea what had happened during his stay.
---
"Come on out, Blaziken!"
Stepping onto the uninhabited island, May immediately summoned her strongest Pokémon.
Just like how gamers give their all when they're carrying a noob, May was now stepping up as the carry.
No way was she going to let Riku underestimate her.
"Whoa! This Pokémon looks amazing!"
Riku's eyes sparkled with envy.
He had seen many Pokémon before, but few that gave him such an instant sense of overwhelming power.
Sharp claws wrapped in bandages, powerful legs clearly suited for combat—it was obviously a Fighting-type. Its attacks were bound to be fierce and fast.
Its blue eyes, sharply contrasting its color scheme, exuded an extraordinary aura. Just its presence alone dwarfed the cuteness of many other Pokémon.
But envy was envy.
Riku quickly hung the Exp. Share around Feebas's head.
The system, perhaps wary of exposing his secret, made the Exp. Share appear as nothing more than a silver bead. Riku tied it with a red string to make it look ordinary.
May gave it a brief glance, then focused her attention forward.
At that moment, Blaziken was facing off against a wild Pinsir that had suddenly appeared.
---
"What kind of Pokémon is that?"
"It looks kind of… ferocious."
After equipping Feebas with the Exp. Share, Riku told it to observe the battle closely, then stepped next to May.
May didn't respond. Instead, she opened her Pokédex.
"Pinsir, a Bug-type Pokémon.
Pinsir has no gender differences. The horns on its head can snap large trees.
Pinsir fears Ice-type Pokémon and burrows underground during cold nights.
It lives in forests, ambushes prey from trees, and hides in holes it digs with its horns at night.
Note: Pinsir loves to suck tree sap."
---
"Riku, do you want to catch it?" May asked suddenly.
"If you do, I won't let Blaziken go all out."
Riku blinked. "Is that even allowed? Don't you have to weaken it yourself to catch it?"
May nodded. "Technically, yes. But in practice, there's some flexibility. Though… you might waste a few Poké Balls."
"Then forget it," Riku shook his head. "I don't really like such fierce-looking Pokémon. And it's so big—it probably eats a lot."
That was just an excuse.
The real reason was that the Pokédex said Pinsir feared the cold. How could it stay around Little Blue in the future?
---
"You really are something..." May shook her head, then called out to her eager Pokémon.
"Blaziken! Make it quick—Fire Punch!"
"Gah—!"
Blaziken had been waiting for that command. Flames surged from its right fist as it darted forward and struck Pinsir with a fiery blow.
"Chirp—chirp—!"
With a mournful cry, Pinsir was thrown back several steps, heavily weakened by the Fire-type move, before collapsing to the ground.
---
Ding—
Feebas's level increased!
Feebas's level increased!
Feebas's level increased!
---
The string of system notifications stunned Riku.
He didn't expect that just defeating one Pinsir would cause Feebas to level up three times in a row.
To his surprise, he could now even pull up Feebas's stat sheet via the system.
---
Stat Sheet
Feebas: Lv. 6
Type: Water
Item: Exp. Share
Ability: Oblivious
Hidden Ability: Adaptability
Moves: Splash
Base Stats: 200
---
Riku wasn't sure how those stats compared to other Pokémon, but even a blind man could see it—Feebas was... pretty useless.
"Alright, let's keep going!"
Seeing that Pinsir wasn't in mortal danger, May waved at Riku and led the way deeper into the uninhabited island.
They were here to grind experience—not to capture Pokémon.
Besides, there were strict regulations in the Pokémon world that prevented trainers from hunting Pokémon in large quantities or without reason.
---
In just twenty minutes, Riku and May encountered seven wild Pokémon.
Whenever they came across amphibious Pokémon, May would also call out her Ivysaur to assist.
Riku, watching the fierce and efficient performance of May's Pokémon, was filled with envy.
But by the fourth wild encounter, May's brows were furrowed.
Her Pokémon, normally gentle, were acting unusually aggressive today—as if they'd eaten gunpowder.
---
"Awooo—!"
Suddenly, a long howl echoed from the distance.
"A wolf?" Riku was startled. "Are there wolves on this island?"
"It's probably a Poochyena. They're everywhere," May replied, analyzing quickly.
"And Poochyena tend to travel in packs. They bully other Pokémon in groups."
"Let's go—time to bully them back a little."
Riku had no objections. As long as they could gain experience, he was in.
However, when they saw what was standing proudly atop the large rock—the one howling—both of them froze.
---
It wasn't a Poochyena.
It was a beautiful Pokémon with a majestic blue gem on its forehead.
"Th-This… this is Suicune!"
"Why is it here?!"
May panicked, quickly pulling Riku down behind cover. They crouched low, hoping to avoid detection.
"Roar—!"
Boom—!
Before Riku could even ask what kind of Pokémon Suicune was, two more roars erupted in the distance.
Moments later, both of them witnessed a truly shocking sight.
The three legendary beasts… had gathered on this uninhabited island!
---Support with power stones