Lionel, listening to the interpretation of the strange question, reached out and ruffled Larvesta's head, replying repeatedly:
"Okay, no problem. Then don't play around these days.
Train more each day and properly digest the energy.
Once you've mastered controlling the increasing energy, I can give you more.
As long as you work hard, there will be plenty of high-level energy balls."
Meanwhile, the Fire Vulpix listened to Larvesta's declaration of defeating the Tyrantrum.
Although it didn't quite understand some of the words, it understood Larvesta's ambition.
Infected by Larvesta's passionate emotions, the Fire Vulpix raised its six fluffy tails and circled Larvesta.
It kept making "woo-woo~" sounds, as if cheering for Larvesta.
Lionel wasn't too optimistic about whether Larvesta could defeat Tyrantrum after evolving, or even get Tyrantrum to acknowledge it as its Big Brother.
After all, Larvesta was a Fire/Bug type, doubly weak to the Rock type Tyrantrum. This inherent type disadvantage made winning difficult.
Of course, he couldn't say this aloud, lest he damage Larvesta's confidence. Lionel could only agree with Larvesta: "You'll definitely win. After you evolve, Tyrantrum definitely won't be able to beat you."
Lionel's words made Larvesta even more smug. Its little head perked up even higher, and it turned to leave, eager to start training.
However, Larvesta was so focused on showing off that it didn't notice the threshold and fell flat on its face with a loud "thud." A considerable amount of sand still clung to its little face, making it difficult to count.
Milotic couldn't help but cover its mouth with its tail fin, letting out a soft chuckle.
The Vulpix also looked back, seeing Larvesta lying on its back, and couldn't help but chuckle too.
Metagross turned away, its body trembling slightly, clearly wanting to laugh.
The Flame Vulpix, with its back to Larvesta, hadn't noticed yet, but seeing everyone laughing, it wagged its tail and joined in the commotion.
Larvesta lay on the ground, listening to its companions' laughter, its little face flushed red, the sand stuck to its face, impossible to remove, only making it more noticeable.
It was so anxious that its six little legs flailing about, its mind racing, it had to think of a way to save face!
Suddenly, its eyes lit up, and it abruptly propped itself up, its six slender black legs stiffening perfectly, firmly pressed to the ground as it began to do push-ups.
While doing so, it turned its head to look at Milotic and Metagross, making a "squeaking" sound:
"What are you laughing at? I'm doing exercise! You guys who don't train seriously, do you even know what exercise is?"
But the obvious streaks on its face hadn't been removed, and there were two grains of sand on the tip of its nose, coupled with its feigned serious expression, making it hardly convincing.
Milotic laughed until its stomach hurt, and its stiff body slumped down.
The tail fin it had been raising to cover its mouth to hide its laughter drooped to the ground, covered in dust.
You know, Milotic is usually very clean, always manipulating water vapor to levitate itself. Its body.
Now it doesn't even care about its tail shift anymore, you can imagine how happy it is.
Metagross, with its back to Larvesta's body, also made a soft "click" sound. To avoid embarrassing Larvesta, it had tried its best to suppress its laughter.
Ice Vulpix wasn't so reserved, happily rolling around on the ground, its "woof woof" laughter growing louder and louder.
Fire Vulpix finally noticed Larvesta's expression and joined its sister in laughing happily, its six little tails swishing back and forth, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Seeing this, Larvesta simply stopped what it was doing, angrily rolled around on the spot, wiping some of the sand off its face, then turned its head running along the beach.
It was still squeaking, as if saying, "I'm going to train, ignoring you blind fools."
In the days that followed, the sandy beach in front of Lionel's place completely transformed into a training ground.
Beside the rock to the east, Milotic was patiently instructing Ice Vulpix.
Ice Vulpix stood on a flat reef, its body gradually radiating cold air, fine snowflakes falling from its head, forming a small snow-covered area around it.
This was its snowfall ability at work.
Without its sister Vulpix's interference from the sunlight, it could finally focus on controlling its own small icy world.
Milotic swam to the reef and gently... Suddenly, a torrential downpour of raindrops began to fall from the sky.
It was the "Rain Dance" skill.
The snowflakes from Ice Vulpix's snow met the water, instantly dissipating, turning the snowy weather into a damp rain.
Before Ice Vulpix could ponder further, Milotic immediately activated its signature move from the Pokemon Contest—Rain Freeze.
The falling raindrops seemed to be paused, suspended motionless in mid-air.
Vulpix's eyes widened as it looked at the motionless raindrops around it, its little paws gently touching them, gazing at its little master with the reverence of a god.
Then, Milotic used the "Icy Wind" skill, unleashing a blast of Icy Wind.
Where the Icy Wind passed, the suspended raindrops condensed into sharp ice crystals, densely packed like a volley of ice arrows.
"Watch closely."
Milotic reminded Ice Vulpix to pay attention, then it gathered its essence and flicked it gently, sending the ice crystals shooting towards the oncoming waves.
With a series of cracking sounds, the giant rock that had crashed onto the reef was instantly frozen.
It formed a unique ice wall, even the splashing water droplets turned into tiny ice beads hanging on the wall.
Ice Vulpix's mouth gaped open, its tiny claws gripping the edge of the magnet tightly, staring at the icy wall before it.
Milotic swam up to it and gently nudged its ear with its head:
"Try using your Snowflakes to condense ice crystals, then use Frozen Wind to propel them. Take it slow, start with one snowflake."
The little ice-type Vulpix nodded, took a deep breath, and activated its Snowfall ability again.
This time it was particularly focused, catching a snowflake that drifted in front of it, channeling its ice-type energy.
The snowflake trembled, its edges gradually softening, slowly condensing into an ice crystal the size of a grain of millet.
But before it could control it, the ice-type whistle rang out, and the ice crystal on the ground.
The little ice-type Vulpix pulled down its ears, a little annoyed.
"Milo!"
Milotic gently exhaled a weak breath of cold air, lifting the ice crystal on the ground. Presented it to Ice Vulpix looked at the tiny ice ink, and, summoning its courage, began to try again.
Sunlight filtered through the snowflakes, falling on its earnest little face, reflecting a faint halo.
Meanwhile, on the western beach, a completely different scene unfolded, bustling with activity.
Larvesta stood on a rock scorching hot from the heat of the day, influenced by the Fire Vulpix's daily special effects, its expression serious, resembling a drill instructor.
It was replicating the fiery demonstration by Elite Four member Moore when he taught it to use Flamethrower, instructing the Fire Vulpix in the same way.
Larvesta gazed intently at the sea for a moment. Then, it opened its mouth, and a thick pillar of fire surged forth.
It was the "Flamethrower" skill.
The pillar of fire met the oncoming wave, instantly creating a large white crater.
Steam rose from its chest, the seawater being forcefully absorbed half a meter, leaving a clear boundary between wet and dry on the beach.
"Squeak!"
Larvesta turned to look at the Fire Vulpix, pointing with its small forelegs to the evaporated area, then to the Fire Vulpix.
It seemed to say,
"Try it?"
"That's it, understand? Try it."
Fire Vulpix, standing to the side, tilted its head, thinking for a moment, then took a deep breath, mimicking Larvesta's pose, and spewed out a small "fireball."
The sparks landed in the shallow water, making only a few soft "sizzling" sounds and splashing a few droplets of water.
Then little guy immediately pouted, ran to Larvesta's side, nuzzled its body with its head, and covered its genitals, pleading for help from Larvesta.
Larvesta shook its head helplessly, approached the Vulpix, and gently enveloped its mouth with its own flames.
Guided by Larvesta's blazing flames, the Vulpix gathered energy again. This time, the flames it spewed were noticeably denser.
When it landed in the water, it was much more powerful than its previous "Flame Ball" attack released alone.
"Lar!"
Larvesta ran to the Vulpix's face, nodded, and encouraged it.
Vulpix, feeling more satisfied, puffed out its cheeks, extremely happy.
Influenced by its mood, and remembering the feeling of being taught by Larvesta, Vulpix released the "Flamethrower" move alone again.
Although not as powerful as when it had Larvesta's help, it had broken free from the limitations of Flame Ball and was beginning to resemble a Flamethrower.
"Not bad!"
Larvesta nodded in satisfaction at Vulpix, indicating that Vulpix was teachable.
Metagross was undergoing what could only be described as "abnormal" training in the area between the Milotic and Larvesta training grounds.
It had cast the "Gravity" skill on itself, its massive body half-submerged in the seawater, each swing of its arm having to contend with the resistance of the seawater and the pressure of gravity.
"~~!"
As the sound of machinery whirred within Metagross's body, its metallic back began to glow white.
It was the "Comet Punch" skill.
Metagross's metallic arm slammed into the sea with a whooshing sound, the seawater exploding and forming a massive water curtain.
Immediately afterwards, it condensed cold air on its left arm, unleashing "Frozen Season," freezing the flying water droplets into ice shards.
Electric current surged through its right arm, and "Thunderbolt" hurtled towards the water's surface, sparking a burst of sparks.
With each swing, Metagross had to contend with the pressure of gravity and the resistance of the seawater. Its metallic body was already emitting a buzzing sound, but the frequency of its punches didn't slow down at all.
Metagross's punches grew faster and faster, the white light of its punches, the blue light of its ice punches, and the purple light of its thunder punches flashing alternately on the sea's surface.
The surging waves rose higher and higher, becoming perfect "live targets" for Milotic and Vulpix's training.
Seeing Metagross create huge waves, Milotic guided its Ice Vulpix to attack the crests with Ice Wind.
Larvesta, along with its Vulpix, used Fire-type moves to evaporate the surging seawater.
The three training areas, seemingly separate, formed a wondrous synergy. Waves, flames, and ice flasks intertwined on the beach, creating a vibrant scene.
Lionel stood at the edge of the beach, watching the bustling activity in the three training areas, a smile spreading across his face.
Seeing his Pokémon progressing smoothly through their training, Lionel turned and headed back to the hut.
With Milotic and Larvesta helping with the training of his Pokémon, his current task was to provide logistical support, ensuring his companions trained happily and ate well.
Back inside, Lionel rolled up his sleeves and began to work.
The stove was laden with fresh ingredients bought from town: fresh berries, organic vegetables from the Pokémon farm, and shrimp and shellfish he'd bought that morning from the fishermen at the dock.
His recent experiences in the wild had transformed his artistic skills; he was no longer the novice who could only make scrambled eggs with tomatoes as he had in his previous life.
While his culinary skills wouldn't dare claim to be on par with Brock's in the anime from his previous life, reaching the exaggerated level of subduing Jessie, he could still be considered a skilled cook.
The iron wok on the stove steamed, the shrimp on the cutting board were meticulously cleaned, their veins removed without a trace, and the shellfish, poised in boiling water, slightly opened, revealing fresh clam meat.
Lionel skillfully shredded organic vegetables into even strips, julienned them with colorful diced berries, and drizzled them with a salad dressing made with lemon juice and honey.
A refreshing and delicious berry and vegetable salad was ready.
Next came the highlight of the seafood feast—steamed scallops with garlic and vermicelli.
The softened vermicelli was secured to the scallop shells, topped with plump scallop meat, drizzled with fragrant garlic sauce, and garnished with a few red pepper flakes before being placed in a steamer.
Soon, the rich aroma of garlic mingled with the fresh scent of seafood filled the air, attracting Larvesta and Vulpix, who had just finished their training, to come and watch.
When Lionel finished the last dish, pan-fried scallops, the Pokémon were already sitting obediently around the table, waiting for Lionel to start the meal.
The aroma emanating from the various dishes on the table already made Larvesta impatient: bright red shrimp, colorful vegetable and fruit salads, snow-white scallop meat... just looking at them was enough to whet one's appetite.
Lionel had thoughtfully prepared mini bowls for Ice Vulpix and Fire Vulpix, filled with diced tree berries and warm Moo Moo milk—a considerate gesture.
Furthermore, Metagross had used its telekinesis to tie a red and a white ribbon around the necks of Ice Vulpix and Fire Vulpix, respectively, to prevent them from getting food stuck to their bodies.
"Let's eat!" Lionel announced with a smile, and the little guys immediately perked up and smacked their lips.
Fire Vulpix held its little bowl, sipping its milk, occasionally picking up a piece of tree berry, eating with a contented grin.
Ice Vulpix, on the other hand, was making a vegetable salad, carefully picking at the leaves with its paws, its icy blue eyes narrowed into slits. Metagross used his telekinesis to control a scallop, bringing it to his mouth and savoring its delicious taste. Sweet saliva smeared his face, but he didn't seem to care.
Milotic, on the other hand, elegantly curled a shrimp with its tail, savoring it slowly, occasionally nudging Ice Vulpix's bowl with its tail fin, gesturing for it to eat more.
The last one, Larvesta, was the most exaggerated. Its six little paws were constantly occupied, its mouth stuffed with shrimp, and its paws clutching scallop fruits, eating with great relish.
Lionel sat to the side, watching them eat with relish, and slowly picked up a shrimp himself.
These days repeated themselves, the sounds of training by the sea, the smoke from the kitchen, and the laughter around the table, forming the last leisurely moments of Dewford Town.