"Is this the split evolution that Steven was talking about?"
Lionel's pupils contracted slightly. He was about to observe this rare evolution process closely when he saw the two Beldum figures briefly separate in the white light, and then suddenly merge back together.
The light suddenly became dazzling, like a small sun rising before his eyes. Even the air seemed to be distorted by this energy, emitting a slight "humming" tremor.
"Roar!"
Tyrantrum immediately blocked in front of the white light, its massive body forming a barrier, warily looking around to prevent the evolutionary energy from attracting the attention of wild Pokémon. Milotic also swam closer, its tail fin gently swishing, creating a layer of water curtain around it. The gentle ripples could both stabilize the energy and serve as a warning.
Lionel held his breath, staring intently at the center of the white light.
The evolutionary light lasted for about half a minute. When the light gradually receded like the tide, a completely new figure appeared in the spot.
It was a Pokémon several times larger than Beldum. Its main body was still silver-white and metallic, but its form had undergone a huge change.
Its originally rounded body elongated, with a pair of gleaming metal claws extending from its sides.
The single red eye on its head became two, the pupils sharper, like two red crystals.
It exuded a calm aura, a blend of steel and psychic attributes.
Lionel's system panel automatically displayed the following information:
[Pokémon: Metang]
[Type: Steel, Psychic]
[Category: Ironclaw Pokémon]
[Ability: Cleanse (Unaffected by the opponent's moves or abilities)]
[Moves: Metal Claw, Bullet Punch, Sharp Claw, Levitate, Cannon, Tackle, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Brick Break, Agility, Psychic ———)]
Upon seeing the move list, Lionel couldn't help but gasp. The list contained a multitude of new moves.
Even more surprising to Lionel was that the TMs he had accumulated through system draws, which he intended to teach Metang, had all been learned autonomously during its evolution.
"As expected—"
Lionel was thrilled:
As expected of the Pokémon split from Steven's Shiny Metagross, its foundation is truly different!
These skills are probably like Iron Head and Psychic from Beldum's previous form—innate instincts that can be quickly improved with practice!
Metang was clearly still adapting to its new body. It moved its metal claws, which made a crisp "crack" sound as they rubbed together, before attempting to levitate.
Perhaps due to its increased size and weight from evolution, its levitation speed was much slower than Beldum's, and it was somewhat unstable.
It looked down at its claws, then looked up at Lionel, its red eyes filled with curiosity and excitement, and its body emitted a louder "hum—" than before.
"Congratulations, Metang."
Lionel stepped forward and gently stroked Metang's cool back, feeling the subtle vibrations of its metallic body.
Metang emitted an even louder hum than before and gently touched Lionel's palm with its claw.
At this moment, Tyrantrum and Milotic also stepped forward, curiously examining the evolved Metang.
Tyrantrum sniffed its body, letting out a curious growl, while Milotic gently patted its side with its tail fin, its blue eyes filled with amusement.
Metang seemed a little embarrassed, touching Milotic's tail fin and Tyrantrum's nose with its paws. The three Pokémon quickly became familiar with each other, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
Just then, Milotic suddenly stopped, its tail fin sharply pointing towards a small lava pit not far away. The lava in the pit was still slowly churning, constantly bubbling.
Almost simultaneously, Metang turned around. Its red eyes were fixed on the lava pit, its psychic powers subtly unfolding, the surrounding air seemingly stirred by an invisible hand, the energy fluctuations becoming exceptionally sharp.
Lionel's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stood up, following their gaze.
But the lava pit was completely calm; the lava that had been churning just moments before had subsided.
Even the gurgling sound disappeared, leaving only a faint orange-red glow at the bottom of the pit, making it seem like just an ordinary lava depression.
"What's wrong?"
Lionel asked softly, while cautiously observing his surroundings.
Milotic shook its tail fin, a hint of doubt in its eyes, while Metang looked away, exchanging a glance with Milotic, seemingly also wondering if its perception was wrong.
Lionel frowned and walked to the edge of the lava pit to examine it closely: the pit walls were cooled black volcanic rock, the lava at the bottom had solidified into a dark red, with only a small orange-red spot in the center still faintly glowing.
"Perhaps it's a Fire Pokémon moving around inside,"
Lionel muttered to himself, not thinking further, and turned to pack his equipment.
Metang and Milotic, however, continued to glance at the lava pit from time to time, testing it with their skills, but the lava pit remained unresponsive.
It wasn't until Lionel neatly folded the tent and put it into his backpack, turning to call his companions to set off, that Metang and Milotic reluctantly withdrew their gaze, ending their continued probing of the lava pit.
Lionel stared intently at the lava cave. After a moment's thought, he decided to ignore it for the time being and recalled both Tyrantrum and Milotic into their Poké Balls.
The former was too large to climb the mountain path, and the latter would be uncomfortable staying in the hot and dry environment for too long. He left only the newly evolved Metang by his side.
At the same time, Lionel also distributed all the TMs suitable for Metang that he had accumulated in the system to Metang.
"These skills were originally meant for you after you evolved, but you learned them all yourself."
Lionel patted the metal monster's back.
"Try Magnet Rise, use magnetism to control your body, get used to the new way of moving, we'll practice as we travel."
The metal monster blinked its red eyes, understanding Lionel's meaning. A pale blue magnetic halo emanated from its body, and it levitated, swaying slightly.
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, its speed not as swift as when it was Beldum, occasionally swaying slightly due to changes in the magnetic force.
Lionel followed beside it, reminding it from time to time: "Adjust the magnetic distribution, and control it more steadily—yes, keep this rhythm."
About fifteen minutes after Lionel left, the seemingly calm lava pit suddenly stirred.
"Glug—"
A soft bubbling sound broke the silence, and the orange-red light in the center of the pit suddenly brightened, like a lit flame.
Immediately afterwards, a small white head emerged from the lava.
This little sprite had five red antennae on its head, resembling rays of sunlight, the tips of which shimmered with faint light and trembled slightly.
This was the very creature Milotic and Metang had detected earlier.
It moved with extreme caution, first probing its antennae above the lava surface to confirm the surroundings were still before daring to reveal its entire head.
A pair of clear blue eyes warily scanned its surroundings, the whites of its eyes glowing faintly, a stark contrast to the crimson lava.
Once it was certain Lionel and the others were far away, it fully stretched out its body: resembling a moth larva, with a dark brown lower body and three pairs of small black legs clinging tightly to the lava wall.
Its head and upper body were covered in fine white hairs, which swayed slightly in the heat of the lava.
If Lionel were here, he would recognize it at a glance—this was the Larvesta he had been longing for!
But at this moment, even more striking than the Larvesta itself was the flat, red, square stone on its back.
The stone's edges were smooth, as if meticulously polished, and under the illumination of the lava, golden-red patterns appeared on its surface.
These patterns flowed and intertwined like living things, vaguely forming a shape resembling a "Q," like solidified flames, shimmering with a mysterious and ancient luster.
The Larvesta's antennae turned towards the direction Lionel had left, the red tips glowing slightly. Under the influence of the mysterious "Ω" stone, the Larvesta's senses were incredibly sharp.
Just now, when the Beldum evolved, the high-level Pokémon energy cluster that Lionel had taken out of the system space emitted a pure aura, like a lighthouse in the night, which it instantly captured.
The energy fluctuations were exceptionally clear—warm, powerful, and carrying vitality that could rapidly promote life growth.
Its body's instincts told the Larvesta that this energy was the perfect nutrient for growth!
Enough to prevent it from staying deep in the volcano, absorbing the thin lava energy day after day, and waiting bitterly for the opportunity to evolve.
It was precisely because of its excitement that it revealed itself; otherwise, relying on the mysterious little stone on its back, no one would have ever noticed it.
The burning insect gently swayed its body in the lava, its red antennae trembling excitedly. It took one last look in the direction Lionel had disappeared in before plunging deep into the lava.
The red stone on its back briefly flashed an "Ω" shape on the surface of the lava before vanishing into the darkness at the bottom of the pit along with its figure.
The lava at the bottom of the pit gradually returned to calm, with only occasional gurgling sounds, as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion.
At this moment, Lionel was focused on guiding the metal monster in practicing Magnet Rise. It was progressing extremely quickly, its magnetic control becoming increasingly smooth, and its movement speed was increasing. "Not bad, keep it up!"
Lionel praised with a smile, completely unaware that a faint energy fluctuation was emanating from the lava layer behind them, like a persistent ailment, silently following their footsteps.
The burning insect carrying the mysterious stone was moving rapidly inside the lava.
It possessed an intimate knowledge of the geological structure of Chimney Mountain, knowing exactly where the connecting lava channels and caves were.
Its target was clear and direct: Lionel's high-level elven energy cluster.
A "robbery" of Lionel's energy cluster was quietly brewing deep within this volcano.
Lionel, however, was completely unaware of this; his attention was drawn to a cave entrance in the rock wall ahead.
It was one of the cave entrances marked on the map, the dark opening resembling the maw of a giant beast, waiting for them to step inside.
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