Pokemon: With Title System

Chapter 73: Rewards and Magikarp's Evolution

Gary rambled on for quite a while before finally noticing Asahi looking at him with a strange expression.

Only then did he realize—he had been talking way too much.

"Ahem, I was just…" Gary started to explain.

Asahi patted his shoulder, interrupting him. "No need to say it. I understand."

Gary: "?"

What do you mean you understand?

Realizing that the more he spoke, the worse it got, Gary quickly changed the subject.

"Asahi, are you heading back to Rainbow University next? Let me know when your lectures start—I want to sit in."

Asahi was a temporary lecturer at Rainbow University.

Now that Gary knew his true strength, he was eager to learn from him.

"I'm not heading back for now. Haven't you been keeping up with the news in Rainbow City?"

Team Rocket's base had just been taken down—going back now was too risky.

"Oh, you mean the Celadon Game Corner incident? Yeah, I saw the news. Turns out that whole casino was actually owned by Team Rocket, and they had a secret base underneath it. Good thing I just exchanged for a Porygon and left." Gary flicked his hair smugly.

"So, the spiky-haired kid who got a Porygon… that was you?"

Asahi exchanged glances with Green.

"You went to the Game Corner too? Impressive, huh? I must've left a legendary tale behind there, right?"

Gary, completely unaware of the danger he had been in, proudly released his Porygon to show off.

Seeing his confidence, Asahi chuckled.

"Oh, definitely impressive. You won a lot on the slot machines. Maybe I should share this wonderful news with Professor Oak so he can celebrate with you?"

"....."

Gary instantly froze.

If his grandfather found out, that meant his father would find out. And if his father found out…

His allowance… his freedom… all gone.

He couldn't even bear to think about it.

He looked at Asahi in horror. "Are you a devil?!"

Meanwhile, Green covered her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter.

---

After much pleading, Gary begged Asahi not to tell Professor Oak about his gambling at the Game Corner. In return, he got a very unconvincing "I'll think about it" from Asahi before leaving the beach in distress.

Claiming that his loss to Eevee had made him rethink everything, Gary declared he was heading back for some serious training.

Whether he was really going to train or just escaping before Asahi found out more secrets—who knew?

Since Gary had brought a whole group of girlfriends, Asahi hadn't prepared enough food, so he didn't invite him to stay for a meal.

With the rich kid gone, the VIP private beach at the luxury hotel returned to peace.

After Asahi helped her apply sunscreen, Green took Dragonair out for a surf. The graceful way Dragonair glided across the waves, sending shimmering water droplets into the air, created an almost picture-perfect scene.

Asahi admired the sight for a while before turning his attention back to his system rewards.

Among the three choices for defeating Gary, one was the Master-Class Fishing Rod, which he had seen before.

Back then, he had chosen the Mimic Mask over it and the Rotom Bike.

And once again, he decided against picking the Master-Class Fishing Rod.

For now, his team was already strong enough. He had a Magikarp and a Mudkip—more than enough Water-types. He wasn't in a rush to fish for more.

Besides, since this item had shown up twice already, there was a good chance he could get it again later.

That left two options: the Outdoor Picnic Kit, which was just basic camping gear, and the Paldea Secret Spice Set.

It was an easy choice.

[System, I choose the Paldea Secret Spice Set.]

In Scarlet & Violet, the Herba Mystica were rare spices guarded by Titan Pokémon. They even held the power to heal legendary Pokémon like Koraidon and Miraidon.

Considering their rarity and power, Asahi had no reason to pick anything else.

A small box appeared on the table before him.

Opening it, he saw neatly arranged herbs in five different colors, corresponding to the five flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty. There were three of each type, totaling fifteen in all.

Unlike the flat, copy-paste models from the games, each of these herbs had a unique shape—plus, they were glowing!

Asahi picked up a Sweet Herba Mystica, feeling the energy pulsing from it.

Sniff…

Eevee's little nose twitched as it caught the scent of the herb, eyes locking onto it.

Even Gardevoir turned to look, curiosity in her gaze.

Eevee being interested in sweet things wasn't surprising. But Gardevoir, too? That was unexpected.

[Gardevoir, can you analyze what kind of energy is in this?]

Gardevoir attempted to use her psychic power to examine it but soon shook her head, relaying her thoughts telepathically.

"I can't analyze it, but… it smells delicious?"

Well, that was about what he expected.

Psychic powers were versatile, but they weren't omnipotent.

"But how do I eat this? A sandwich?"

Leaving aside the fact that he didn't have the ingredients, he wasn't really interested in making sandwiches anyway.

After a moment of thought, Asahi decided to stick to what he knew best.

He pulled out his Pokéblock Maker.

Washing a Pecha Berry clean, adding the necessary ingredients, and adjusting the rotation speed, he waited for the perfect moment—then tossed in the Sweet Herba Mystica.

A few seconds later, he opened the lid.

A rich, sweet aroma filled the air.

"It's done!"

He picked up a finished Pokéblock and immediately noticed something different—this one was glowing faintly!

He hadn't expected to create a Pokéblock that actually emitted light.

"...Is this thing even safe to eat?"

In his mind, glowing things usually meant radiation.

And while this was the Pokémon world, he still had some hesitation about eating something that looked radioactive.

Handing it over to Gardevoir for a quick psychic analysis, he confirmed that it was harmless.

Now he needed a test subject.

Looking around, Shelgon seemed eager, but… it didn't have a mouth.

Mudkip was busy playing with a Pidgey.

After some thought, Asahi decided to call out Magikarp.

Releasing Magikarp into the ocean, the fish Pokémon happily flopped in the waves, enjoying the fresh sea breeze.

"Alright, buddy, I've got something good for you."

He held out the glowing Pokéblock.

Magikarp hesitated—whenever Asahi gave it something, things tended to get weird.

But the Pokéblock smelled delicious.

After a brief moment of caution, it gulped it down.

Asahi observed closely.

"Hmm… it looks really satisfied. Enhanced flavor, maybe?"

Magikarp had eaten sweet Pokéblocks before, but it had never reacted like this.

But then…

Something changed.

Magikarp's body suddenly started expanding.

Fast.

Within moments, it had nearly doubled in size—and was still growing.

"Wait… is this turning into a Titan Pokémon situation?"

Asahi watched as Magikarp's golden scales began to glow intensely.

Then, a bright light engulfed its entire body.

"This is…"

He stared intently at the transformation.

Within seconds, the glowing mass grew even larger, stretching and reshaping.

Then—

ROOOOAR!

A massive, crimson-scaled Gyarados burst forth from the water, letting out a thunderous roar.

Waves crashed onto the shore from its sheer presence.

Asahi took a moment to process what had just happened.

"...One Pokéblock did all that?"

A single bite had caused Magikarp to evolve instantly—and made it even larger than a normal Gyarados.

But before he could think too much about it—

"You can stop roaring now!"

Thankfully, this was a private VIP beach, so there weren't many people around to hear it.

Hearing Asahi's words and sensing Gardevoir's chilling psychic presence, Gyarados quickly lowered its head, acting as submissive as possible.

Even though it had evolved, the sheer pressure coming from Gardevoir still terrified it.

Not to mention, there was also that ridiculously strong Eevee.

Its dreams of being the strongest in the team were already shattered.

Meanwhile, Asahi placed his hand on Gyarados' cold, armored scales and activated Verdant Power to scan its condition.

Thankfully, there were no signs of forced evolution causing harm.

With a relieved sigh, Asahi thought to himself—

"Did I just create something insane?"