The three days seemed to pass as if someone had pressed the fast forward button, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the day of the scheduled challenge at the Mossdeep Gym.
Early in the morning, sunlight had just begun to stream through the floor to ceiling windows when Theo, still half asleep, was abruptly woken by the clattering sound of drawers being rummaged through.
Groggy, he reached out toward the bedside table, intending to grab his phone to check the time, but his hand met only empty air.
At the same time, the notification sounds of the system panel kept ringing in his mind. The number of viewers and popularity in his livestream were skyrocketing at a visible rate.
"What's going on…"
Theo rubbed his eyes and sat up, looking toward the source of the noise.
There he saw Larvesta standing in front of the full length mirror, rummaging through a jewelry box with its little claws. Small bells and sparkling bracelets were scattered all over the floor.
As for his phone, it had been suspended nearby by Larvesta's silk, positioned so Metagross could watch the scrolling comments, while the livestream equipment was also aimed at Larvesta, following its movements.
Ever since Theo had let Larvesta handle filming the teaser video for Metagross a few days ago, this little fellow had become completely obsessed with "running the channel."
The teaser video had achieved unexpectedly great results. The comment section had exploded:
"This silhouette is Metagross? Why does it look bigger? Did it secretly learn Dragon Dance?"
"Can Metagross even learn Dragon Dance? I have watched all of Steven's battles and never seen that move…"
"It must be a new combo move! The streamer is hiding a big trump card again. Looking forward to the Gym battle!"
The flood of praise had inflated Larvesta's ego immensely. It now constantly referred to itself as a "genius director" and had practically snatched control of the account operations from Theo.
Since it could not understand the comments, it pestered Metagross every day to translate for it.
Metagross was rather unlucky. Back when it helped Larvesta interpret fan feedback, it had accidentally revealed that it could read human text. Now, besides training, it had to double as a full time translator.
Fortunately, with its four brains, it could multitask efficiently. Otherwise, it would have long been driven crazy by this chubby bug.
At this moment, Larvesta was chirping excitedly at the camera, placing a small top hat on its head, clearly in the middle of another "livestream makeover session."
It had even dragged Fire Vulpix, Ice Vulpix, and Deino in front of the camera, directing them to interact with viewers like a professional host.
The audience in the livestream was thoroughly entertained:
"Hahaha, is Larvesta cosplaying as a Pokémon trainer? This is too funny!"
"Not gonna lie, with that little hat, it really has the vibe!"
"Deino's reluctant expression is hilarious. Watching a proud Dragon type Pokémon perform like this is totally worth it!"
Theo watched the lively scene and shook his head helplessly, deciding not to interfere with Larvesta's antics.
After stretching lazily, he prepared to freshen up. After that, he planned to take everyone out for a good meal before heading to the Mossdeep Gym.
Just as he reached the bathroom door, a black blur suddenly dashed over and clung tightly to his leg.
Looking down, he saw that it was Deino.
It turned out that it was "makeover time" again. Larvesta had been forcing it to stand against the wall with the two Vulpix, intending to decorate it, and it now had a flower wreath forcibly placed on its head.
Deino had finally had enough and immediately ran over to Theo for help, letting out a pitiful low growl. It clearly did not want to be tormented by Larvesta anymore.
"A dignified Dragon type Pokémon being dressed up like this is indeed a bit much."
Theo chuckled as he removed the flower wreath from Deino's head.
"Alright, you can ignore Larvesta. Come on, go freshen up with me."
Deino immediately wagged its tail happily and followed closely behind Theo into the bathroom.
Left behind, Little Fire Vulpix and Little Ice Vulpix looked at each other helplessly. In the end, they still could not resist Larvesta's "authority" as their caretaker and obediently returned to their spots, allowing it to continue decorating them.
By the time Theo finished washing up and came out, Larvesta's makeover session had ended.
The Vulpix were already used to it, so they looked as cute as ever.
The most pitiful one was Metagross. Besides serving as Larvesta's translator, it had also been forced to take Deino's place and had been decorated against its will.
Several pink butterfly stickers were plastered onto its face. From its expression alone, one could clearly see the deep sense of resignation in its eyes.
The livestream chat burst into laughter:
"Help! Metagross in this outfit is some kind of cursed aesthetic!"
"Larvesta really understands content. This is too addictive to watch!"
"Look at Metagross's eyes, it looks so done with life. I feel bad for three seconds!"
"Alright, alright, that's enough."
Theo stepped forward, removed all the stickers from Metagross's face, and slapped them all onto Larvesta instead.
"Let's go have breakfast. After that, we are heading to the Gym challenge."
Only then did Larvesta stop tormenting Metagross. It brought the two Vulpix along as they followed Theo out.
The hotel breakfast was buffet style, with such a wide variety of food that it was dazzling.
Theo specially picked out many local Mossdeep specialties for his Pokémon. Watching them eat with great enjoyment, he himself took a sandwich and a glass of milk, then sat down by the window.
As he ate, he recalled the information about Tate and Liza.
Their father was the director of the Space Center, and from birth, the twins possessed psychic ability far beyond that of ordinary people.
Although not as terrifying as Sabrina, the Gym Leader of Saffron City in Kanto, they were still capable of directly communicating with Pokémon through telepathy, allowing their Pokémon to execute moves without verbal commands.
Moreover, as twins, they shared a natural telepathic connection with each other. Their coordination was flawless, making them nearly unbeatable in double battles.
At the same time, being in their rebellious teenage years, they ran the Gym in a rather unconventional manner.
While not as radical as Flannery, they had established their own rule: only trainers who impressed them were allowed to earn their badge.
Since taking over the Mossdeep Gym, it had become one of the most difficult Gyms in the Hoenn region, with countless trainers failing in their attempts.
Although their father specialized in research rather than battle and could not provide much direct guidance, underestimating them because of that would be a grave mistake.
As a core researcher of the Devon Corporation, their father had ensured that, from the moment they were born, they had access to the best training resources available.
Top tier breeding methods, high quality pokéblock, and even customized training plans had allowed them, like Flannery, to secure the position of Gym Leader at a young age.
For today's Gym challenge, Theo had already made up his mind.
He would let Metagross go all out without holding anything back.
Even though he was also part of the Devon Corporation, he had not been there long, and there were always faint rumors circulating within the company.
Some said that his achievements were only due to Steven's favor, and that without it, he would never have reached this point.
This time, Theo intended to prove to everyone in the Devon Corporation that he was, without a doubt, the strongest new trainer in the company.
(End of Chapter)