After finishing his thoughts on Tyrunt's evolution, Lionel turned and gently picked up the Feebas that was playing nearby.
The little guy clearly enjoyed the intimacy, nestling obediently in his arms.
Its slick tail fin occasionally brushed lightly against his wrist, bringing a cool, damp sensation that was so comfortable he didn't want to move his hand.
Seeing this, Tyrunt also waddled over on its short legs, its round eyes looking at Lionel, emitting soft grunts from its throat, clearly wanting a hug too.
Lionel chuckled and simply sat down on the floor, embracing both little Pokémon.
Lionel opened his phone and searched for videos. The screen immediately displayed Wallace's Milotic, performing its opening act at a past Pokémon Contest.
In the circular water arena, Milotic's milky-white body carved smooth, graceful arcs in the clear water, its pink fin-like wings on its head fluttering and unfurling like soft ribbons.
Waves quietly spread, intertwining with ice beams, weaving a shimmering, crystal-clear curtain of light.
With a gentle flick of its tail fin, countless tiny water droplets were thrown into the air, reflecting the stage lights and refracting through the ice mirror curtain, displaying a dazzling halo.
The audience's applause and cheers surged forth, fervent and genuine, as if one could feel the boiling atmosphere of the scene.
Feebas's gaze was instantly captivated, its round eyes wide, its breathing shallow, as if afraid to disturb the stunning image on the screen.
Tyrunt also leaned its head in, staring at Milotic's fluttering tail fin, its little head filled with obsession – what a pity it didn't get to bite it today! Such a beautiful thing, who knows what special taste it might have!
As it thought, drool uncontrollably flowed from the corner of its mouth, dripping onto Lionel's sleeve, yet it remained completely oblivious, smacking its small lips.
The more Tyrunt watched, the more envious it became. Its short legs kicked in Lionel's arms, and it suddenly opened its big mouth, lunging at the phone screen.
It let out a soft
Lionel immediately reacted, gently pressing its head to stop Tyrunt. Tyrunt twisted its body unwillingly, its big head still trying to push forward.
Lionel had no choice but to take it aside, dig out some Pokémon food from his backpack, and satisfy Tyrunt's craving.
Meanwhile, Feebas remained quietly in place, completely ignoring Tyrunt's little commotion, its round eyes glued to the Milotic on the screen, unwilling to even blink.
"Feebas, did you really like Milotic when you saw it in the lounge today?"
Lionel walked over, asking softly, his fingertips gently stroking the scale on its back that had already turned half purple.
Feebas immediately nodded vigorously, rubbing its head against his palm, its eyes practically overflowing with envy.
At that moment, as Milotic spread its tail fins in the video, the iridescent scales shimmered with a dreamlike luster.
Feebas was instantly mesmerized, subconsciously mimicking the gentle swaying with its own tail fin, as if desiring to possess the same beauty.
Lionel watched its expression, then paused the video, brought the screen closer, and pointed at the Milotic in the picture, saying:
"Do you know? That's your evolved form."
Feebas suddenly lifted its head, its eyes wide with disbelief as it looked at Lionel.
It tilted its head, as if confirming the truth of the statement. Could it really transform into such an elegant and beautiful being?
"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?"
Lionel chuckled as he gently picked up Feebas and brought it to the mirror in the room, allowing it to see the scale on its back more clearly.
"Look at this scale on your body. This is a scale from Milotic's tail! If you couldn't evolve into it, how could it fuse with this scale?"
Feebas followed Lionel's finger to its back. The purple part of the Prism Scale had already spread to the center, perfectly blending with its own scales.
The remaining unmerged part of the scale, with its flowing iridescence, indeed bore a striking resemblance to the luster of Milotic's tail fin in the video.
It paused, staring intently at the scale on its body in the mirror, the confusion in its eyes gradually replaced by a bright glow.
Lionel continued:
"Today at the Pokémon Contest, when you performed, the audience applauded you. Did you hear it?
Feebas's tail fin wagged happily, clearly remembering the scene. The continuous applause and cheers filled its heart with unprecedented pride and joy.
"What if next time, on the stage of a Pokémon Contest, you evolve into Milotic, and unfurl your beautiful tail fins in front of all the audience? Imagine what that scene would be like?"
Lionel's voice carried a hint of enticement, guiding Feebas to envision this scene.
Feebas's eyes instantly brightened astonishingly. It subconsciously looked at the frozen image of Milotic on Lionel's phone screen, then quickly glanced at its own body in the mirror.
Its little head began to sketch the scene Lionel described.
The spotlight would shine steadily on it, soft white light enveloping it. Its tail fins would become wide and graceful, shimmering with iridescent colors. A gentle flick would send sparkling scale light, displaying it fully to all the audience below.
The audience would stare at its tail fins with captivated eyes, deafening applause and unstoppable waves of admiration almost tearing off the roof of the arena... The more it thought, the more excited it became. Feebas squirmed restlessly in Lionel's arms, its small tail fins urgently pounding Lionel's arm. For a moment, Lionel almost couldn't hold the excited little Pokémon.
"You will be even more beautiful than it. You know, you are a unique shiny Pokémon; no other Pokémon can compare to you!"
Hearing "unique" and "more beautiful than it," Feebas seemed to be infused with energy, its round eyes shining so brightly they reflected light.
As Lionel and Feebas envisioned the future scene of evolving into Milotic, praising and encouraging it, a rumbling sound came from beside them.
It was Tyrunt. The little Pokémon had eaten an entire bag of Pokémon food clean and was now listening to Lionel's words with its ears perked and head tilted, its small eyes full of innocent curiosity.
It stared intently at Feebas's constantly swaying tail fin, its little head seemingly concocting some mischievous idea, when it suddenly lunged forward, opened its big mouth, and bit Feebas's tail!
This sudden bite made Feebas tremble all over!
It instinctively flapped its tail rapidly, delivering a series of slaps.
Lionel watched the two little Pokémon bickering helplessly, already having a plan in mind.
Since he had already outlined Feebas's future appearance, the next step was to continuously instill this aspiration in it, constantly stimulating Feebas's desire for beauty.
Then, at the Pokémon Contest, it would complete this most stunning transformation.
As Lionel was about to separate the two squabbling Pokémon, a message arrived on his phone from Steven:
"The Pokémon Contest is over. Which city are you planning to go to next? Come to Devon Corporation one more time before you leave; my father wants to see you again..."
۞۞۞۞
p-atreon.com/PokeFicLord
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)