"That is more than enough! Way more than enough!"
Theo nodded repeatedly, feeling as if his heart had blossomed with joy.
This trip to Lavaridge Town and Mt. Chimney had been absolutely worth it.
Not only had he successfully captured Larvesta, but he had also helped it learn powerful moves, and in the end, he had even secured a promise from the former Elite Four Mr. Moore to teach him the ultimate training secret of the Lavaridge Gym.
In the future, his Volcarona might even have a chance of possessing the Burning Soul ability. That alone was an enormous and unexpected surprise.
Seeing the delight on Theo's face, Moore added,
"However, I need to make this clear in advance. The ultimate training secret of our gym, the Baptism of Flames, is not something that can be passed easily."
"A Pokémon must reach a sufficient level of strength before it can even begin, and it also requires special training methods to accompany it. In the end, the success rate is extremely low.
Among all the Pokémon I have, only my Typhlosion has successfully passed it."
You had better think this through carefully. If, at that time, your Volcarona cannot pass the Baptism of Flames, do not say that I deceived your Pokémon."
"It will not happen, Elder Moore."
Theo immediately assured him,
"After Larvesta evolves, I will discuss this matter properly with it. At that time, I will let it stay in your Fire type gym for a period of time. After all, you are a true expert when it comes to training Fire type Pokémon. You certainly understand better than I do how to train it in a way that would produce even better offspring."
Moore looked at Theo and could not help but laugh as he scolded,
"You really are quite the sly one!"
The condition Theo had proposed was indeed very tempting to Moore.
If Volcarona were willing to temporarily reside at his Lavaridge Gym for some time,
Then, with his connections in the League, he could gather a large number of strong and beautiful female Bug type Pokémon, or even Ditto, to interact with Volcarona.
He could also invite several professors specializing in genetics research to carry out targeted incubation and cultivation of Volcarona's offspring.
Perhaps he might even be able to cultivate an unprecedentedly powerful Larvesta.
"Do not worry. Just based on what you have said, I will definitely do everything in my power to ensure that your Volcarona passes the Baptism of Flames. I will be waiting for your Larvesta to evolve."
Moore patted his chest as he made this promise to Theo.
Meanwhile, Larvesta, who was acting as a tour guide off to the side, had been secretly pricking up its ears and eavesdropping on the conversation between Theo and Moore.
Although it did not fully understand terms like "offspring" and "cultivation" that the two were discussing,
It could clearly feel that the way Theo and that white haired old man were looking at it was becoming increasingly strange. That gaze made its heart uneasy, as if they were plotting something bad.
Instinctively, it avoided their eyes.
In the end, it simply twisted its body and hid entirely behind Tyrantrum's massive frame, refusing to let Theo and Moore see it.
It was as if doing so would allow it to escape those suspicious and ill intentioned gazes.
Seeing Larvesta's reaction, both Mr. Moore and Theo could not help but laugh.
Moore waved his hand and said,
"Alright, it is settled then. Call Larvesta over. I will have Typhlosion begin teaching it moves right now."
Hearing this, Theo immediately waved toward the area behind Tyrantrum.
"Larvesta, come over. It is time to learn some moves."
The Larvesta hiding behind Tyrantrum clearly hesitated for a moment, cautiously poking its little head out.
Its bright, round eyes shifted back and forth between Theo, Moore, and Typhlosion.
It was as if it were trying to determine whether stepping forward now would cause it to fall into some kind of trap, and for a moment, it did not dare to move.
Seeing this, Theo shook his head helplessly and let out a soft laugh.
"Do not be so sensitive. This time, I am really not setting you up. Typhlosion is going to teach you powerful moves. Come over quickly."
After saying that, he picked up his phone and addressed the viewers who were still flooding the livestream chat,
"Alright everyone, next is the time for Elder Moore's Typhlosion to guide Larvesta in learning moves, so we will end the stream here for now. After some time, I will show everyone the results of its training."
The livestream instantly exploded with activity, with dense lines of comments rapidly scrolling across the screen.
"So that is it? It is ending already? I still wanted to watch Larvesta learn its ultimate move!"
"Streamer, please secretly open a small window and broadcast it. Just let us take one look!"
"The person above is dreaming. This is clearly Elder Moore's unique teaching method. How could it be casually revealed to the public?"
Theo smiled as he glanced at a few of the comments, then directly ended the livestream.
Moore, who was standing nearby, nodded upon seeing this. This kid understood boundaries well enough, saving him the trouble of having to remind or stop him.
"Follow me."
As he spoke, Moore turned around with Flannery and headed toward the training area behind the battle field.
Theo followed closely with his Pokémon.
After entering the training area, Moore gave Typhlosion a look.
Typhlosion immediately stepped forward, and a faint layer of fiery aura rose around its body.
It appeared gentle, yet it emitted a heart trembling sense of pressure.
Moore spoke in a deep voice, filled with pride for his Typhlosion,
"Ordinary move teaching usually involves demonstrating the move and explaining the general principle of how energy flows during its execution. Whether a Pokémon can learn it, and how quickly it learns, depends entirely on its own comprehension. But my Typhlosion is different."
"After undergoing the Baptism of Flames, its control over Fire type energy has reached an extreme level. It can precisely guide its own Fire type energy into another Pokémon's body, allowing the other Pokémon to personally experience the flow of energy when a move is executed. This makes learning moves far more efficient."
Upon hearing this, Theo's eyes lit up.
He finally understood why Flannery's Pokémon, despite not having particularly high energy reserves, were able to skillfully master so many powerful Fire type moves.
It seemed that all of this was thanks to Mr. Moore's Typhlosion.
"Larvesta, watch carefully. I will have Typhlosion demonstrate Blast Burn for you in slow motion first."
Moore turned his head and spoke to Larvesta.
As soon as his words fell, Typhlosion raised its forepaw.
In the next moment, a small ball of fire, about the size of a ping pong ball, condensed out of thin air in its palm.
At first, it was only that small, yet it radiated astonishing heat, causing faint ripples of heat distortion to appear in the air.
Then, the fireball expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye. The color of the flames gradually shifted from orange red to a blazing white.
Within it, countless tiny streams of flame could be seen rotating rapidly according to a certain pattern, like a miniature sun slowly turning.
BOOM!
Typhlosion suddenly thrust its forepaw forward.
The blazing white fire instantly transformed into a perfect pattern, tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound as it shot precisely toward the rock target ahead.
There was no expected explosive noise, only a dull, muffled sound.
The entire target field was instantly swallowed by white light, and the intense brightness caused Theo to squint reflexively.
When the light finally dissipated, the once solid rock target had completely vanished, leaving behind only a deep, charred crater several meters wide.
The inner walls of the crater were smooth like a mirror, clearly formed by rock that had been melted instantly by extreme heat and then cooled just as quickly.
(End of Chapter)