Larvesta turned its head to the side as if resisting, yet its eyes remained glued to the energy orb.
A soft whimper escaped its throat, filled with grievance and longing. Deep down, it still felt that something was not quite right.
But the temptation of that energy orb was simply too great, and when it thought about it carefully, it really had lost the bet.
Theo watched its conflicted expression and could not help laughing. He extended his other hand and gently kneaded its smooth cheek.
Instinctively, Larvesta tried to dodge, but it forced itself to stay still, obediently allowing Theo to pinch its cheek without resistance.
Its eyes clung stubbornly to the energy orb. That look, half wanting to remain dignified yet unable to suppress its desire, made it resemble a greedy child who was too shy to ask for a treat.
"All right, here you go."
Theo stopped teasing it and handed over the advanced energy orb.
Afraid that he might change his mind, Larvesta immediately wrapped its two small black forelegs around the orb and began absorbing it eagerly.
Pure energy surged into its body. The exhaustion from the previous battle and the pain from the hits it had taken vanished in an instant. Warmth spread throughout its entire body, so comfortable that it could not help letting out a satisfied murmur.
After finishing the absorption, the stubbornness in Larvesta's blue eyes faded somewhat, replaced by a trace of softness.
It looked up at Theo. Although it still did not verbally admit defeat, the hostility in its gaze had disappeared, replaced instead by a subtle hint of dependence.
After all, this was the first time anyone had given it such pure energy, and the first time someone had patiently tried to reason with it.
Theo knew that the hurdle in this little fellow's heart had finally begun to loosen.
He stood up and extended his hand toward Larvesta. "Since you acknowledged the bet, how about coming with me from now on?"
"I promise you will never lack energy orbs like this again. I will also take you to see a much wider world. It will be far more interesting than ruling over Mt. Chimney."
Larvesta looked at the hand Theo extended, then glanced at Tyrantrum, who was standing nearby and winking exaggeratedly at it. After hesitating for a moment, it finally leaned forward and lightly brushed its head against Theo's fingertips, silently agreeing.
Theo smiled and lifted it into his arms. With a body nearly one and a half meters long, it was surprisingly large, warm, and comfortable.
Like a giant plush pillow.
Theo indulged himself in kneading Larvesta to his heart's content.
Larvesta stared blankly ahead and cooperated in a dazed manner, looking utterly defeated and thoroughly handled.
Holding the warm Larvesta, Theo gently parted the white fluff on its forehead with his fingertips, revealing the red symbol shaped like the Greek letter Omega.
The mark glowed faintly on its forehead, as though it had been embedded in its skin since birth. Yet when touched, it felt just as smooth as the surrounding skin.
"The symbol on your forehead, it used to be a stone, right? Where did that stone come from? Change it back and let me take a look."
At these words, the Omega symbol on Larvesta's forehead suddenly flickered.
Then, as if erased by an invisible hand, it vanished, sinking into its skin and disappearing without a trace.
Larvesta tilted its head, blinking its blue eyes innocently.
It gazed at Theo with an expression of pure bewilderment, even turning its head left and right as if seriously examining the surroundings, completely ignoring his question.
"Oh, so you have learned how to play dumb now?"
Theo laughed at its act and pinched its cheek again. "You looked pretty impressive when you used it to transform during the battle. Why hide it now?"
Larvesta let out a couple of muffled cries as it was pinched and shook its head vigorously, insisting that it had absolutely no idea what Theo was talking about.
Watching this reaction, Theo could not help sighing inwardly.
If he said Larvesta was smart, then during the fight with Tyrantrum it had been distracted by conversation and acted rather foolish.
But if he said it was foolish, then the way it hid the stone and pretended not to understand was undeniably clever.
"Fine, I will not press you about it."
Theo shook his head with a smile. Since Larvesta had already lost itself to him in the bet, why bother over a single stone?
According to his guess, it was most likely some kind of crystal fragment shed from Groudon.
In any case, it did not matter. Larvesta now belonged to him. Whatever that thing was, it was still on Larvesta's body. There would be plenty of time in the future to figure it out.
Theo lifted Larvesta above his head to take a closer look at it. Suddenly, he remembered that there were still two Technical Machines stored in his system space.
He had obtained them from a lottery draw after the Mauville Contest. One contained Will O Wisp, the other Flamethrower. Both were Fire type moves, perfectly suited for Larvesta.
"Larvesta, want something good?"
Theo set Larvesta down on the ground, deliberately drawing out his words as he waved a finger in front of its eyes. "Something just as good as that energy orb, something that can make you stronger. Well? Do you want it?"
The moment Larvesta heard this, its blue eyes widened into perfect circles. Tiny flames flickered on its antennae. Something comparable to an advanced energy orb?
The lifeless, resigned look it had just moments ago disappeared instantly.
It was as if it had become a completely different bug. It eagerly rubbed its body against Theo, looking every bit like a well behaved pet begging to be fed.
"Are you acting spoiled now?"
Theo laughed at how quickly it changed its attitude. "All right. Since you are being so good, I will give it to you."
He summoned the two Technical Machines from his system space. White light gathered in his palm, condensing into two soft glowing orbs.
Gently, he pressed the glowing orbs against Larvesta's forehead.
The white light instantly merged into its body. The little creature closed its eyes in bliss, letting out a satisfied murmur.
The data from the Technical Machines flowed into its mind like a stream. Larvesta subconsciously closed its eyes, its head swaying slightly as it digested this newfound power.
It could clearly perceive how to use Will O Wisp, and it could also feel the method of unleashing Flamethrower.
By compressing the Fire type energy within its body and then releasing it in a powerful burst, it could form a high temperature pillar of flame far stronger than the Flame Charge move it previously knew.
After a while, Larvesta slowly opened its eyes. Excitement sparkled in its blue gaze.
It tentatively gathered energy. Small clusters of blue will o wisp flames appeared beside it, hovering in the air for a few seconds before fading away.
Then it concentrated again and expelled a long stream of fire, accurately striking a rock in front of it and scorching it black.
The way Larvesta looked at Theo now was completely different. Its eyes were filled with admiration.
So learning new moves could be this easy?
It suddenly felt that losing the bet earlier had been absolutely worth it.
By following this human, it would not only receive energy orbs to help accumulate power and accelerate its evolution, but it could also learn new moves so effortlessly and become stronger.
Compared to being the so called king of Mt. Chimney, this was far more interesting.
With that thought, Larvesta grew even more enthusiastic, rubbing its head vigorously against Theo in an openly affectionate and ingratiating manner.
Nearby, Milotic, Metang, and Tyrantrum stared wide eyed at Larvesta's astonishingly fast change in attitude and its somewhat shameless display.
All of them were completely stunned.
(End of Chapter)