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"Take this and leave," Ho-Oh said suddenly as Roy was about to depart.
Within the Sacred Fire, an iridescent feather materialized, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. It was Ho-Oh's precious keepsake—the Rainbow Feather.
"As long as you activate this feather with Psychic energy, you can open the passage to this place," Ho-Oh explained.
Roy nodded respectfully and accepted the sacred token. This Rainbow Feather should have been officially presented to him by the Pokémon Alliance, but since he had been added to the Alliance's priority training list at the last minute, everything had been rushed. The Alliance hadn't had time to formally request permission from Ho-Oh for the ceremony.
That was exactly why Caroline had brought him here personally.
After walking out of the Bell Tower, Roy spotted Henry and Caroline standing not far away. They were positioned four or five meters apart—farther than strangers waiting at a bus stop would stand. Henry kept turning his head to steal glances at Caroline, clearly afraid of being caught, then quickly pretended to look elsewhere with an innocent expression.
Throughout the entire journey back, Roy could feel the awkward tension in the air.
"Roy!" Henry called out excitedly when he saw Roy emerge, as if seeing a savior approaching.
"Is it finished?" Henry asked hopefully.
"Yes," Roy replied simply.
Henry's face brightened as he suggested, "Then let's head back together. We can talk on the way."
Roy declined with a gentle smile. "I just caught a new Pokémon. I want to take it to meet the group first and say our goodbyes."
"Oh... I see..." Henry's expression fell with visible disappointment. If Roy had come with them, Henry would have found the courage to invite Caroline to travel back together. He really didn't dare to be alone with her—his previous rejections had left him with genuine psychological scars.
His disappointment was purely about his ruined plans, though. He held no resentment toward Roy for the situation. Henry's character was remarkably similar to his father's, as everyone who knew the family would attest.
"Well then, junior, the next time we meet will be during the summer break," Henry said, referring to the summer vacation period.
That would be during the "National Competition" stage of the college league.
Henry's face broke into a bright, genuine smile as he extended his hand toward Roy. "I hope that by then, we'll have a wonderful battle that leaves us both without any regrets."
"Definitely," Roy replied, matching Henry's enthusiasm as he clasped the offered hand with his own fighting spirit clearly visible.
"See you this summer, Henry."
After they released their handshake, Roy turned to look at Caroline, who had been silently observing their exchange. Although he had always felt that the senior had a somewhat mysterious personality, he couldn't deny feeling an inexplicable emotion toward her. There was definitely intentional goodwill there, but Roy couldn't quite identify what it actually was. He always sensed that she was hiding secrets from him.
However, he was certain there was no malice in her intentions.
The power of Aura couldn't read minds directly, but it remained extremely sensitive to emotional undercurrents and hostile intentions.
Therefore, Roy didn't resist maintaining contact with her.
"Senior Caroline, I hope we'll meet again when the opportunity arises," Roy said politely.
Caroline's voice responded with its characteristic pleasant tone, completely devoid of emotional fluctuation. "We will meet again."
After the farewells were complete, Henry and Caroline retrieved their Rainbow Feathers and activated the spatial channels to depart for their respective destinations.
Roy, meanwhile, walked toward the territory where the Metagross group resided.
When he arrived at the Metagross settlement, the Steel and Psychic-type Pokémon showed no territorial aggression whatsoever, having been notified in advance by Ho-Oh about Roy's visit. Instead, they were remarkably welcoming toward the young trainer.
When the group learned that their only Shiny member would be leaving with Roy, every single Metagross, Metang, and Beldum displayed clear expressions of reluctance and sadness.
The current leader of the group—a massive Metagross standing nearly three meters tall, far exceeding the normal size for its species—approached and fixed its gaze directly on the Shiny Beldum. The two Pokémon didn't make any sounds but simply stared at each other intently.
The silence stretched on, but Roy understood that the two were actually communicating through means invisible to most humans.
All members of the Metagross evolutionary line—Metagross, Metang, and Beldum—possessed the ability to float effortlessly in the air. Because they were part Psychic-type, many people assumed they used Confusion or other psychic moves to achieve levitation.
This assumption was incorrect.
The real reason the Metagross family could float was due to their unique magnetic properties. Their cellular structure was entirely composed of magnetic components, and powerful magnetic forces flowed through their bodies like blood through circulatory systems. The magnetic field they generated naturally repelled against Earth's magnetic field, allowing them to hover and move through the air with ease.
Communication between members of their species was also conducted through these magnetic frequencies and pulses, creating a form of electromagnetic language similar to what the Magnemite evolutionary line used.
After several moments, the leader Metagross withdrew its intense gaze, turned its massive head toward Roy, and issued a deep, resonant metallic sound that reverberated through the air.
The meaning was clear: "This child is now in your care."
"Of course," Roy promised earnestly. "For me, all Pokémon are family members."
"Bel!" The Shiny Beldum floated happily beside Roy, spinning in excited circles around him.
"Whoa!" Roy gasped suddenly, feeling as though every pore on his body had been touched by a mild electrical current. He quickly realized that Beldum was depositing traces of magnetic energy on him—a gesture of affection and bonding among Steel-types.
Following this touching moment, Roy accompanied Beldum as they said farewell to every single member of the group, from the smallest Beldum to the most ancient Metagross.
Just as the pair was preparing to leave the territory, the group leader reappeared before them. The massive Metagross carefully handed Roy a metal block that gleamed with pure silver radiance, explaining that this was a memento for Beldum to carry on its new journey.
"What exactly is this?" Roy asked, examining the metallic object carefully. Something about it seemed familiar, though he couldn't immediately place where he might have encountered it before.
Beldum beside him displayed an expression of pure excitement and joy.
"Bel bel!" Beldum began explaining enthusiastically.
Through a combination of Beldum's animated gestures and the leader's deeper explanations, Roy learned that this was an extremely rare and special piece of refined metal. The group could only locate such materials once every few years in the deepest parts of their mountain territory. The metal was so precious that only the group leaders throughout history had been deemed worthy of possessing it.
Over countless generations, only five such special metal blocks had ever been discovered by the entire clan.
When carried, this metal significantly enhanced a Pokémon's ability to channel and control Steel-type energy, substantially increasing the power of all Steel-type moves. If the metal was actually consumed and digested, it would permanently increase the physical hardness and defensive capabilities of the Pokémon's body.
However, because these metal blocks were so incredibly precious and rare, the Metagross family typically carried them as focusing tools rather than consuming them, treating them more like magical catalysts than consumable resources.
The more Roy listened to this explanation, the stronger his sense of déjà vu became. A specific item from his knowledge of Pokémon accessories and tools began forming in his mind.
"Wait... isn't this a Metal Coat?" Roy realized suddenly.
Metal Coat was indeed the item he was thinking of. In competitive battling, Pokémon carrying this item experienced significant increases in the power of their Steel-type moves—typically around a twenty percent enhancement in controlled studies.
Additionally, Metal Coat served as an essential evolution catalyst, being required for Onix to evolve into Steelix and for Scyther to evolve into Scizor when traded while holding the item.
In real-world applications, there naturally wasn't a fixed twenty percent power bonus—that would be far too mechanical and unrealistic. However, carrying this item genuinely did increase a Pokémon's affinity for Steel-type energy manipulation, leading to measurable improvements in move power and a higher probability of naturally learning advanced Steel-type techniques.
However, one aspect was entirely new information to Roy.
"Consuming Metal Coat to permanently increase body hardness... this is the first time I've heard of such an application," Roy thought to himself.
Did all Steel-type Pokémon possess this ability to metabolize metal enhancement items? Or was this capability limited only to Pokémon like the Metagross line, whose bodies were composed entirely of magnetic metallic substances?
More intriguingly, what was the upper limit of defensive enhancement that could be achieved through this method of consuming Metal Coat materials?
Regardless of these unanswered questions, obtaining this information directly from the Metagross leader was invaluable knowledge.
This was certainly an excellent breeding and training technique he had never encountered before.
While Metal Coat items were extremely precious and expensive for most trainers and their Pokémon—making the idea of using them as consumable food rather wasteful—Roy's unique circumstances made this approach much more viable. With sufficient points in his system, he could theoretically purchase them as regularly as candy if needed.
Opening his internal system marketplace, Roy located the Metal Coat items in the equipment section.
Like evolutionary stones, Metal Coat came in several different quality grades with corresponding price ranges.
Normal-quality Metal Coat was priced at 50,000 points, high-quality versions cost 500,000 points, and the premium top-tier Metal Coat commanded a staggering 5 million points.
Unlike evolution stones, which were typically one-time purchases, using Metal Coat as consumable food would require regular replenishment, making it one of the most expensive consumable resources Roy had ever encountered.
Roy automatically dismissed the two higher grades of Metal Coat from consideration.
"Can't afford those levels yet, so I'll stick with what's practical," he decided pragmatically.
Normal quality Metal Coat would be sufficient for current training purposes.
"50,000 points... the same price as a Max Revive. That's manageable," Roy calculated mentally.
His team's daily training expenses had grown considerably recently. Elekid's intensive "Thunder Armor" technique practice consistently required Max Revive supplements for recovery. Ninetales' Z-Move training sessions also demanded regular Max Revive usage.
Additionally, when his mysterious partner Mimikyu enhanced Lucario and Blastoise with Totem auras, those sessions also consumed Max Revive items for stamina restoration.
Combined with the daily expenditure on specialized energy cubes for each team member's dietary needs, the average daily consumption had risen to approximately 70,000 to 80,000 points per team member during intensive training periods.
Beldum, as the newest team addition, was right in line with these existing maintenance costs.
Although these daily operational expenses were much more manageable than major one-time purchases like Z-Crystals, the cumulative daily point consumption across his entire team remained the largest drain on his resources.
Despite earning substantial popularity income daily during the National College League competitions, Roy still found himself struggling to maintain a positive balance between income and expenses.
"Life certainly isn't easy," Roy sighed quietly to himself.
"Come on, Beldum," Roy said warmly after accepting the precious Metal Coat gift from the Metagross leader. He retrieved an empty Poké Ball and smiled at his newest team member.
"Once we return home, I'll introduce you to all your new partners."