Fortree City was built entirely within a vast forest. There were no towering buildings of steel and concrete, nor the deafening noise of machinery.
Instead, what filled the city were uniquely crafted "treehouses" suspended high in the air.
Thanks to the abundant rainfall throughout the year, the trees in Fortree City grew exceptionally tall and sturdy, providing a natural and reliable foundation for these elevated homes.
Almost all residents lived in treehouses nestled among the branches. Wooden bridges and rope bridges connected one tree to another, allowing people to move freely by climbing ladders or using ropes.
This place was also known as a paradise for Flying type Pokémon.
The locals lived alongside Pokémon such as Taillow, Pidgeot, Beautifly, and Skarmory year round. The treehouses were designed with open windows and gaps so that Pokémon could freely come and go, play, and rest.
Thanks to such an excellent ecological environment, even the roads connecting Fortree City to the outside world were lined with tall grasses that reached up to a person's waist or even higher.
Within the grass grew all kinds of unknown wildflowers and fruits. The moist air carried the fresh scent of vegetation and soil. With every breath, it felt as if one could absorb the very essence of nature itself.
Such a primitive yet vibrant landscape was rarely seen in other cities.
Theo simply led his companions forward at a leisurely pace, enjoying the scenery along the way as they gradually approached this treetop city.
Of course, during these days on the road, Theo was not just traveling and appreciating the scenery. Most of the time was still devoted to the daily training of his Pokémon.
To be precise, it was the daily training of Ice Vulpix, Fire Vulpix, Tyrantrum, Volcarona, and Deino.
As for Milotic and Metagross, they no longer required much supervision. Both had already integrated training into their daily routines, developing their own unique methods of self cultivation.
Metagross, for instance, would often use its psychic power to float in the air while carrying the three little ones, Ice Vulpix, Fire Vulpix, and Deino, letting them play on its back.
While they were on it, Metagross would deliberately use gravity to adjust their weight, sometimes making them lighter, sometimes heavier, training its precision in controlling psychic output.
When it was alone, Metagross would compress the gravity field entirely onto itself while walking, tempering its body while also refining its control over strength.
Each step it took was light and silent, leaving no indentations on the ground at all.
As for Milotic, every time it emerged from its Poké Ball and used water vapor to float, it was essentially refining its fundamental control over water energy.
If one observed carefully, they would notice that tiny droplets of water around Milotic would occasionally freeze into ice.
These droplets would take the shapes of leaves, flowers, or even various Pokémon.
Anything Milotic found beautiful, it would recreate using water and ice, using this process to train its ability to switch between water and ice techniques and achieve extremely precise control.
Among all of Theo's Pokémon, Milotic was undoubtedly the most diligent.
Metagross possessed four brains and could let one rest while the others worked, but Milotic never gave itself any chance to slack off.
Even while teaching Ice Vulpix or supervising its training, it never relaxed its own standards.
Deep down, the one Theo felt the most sympathy for had always been Milotic.
It was different from Metagross, Volcarona, or the Vulpix. It had been raised alongside him through hardship.
Back in Dewford Town, when it was still just a Feebas and before Theo had met Steven, the popularity of his live streaming system had been extremely low, and the rewards from the system lottery had been mediocre at best.
From the moment Feebas was captured, it had trained with Theo day after day by the seaside, starting from the most basic Tackle, then Water Pulse, and later Whirlpool, progressing step by step with countless hours of effort and sweat.
Only occasionally, after saving up enough popularity points, could it exchange for a few Technical Machines or energy supplements to assist its growth.
It had endured hardship alongside Theo, walking this path together. Because of this, Milotic understood the meaning of effort more than any other companion.
Whenever they traveled in the wild, Theo would deliberately choose routes with abundant water sources, even if it meant taking a longer path.
Because that was Milotic's favorite environment.
Every time it encountered a vast, clear body of water, Milotic would finally relax, shedding its usual tension and playing freely in the water like a carefree child, splashing and swimming with rare joy.
Every time Theo saw Milotic like this, his heart would fill with happiness.
As for the rest of the team, Tyrantrum, Deino, Volcarona, Ice Vulpix, and Fire Vulpix, although they had joined at different times, had varying levels of strength, and differed greatly in size, their mental maturity was more or less the same.
They were all mischievous and playful, far less dedicated to training compared to Milotic and Metagross.
Compared to Milotic's childhood, they could all be considered to have been raised in comfort.
They had access to abundant Technical Machines, advanced level energy orbs, and various vitamins, giving them extremely solid foundations.
Because of this, Theo did not want them to become hollowly strong, possessing power but lacking real combat experience and depth.
So every day, he arranged two to three hours of fixed training.
Technical Machines could improve move proficiency, but variations, advanced applications, and adaptability in battle could only be mastered through repeated, diligent practice.
Their daily training usually began within the gravity field created by Metagross.
All of them had to maintain stability and quickly release their moves under constantly changing gravity, while Metagross also controlled flying debris to attack them, forcing them to dodge flexibly and sharpen their reflexes and movement.
After half an hour to an hour of gravity training, Ice Vulpix and Fire Vulpix would follow Volcarona and Milotic respectively to learn variations of their skills.
Then they would spar in pairs, pushing each other to improve, while Milotic would also share its insights on energy control with Volcarona.
Only when beside Milotic would Volcarona restrain some of its mischievous nature that usually surfaced when it was with Tyrantrum.
Meanwhile, Deino and Tyrantrum would remain within the gravity field.
At this stage, Metagross would personally engage them in close combat, using direct clashes to temper their physical strength.
Although Deino's final evolution, Hydreigon, leaned more toward special attacks and Theo had been feeding it supplements that enhanced special attack and speed, at its current young stage, Theo focused more on building its physical foundation.
A solid foundation was crucial.
As a Dragon type Pokémon, it required far more physical training than the two Vulpix.
Neither Deino nor Tyrantrum minded the bumps and pain.
They only knew that after every intense battle with Metagross, their appetites would grow, allowing them to eat more, grow bigger, and become stronger.
After training, Milotic would use Life Dew.
Drops of water infused with life energy would gently fall upon each of them, relieving fatigue, healing minor injuries, and gradually restoring their stamina.
Once they had rested and eaten, it was time for a relaxed journey again.
They laughed, played, chased each other, and enjoyed themselves along the way.
This was the everyday travel life of Theo and his companions.
(End of Chapter)