At this moment, watching Lionel and Metagross complete their Mega Evolution, Steven's smile froze.
His jaw dropped, his mouth slightly agape.
He was clearly stunned by this sudden success.
He stood there for several seconds before snapping back to reality, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked at Lionel:
"You…you actually succeeded on the first try?"
You know, the Gym Leader, spent a whole week practicing to master Mega Evolution.
Only under the guidance of Elite Four member Drake did he successfully evolve.
Even other Gym Leaders, who now know all the secrets, still need to fumble around for a long time before successfully evolving.
But Lionel, on the other hand, completed it on his first attempt.
This speed is simply unbelievable.
"Is...is the bond too deep?"
Steven muttered to himself, then shook his head. Although Lionel's relationship with his Pokémon seemed very good, it shouldn't be that he mastered it as quickly as the other Gym Leaders, right?
He's a little bit stronger than me, oh no, no, he's about the same as me. Truly worthy of my...
"A true trainer like him has a keen eye," Steven thought to himself with secret pride.
However, he never imagined how tempting those green and white orbs of light Lionel fed his Pokémon were.
These weren't things other Pokémon could enjoy; they were Pokémon energy orbs, TMs, and various enhancement potions from the System.
With the help of these "magical operations," the Pokémon's dependence on and trust in Lionel far surpassed that of ordinary trainers and partners; they were incredibly devoted to him.
Furthermore, Metagross, being a Psychic-type Pokémon, possessed an extremely keen sense of energy flow, making its spiritual resonance with Lionel a natural progression.
With all these factors combined, successfully evolving on the first attempt became a matter of course.
Larvesta, its eyes gleaming with envy, scrambled to the two Mega Metagross, circling their eight metal arms.
Its little head was filled with thoughts of "how many ornaments could I hang on them?"
It practically drooled as it looked. It had been eyeing those eight arms for a while now, imagining how impressive it would be to hang its treasured ornaments on them!
After all, the Mega Metagross belonged to Steven, not its partner, so it couldn't force it.
Now, its "second exclusive chair" had evolved, and it was incredibly excited, eager to immediately rummage through its stash and hang all its precious items on it to test its abilities.
The Mega Metagross glanced down at Larvesta circling it, a hint of helplessness flashing in its red sleep hole, but it still obediently stayed put, letting the little guy swarm it. Steven looked at Lionel and his Mega Metagross, shook his head helplessly, then laughed:
"You really always manage to surprise me. I was planning to give you some pointers, but it seems I won't need to.
Then enjoy the power of Mega Evolution yourself. Truly, the younger generation surpasses the older."
After his exclamation, Steven's tone lightened slightly as he continued:
"I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
I was dragged by the League to participate in Mega Evolution experiments recently, spending all my time with instruments and data, and I was already exhausted.
When I initially sneaked into the desert to explore the ruins and find Tyranitar's trail, you dragged me to Meteor Falls, and now I can finally go back and continue my journey."
"Tyranitar?"
Lionel paused, then suddenly realized:
When he discovered Meteor Falls and made a video call to Steven, his background was in the desert. So Steven had just arrived in the desert then. Above:
Thinking of this, Lionel immediately hugged the two Vulpix.
"Mr. Steven, do you want to pet these two Vulpix? These two are lucky stars; petting them might bring you some good luck."
Steven rolled his eyes at Lionel Ge, patted the two Vulpix's heads, and at the same time reached out to take a handful of Lionel's droplets, saying irritably:
"When it comes to luck, no one is luckier than you. Petting you would be even better! Alright, that's enough. I'm leaving. Enjoy the joy of Mega Evolution."
Lionel tidied his messy hair, then suddenly remembered something and said to Steven, who was about to leave, "By the way, Mr. Steven, Mega Evolution... can I use it when challenging a gym? I mean, can I stream it live?!"
Steven was taken aback, then burst into laughter, his face showing a doting expression: "Use it, use it! You and Wallace are hopeless. He's become like you, obsessed with live streaming. The League is currently working hard to produce Mega Evolution Stones and Key Stones. Basically, all gym leaders have received the news, and there are some rumors circulating outside. Once all gym leaders are equipped, the League will officially announce it. Using it now is no big deal; consider it a warm-up."
"Okay."
Lionel was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly thanked him:
"Really? That's great! Next time in the gym challenge, I will definitely make Mega Metagross show off its skills!"
If he could use Mega Evolution himself, wouldn't his livestream viewership explode instantly?!
Lionel imagined the audience in the livestream seeing Metagross Mega Evolution, their smiles almost unbearable.
Seeing Lionel's excited expression, Steven shook his head helplessly:
"You... alright, I should go now, you just enjoy yourself."
Steven waved his hand, giving his Mega Metagross and Claydol a wink:
"We're leaving."
The two Mega Metagross reluctantly touched heads to each other, emitting low growls, as if saying goodbye.
Then, Steven's Shiny Metagross transformed into its normal form.
Claydol also began to gather energy again, its body radiating a dazzling blue light.
"We'll be going now, until we meet again."
Steven waved.
"Goodbye, Mr. Steven!"
A flash of light, and space distorted once more.
The figures of Steven, Shiny Metagross, and Claydol vanished instantly from the room, leaving only a wisp of lingering energy fluctuations in the air.
The room returned to calm, leaving only Lionel and his Pokémon.
At this moment, Larvesta circled among Metagross's eight metal arms, its small eyes filled with envy.
It looked down at it Vulpix beneath it, each only able to wear one or two different colored ornaments.
Then it looked up at Metagross's thick, powerful metal arms, wondering how many they could fit on.
Thinking of this, Larvesta involuntarily opened its mouth, and suddenly charged towards Lionel with a "whoosh."
Before Lionel could even process the shock of Metagross's Mega Evolution, Larvesta slammed into him solidly.
The force was so great that it sent him flying backward, crashing heavily onto the sofa.
The fat bug ignored Lionel's pained, toothy grin, and instead immediately pounced into his arms, burying its head against his chest.
It chirped softly, its voice full of grievance, yet tinged with a hint of stubbornness.
Only then did Lionel notice that Larvesta's eyes were red-rimmed, with tears glistening within them; its tearful appearance was enough to melt anyone's heart.
"What's wrong?"
Lionel, ignoring his own pain, quickly sat up, pulled Larvesta into his arms, and gently stroked its soft body.
"Why are you suddenly smiling?"
Larvesta raised its head, its little head first turning to the floating Mega Metagross beside it, looking at its eight imposing, cold metal arms.
Then it looked at Lionel with a wronged expression and started babbling.
Lionel understood what it meant from Metagross's translation.
Larvesta also wanted to evolve!
From Metang to now Mega Metagross, Metagross had already evolved twice.
But it still hasn't evolved!
It also longs to grow eight, no, ten arms like Metagross, adorned with sparkling ornaments.
The more it talked, the more aggrieved it became, and tears streamed down its face, its cries turning into sobs. The two Vulpix and Vulpix beside it grew anxious.
The two little guys rushed over, one on each side, rubbing against Larvesta's body.
They gently patted its back with their fluffy tails, as if comforting this sulking "little daddy."
Lionel looked at the pitiful Larvesta in his arms, feeling both amused and exasperated.
He knew what the little guy was thinking, of course. Ever since it took him as its master, Larvesta had been quite emotional about "not evolving yet."
Seeing Metagross Mega Evolve again this time, its envy was completely uncontrollable.
"You idiot, why are you crying?"
Lionel shook his head helplessly, wiping away Larvesta's tears. His tone was guiding, gently comforting it:
"Alright, alright, don't cry. Have you forgotten what I told you before?
The real trump cards are always the last to appear.
The later you evolve, the more energy you accumulate, and the stronger you'll be after your final evolution.
The later you evolve, the stronger you are. You should be happy, why are you crying?"
Lionel was actually quite helpless about Larvesta's delayed evolution.
Larvesta's evolution was never simple. In the game's settings of his previous life, Larvesta had to reach nearly level sixty before it could regress to the Volcarona.
Its evolution level is even higher than 90% of Dragon-type Pokémon, demonstrating the arduousness of its growth.
Furthermore, the fact that it had Groudon Imprint Stones from a young age made it significantly larger than its peers, with physical attributes far exceeding the average.
This means it needs to accumulate far more evolutionary energy than a regular LavaBug; like a much larger container, it takes much longer to fill. Lionel has been diligently feeding it high-level Pokémon energy balls these past few days, but the signs of evolution are still not obvious, clearly requiring more time to accumulate.
Lionel said, pointing to Mega Metagross, "Look at Metagross, it also went through so much training and suffered so much hardship to achieve its Mega Evolution. The more solid your accumulation now, the more powerful you will be when you evolve into a Volcarona."
Metagross nodded cooperatively, joining Lionel in coaxing Larvesta. It even extended a metal arm and waved it at Larvesta, as if indicating something.
Larvesta paused for a moment, then stopped crying and began chirping to Metagross. As Metagross extended another metal arm, Larvesta broke free from Lionel's embrace.
It darted to a drawer in the room and rummaged through its little treasure chest.
With its tiny paws, it laboriously opened a box, revealing a dazzling array of glittering trinkets.
With Metagross' permission, Larvesta immediately busied itself, tears welling in its eyes, clumsily handling the trinkets with its little paws. Strings of ornaments clung to Metagross's metal arm.
One, two, three...
In no time, Metagross's forearm was covered in colorful trinkets, shimmering under the room lights.
Looking at its "masterpiece," Larvesta finally smiled happily, raised its head, and circled Metagross twice, admiring its creation.
Lionel watched this scene and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
This big fat bug really is a "trinket addict," but it's good that it's happy.
Metagross also cooperated by looking at its adorned metal arm, making a soft clinking sound to appease Larvesta.
Milotic and the Vulpixes also nodded, bend their heads, and... Larvesta finally forgot its earlier grievances and returned to its lively self.
After successfully calming the restless Larvesta, Lionel finally had a chance to settle down and continue with the system reward allocation.
With a thought, the system panel reopened, and the series of rewards were clearly displayed before him.
The allocation of Pokémon Energy Orbs and TMs could be carried out exactly as planned, without any external adjustments.
However, the allocation of Stat Boosters was slightly different.
Since Milotic's Special Attack Booster had already lost its effect, Lionel gave all the remaining ones to Larvesta, allowing this power to be used where it was more needed. The local area plays a crucial role.
Now, Milotic only needs to focus on using Stamina Boosters to steadily improve its survivability, which is sufficient.
Metagross's training direction remains steadfast, continuing to use Defense and Special Defense Boosters.
This strengthens its already incredibly tough body, striving to make it as impenetrable as a fortress against any attack.
Larvesta, on the other hand, is steadily growing under the dual boost of Special Attack and Speed Boosters.
These two boosters lay the most solid foundation for its future evolution into Vulpix, ensuring it possesses both powerful burst damage and agile movements.
As for the Vulpixes, currently they are using Advanced Pokémon Energy Cubes. Cultivate them using intermediate energy clusters.
When the effects of the intermediate energy clusters gradually become insufficient to keep up with their growth rate, switch to advanced energy clusters, gradually assisting their growth.
Lionel looked at his companions beside him, still engrossed in observing the map, and the Larvesta "decorating" the Metagross's arm:
The little guys chatted amongst themselves, occasionally joining in to poke at it with their tiny paws, creating a lively yet warm scene.
He had already distributed all the rewards, and was just waiting to distribute them—once the day's busy work would be over.