Theo also assigned the two moves Rain Dance and Aqua Ring onto Feebas from his system storage space. These were moves he had drawn as rewards after the Pokémon Contest.
Back then, he had been fully focused on executing his plan to awaken Feebas's desire for beauty, so he had temporarily set the skills aside. Now that they were about to begin training in the desert, it was the perfect time for Feebas to learn them.
[Rain Dance: Consumes internal energy to summon rain. In rainy conditions, Water-type moves gain increased power, while Fire-type moves are greatly weakened.]
[Aqua Ring: Surrounds the user with a ring of water energy. Gradually restores health over time.]
Two spheres of white light slowly merged into Feebas's body.
Feebas trembled a little, as if it could suddenly sense that the moisture in the air had become gentler and more welcoming. A faint veil of mist even seemed to gather around its scales.
After Feebas, it was Tyrunt's turn.
This little one had a long list of moves to learn: Iron Tail, Scale Shot, Dragon Claw, and Psychic Fangs—four moves in total.
[Iron Tail: Moves energy through the body to harden the tail until it becomes as tough as steel. When striking the opponent, it may sometimes lower their Defense.]
[Scale Shot: Shoots sharp scales from its body to launch a series of consecutive attacks. Using this move increases the user's Speed, but also lowers its Defense.]
[Dragon Claw: Attacks the opponent by slashing them with sharp, powerful dragon claws.]
[Psychic Fangs: Infuses psychic energy into the user's teeth and bites the opponent to attack. This move can destroy barriers such as Light Screen and Reflect, and disrupt Psychic-type techniques.]
Theo guided each glowing skill orb into Tyrunt one by one.
Every time the little dinosaur absorbed one, it let out an excited "TYRRR!", its whole body of scales shimmering a little brighter each time.
As for the stat-boosting vitamins and the advanced energy orbs, Theo planned to administer them to Tyrunt gradually over the next few days, a bit at a time during training.
Injecting too much energy all at once was never a good idea. If a Pokémon's body had not yet adapted to its current strength, forcibly boosting it further could easily make its foundation unstable.
Theo's purpose in coming to this desert was to let Tyrunt undergo rigorous, unforgiving training—forcing its body to quickly adapt to its rising strength, to learn to control every muscle fiber and every technique with precision. Only then could Tyrunt reach the point where evolution became possible.
The three little Pokémon stayed obediently in place, eyes closed, quietly feeling the surge of new power flowing through their bodies and the unfamiliar knowledge of their newly learned moves settling into their minds.
Once again, the room grew silent.
Only the faint sound of breathing and the occasional soft hum broke the stillness.
Theo pulled out his phone and began editing the footage he had recorded earlier.
He made sure to extend the part featuring Beldum—after all, this third partner of his was absolutely going to be the "trump card" that would attract viewers during his next livestream.
After finishing the edit, he uploaded the video to his Trainer account, adding a caption:
[A new partner has joined us. Take a guess—who could it be?]
Seeing the notification confirming the upload, Theo chuckled softly. He knew this was only the beginning of the hype.
A shiny Beldum, especially one related to Steven Stone's ace would without a doubt draw in a huge crowd when he eventually announced his next livestream.
For now, however, what he needed to do most was prepare for the upcoming desert training and make thorough preparations for each future Gym battle.
…
Theo had barely posted the video when his phone began chiming nonstop.
The notification bar instantly filled with comments from excited viewers.
Smiling, he picked up his phone and scrolled through the enthusiastic messages.
"The streamer finally posted a video! It's been two days—I was starting to miss Feebas and Tyrunt!"
"New partner? Let me see which cutie it is!"
"Wait… that silver little guy in the corner—Is that… Beldum?!"
"Holy—HOLY— Is that a shiny Beldum?!"
"I'm not hallucinating, right? It's the same color as Champion Steven's shiny Metagross!"
"Could this be… Steven's Metagross's child?!"
"My god. This is insane—completely insane!"
"Forget talking—Streamer, start your livestream NOW! I want to see the shiny Beldum! And Tyrunt! And Feebas!"
"+100! We demand a livestream!"
The comments refreshed faster and faster.
In just a few minutes, the video had gathered countless likes and replies. Many viewers were even tagging their friends, dragging them in to witness the legendary shiny Beldum.
Seeing all the heated reactions, Theo's smile deepened.
The effect of this "pre-hype" was far better than he expected.
Steven Stone + shiny Beldum was indeed a ridiculous combination of popularity.
Without hesitation, he tapped out a reply and pinned it at the top:
"Thank you all for the support! I won't be streaming for now~
The next livestream will be when I challenge Mauville Gym Leader Wattson!
I'll post an announcement beforehand, hope everyone comes to watch!"
The moment this pinned comment appeared, the comment section exploded again.
"Nooo! I want to see it now! I can't wait! I need to see the shiny Beldum…"
"Streamer, streamer, is this REALLY Steven Stone's Metagross's child…?"
"Did you catch it in the wild? Where? Which area? I want to catch one too!"
"The guy above me is dreaming. One look at the color should tell you—it's definitely Steven's Metagross's child."
"Exactly. You think you can catch something like that in the wild? Please. The number of people in all of Hoenn who even have a Metagross can be counted on one hand…"
"When are you challenging the Gym? Hurry up! I want to see the shiny Beldum!"
The discussion only grew louder and more chaotic.
After reading for a while, Theo finally put his phone away.
The hype was already ignited—time would carry it the rest of the way.
What mattered most now was the desert training.
He turned toward the center of the room. The three Pokémon had almost finished digesting their new skills.
Tyrunt was lying on the floor, waving its tiny forearms and swinging its tail, practicing the newly learned Iron Tail.
The tip of its tail glimmered faintly with metallic light, and every time it accidentally smacked the ground—
"THUD!"
A deep, heavy sound reverberated from the floor.
Theo nearly had a heart attack.
He rushed forward to stop it—this little guy had no sense of restraint. If it accidentally damaged the hotel room, he'd be in serious trouble.
Tyrunt let out a pitiful "Raaawh…" when Theo held its tail down, turning its big round eyes toward him as if saying, "But I just wanted to practice…"
Theo sighed helplessly and rubbed its head.
"You can practice your moves—just not inside the hotel! Once we reach the desert, you can train however you like. For now, save your strength."
Not far away, Beldum hovered quietly in the air.
Its small silver body spun like a tiny gyro, slowly rotating in place.
As the mastery of Zen Headbutt improved, its psychic control had become noticeably sharper.
A faint blue psychic aura flickered around it, brighter and more stable than before.
(End of Chapter)