Lionel gasped, and Milotic, Metang, and Tyrantrum beside him also showed expressions of shock. Flannery stood behind her grandfather, her face filled with pride.
Larvesta was also dumbfounded.
It's usually prized Flame Wheel was far inferior to this Fire Blast.
After the demonstration, Typhlosion walked to Larvesta, lowered its head, and breathed a gentle burst of flame.
The flame landed on Larvesta, but it didn't harm it. Instead, it felt like a warm energy film enveloping it.
The next second, the Fire-type energy within Larvesta was guided by invisible threads, slowly circulating along a specific trajectory.
At first, Larvesta was flustered, but it was quickly drawn in, closing its eyes to sense the flow. It could clearly "see" the pure energy flowing from Typhlosion, carrying its own energy as it gathered in its mouth.
"Now! Release it according to your feeling!" Moore reminded it.
Larvesta opened its mouth, and a ball of fire shot out. Although it was crooked and not as imposing as Typhlosion's, the Fire Blast was already beginning to take shape.
"Not bad, not bad," Moore stroked his beard.
"To achieve this on the first try, its talent is undeniable."
For the next seven days, Lionel stayed in Lavaridge Town at the Gym.
Every day, Typhlosion patiently guided Larvesta from the energy-gathering of Fire Blast, to the area control of Heat Wave, and finally to the limit-breaking method of Overheat.
The gym had plenty of resources, including Fire Stone fragments and specialized nutritional food, all of which were given to Larvesta.
Flannery spent every day in the training area, training her Pokémon alongside Lionel's. She loved Fire-types, and seeing how clever Larvesta was, she often teased and fed it homemade snacks.
However, what puzzled Moore was that Lionel seemed to possess a kind of magic; whenever Larvesta saw Lionel, it would run over eagerly, fawning and begging—even while eating.
Moore often muttered about its behavior: "What kind of Fire-type acts like this? It's a disgrace!"
Larvesta's learning speed was impressive. By the third day, it could skillfully unleash a formed Heat Wave, and by the seventh, it successfully executed Overheat.
During these seven days, Tyrantrum was the happiest.
Relying on its relationship with Larvesta, it followed it around all day, freeloading on food and drinks.
It even peeked in during Typhlosion's lessons, letting out strange noises as if offering opinions.
Typhlosion eventually got so annoyed that it gave Tyrantrum a hands-on lesson in Fire Fang.
Since the principles were similar to Fire Punch, Tyrantrum picked it up in a heartbeat.
The training wasn't just for Larvesta; Milotic and Metang were also busy as sparring partners.
While Larvesta practiced its new moves, Milotic would use Surf or Water Pulse for defense, and Metang would use Psychic to interfere. This forced Larvesta to apply skills under complex conditions.
Surprisingly, after being hit several times by Larvesta's moves, Metang managed to learn Sunny Day.
Although its casting speed was slow and the effect was weak—only slightly increasing temperature in a small area—it was a start.
This gave Lionel a clue on how to teach Metang Sandstorm and Rain Dance by using Tyrantrum and Milotic as guides later on.
Starting from the third day, Moore had Lionel act as the "Special Challenge Guest" for the Lavaridge Gym.
Lionel's judging standards were lenient; as long as the challenger showed good tactics or the Pokémon performed brilliantly, he would award the Flame Badge and point out areas for improvement.