Larvesta turned its head to one side, as if resisting, but its eyes were fixed on the energy ball.
A whimper of grievance and longing came from its throat. Larvesta still felt that something was wrong.
But the temptation of that energy ball was too great, and thinking about it carefully, it seemed that it really had lost—
Lionel looked at its conflicted look and couldn't help but laugh. He reached out his other hand and gently rubbed its smooth cheek.
Larvesta subconsciously wanted to dodge, but its body controlled itself and obediently let Lionel rub it.
Its eyes were glued to the energy ball, and its look of wanting to be reserved but unable to resist the desire was just like a child who was greedy but too shy to ask.
"Alright, here you go."
Lionel stopped teasing it and handed over the high-level elf energy ball in his hand.
As if afraid he might change his mind, Larvesta quickly embraced the energy ball with its two small black forelegs and eagerly began to absorb it.
The pure energy surged into its body, instantly dispelling the fatigue of the previous battle and the pain of being hit. Its entire body felt warm and comfortable, so much so that it couldn't help but let out a satisfied whimper.
After absorbing the energy, Larvesta's blue eyes finally softened, losing some of their stubbornness.
It looked up at Lionel, and although it still didn't verbally "admit defeat," the hostility in its eyes had vanished, replaced by a subtle dependence.
After all, this was the first time someone had given it such pure energy and was willing to patiently reason with it.
Lionel knew that the little guy was slowly overcoming the hurdle in its heart.
He stood up and extended his hand to Larvesta: "Since you've accepted the bet, come with me from now on."
"I promise you'll have plenty of energy clusters like this in the future, and I'll take you to see a wider world, much more interesting than being a king on this Chimney Mountain."
Larvesta looked at Lionel's outstretched hand, then at the strange wrathful dragon winking at it, hesitated for a moment, and finally gently rubbed against Lionel's fingertips, tacitly agreeing.
Lionel smiled and picked it up. Its nearly 1.5-meter-long body was really big, warm and comfortable.
Like a giant cushion.
Lionel was thoroughly fondling Larvesta.
Larvesta's eyes were lifeless as it cooperated with Lionel, looking like it had been thoroughly played with.
Lionel held the warm Larvesta, his fingertips gently parting the white down on its forehead, revealing a red symbol resembling an "Ω".
This symbol on Larvesta's forehead had a faint luster, like a mark naturally embedded in its skin, yet it felt as smooth as the surrounding skin.
"That symbol on your forehead, wasn't it made from a stone before? Where did that stone come from? Show it to me."
Hearing this, the "Ω" symbol on Larvesta's forehead suddenly flashed.
Then it disappeared as if erased by an eraser, instantly disappearing into its skin without a trace.
Larvesta tilted its head, blinking its blue eyes repeatedly, looking completely bewildered. It innocently stared at Lionel, turning its head left and right as if carefully observing its surroundings, completely ignoring Lionel's words.
"Hey, you've learned to play dumb now?"
Lionel was amused by its appearance and pinched its cheek: "You looked pretty impressive when you used your transformation during the battle, why are you hiding it now?"
Larvesta squealed twice from the pinch, shaking its head vigorously, indicating that it didn't understand what Lionel was saying at all.
Looking at it like this, Lionel couldn't help but think:
This little Larvesta is smart, but it was a bit silly when it was distracted by me chatting during the battle with Tyrantrum.
"You might think it's silly, but its current reaction of hiding something and not responding to questions is incredibly clever."
Lionel smiled and shook his head. Since the volcano had already lost to him, what did it matter if it was just a rock?
Lionel guessed it was probably some crystal fragments shed from Groudon—something like that.
Anyway, it didn't matter. The volcano was his now; whatever it was, it was on the volcano, and he'd have plenty of time to figure it out later.
Lionel held the volcano above his head, wanting to examine it closely, when he suddenly remembered he had two TMs stored in his system space.
He'd won them in a lottery after the Mauville City Contest; one was "Phosphorus," and the other was "Flamethrower," both Fire-type moves, perfect for the volcano to learn.
"Larvesta, want something good?"
Lionel placed Larvesta on the ground, deliberately drawing out his words, and waved his finger in front of its eyes: "Something comparable to that energy cluster from before, something that can make you stronger, how about it? Want it?"
Upon hearing Lionel's words, Larvesta's blue eyes widened instantly, and small flames lit up on its antennae. Something good that could rival a high-level energy cluster?
Larvesta's previous listless and resigned expression vanished instantly.
This guy immediately transformed into a different bug, licking his body and rubbing against Lionel, looking every bit the obedient creature begging for food.
"Are you being affectionate?"
Lionel was amused by its rapid change of expression: "Alright, since you're so obedient, I'll give it to you."
Lionel retrieved two skill learning machines from his system space, and white light condensed into two soft orbs in his palm.
He gently pressed the orbs of light onto Larvesta's forehead.
The white light instantly merged into Larvesta's body, and the little creature comfortably squinted its eyes, emitting a satisfied "whimper. "
Data from the skill learning machine flooded its mind like a stream. Larvesta subconsciously closed its eyes, its head swaying slightly, seemingly digesting this new power.
It could clearly "see" how to use "Will-O-Wisp" and also sense how to use "Flame Jet."
It compressed the fire-attribute energy within its body and then unleashed it, forming a high-temperature pillar of fire, far more powerful than its existing Flame Wheel skill.
After a while, Larvesta slowly opened its eyes, its blue eyes gleaming with excitement.
It tried to mobilize its energy, and small clusters of blue phosphorescent fire appeared around it, hovering in the air for a few seconds before extinguishing.
After a moment of preparation, it unleashed a long pillar of fire, accurately striking a rock in front of it, charring it black.
Larvesta's gaze towards Lionel had completely changed, now filled with admiration.
So learning new skills could be this easy?
It suddenly felt that losing that bet was incredibly worthwhile!
Following this human, not only could it accumulate energy through energy clusters, rapidly aiding its evolution, but it could also learn new skills and become stronger so easily—much more interesting than being a "mountain king" on Chimney Mountain!
Thinking this, Larvesta became even more enthusiastic, rubbing its head against Lionel's body in a coquettish manner.
Milotic, Metang, and Tyrantrum, watching Larvesta's rapid change in expression and somewhat "shameless" behavior, were all stunned.