Chapter Forty-Five: Eucyrus

Heath stared blankly at the Larvitar before him. The name Larvitar might not ring a bell for some, but if you mention Tyranitar, perhaps more people would recognize it—a Pokémon ranked among the pseudo-legendaries. Tyranitar has always been a popular powerhouse in the world of Pokémon, both in battles and among collectors, thanks to its formidable strength and practical utility.

With a base stat total of 600, it nearly reaches the upper limit for ordinary Pokémon, and its Mega Evolution boasts an astonishing 700—a testament to its overwhelming power. This made Heath even more perplexed: how did Brock come to possess such a Pokémon?

“It looks really strong,” Heath exclaimed in awe, gazing at the Larvitar. He’d heard that Larvitar must consume an entire mountain to evolve—a simple way to put it is that Larvitar is a prodigious eater, with rather peculiar tastes.

“Of course it is, but it eats so much I’m going to go broke,” Brock sighed, looking troubled. Heath pressed for details and finally learned some of Larvitar’s unique quirks.

First, Larvitar truly is voracious, devouring earth, rocks, and the like. Its evolution demands an immense accumulation of energy, only then can it transform into Pupitar, and eventually await its final metamorphosis into Tyranitar.

Yet with its great appetite comes equally great output, so there’s no need to worry about Larvitar stripping the land bare; nature has its own way of balancing things. The soil Larvitar leaves behind can eventually pile up to form another small hill.

Yes, Pokémon are living creatures after all, with all the usual bodily functions. Don’t ask how Heath knows this.

When Heath first crossed into this world, he hadn’t even considered whether Pokémon needed to use the bathroom—until that day he made some popsicles and Arcanine went wild eating them. The next morning, Heath nearly had to swim through a sea of filth in his dormitory.

Heath was almost sick to his stomach. After finally cleaning up, he was soundly thrashed by Sister Maple, leaving him to wonder if he might soon have to report to the underworld.

From that day on, Heath learned a valuable lesson: the bigger the creature, the bigger the mess. He also discovered the sad truth that Arcanine can’t eat frozen treats—otherwise, it gets an upset stomach.

“What’s so bad about it? Doesn’t Larvitar just eat dirt?” Heath waved a steamed bun in front of Larvitar, who looked at him as if pitying a fool.

Helpless, Heath stuffed the bun into his own mouth. It seemed this little creature was quite the picky eater—nothing but soil would do.

“Don’t mention it. My dad already told me I won’t get another cent from him, and now that I’ve become a Gym Leader, I won’t have a salary for the next ten years either. He bought me a mountain as the price for raising Larvitar,” Brock sighed again, though with his perpetually squinted eyes, the gesture seemed almost comical.

Heath cast a sympathetic glance at Brock. No wonder Brock later hit the road with Ash—likely in part to escape working for free.

“But Tyranitar, Larvitar’s final evolution, is incredibly strong,” Heath consoled Brock, lest this unlucky fellow give up on being Pewter City’s Gym Leader altogether.

After some words of comfort, Brock left with his Larvitar in tow—the little Pokémon had started to feel hungry again.

Heath regarded Larvitar’s diminutive frame—only about 0.6 meters tall—and found it hard to imagine that it weighed 72 kilograms. Once it evolved into Tyranitar, it would tip the scales at over 200 kilograms.

“Luckily, my Pokémon don’t have huge appetites,” Heath breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at his own two partners.

If he’d caught a glutton, Heath thought his dream of saving up for a journey would have to be postponed by several more months. Fortunately, both Farfetch’d and Zorua had modest diets.

Of the two, Zorua ate the least—one mushroom bun was enough to fill it up. Quite an easy Pokémon to care for.

“Oh~ my friend, I dare say, even my foolish brother could not deny that your food is the best I’ve ever tasted!” The familiar cadence needed no introduction; Heath didn’t even have to look up to know who it was.

“Mr. Cord, what brings you here to eat today?” Heath looked up at the Alakazam before him and asked calmly.

“Oh, little Heath, you always speak in such an amusing way—why can’t you appreciate the beauty of conversation?” Cord’s moustache curled with his broad grin. Heath rolled his eyes; he had no intention of adopting that odd, flowery style of speech.

But just as Heath was about to reply, Cord’s expression turned to one of resignation. Suddenly, a large parcel appeared in his hands.

Before Heath could get a good look at it, the parcel vanished from Cord’s grasp in a flash.

“You know how it is, my friend. Those blasted superiors always love to send you a rush order or two,” Cord shrugged. Then, with a mysterious air, he conjured a small bottle from thin air and offered it to Heath.

Heath eyed Cord warily. If he didn’t know Cord was an Alakazam, he might have suspected he was being offered some sort of brain-enlarging serum.

The last time Heath hosted Cord, he’d received a bottle of just that—utterly useless, it now sat forgotten in the cart’s storage locker. Maybe he could sell it back to Cord; after all, didn’t all Alakazam believe bigger heads meant greater intelligence?

Heath remembered seeing a world record in the Pokémon universe: an Alakazam with terrifying strength and a truly enormous head.

“What’s this, Mr. Cord?” Heath asked, peering at the bottle. Inside was a red liquid—not blood.

“Look at that, little Heath, even you don’t recognize this! It’s stone milk,” Cord said with a jolly wave of his spoon.

Heath was even more puzzled. Stone milk? Under Cord’s explanation, he learned it was a substance that dripped from a special kind of stone in caves after many years.

According to Cord, it took nearly a century to collect just this small bottle—he’d stumbled upon it by chance while exploring a cave.

Heath couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of his mouth. Was Cord planning to use this in cooking?

“This is a gift for you, little Heath. I have a feeling you’re about to set off on your own journey, aren’t you?” Cord winked at Heath.

Heath paused for a moment, then burst into laughter—a pure, heartfelt laugh.