Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 233: Another One That Can Fly

Early the next morning, the three of them packed and got ready to leave the Pokémon Center to head toward Sand Arc Forest.

The young Pichu was a bit sleepy, so Sato gently tucked it into his jacket, leaving only its little head poking out from his chest.

Smelling the familiar scent on Sato, the little Pichu let out a soft whimper in protest, wiggled a bit to find a comfortable position, and then went back to sleep.

"Pupitar, come on out!"

A flash of red light, and a dark gray Pupitar appeared before them. This was the first time Joseph and Mark had seen Pupitar, and they both leaned in for a closer look.

"Pupitar!"

Suddenly, the motionless Pupitar snapped its eyes open, and a surge of fierce and domineering energy surged toward the two of them.

Startled, they stumbled back a couple of steps, eyes filled with lingering fear. For a moment, they felt as if a fully evolved pseudo-legendary Tyranitar had appeared before them.

"Long time no see, Pupitar."

Sato ignored the surge of energy and walked calmly up to Pupitar. Upon closer inspection, Pupitar had indeed undergone quite a few changes.

Its body had already been slightly larger than most Pupitar to begin with, though not noticeably so, but now it seemed to have grown another five centimeters. At least 135 centimeters tall now.

And with this molt, Pupitar's body would likely grow even taller.

Also, the silver armor covering Pupitar's body had clearly dulled and aged, with several stretched and widened cracks across its surface.

Though subtle, these cracks proved that this set of armor could no longer accommodate Pupitar's growth and needed replacement urgently.

Judging by appearances alone, Pupitar might not seem well cared for, but the surge in its aura clearly showed it had grown much stronger.

"Pupitar~"

Upon seeing Sato, Pupitar immediately retracted its aura. Its small eyes squinted happily, its whole body radiating joy.

But soon, Pupitar realized that this wasn't befitting its future dignity as a pseudo-legendary, and it quickly composed itself into a more serious and proper demeanor, pretending nothing had just happened.

Sato smiled and patted Pupitar's worn armor. "Aside from getting stronger, you haven't changed a bit."

"Pupi Pupitar!"

Hearing the praise, Pupitar proudly puffed out its "chest" and shouted twice, clearly itching for a battle.

"Alright then, I'm counting on you for the journey ahead," Sato nodded without hesitation. He was just as eager to see how much Pupitar had grown during its secluded training.

"Gengar~"

At that moment, unable to hold back any longer after not seeing Pupitar for so long, Gengar emerged from the shadows on its own, without waiting for Sato's command.

Sato didn't scold Gengar either, he welcomed close bonds among his Pokémon.

"Pichu?"

Pichu woke up, looking at the iron hunk before it with shyness, half of its face still hidden in Sato's chest.

"Oh, right, Pupitar, let me introduce you. These two are my travel companions, Joseph and Mark. You'll get to know them over time."

"Pupitar!"

Pupitar gave a cold nod, fully embodying the demeanor of a future pseudo-legendary.

"And this here is Pichu, just hatched from an egg."

"Pichu"

Pichu shyly extended a little paw, waving at Pupitar. It found the big metal guy a bit scary and didn't dare to get close.

"Tar~"

Pupitar turned its head and used its gentlest voice to greet Pichu. But when it saw that Pichu still hadn't poked its head out, its eyes darted sideways as it quickly came up with an idea.

The ground beneath Pupitar suddenly surged upward, and after a brief squirming motion, a chubby mud Pichu emerged in front of them.

"Pichu!"

Pichu was still young and was startled by Pupitar's trick. Without hesitation, it jumped down from Sato's chest and ran over to the mud Pichu.

Once Pupitar had a good look at Pichu's appearance, the mud Pichu began to shift again, quickly transforming to look exactly like the little Pichu.

Pichu stood up on its hind legs and twitched its ears. The mud Pichu also stood up and twitched its ears in the same way.

"Pi~chu!"

Pichu became even more excited and started doing one cute pose after another, and although the mud Pichu was a little slower and its facial expressions slightly stiff, its body movements were nearly identical!

Soon enough, the big and little Pokémon were happily playing together. Pupitar's skill at molding dirt made Pichu incredibly happy.

When it came to entertaining kids, Sato wasn't nearly as skilled as Pupitar. Back when Spinarak had just hatched, even the unevolved Larvitar had been excellent at taking care of it.

But what surprised Sato even more was Pupitar's precise control over its energy... far beyond what he had imagined.

Crafting a vivid imitation of Pichu out of dirt was already impressive, but even more so was Pupitar's ability to animate the mud Pichu with a wide variety of complex movements.

This level of fine control was something his Pupitar from the previous life had never achieved.

The Advanced Mimicry Space... absolutely worth it!

After playing around, the three of them resumed their journey. Sato kept Pupitar outside, planning to let it handle any attackers along the way.

Then Pupitar gave him yet another surprise!

Watching Pupitar float in the air, Sato could only sigh... in the Pokémon world, there's no such thing as a Pokémon that can't fly.

But rumor has it that an ancient Legendary Pokémon held everyone back in this regard. Sato didn't buy it.

If it can't fly, can it really be called a Legendary? How disgraceful!

After a bit of back-and-forth communication, Pupitar explained to Sato that once it learned Earth Power, it became able to sense and manipulate a gravitational force from the ground.

By reversing that force, Pupitar naturally started to float. After some solo training, it had learned to control this force to help it move.

Sato pretended he understood the science behind it, and felt even more confident letting Pupitar travel outside its Poké Ball.

Gengar, seeing that it was time to move on, slipped back into the shadows, while Pichu climbed up onto Pupitar's head.

Seeing this, Sato knew Pichu still wanted to play with Pupitar and wouldn't be returning to his arms anytime soon.

Pupitar could float, but that didn't mean it had the Levitate Ability, so its method of movement was quite amusing.

Instead of hovering smoothly, Pupitar leaned forward slightly and hopped through the air as it moved.

At first, Pichu was a bit scared of the strange sensation, but after getting used to it, it was all excitement and squeals of joy.

"Mark, what do you think is the strongest Pokémon we'll run into around here?" Sato asked, turning his head.

"Huh? Strong Pokémon? You think we'll see a Pseudo-Legendary?"

"If you say there is, then there definitely will be."

"Eh?!"

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