Theo sat on Skarmory's broad back, looking down at the endless stretch of forests and gorges below. The wind howled past his ears, and for a brief moment, he felt as though he had returned to the time when he had flown alongside Steven on a Skarmory.
Upon arriving in Fallarbor Town, Theo headed straight to the Pokémon supply store. He purchased a large quantity of basic and intermediate Pokéblocks, Pokémon food in various flavors, as well as potions and ointments for treating external injuries. He also made a special request to the Devon Corporation, applying for some high purity metal ores specifically prepared for Steelix.
After all, since Steelix was helping train his Pokémon, it was only fair to provide some proper compensation.
Steelix, for its part, proved to be quite loyal and generous. Seeing how Theo treated both it and its subordinates so well, it often used its powerful Dig move to burrow deep beneath the gorge, searching for rare ores and metals hidden within the rock layers.
The underground of the Steel Gorge was already rich with unusual metals. Each time Steelix returned, it would carry a pile of oddly shaped stones with its tail. Some glowed with a dark red hue, some shimmered with a silvery light, and others felt ice cold to the touch. One by one, it presented them to Theo.
Most of these ores were not as high quality as the iron and rare metals provided by the Devon Corporation. However, to Metang, they were like a variety of new snacks to sample. The taste of different metals varied greatly, and with a constantly changing "menu," Metang's red eyes were always filled with satisfaction as it enjoyed them.
When Theo returned from Fallarbor Town, he brought not only supplies but also the high purity ores prepared by the Devon Corporation for his Metang, along with this month's allocation of high grade Pokéblocks.
As soon as he returned to the camp in the Steel Gorge, Steelix noticed him. It stared at the neatly packaged high grade Pokéblocks, a hint of curiosity flashing in its large eyes.
Steelix gently tapped Theo with its tail, then turned and began leading him toward the depths of the gorge.
Theo was momentarily stunned but quickly followed along with Metang.
As Steelix moved forward, it occasionally looked back, as if saying, follow me.
After passing through a stretch of rocky terrain, Steelix brought Theo to a hidden cave surrounded by massive boulders. This was its secret base.
Deep inside the cave, a layer of soft sand covered the ground, upon which many treasures were piled. There were glittering crystal clusters, fragments of hard black ore, and several colorful stones that emitted a strange energy.
Steelix pointed its tail at its collection, then gestured toward the high grade Pokéblocks in Theo's backpack.
The meaning was obvious. It wanted to trade these treasures for the Pokéblocks.
Theo's gaze swept across Steelix's collection one by one before finally settling on a pale blue bead like object.
The orb was crystal clear, like the purest sapphire. At its center was a leaf shaped marking, with two earthy yellow patterns flanking a deep blue line, giving it a distinctly unusual appearance.
The moment Theo looked at the bead, the system interface automatically displayed its information.
[Swampertite Mega Stone]
Theo had never expected that among Steelix's collection, he would encounter a Mega Stone for Swampert.
Seeing that he could not take his eyes off the orb, Steelix let out a low hiss. With Metang's translation, Theo understood.
This stone had been discovered by Steelix deep underground a long time ago. Back then, it had sensed something special in that place, a dense Ground type energy that deeply attracted it. However, digging there had been extremely difficult, with muddy, water filled layers all around. It had taken immense effort to retrieve the stone, and it had always regarded it as one of its most treasured possessions.
"Can I trade these Pokéblocks for this stone?" Theo asked Steelix.
At the same time, he took out all of the high grade Pokéblocks he had just received from Devon Corporation and piled them in front of Steelix.
These were completely different from the basic and intermediate Pokéblocks from before, emitting a far purer and richer energy aura.
Steelix looked at the pile of high grade Pokéblocks, then at the Mega Stone. It hesitated for a moment.
It stared intently at the stone, as if bidding it farewell with its eyes.
In the end, it used its tail to gather up the Pokéblocks, leaving the Mega Stone in front of Theo, signaling its agreement to the trade.
Theo carefully picked up the Swampertite Mega Stone. It felt cool in his hand. He then stored it safely in his backpack, intending to keep it as a prized possession for now.
In truth, Theo had long planned out his future Pokémon teams.
There were many Pokémon he wanted to train, far more than he could currently manage. However, the resources provided by his livestream system were not enough to support so many at once, so he could only focus on the Pokémon he already had.
Swampert, as a powerful Water and Ground type Pokémon, would see a massive increase in strength if it could Mega Evolve. Paired with Milotic, it could serve as the core of a rain team, one acting as a close range attacker, the other providing ranged offense along with healing support.
Once Larvesta evolved into Volcarona, it could become the centerpiece of an incredibly powerful sun team.
As for Tyrantrum, there was no need to say more. It was a natural member of a sandstorm team.
Theo had previously sent a message to Steven.
In the desert along Route 111, there had been sightings of Tyranitar. Steven had replied, saying that once the exploration of Shoal Cave in Mossdeep City was complete, he would head to the desert.
Now, Steven's exploration of Shoal Cave was nearly finished, and he would soon set out to search for Tyranitar.
Steven had also told Theo that if he successfully found and captured Tyranitar, he would leave a Larvitar at the Devon Corporation to be raised for Theo.
With this, the framework of Theo's future team became much clearer.
A rain team centered around Milotic and Swampert.
A sun team led by Volcarona.
And a sandstorm team built around Tyrantrum and Tyranitar.
Of course, these were all long term plans.
The resources required to train these Pokémon would be immense, and his current livestream popularity points were far from sufficient. He could only accumulate them gradually and realize these goals step by step in the future.
For now, the most important thing was to properly train the Pokémon he already had.
After completing the trade with Steelix for the Swampertite Mega Stone, Theo continued advancing his Pokémon training plans in the Steel Gorge.
While Metang consolidated its mastery of Magnet Rise, it also endured Milotic's rain, as well as the sandstorms created by Tyrantrum and Steelix.
The purpose was to help it learn both Sandstorm and Rain Dance.
Learning these weather moves was not simply to expand Metang's battle tactics, but for a deeper purpose.
It was related to the Grand Festival event in Lilycove City.
Theo held extremely high expectations for Metagross in the future.
Only Metagross, with a brain comparable to a supercomputer combined with psychic control, would be capable of perfectly executing the dazzling combination moves Theo had envisioned in his mind.
(End of Chapter)
TN: The Grand Festival usually takes place in Slateport City but maybe this time on Lilycove?