Yesterday, Theo had spent the entire day running wild with his Pokémon until evening.
By the time the sun began to set, both Metang and Milotic were already showing signs of fatigue and resting off to the side, yet Tyrantrum and Larvesta were still bursting with energy, hopping around Theo nonstop.
In the end, Theo had to coax and trick them before finally managing to recall these two "little troublemakers" back into their Poké Balls.
When he woke up this morning, Theo only felt soreness all over his body, the result of being jolted around while riding on Tyrantrum's back the entire previous day.
At the time, he had been too busy enjoying himself to notice.
But after a night had passed, all the soreness came rushing in at once, making him wince in pain even with the slightest movement.
Because of this, after entering the deeper parts of the forest today and seeing the dense trees all around, Theo absolutely did not dare to release those two "little ancestors."
If they got carried away and lost control, accidentally turning the entire forest upside down, the consequences would be disastrous.
It was only now, upon reaching the edge of the Steel Gorge, where the surrounding trees had completely disappeared and the ground was covered in bare rock, that Theo finally felt at ease enough to release them.
The open and spacious terrain meant they could cause trouble without too much risk.
He took out their Poké Balls and released them.
The moment they landed on the ground, Larvesta excitedly bounced up and down, while Tyrantrum shook its head vigorously and let out a loud, resounding roar, as if proclaiming its "freedom."
"Go play, but don't run too far. Be careful," Theo said with a smile, his tone indulgent.
As soon as his words fell, Tyrantrum let out an excited low roar toward Larvesta, clearly issuing an invitation.
Larvesta immediately spat out silk, skillfully wrapping it around Tyrantrum's body, eager to experience the thrill of being pulled along at high speed.
Tyrantrum instantly kicked off with its powerful hind legs and began sprinting wildly across the open ground of the gorge.
Its speed increased rapidly, stirring up strong gusts of wind, and Larvesta was lifted into the air behind it, dangling and swaying as it let out excited buzzing cries.
Tyrantrum was already full of energy by nature, and Larvesta had always enjoyed teasing other Pokémon and playing around when it was still at Mt Chimney.
Now that it had found a like-minded companion in Tyrantrum, the two completely let loose, playing with reckless abandon.
After running wildly for quite some time, Tyrantrum suddenly seemed to remember something and excitedly ran up to a half-man-high rock, stopping in front of it.
It turned its head and gestured toward Larvesta with a proud tilt, looking exactly like a child eager to show off a new toy.
Tyrantrum took a deep breath, and a cold metallic sheen instantly appeared on its forehead. It was using the move Iron Head.
In the next moment, Tyrantrum burst forward and slammed fiercely into the rock.
With a heavy, dull boom, the solid rock shattered instantly, fragments scattering in all directions.
Larvesta watched with shining eyes, letting out a series of cheering cries.
The small horns around its head occasionally spurted little flames, as if cheering Tyrantrum on.
Tyrantrum grew even more pleased, shaking its head and repeatedly smashing into nearby rocks.
Each time Iron Head landed, another rock was crushed into pieces, making Larvesta even more excited, the flames on its horns burning brighter.
As the fun escalated, Tyrantrum even used its tail to flick a chunk of broken rock toward Metang, who was floating not far away.
There was a clear sense of "provocation" in its gaze, as if it were saying, "Come join us."
Metang hovered in midair, its red eyes flickering slightly.
It instinctively glanced at Theo beside it, hesitating for a moment when it saw Theo smiling.
Theo understood what it was thinking. He waved his hand with a smile and pointed toward Tyrantrum and Larvesta, who were still waiting.
"Don't worry. Milotic is in the Poké Ball, it'll protect me. Go play with them."
As soon as he said that, the Poké Ball at Theo's waist containing Milotic gave a light shake, as if responding.
Seeing this, a trace of happiness appeared in Metang's red eyes.
Immediately afterward, a faint glow enveloped its body as it used Iron Defense, clearly preparing to join the fun.
In the next instant, Metang shot forward like a cannonball, rushing toward Tyrantrum and Larvesta.
Tyrantrum let out an excited roar upon seeing this. It immediately abandoned smashing rocks and charged straight toward Metang, activating Iron Head once again.
Metang did not back down and flew directly toward Tyrantrum.
In an instant, the gorge became lively.
Tyrantrum continuously clashed with Metang using Iron Head and Iron Tail, sending rocks flying in all directions.
At this time, Larvesta used its silk to pull itself up and landed steadily on Tyrantrum's back.
Like a knight riding a dragon, it directed Tyrantrum, guiding its attack direction toward Metang.
From time to time, it would even launch small bursts of flame as sneak attacks.
Metang remained unfazed, alternating between Iron Head and Iron Defense while also using its psychic power to control small rock fragments, hurling them toward Larvesta.
Larvesta responded agilely, spitting out flames to blast the rocks away.
The three of them went back and forth, playing to their hearts' content.
At this moment, a flash of red light appeared beside Theo as Milotic quietly emerged, gracefully floating by manipulating the moisture in the air.
It glanced at the three companions causing chaos, then at Theo.
Without saying a word, human and Pokémon exchanged a look, both showing expressions of helpless indulgence.
As the three troublemakers continued their antics deeper into the gorge, there was no trace of trees left in the surroundings.
Instead, the area was filled with massive rocks of various shapes, along with occasional metallic ores exposed on the surface, reflecting light under the sun.
Within the cracks between rocks and ores, many Magnemite could be seen.
They had been leisurely absorbing energy from the ores, but upon seeing Tyrantrum's massive figure and the commotion, they quickly hid within the crevices, peeking out cautiously.
While Tyrantrum and Metang were locked in an intense clash, Larvesta also became completely carried away.
It noticed a sharp metallic protrusion sticking out from between the rocks nearby.
An idea suddenly came to it. It wanted to imitate Tyrantrum's earlier display of smashing rocks with Iron Head.
So it opened its mouth and unleashed a Fire Blast toward that pointed metallic object, eager to test the power of its newly learned move.
The red flames instantly formed into a massive "大"-shaped blaze, carrying intense heat as it slammed toward the metal protrusion.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out, far louder than the earlier sounds of rocks shattering.
Theo, who was still behind them, had no time to react before he heard the thunderous crash ahead, causing the ground beneath his feet to tremble.
In the next moment, a crack suddenly split open across the ground of the gorge, and a massive steel serpentine figure burst out from underground.
First, a huge head broke through the surface, followed by a long, extended body.
It was a gigantic steel serpent nearly ten meters in length.
(End of Chapter)