"That's right, Larvitar—just like that. You need to imagine becoming one with heaven and earth."
"You are the sand, and the sand is you."
Amidst a raging sandstorm—
Larvitar closed its eyes, trying hard to reach the state Red described.
Standing nearby, wearing goggles—
Red watched without moving.
Although Larvitar wasn't moving at all—
as the sand swirled around it,
its figure gradually became blurred—
flickering in and out of sight.
"Come on, Larvitar!"
Red was currently conducting Sand Veil specialization training.
Although Mega Tyranitar could be called a hexagonal warrior—
crushing opponents purely through stats—
Larvitar was far from that level.
In fact—
before evolution—
its stats were actually below average compared to Pokémon of the same level.
So Red decided to focus on developing its Sand Veil ability—
to enhance its combat effectiveness.
However—
the results weren't great.
In Red's view,
Larvitar's sand control could be divided into five stages:
Stage 1 — ConcealmentEven without moving, use sand to obscure its bodyExpand sand coverage and densityStage 2 — Basic Combat AssistanceUse sand to sense everything within a sandstormDetect all movementCreate sand clones to distract opponentsStage 3 — Sand as a WeaponSand becomes a primary offensive toolForm armor or enhance clawsNormal attacks gain elemental power
Red called this:
"Sand Armor"
At this level—
Larvitar would be close to Elite Four-tier strength.
Stage 4 — Independent Sand CombatControl sand directly to fightCreate an immortal sand beast
Against weaker opponents—
the sand beast alone could win.
And after defeating it—
they'd still face Larvitar at full strength.
A true desert tyrant.
Stage 5 — (Concept Only)
Too far away for now.
Even Stage 4 would take a long time.
But right now—
Larvitar was stuck at Stage 1.
Red frowned.
"With perfect aptitude, Stage 1 shouldn't be this hard…"
Then—
he noticed something.
Larvitar's face was flushed red—
yet it still instinctively licked its lips.
Red suddenly had an idea.
"Larvitar, don't imagine a sandstorm."
"Imagine you're surrounded by… lollipops."
"A whole ocean of lollipops!"
"Control them—cover yourself with them!"
Larvitar froze—
then started drooling.
The next second—
Red's eyes widened.
Larvitar—
disappeared completely.
Even though Red could still "see" it via Viridian Power—
to normal perception—
it was gone.
Perfectly blended into the sandstorm.
"Beautifully done, Larvitar!"
Red rushed over and hugged it.
"That was perfect. Remember that feeling."
"But how did you do it?"
Larvitar gestured excitedly:
'When I imagined the sand as lollipops—'
'my control improved instantly!'
Drooling, it added:
'If only the sand were really lollipops…'
Red's mouth twitched.
"So your bond with lollipops is stronger than your bond with sand?!"
"I don't even know if you're a Sand Tyrant or a Lollipop Tyrant anymore…"
Still—
it worked.
Red took out a reward.
"Ta-da~ a brand new flavor of lollipop."
Made with Combee royal jellyMixed with fine sand-rock fragmentsInfused with Latias scale powder (Songzao Gym secret method)Includes Rock Gem and Spicy Berry
"How is it?"
Larvitar bit into it—
and froze.
Its eyes curved into crescents.
"So good!!"
It hugged the lollipop in bliss.
"Alright, save it for later."
"Time for battle."
Larvitar immediately hid the candy behind its back—
and got ready.
Challenger Battle
A familiar challenger appeared again.
"Gym Leader Red! I choose the sandstorm field!"
"This time, my newly caught Golduck and I will win!"
Ten minutes later—
he left crying, carrying an unconscious Golduck.
"Waaaah! Why can Larvitar turn invisible?! This makes no sense!"
Clair, now acting as an intern Gym Leader, hesitated.
"Gym Leader Red… didn't you say persistent challengers should get easier difficulty?"
"Even a badge if they lose?"
"Then why were you so strict with him?"
Red sighed.
"Persistence is good."
"But that guy has challenged nearly ten times."
"And every time—he uses a different Pokémon."
"He never reflects on himself."
"He just thinks a 'better Pokémon' will win."
"If I gave him a badge—"
"That would be an insult to Songzao Gym."
Clair nodded seriously.
"People like that don't deserve badges."
"Badge distribution must be strict."
What Red didn't realize—
was that under his influence—
Clair was becoming increasingly extreme.
In the future—
Blackthorn Gym would become the hardest Gym in Johto.
Even harder than in the anime.
Meanwhile—
Red stretched lazily.
"These challengers lately are too weak…"
"When will someone strong show up?"
Meanwhile…
Two figures entered Songzao City.
One tall, one shorter.
"Brother! This time, I will win my revenge match!"
Shinji's eyes burned with determination.
Reiji smiled.
"You've improved a lot."
"You won't lose to those two disciples again."
"Of course not!"
Reiji hesitated.
"Are you sure you want Songzao Gym as your eighth badge?"
"To be safe, we could go to Cerulean or Pewter Gym first."
Shinji shook his head firmly.
"If I can't earn the Songzao Gym badge—"
"I'd rather not enter the League at all."
Reiji sighed softly.
"…Then I'll support you."
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