Ye Kui's Disappearance and the Golden Fate of the Southwestern Lands**
As the system notification faded,
the detailed information of the Pokémon Egg appeared before Ethan.
[Pokémon: Larvitar]
Status: 1.0 (Incubating)Type: Rock / GroundAbility: Sand VeilMoves: Tackle, Dragon DancePotential: Divine Tier VII
Ethan froze for a moment.
He genuinely hadn't expected that the Pokémon inside this egg would be Larvitar.
A pseudo-legendary.
Larvitar—
a name spoken in the same breath as Metagross, Garchomp, and Hydreigon.
From a breeder's perspective, Pokémon like this were rated Five-Star Difficulty by the International Alliance.
Not because they weren't strong—
but because they were too rare.
Under normal circumstances, young Larvitar would never appear in front of humans.
Their eggs were buried deep beneath deserts or mountains.
After hatching, they fed on the precious materials accumulated by their parents.
By the time a Larvitar finally emerged from underground,
the accumulated energy would already be enough for it to evolve.
And once it entered the pupal stage as Pupitar, its rock-like shell made it nearly indestructible.
Less than a month later—
The Desert Tyrant, Tyranitar, would be born.
That was why Tyranitar was revered as a pseudo-legendary.
Across the entire world, only the Champions of the Middle Sand Alliance and the Persian Alliance were known to possess one.
Naturally, Ethan had always wanted a Tyranitar.
He just never imagined it would come to him like this.
With the combined efforts of the system and Hatterene,
the once-dying Larvitar Egg had fully stabilized.
Seeing this, Meloetta, who had been worried moments ago, instantly beamed.
"Hatterene-sis, you're amazing!"
"You really saved her!!"
Hatterene smiled softly, indicating she had only done what she could.
Normally, a rescued Pokémon Egg should be returned to the wild.
But looking at the egg—
and then at the brutal desert environment—
Meloetta couldn't bring herself to let it go.
She looked at Ethan with pleading eyes.
"Ethan… can we adopt her?"
"If we put her back in the desert…"
"I feel like she'll really die…"
Ethan had already been thinking the same thing.
He nodded without hesitation.
"If you like her, then we'll keep her."
"But once she hatches, you'll be responsible for taking care of her."
Meloetta's face instantly lit up.
She hugged Ethan's face and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.
"Yay!"
"I knew Ethan is the best!"
She then floated over to the egg.
"Little one, I'll be your big sister from now on."
"Grow up strong and healthy, okay?"
As if responding, the Larvitar Egg gently wobbled.
Ethan smiled.
With the massive life energy injected earlier,
this egg clearly wasn't far from hatching.
Nurturing the Egg
Still, there was a problem.
The egg was too small.
It hadn't received enough nutrients inside its mother's body.
Even with Divine-tier potential,
a weak vessel would limit early growth.
Fortunately, the solution was simple.
External energy.
"Meloetta," Ethan said gently,
"this little one needs a lot of energy right now."
"Put her into the Sacred Hot Sand Pool."
"She can absorb its power to make up for what she missed."
Meloetta didn't fully understand—but she trusted Ethan completely.
She carefully placed the egg into the hot sand pool.
Immediately, Metagross and the others turned their attention toward it.
"Metagross," Ethan said,
"leave the egg in your care for now."
Metagross responded firmly.
Golden Opportunity: Hot Sand Jade
At that moment—
[Ding!]
[Red Opportunity acquired: Sacred Hot Sand Pool]
[Critical Trigger…]
[×88 Multiplier]
[Golden Opportunity obtained: Hot Sand Jade]
A heavy, scorching force gathered in Ethan's palm.
When the light faded,
a brown gemstone—similar in form to the Lava Orb and Thunder Pearl—appeared in his hand.
It felt only one way.
Heavy.
"So this is the Hot Sand Jade…" Ethan murmured.
"The energy inside feels even denser than the pool itself."
His gaze shifted to the Larvitar Egg.
This treasure was perfect for it.
He took out an old chain from his storage.
The Hot Sand Jade fit perfectly into it.
Ethan gently hung the chain around the egg.
It was the same chain he had once crafted for Entei's Lava Orb—
later replaced by a new arm ring.
Rather than discard it, he had kept it as a memento.
Now, it had found its purpose again.
With both the Hot Sand Pool and the Hot Sand Jade nourishing it,
the Larvitar Egg began to grow steadily.
The surrounding Pokémon instinctively gathered around it,
protecting it while absorbing excess heat themselves.
Return to Donghuang
Two days later, Ethan's week in the White Elephant Holy Land came to an end.
As he stepped out, he immediately saw his father—Victor Stone—waiting.
Something felt… off.
There was a faint, dangerous aura around Victor.
But when Victor saw Ethan, his expression softened instantly.
"How was it, Ethan?"
"Enjoy your time in the holy land?"
"It was great," Ethan replied honestly.
"The Hot Sand Pool worked wonders. Everyone loved it."
Victor smiled faintly.
"Good."
Then Ethan asked, "Dad, where did you go these days? I didn't see you at all."
Victor paused—just for a split second—then smiled again.
"Alliance matters," he said calmly.
"Donghuang and the White Elephant Alliance had things to discuss."
"Do you want to stay here longer?"
Ethan shook his head.
"Nope. School's starting soon."
"And this summer—"
He grinned.
"I'm challenging the Elite Four."
"So don't slack off, Dad."
"Would be embarrassing if I beat you by the end of the year."
Victor laughed.
"I'll be waiting."
"And I won't hold back."
Aftermath and New Trouble
Ethan soon returned to Donghuang Capital.
Victor quickly left again for work.
Ethan wasn't worried.
With Hydreigon and a Champion-late-stage Haxorus at his side,
as long as Victor didn't provoke Totem-level beings, he'd be fine.
Back at school, Ethan's life returned to calm—
until one piece of news shocked him.
Alicia
had died.
Killed on a Pacific island.
Along with all her Pokémon.
The Sky Eagle Alliance was in uproar.
Ethan felt nothing.
He disliked her from the start—
and after Noel's assassination attempt, even more so.
To him, her death wasn't worth mourning.
Ye Kui's Disappearance
Half a month into the semester,
Ethan, Qin Yingying, Jiang Wanyi, and Geng Zhi gathered for a meal.
One person was missing.
Ye Kui.
Not late.
Gone.
She hadn't reported to school at all.
Half a month—no contact.
Alarmed, Ethan and Qin Yingying went to ask Principal Gao Bing.
The answer stunned them.
Ye Kui was missing.
Even her parents had no news.
Qin Yingying turned pale.
"She's my friend… we have to find her."
The moment she said that—
[Ding!]
[Golden Opportunity detected: Thorn Forest, Southwestern Region]
Ethan's eyes sharpened.
Something big was coming.
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