In the Meteor Falls mountain range, a lucky trainer once captured a Bagon.
When this news spread, countless trainers eager to obtain powerful Dragon-type Pokémon flocked to the area.
However, as more and more people came to explore, Bagon became increasingly difficult to find.
They seemed wary of the frequent human intrusions and gradually disappeared into deeper, more secluded valleys within the mountains.
In recent years, almost no trainer has been fortunate enough to see a Bagon.
Instead, news occasionally circulates of trainers accidentally angering the territorial guardian, Salamence, during their searches, ultimately suffering serious injuries.
As a result, Meteor Falls has now become more of a tourist attraction for trainers.
They simply admire the waterfall's magnificence from afar and soak in its mysterious atmosphere.
Only a few trainers who consider themselves sufficiently powerful dare to venture deep into the mountain caves, hoping to find traces of the Bagon line.
Lionel, too, harbored high expectations for Meteor Falls, but the results were often disappointing.
He planned to spend some time in the mountains after participating in the Pokémon Contest in Fallarbor Town.
To be honest, Lionel didn't have high hopes of finding Bagon, but he did have a faint anticipation for its evolved form, Shelgon.
After evolving into Shelgon, the species enters a special growth phase.
Within its hard shell, the cells are undergoing explosive transformation, constantly accumulating energy in preparation for evolving into Salamence.
During this period, Shelgon hides itself extremely well.
It often remains motionless, lurking in the most secluded corners, single-mindedly accumulating power.
Only when the energy within its body reaches its peak and the cells complete their final transformation will it break free from its shell to transform into Salamence, hailed as one of the strongest Dragon-type Pokémon.
It was this "energy accumulation" growth stage that reminded Lionel of his experience catching Larvesta.
In Mt. Chimney, it was he who attracted the growth-hungry Larvesta with his high-level Pokémon energy ball.
So, would a Shelgon, also accumulating energy, be attracted by pure energy and appear?
Of course, this was merely a thought for Lionel; whether it would come true would only be known after he personally explored the caves of Meteor Falls.
Just as Lionel was immersed in his reverie, the path beneath his feet came to an end.
Ahead lay a clear fork in the road. Following the ranger's earlier directions, the path to the right—winding forward and gradually losing its green trees—led to Steel Canyon.
At this fork, the terrain suddenly opened up, the surrounding trees thinning out to reveal the gray-brown rocky ground below.
Lionel glanced at the two paths, ultimately deciding to stick to the original plan and go through Steel Canyon first.
There was still some time before the Fallarbor Town Pokémon Contest, so he could do some training in the canyon.
Looking at the open terrain ahead, Lionel took out two Poké Balls and gently pressed them.
"Come out, Tyrantrum, Larvesta!"
A flash of red light, and two figures landed on the ground. Tyrantrum let out an excited growl as soon as it appeared, swishing its thick tail and spinning in place.
Larvesta happily shook its head, flames erupting from its five small tentacles, clearly eager to be active again.
These two little guys were born troublemakers.
Recalling yesterday's experience, Lionel couldn't help but laugh.
In fact, Larvesta and Tyrantrum had already started causing trouble yesterday as they left the Mt. Chimney path.
Just as Lionel entered the edge of the forest, Larvesta, riding on Tyrantrum's back, inexplicably breathed flames at the nearby bushes, startling Lionel.
If that had set the forest on fire, it would have been a huge problem.
But unexpectedly, the flames were retracted by Larvesta itself when they were still a distance from the trees.
Larvesta tilted its head, staring at him with its round eyes, clearly teasing him on purpose.
Seeing Lionel's panicked expression, Tyrantrum was overjoyed and hatched a mischievous plan.
Shaking its massive head, it assumed a charging stance, its thick hind legs stomping the ground with a dull thud.
But just as it was about to crash into a tree, Tyrantrum abruptly stopped, turning to Lionel and growling twice while shaking its large head.
It looked exactly like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.
Ever since Lionel tamed Larvesta, the two of them had been playing around like madmen.
After Beldum evolved, its personality became much calmer, and Tyrantrum no longer had anyone to play with recklessly.
Now, with its like-minded companion, Tyrantrum's inherent mischievousness was completely unleashed.
Lionel watched them.
Seeing that they were only pretending to cause trouble, he didn't want to spoil their fun and instead deliberately put on exaggerated expressions of fright.
One moment he'd exclaim, "Larvesta, stop! Don't burn the tree!" and the next he'd yell, "Tyrantrum, be careful! Don't break the tree!"
Later, Tyrantrum, caught up in the fun, lowered its head and gently nuzzled Lionel, indicating that he should climb onto its back.
Lionel chuckled as he climbed on, and Tyrantrum carried him, running wildly through the forest clearing.
It would accelerate at times and then suddenly turn, causing Larvesta to squeal excitedly on its back.
Even Milotic couldn't resist popping out of its Poké Ball to join them.
However, Milotic and Meatng were playing the roles Lionel had previously held: after Larvesta breathed fire, Milotic would promptly extinguish it with a stream of water.
Metang had a much harder time; Tyrantrum, lacking any sense of restraint, would charge headlong into the trees, forcing Metang to use a combination of telekinesis and psychic powers to protect Tyrantrum's body from impact.