Time quietly slipped by in the alternating cycle of sandstorms and sheets of rain, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
During these fifteen days, the camp beneath the rocky cliff witnessed fierce skill clashes day after day.
Tyrunt's Sandstorm grew increasingly violent, while Feebas's Rain Dance became ever more refined and precise.
From their initial awkward stalemates to their later ability to change moves fluidly in the midst of battle, the two Pokémon's move proficiency was rising at a rapid pace.
What surprised Theo even more was that, after Tyrunt consumed the advanced energy orb from the system space, it unexpectedly learned the move Rock Slide on its own the very next day.
At first, it could only lift a few small stones by instinct. After a few days of practice, it became much more adept, and now it could precisely control dozens of rocks to howl down from the sky.
This little fellow was quite cunning.
Every now and then, during the stalemate between Sandstorm and Rain Dance, it would suddenly throw out a Rock Slide to ambush Feebas.
But that played directly into Feebas's specialty.
Its mastery of move-linking and synchronized control was far above that of Tyrunt, who had only just begun learning such techniques.
Feebas would always calmly gather energy and release a small Water Pulse, shattering the falling rocks while counterattacking Tyrunt in one smooth flow.
Stimulated by Feebas's counterattacks, the competitive Tyrunt only grew braver with every setback.
Back and forth, it gradually grasped the essence of splitting its focus to control two moves simultaneously. Its move transitions became more fluid by the day.
As for Beldum, Theo hadn't assigned it any heavy training task.
Even so, it always found a role for itself in the two Pokémon's mock battles.
Every morning, it would use its psychic power to push back against the rocks Tyrunt tried to move, adding extra resistance to Tyrunt's endurance training.
And whenever the Sandstorm vs. Rain Dance clash reached its most intense point, Theo only needed to give it a subtle signal, softly saying:
"Your turn."
Beldum instantly shot out like a tiny wound-up cannonball, zipping into the battlefield with a sharp whistle.
Sometimes it rammed in with Iron Head, other times it launched a surprise attack with Zen Headbutt, forcing the two battling Pokémon to split their attention.
Tyrunt, who was already struggling to keep up with Feebas, would always be thrown into chaos by these sudden intrusions. More than once, Beldum's tackles knocked it stumbling.
Feebas, on the other hand—
It stayed calm.
Its small body made it nimble, and Beldum would be detected the moment it entered the radius of the rain curtain. Feebas would manipulate the moisture to weave away gracefully, causing Beldum's ambushes to fail time after time.
Tyrunt wasn't nearly as fortunate.
Feebas already controlled its Water-type moves with far more finesse, and Tyrunt had only just begun learning the fundamentals of split-focus control.
Maintaining Sandstorm with full power while guarding against Feebas's tricky counters and now being ambushed by Beldum's Iron Head, left it with no room to breathe.
Every time Beldum's impact landed on its side, Tyrunt would grunt in pain, the rhythm of its Sandstorm faltering.
Fortunately, Tyrunt was thick-skinned and resilient, and Beldum understood its own strength—it never struck with full power.
At first, Tyrunt could only dodge clumsily.
Soon, however, it gradually found a method of dealing with these assaults.
Whenever Beldum's silver body shot toward it with that shrill sound, Tyrunt no longer panicked.
It would tense the muscles at the base of its tail, unleashing Iron Tail in an instant.
The end of its tail would shine with a cold metallic luster, like a condensed steel whip, striking toward Beldum with precision and force.
"Tyrrrr—!"
Tyrunt let out a stubborn growl, as if declaring:
I know Steel-type moves too! You may win with your head, but when it comes to tail strikes, let's see which of us is harder!
The crisp clang of metal rang out across the camp day after day.
Iron Tail became ever sharper and more precise, while Beldum's Iron Head grew sturdier and more powerful.
Both skills advanced rapidly through countless direct collisions.
Just when Feebas and Tyrunt had grown increasingly adept with their current training and were developing natural coordination, Theo decided it was time to implement the next stage.
"Now we begin advanced training."
Theo's voice suddenly turned serious, and his eyes fell upon the steady rise and fall of Tyrunt's back.
"Tyrunt, try using Sandstorm while simultaneously setting up Stealth Rock. Then, control those hidden rocks so that they move with the sandstorm, turn them into a mobile trap."
Stealth Rock was normally a fixed Rock-type trap, anchored in one place and waiting for the opponent to step into it.
But what Theo wanted…
Was a trap that moved—
One that drifted with the swirling sand, striking from unexpected angles.
This was an ultimate test of Tyrunt's fine energy control.
Tyrunt immediately responded, kicking up a Sandstorm across the open sandy ground.
The wind roared, lifting sand into the air and veiling everything in yellow dust.
Next, it gathered Rock-type energy, forming dozens of nearly invisible stone fragments that merged into the sandstorm—laying down a hidden Stealth Rock field.
"Good. Now try shifting the entire Sandstorm, and guide the Stealth Rocks to move with it."
Theo continued, voice filled with expectation.
"Control the energy carefully, don't let the rocks reveal themselves."
As he watched beads of sweat form on Tyrunt's forehead, he knew very well:
Simultaneously maintaining Sandstorm and controlling Stealth Rock while preventing energy fluctuations from exposing the stones, was an enormous challenge at this stage.
Sure enough, before long, Tyrunt's control began to unravel.
The sandstorm turned uneven, and the hidden rocks—unable to maintain synchronization—started appearing one by one.
Tyrunt grew anxious, stomping the ground with its claws as a frustrated growl rumbled in its throat, yet it stubbornly refused to stop.
One flow of energy kept the sandstorm rotating, while another branched into countless tiny threads, attempting to tug the stealth rocks through the sand.
Even so, stray rocks continued to flash into view, announcing each failed attempt.
Feebas watched all of this quietly.
It slowly stopped its own training.
It had been imitating Tyrunt's concept in its own way:
by infusing Ice-type energy through Icy Wind while using Rain Dance, forming small ice pellets within the rain and guiding their movement.
It could even make the ice pieces shrink or enlarge by adjusting the water energy.
Although the desert's dry conditions made moisture manipulation difficult, Feebas's innate finesse with Water-type energy made the technique barely manageable.
Now, seeing Tyrunt in trouble, Feebas swam over and gently tapped Tyrunt's claw with its soft tail fin.
Then, it slowed its movements, demonstrating step by step how it coordinated "water flow + ice particles"—passing its technique to Tyrunt bit by bit.
Tyrunt stared at Feebas's demonstration, the red in its eyes gradually brightening.
It gathered its energy again.
This time, the sandstorm rose slowly—not as fast as before, but far more stable.
The hidden stones were now guided by an invisible force, tucked between the swirling sands and moving with the storm's shifting path.
Although a few still slipped out of place, exposing themselves from time to time, it was far better than before.
Seeing that it had grasped the technique, Feebas happily nudged Tyrunt's head before turning back to refine its own training, only pausing to offer guidance whenever Tyrunt became stuck.
Meanwhile, while both Pokémon devoted themselves to their training, Beldum found amusement elsewhere.
It zoomed around the rocky area, crashing into stones with Iron Head and smashing them into dust with a loud bang.
Every successful hit sent it spinning proudly through the air, its red crystal eyes glittering with satisfaction.
During breaks from supervising Feebas and Tyrunt, Theo would join in, tossing stones for Beldum to crush.
At first, he threw a single fist-sized rock.
Beldum would zip forward and break it cleanly, spinning smugly amid the scattering fragments.
Then he threw two, then three stones in different directions.
Beldum twisted its body midair with incredible agility, using psychic power to accelerate and adjust its angle, smashing each stone into powder before they hit the ground.
Theo truly couldn't help admiring Beldum's natural talent.
While Tyrunt and Feebas had to train so hard just to build up their skills, Beldum improved at astonishing speed through what looked like simple play.
Iron Head, Zen Headbutt, Tackle—
All of their proficiencies soared.
Even Iron Defense became more natural for it.
Before every impact, it would subconsciously harden its metallic shell, subtly reducing recoil.
As for its psychic control—
Beldum played with it like a toy.
Apart from accelerating and changing direction, it even used psychic energy to gently lift Theo into the air, letting him "fly" for a short time.
It wasn't true flight—more like a glide just above the ground.
But the wind whistling past his ears, the dunes retreating beneath him…
It was an oddly wonderful sensation, as if the strength of trainer and Pokémon merged as one.
Eventually, Tyrunt and Feebas tried it as well.
Feebas, who usually relied on water to levitate, grew excited every time the psychic lift carried it through the air.
Tyrunt, unable to fly at all normally, would shout joyfully each time Beldum took it sweeping across the dunes, its little arms flailing wildly in the air.
So, during their breaks, the three Pokémon often played this "flying game" together.
In this balance of hard work, play, encouragement, and mutual support, the days flowed by.
Theo's appointed challenge against Mauville Gym, as well as the upcoming Contest, came ever closer.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Well, end of the free chapters. Hope that by then, when this chapter uploads raws for further chapters are now available. I wanna read and support the author but damn China really doesn't allow you to make payment without a Chinese Id.