Four Choices, Three Slots—This Left Julian in a Dilemma. Of course, one of the slots was already decided: Steelix.
After all, it had worked hard to dig up the Diamond Core, so it definitely deserved a share. Though, honestly, even if Steelix didn't get any, it wouldn't hold it against Julian.
"Aggron, Pupitar."
After some thought, Julian released these two Pokémon. Together with Steelix, that made three slots filled.
Garchomp: 'So… love fades, huh?'
Leaving out Garchomp was a decision Julian made after careful consideration.
Aggron was a core member of his main team, so it naturally got a share.
The real dilemma had been choosing between Garchomp and Pupitar.
In the end, Julian chose Pupitar.
Garchomp: 'So… love really does fades, huh?'
The reason he chose Pupitar was because it had never used a treasure of this caliber before, while Garchomp had already soaked in the Dragon Pool back when it was a Gible.
Additionally, Pupitar needed to accumulate an enormous amount of energy to evolve into Tyranitar. Even though the energy it had accumulated was already pretty terrifying, Julian still wasn't satisfied.
He'd originally planned to let it keep stockpiling energy for another half year before letting it evolve—but now that he had the Diamond Core, that time could be drastically shortened.
Plus, when it came to "eating rocks," Pupitar was an absolute professional.
"Kartana, do the honors."
Julian had Kartana slice the Diamond Core into four pieces—three portions of 500 kg (1,100 lbs) each, and a remaining chunk of about 250 kg (550 lbs).
"Go ahead, dig in."
The three Pokémon didn't hesitate.
Aggron finished its share in a few bites. The ultra-hard Diamond Core might as well have been tofu in its jaws. After swallowing, it let out a deeply satisfied rumble.
The effects were immediate—its level jumped from 75 to 77. But that was secondary, since levels could always be raised with time anyway.
What really mattered was that Aggron's inner foundation had deepened significantly.
The same went for Steelix.
As for Pupitar, the moment it swallowed the Diamond Core, a surge of powerful primal energy erupted from its body.
The Everstone that Julian had hung around its neck—to prevent it from evolving—immediately began to crack under the force of that energy.
Looking closely, there were already countless fractures in the stone.
A few seconds later, the Everstone shattered with a crack, breaking into countless tiny shards.
Pupitar's foundation had become so solid and powerful that the Everstone could no longer suppress it.
Without the Everstone's restraint, the evolution was unstoppable.
And so, a brilliant evolution light engulfed Pupitar.
The dazzling light made Pupitar shine like a second sun on the ground.
After about ten seconds, the radiance faded—revealing a towering, 7-meter-tall behemoth clad in green armor, resembling a prehistoric dinosaur.
"TAR—!!"
Overwhelmed by its surging power and the joy of evolution, Tyranitar let out an earth-shaking roar.
---
Pokémon: Tyranitar (Rock/Dark)
Level: 60
Potential: Blue
Ability: Sand Stream
Held Item: Hard Stone
Gender: Male
Moves: Iron Defense, Tackle, Payback, Leer, Bite, Rock Throw, Scary Face, Rock Slide, Stomping Tantrum, Screech, Smack Down, Crunch, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Thrash, Sandstorm, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Dark Pulse, Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Fire Fang
TMs: Protect, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Snarl, Rock Tomb, Dragon Tail, Swords Dance, Rock Blast, Ice Punch, Facade, Bulldoze, Brick Break, Substitute, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Dragon Pulse
Egg Moves: Iron Head, Ancient Power, Focus Energy, Assurance
Note: After consuming the Diamond Core, the power of Rock and Ground-type moves is increased by 20%.
---
Watching Tyranitar revel in its newfound strength, Julian couldn't help but smile. Nothing brought a trainer more pride than seeing their Pokémon grow stronger.
It took a full minute for Tyranitar to finally stop roaring.
The roaring lasted a full minute before Tyranitar finally settled down.
"Congratulations, Tyranitar. You've finally achieved your dream," Julian said with a grin.
Tyranitar lowered its massive head to nuzzle close to its Trainer's waist—it knew very well who had made all of this possible. For Julian, it felt endless gratitude.
Julian patted its massive skull, feeling fine grains of sand floating around it.
This was due to its Sand Stream ability. Freshly evolved, Tyranitar couldn't fully control it yet, causing loose sand to drift around its body.
But this was already impressive. Some newly evolved Tyranitar couldn't restrain their ability at all, instantly whipping up sandstorms wherever they went.
Standing side by side with Aggron, both Totem-class Pokémon towered at 7 meters tall.
Once Tyranitar fully matured, the sight of these two living fortresses standing guard would be enough to make any opponent despair.
Julian almost felt sorry for his future opponents.
Aggron patted its little brother on the shoulder: "Let's see who can eat more next time."
Tyranitar: "Now that I've evolved, I'll definitely beat you."
Hearing the two Pokémon bicker, Julian glanced at his system points—yep, still over 600,000—nothing to worry about for now.
Julian then gently patted Garchomp's Poké Ball and said, "Next time, I'll get you something good. For now, just bear with it, alright?"
The Poké Ball wobbled slightly in response.
He stored the remaining 250 kg (550 lbs) of Diamond Core in his system space instead of feeding it directly to Garchomp.
Unlike Tyranitar, Garchomp couldn't just gnaw on rocks.
This Diamond Core would need to be processed first—at the very least, ground into powder and mixed into the Pokéblocks Garchomp ate.
If he tried to make Garchomp chomp down on raw diamond, it'd probably damage its fangs and wreck its digestion.
Meanwhile, Tyranitar had already started its all-you-can-eat buffet. Evolution worked up an appetite, and luckily, this entire area was a diamond vein—the perfect feast for a Rock-type.
Since the Walker family had exclusive mining rights here, this diamond deposit would now serve as a permanent food source for their Pokémon.
"Once the diamonds are refined, you can eat as much as you want," Julian declared.
Tyranitar's defensive potential, like Aggron's, depended largely on what it consumed. The higher the quality of its diet, the tougher its natural armor would become.
Aggron's monstrous defense, for example, was the result of devouring countless rare ores—resources so expensive that, if converted into money, they'd rival the total wealth of a mid-sized clan.
As for Metagross… well, that thing was beyond monetary value. It was basically a walking treasure vault.
*****
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