Afterward, Theo took out a bottle of repel powder from his backpack and scattered a neat circle around the tent. The white powder blended into the sand, forming an effective barrier that kept insects at bay.
Once he finished preparing the surroundings, Theo ducked into the tent and pulled out an inflatable fish tank from the depths of his bag—something he hadn't used in a long while.
Now that he was camping in the desert, it was finally the perfect time to bring it out. With a few of his Pokémon resting beside him at night, he could sleep much more peacefully.
After a simple dinner, Feebas leisurely swam a few laps inside the inflatable water tank before settling down to rest.
Beldum rested quietly beside Theo's pillow, its entire body wrapped in a faint halo of psychic light. Even while resting, it maintained a constant sense of vigilance.
Tyrunt lay down near the entrance of the tent, its body pressed against the canvas. Even with its eyes closed, it remained alert to every sound and disturbance outside, silently taking up the responsibility of guarding the camp through the night.
As night deepened, the desert winds howled softly as they swept past the rocky cliffs. Inside the tent, however, everything was quiet and still.
Accompanied by the steady breathing of his Pokémon, Theo closed his eyes. The exhaustion from a full day of travel gradually faded away. Tomorrow would be a brand-new day.
…
At daybreak the next morning, the desert's first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting a golden-red sheen over the rocky walls.
Theo was already fully prepared. Looking at Tyrunt and Beldum outside the tent, he raised his voice:
"Starting today, we officially begin special training!"
Feebas remained inside the inflatable tank, watching a video on the phone placed before it with great concentration.
It was a recording of Wallace's Milotic performing brilliantly in a Contest.
This wasn't only to strengthen Feebas's determination to evolve into a Milotic—it also allowed it to secretly study Milotic's exquisite skill combinations and performance concepts.
Later on, it could take those ideas, refine them, and transform them into its own unique style.
"Tyrrrr!"
Tyrunt growled excitedly, scraping a few shallow grooves in the sand with its little claws. The red scales along its body glimmered under the morning light.
It obviously couldn't wait anymore. Even last night, it had spent the whole time imagining what today's training would be like—its sleep filled with dreams of swinging its claws around.
Beldum hovered in mid-air, its crimson crystal eye shining brightly like two freshly polished rubies. A faint psychic ripple surrounded its metal body, showing just how eager it was for this so-called training.
Theo had long since finalized the training plan for Tyrunt in his mind. The rocky area in this desert made for the perfect training ground.
Scattered beneath the cliffs were stones of various sizes. Some were as tall as a grown man, their surfaces polished smooth by endless winds and sand. Their sheer weight was more than enough to serve as Tyrunt's initial warm-up exercise.
"Warm-up training begins."
Theo shifted his gaze onto Tyrunt.
"Your top priority is to improve your stamina. Whether it's Sandstorm or Dragon Dance, both require strong endurance. If you collapse halfway through using a move, you'll never become a true powerhouse."
Tyrunt let out a low "tyrr," seeming half-understanding but full of spirit. It scraped the sand again, its eyes sparkling with excitement as if saying, "Bring it on!"
Theo pointed at the large stones scattered around the campsite.
These massive rocks were roughly oval-shaped, their surfaces smooth and cold to the touch after years of sand erosion.
"See those rocks? Push them while running back and forth—from the tent all the way to that cliff wall, then back here. Keep going until I tell you to stop.
"And remember, you can't use moves to break them. Use only your physical strength. Got it?"
This was the most basic and most effective form of endurance training.
Tyrunt glanced at the rocks, then at Theo. With a determined snarl, it lowered its head, pressing its forehead against the side of a boulder. Its limbs strained, muscles tightening, and a guttural grunt rumbled from its throat.
Slowly, the boulder shifted, scraping across the sand and leaving a shallow groove. Grains of sand hissed as they were pressed aside.
Tyrunt's small legs stepped firmly with each stride, sinking deep into the sand. It was clearly channeling the full strength of its body.
"That's it. Keep the rhythm steady."
Theo encouraged it from the side.
Since Tyrunt had already absorbed energy orbs and strengthening vitamins, it needed proper training to help it adapt quickly to its enhanced body and get used to the physical changes.
Tyrunt gritted its teeth and pushed the stone along the edge of the oasis, running back and forth.
As the sun rose higher, the desert temperature began to climb. Sweat soon dotted Tyrunt's red scales, and its breathing grew heavier—but its steps never stopped.
Meanwhile, Beldum had its own training plan.
"Beldum, come here."
Theo pointed at the large boulder Tyrunt was pushing.
"You go in front and hold the rock in place with Psychic. Make it harder to move. Just treat it like a game."
Beldum bobbed happily, immediately floating to the front of the stone. Its red eye locked onto the rock as a pale blue psychic aura surrounded it.
The invisible psychic force wrapped around the boulder like a net, opposing Tyrunt's pushing strength.
Beldum treated the whole thing like a game, doing its best to sabotage Tyrunt's efforts.
Tyrunt instantly felt the increased resistance—the stone slowed to half its previous speed.
It let out a puzzled "Tyrr?" as if complaining, "Are you helping or messing with me?"
But instead of backing down, it pushed even harder.
…
Tyrunt's endurance training continued through this kind of "interaction," the difficulty much higher than anticipated.
But Beldum wasn't having an easy time either.
It was still newly born, with limited energy reserves. At first, it played with great enthusiasm, its Psychic stable and focused.
But after twenty minutes, its red eye began to dim, and its psychic energy weakened greatly. It was clearly running out of strength.
"Not working anymore?"
Seeing its exhaustion, Theo chuckled and waved.
"Come back and rest a bit. You can go play again later."
Beldum floated back weakly, relieved, looking pitifully at Theo as if saying, "So tired…"
Without the psychic resistance, Tyrunt suddenly felt much lighter. It pushed the stone with renewed vigor, even glancing proudly at Beldum with its tail raised high—as if showing off.
After resting for ten minutes, Beldum recovered enough energy and enthusiastically flew back to join the "game," continuing to cause trouble for Tyrunt.
But this time, it had learned its lesson. Instead of pushing steadily, it waited for the perfect moment to suddenly increase resistance, repeatedly breaking Tyrunt's rhythm.
Tyrunt had no choice but to adjust its strength constantly, which inadvertently trained its sense of power control.
An hour later, Theo finally called out:
"Alright, that's enough. Take a break."
The instant the words fell, Tyrunt released the boulder and dropped onto the sand with a soft thud.
Its chest rose and fell violently, each hot exhale making the sand in front of its snout tremble.
Beldum was exhausted as well, hovering weakly beside Tyrunt.
Its red crystal eye was half-closed, unable to move, maintaining only the faintest amount of psychic power to stay afloat.
(End of Chapter)