Pokémon: Above the Top

"Pu?"

Pupitar raised its head and saw Tyranitar smiling at it with the same gentle warmth as the first time it opened its eyes after hatching.

"…Tyr~"

Tyranitar let out a low growl, as if saying goodbye to Pupitar.

"Tar!?"

Pupitar panicked. 'Goodbye? Say goodbye to what? You're right here in front of me!'

There was no wind in the cave, but Tyranitar's body began slowly turning into tiny grains of yellow sand, floating in the air and drifting gently.

"PUUU! TAAAR! PUPITAAAR!"

Pupitar started crying out in panic, its clumsy body dashing back and forth through the yellow sand, not to scatter it, but in a desperate attempt to make it return to Tyranitar's body.

Tyranitar just continued watching Pupitar softly, unmoved by its frantic motion, until it completely turned to sand. The thick swirl of sand now fully cover Pupitar.

"TAAAAAR! PUPITAAAR!"

Pupitar, trapped in the center of the sandstorm, kept calling out to Tyranitar, all its sorrow, pain, and confusion eventually erupting into a heartbreaking scream!

The yellow sand began spinning violently, triggering its corrosive power. Even a mere touch of the sand made Sato's skin sting sharply.

Helpless, Sato had to back away, watching as the swirling sand gathered tightly, completely encasing Pupitar and beginning to "grind" it fiercely.

"Pupitar, hang in there!" Sato said firmly, not knowing if Pupitar could hear him.

But the scene unfolding before his eyes wasn't unfamiliar… Tyranitar had used the last of its energy to help Pupitar.

In his previous life, due to a lack of resources, the Larvitar he had trained in secret for two years still hadn't evolved.

At the time, Sato was still part of the Ghost Ship Organization. Taking advantage of a rookie evaluation task, he brought Larvitar back to this place.

Tyranitar's condition back then had been slightly better, so it didn't need to be awakened. On its own, it began disintegrating into sand to help Larvitar evolve.

In this life, Sato had also timed the visit carefully. To avoid the Ghost Ship, he even arrived a week early.

But something went wrong… Tyranitar's condition was far worse than in his previous life. Fortunately, it had been awakened in time by Dark Energy.

This time, Sato brought Pupitar back solely so it could see Tyranitar one last time. Whether or not it could be "reforged" by the sand didn't matter to him.

After all, Larvitar had already evolved ahead of time and even reached the Mid Elite. Whether Tyranitar's remaining strength could still help Pupitar was uncertain.

But for Tyranitar, if it could do anything to help its child, even a little, it would do so without hesitation.

Pupitar's second layer of armor could no longer support its growth. It had already become worn and cracked, and under the erosion of the sand, it was quickly ground away.

And then, under Pupitar's howls, a new armor began to take shape rapidly. The yellow sand stopped eroding and instead began sticking to it, grain by grain, aiding the armor's formation.

The entire process lasted over ten minutes. When the final grain of sand was perfectly absorbed, the newly forged armor -tinged with a hint of green- finally appeared before Sato.

"TAAAR!"

Pupitar let out a roar of release, then lowered its eyes, falling silent.

Sato stepped forward and gently patted Pupitar's hardened shell. "This is Tyranitar's final gift to you. Carry its honor… and surpass it!"

"TAAAAR!"

Pupitar let out another mighty roar, causing the entire cave to tremble faintly.

Sato stroked Pupitar and spoke softly, "…Don't forget, you still have me."

"Zoro!"

Zoroark ran over from the side, signaling that it was here too.

"See? You still have us!"

"Pu~"

Pupitar nodded. It was the child of the pseudo-legendary Tyranitar, and its future was destined to uphold the honor of that legacy, just as Tyranitar had.

---

[Level: Peak Elite. Height has doubled, now reaching 1.4 meters.

The armor's hardness is over twice that of an average Pupitar at this level. This is likely due to the special effects of the sand refinement, and possibly infused with some of Tyranitar's energy.

The benefit is a considerable boost in combat strength at this stage. However, the next shed will become more difficult. But after that, its power will increase even further.

The silver armor has a trace of green. Under sunlight, it becomes quite noticeable.]

"This 'mutation' could make it easy to detect, so whether to conceal it is up to you. Pupitar is in excellent health. No problems at all. Its energy is highly active.

In the short term, I don't recommend continuing to accumulate energy through long sleep. Participating in regular battles will help Pupitar better control its growing power.

Phew~ That's everything!" Joseph closed his notebook with relief.

Next to him, Akira, who had been assisting, quickly nodded. He had helped with this round of evaluation for Pupitar.

"Leader's Pupitar is seriously amazing!" Akira said with admiration. That kind of sincere praise always lifts spirits.

"It's all thanks to Pupitar's hard work and dedication," Sato said with a smile, and Pupitar couldn't help feeling a bit better after hearing it too.

"Want to battle?"

"Pu~"

Pupitar immediately nodded. It was eager to release all its negative emotions through battle. Tyranitar's passing hadn't been easy for it to accept.

"Perfect timing. A pretty decent Challenger showed up at the Gym today," Joseph said with a smile.

"Someone you know?" Sato raised an eyebrow, curious.

"Of course. And you know her well. She said she'll be here this afternoon to challenge you, so you'd better be ready."

"Oh," Sato nodded, dropping the questioning. He turned and left with Pupitar.

Joseph tilted his head, smiling slyly. "Good job, Sato~"

Sensing something off, Akira quietly lowered his presence and slipped away unnoticed.

---

Feeling a bit mischievous, Sato brought Pupitar to the training grounds. It had been a while since they'd battled, and with the recent "level up", Sato wasn't fully sure of Pupitar's current strength. Since there was still time, he figured it would be good to get familiar again.

After lunch and a short break, Sato went to the front yard of the Gym. Since the "familiar" person hadn't arrived yet, there were still a few average-strength Challengers waiting.

Then, by sheer luck, they discovered that today, the Gym Leader himself would be handling the matches.

Mistakenly thinking they had caught the attention of Sato, the group eagerly sent out their Pokémon… only to realize the truth in under three minutes.

Bunch of fools!

"Warm-up's done. Now for the main course… Joseph! When's this 'familiar face' of mine showing up?" Sato called out loudly.

Joseph smiled faintly and walked away.

Sato: …?