Lionel recalled Tyrunt and Feebas, bade Wallace farewell, and walked out of the venue.
The night breeze was refreshingly cool, carrying a hint of moisture. By the time he returned to his hotel room, the sky had already darkened.
Lionel first prepared Pokémon food for Feebas and Tyrunt. Watching the two little ones devour their meal, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
After Tyrunt and Feebas had eaten and drunk their fill, Lionel played with them for quite a while.
Watching Tyrunt hop around the room with its stubby tail wagging, while Feebas floated in an Aqua Ring, twirling its tail, the two little ones tumbling about together, Lionel's eyes were full of contentment and satisfaction.
Leaving the two to their own devices, Lionel summoned the interface of his live-stream system in his mind.
On the pale-blue virtual screen, the figure of 510,000 points stood out starkly—his handsome haul from the Pokémon Contest.
It was time to spend these points. Without hesitation, Lionel selected the top-tier "advanced draw" option.
With a light thought, he swiped across the glowing button on the panel and confirmed the full draw.
In an instant, the screen burst into dazzling light, and rows of notification boxes popped up one after another. The dense list of rewards was almost blinding:
[Advanced Pokémon Energy Cluster ×12, Technical Machine • Rain Dance ×1, Aqua Ring ×1, Dragon Claw ×1, Iron Tail ×1, Psychic Fang ×1, Scale Shot ×1, Attack Power-Up ×6, Sp. Atk Power-Up ×5, HP Power-Up ×7, Speed Power-Up ×4…]
Seeing this haul, Lionel couldn't help but grin; he was extremely satisfied.
The various Power-Ups were, needless to say, excellent items for boosting a Pokémon's base stats.
As for the Speed Power-Ups, he hadn't yet decided which Pokémon to give them to and planned to save them for future catches.
Anyway, his live-stream system was already on track, and earning points wasn't hard.
Whether dazzling the audience in a Pokémon Contest or proving his strength by challenging Gyms, both could quickly build up a sizable point reserve.
And those twelve Advanced Pokémon Energy Clusters on the panel were especially welcome.
After all, Tyrunt still needed a certain amount of energy before it could evolve.
With this batch of high-grade clusters, it could accumulate the required energy in a short time, taking it one big step closer to evolving into Tyrantrum. Lionel shifted his gaze from the rewards to the densely marked map of Hoenn on the wall.
Right in the center, circled in eye-catching orange-yellow, was Mauville City—his next planned destination.
Lionel couldn't help recalling the detailed forum post about Mauville Gym Leader Wattson:
A Gym Leader famous for his Electric-type Pokémon, he has the personality of a childish old man, and his Gym is one of the most popular with rookie Trainers in Hoenn.
Leader Wattson loves setting whimsical, fun obstacles before official Gym matches, and occasionally sends out the Raikou robot he built himself, giving challengers a real spectacle.
But the real reason everyone flocks there isn't the robot Raikou gimmick—it's that the Dynamo Badge is one of the easiest to obtain in Hoenn.
As long as you play along with the old prankster, even if your battle performance is a bit lacking, you'll probably still walk away with the Badge.
Yet Lionel's goal wasn't the Dynamo Badge; what truly tempted him was the Pokémon Contest soon to be held in Mauville City.
The official Contest website had already released the schedule for each city:
Pacifidlog Town's event was the earliest, only a month away. Although it was the first, the journey there was fraught with peril.
To reach Pacifidlog Town, you had to set sail from the port in Slateport City and cross a stretch of sea riddled with deadly whirlpools.
The currents there are chaotic and fierce; enormous whirlpools can swallow small boats whole, and vicious Water-type Pokémon lurk, ready to strike, making it the most dangerous waters in Hoenn.
Only extremely powerful veteran Trainers with sturdy Water-type Pokémon capable of quelling the maelstrom could hope to traverse it alone; anyone else would be doomed.
The only alternative is to board a large escort ship protected by Wailord.
As the largest Water-type Pokémon in Hoenn, Wailord can stabilize the vessel with its massive body, disperse whirlpools, and even dive three kilometers deep to scout safe routes—truly a "safety pass" for this perilous sea.
But such escort voyages run only twice a month and must be booked weeks, even months, in advance—far too inconvenient for Trainers eager to compete.
By comparison, the Mauville City Contest, though half a month later, offers convenient transport without wasting too much energy on travel.
More importantly, directly north of Mauville lies Hoenn's most famous desert.
Rumor has it that deep within this desert, lucky Trainers have witnessed a mirage come to life:
Amid swirling sand and sunlight, an illusory yet majestic stone tower materialized.
Covered with faint ancient patterns, it looked like a secret landmark awakened from primordial slumber—this is the widely whispered-about Mirage Tower.
One Trainer who successfully entered the tower shared his adventure on a forum:
"Inside the dark passages lay fine sand, and in pitch-black caves dwelled swarms of Trapinch."
The post instantly set countless Trainers dreaming—after all, Trapinch ultimately evolves into Flygon, dual Ground- and Dragon-type.
Though not as mighty as top-tier Dragons like Dragonite or Bagon, its Dragon typing alone makes it a coveted powerhouse for competitive Trainers.
Even better, according to the explorer, the Trapinch inside Mirage Tower live in groups.
Which means that once you enter the tower, finding this Pokémon becomes easy.
Such a rare capture opportunity keeps the once-barren desert crowded year-round, with Trainers streaming in, hoping to glimpse the Mirage Tower and claim this Pokémon for themselves.
Yet Lionel wasn't especially interested in Flygon; what he truly valued was the desert's unique environment.
Nestled in his backpack was the Hard Stone gifted by Gym Leader Roxanne—perfect for letting Tyrunt practice Sandstorm there, along with the Stealth Rock he'd first drawn.
[Stealth Rock: Coalesce Rock-type energy into invisible rock shards and scatter them across the battlefield. When the foe's Pokémon enter or move in the arena, any contact with these invisible stones immediately deals Rock-type damage.]
As a Rock-type Pokémon, it would be embarrassing if Tyrunt couldn't even master a move of its own type.
Moreover, the newly drawn batch of Advanced Energy Clusters, moves, and various boosters could all be used on Tyrunt.
Combined with training, they'd let Tyrunt convert everything into fuel for its evolution as fast as possible.
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