Larvesta noticed Lionel's other three Pokémon staring at it.
It quickly approached Milotic, Metang, and Tyrantrum, letting out a friendly growl to greet them.
Milotic gently swayed its tail in response, Metang descended from its hovering body, lightly touching Larvesta's body with its claws, while Tyrantrum was the most enthusiastic, even trying to get Larvesta onto its own body.
Lionel stood aside with a smile, letting the four little guys play briefly.
"Alright, it's time to go down the mountain. If we stay any longer, it'll probably get dark."
Lionel clapped his hands, interrupting their interaction, and took out three Poké Balls, preparing to put Milotic, Tyrantrum, and Larvesta away.
Upon hearing the words "go down the mountain," Larvesta seemed to suddenly remember something, abruptly raising its head and growling urgently at Lionel, its blue eyes filled with anxiety.
Metang immediately translated with its telekinesis: "It says it has many more treasures in the lava cave and wants to go back to get them. Can you wait for it a bit?"
Lionel raised an eyebrow, surprised that this little guy had other treasures besides Groudon's rocks.
Lionel deliberately showed off a high-level Pokémon energy ball from his system storage space, repeatedly displaying and then retracting it in his hand: "Sure, I'll wait for you. But let me tell you, if you dare to run away, you'll never see this energy ball again."
Larvesta immediately put on a pitiful look, shaking its head vigorously, its five antennae almost drooping to the ground, as if swearing that it would never run away.
"Alright, alright, I believe you. I was just reminding you."
Lionel was amused by its appearance and waved his hand, signaling it to hurry back.
Larvesta was relieved and "whoosh" darted into the nearby lava pit, leaving only a ripple spreading across the scalding lava.
Lionel and the three Pokémon stood by the pit waiting.
Tyrantrum curiously approached the lava, stretching out its short forepaws as if to test the lava's temperature.
However, its forepaws were rather short; despite its efforts to crouch down, it still couldn't reach the lava pit. Tyrantrum roared angrily.
Metang, watching from the side, saw this and a hint of helplessness flashed in its red eyes.
Even after evolving and growing up, this Tyrantrum was still the same silly baby Tyrunt.
It then used its telekinesis to carefully manipulate a small clump of lava in the pit, causing it to slowly fly towards Tyrantrum and hover in the air.
This way, Tyrantrum could "touch" the lava without having to get close to the edge of the pit.
Tyrantrum stared at the suspended lava, its amber eyes filled with hesitation.
It tentatively stretched out its claws, about to touch the lava, then abruptly pulled them back. Its claws hovered in the air, stretching and retracting, feeling that the lava was a bit hot.
"Pfft—"
Milotic's tail fin twitched involuntarily at the sight, and a pale blue halo appeared around its body as it used Water Pulse.
A gentle wave of water precisely poured onto the lava, and with a "sizzle," the lava was instantly extinguished, leaving only a small clump of black ash.
Milotic shook its head at Tyrantrum and Metang, as if scolding its naughty younger brothers: "You'll get burned, you can't play with that."
Tyrantrum and Metang immediately adopted obedient postures, bowing their heads to Milotic, their submissive appearance resembling children being scolded by their older sister.
Lionel watched from the side, amused. Tyrantrum looked the largest in size, but among his Pokémon, its intelligence was the smallest.
Milotic and Metang had both become much more mature and composed after evolving.
Tyrantrum, however, had only changed in appearance; its intelligence hadn't changed much, still retaining its previous slightly silly and cute demeanor.
Just then, a wave of heat suddenly erupted from the lava crater, and the Larvesta emerged from it, its body still covered in drops of scalding lava, yet completely unaffected.
Carrying a heavy load on its back, it staggered to Lionel and dumped everything on the ground.
Lionel looked down and was somewhat surprised.
Besides a few common Fire Stones, there were several rare items:
a bright red glass bead with a cluster of golden flames burning inside, radiating a scorching heat;
a small gray stone with several long pink crystals stuck in it, resembling some kind of rare diamond;
and several sharp-edged red diamond crystals, shimmering brilliantly in the setting sun.
Lionel instinctively opened the system panel and scanned these items; their information immediately appeared:
[Flame Orb: A magical orb that releases heat upon contact. When carried by an elf, it can automatically activate the orb's energy, releasing high temperatures that cause the wearer to enter a burning state.] [
[Fiery Rock: A rock imbued with magical power. When a Pokémon holds this, using the "Sunny Day" move greatly reduces stamina consumption and extends the duration of the Sunny Day weather.]
[Fire Gem: A gem formed from condensed fire-type energy. When a Pokémon absorbs it, it increases its control over fire-type energy or slightly increases its resistance to fire-type attacks.]
"Wow, you've got quite a collection of treasures,"
Lionel couldn't help but exclaim. "Looks like you weren't exaggerating when you said you were the king of Mt. Chimney."
Larvesta proudly raised its head, the flames on its antennae flickering.
It then used its forelegs to push all these items in front of Lionel, as if offering up its entire possessions to show its loyalty.
It even specifically picked out three Fire Gems and pushed them in front of Milotic, Metang, and Tyrantrum, clearly intending to use these treasures to make new allies.
In Larvesta's eyes, these glittering stones were far less important than the energy orbs and move orbs in Lionel's hands.
Following this human, it could easily obtain "green orbs" to boost its energy and "white orbs" to quickly learn new skills—these were the keys to its growing strength.
As for the treasures it had accumulated before, there was no regret in giving them away.
Lionel looked at its obedient appearance, completely devoted to its master, and couldn't help but reach out and pat its head: "Alright, I'll accept these things. Everyone appreciates your kindness."
Milotic and the others were very accommodating. Milotic used its tail to curl the Fire Gem and rub it against Larvesta, while Metang and Tyrantrum each accepted the gem, receiving this "greeting gift."
Lionel put all the treasures into his backpack, the one he cared about most being the Flame Orb.
Lionel had planned to contact Devon Corporation to buy the Flame Orb once he arrived in the city, but he didn't expect Larvesta to deliver it to his doorstep.
Milotic had its own magnificent performance for the Grand Festival.
This flaming orb is key to the core tactics in Milotic's future battle mode.