Haruki could still remember how envious he had felt watching Steven's Metagross using Ice Punch to dominate the field.
Who would've thought, his own Metang had suddenly learned Thunder Punch.
Although Ice Punch was a better fit for Metang, Haruki was more than thrilled.
As for Ice Punch… they'd get there eventually.
And all without spending a single Pokédollar, just raw talent and instinctive mastery.
That thought alone filled Haruki with pure satisfaction.
Seeing Metang still itching to attack the training target, Haruki quickly stopped it.
"Sure, training is important. But what you really need right now is rest. Tomorrow we'll try to reach Floaroma Town."
Metang gave it a thought, found the logic solid, and then flew to the edge of the tent and flopped down.
Two seconds later… snoring.
"…"
Haruki looked at the soundly sleeping Metang with concern. Just as he was about to quietly ask Skiploom to use Grassy Terrain, he noticed it was already doing it without being told.
And Marowak had quietly moved farther away to ensure its own training wouldn't disturb Metang's rest.
Haruki smiled. He wasn't the only one who cared about Metang.
---
The night passed uneventfully. At dawn, Haruki mounted Metang and resumed the journey.
Luckily, Metang only needed to maintain Magnet Rise today, Skiploom's Tailwind would carry them straight to Floaroma Town: smooth and fast.
Last night, after comparing the map, Haruki realized they had veered slightly off their original path.
So, before setting off again, Haruki's curiosity got the better of him. He secretly circled back to the site of yesterday's battle.
From a distance, the once peaceful flower field looked like someone had carved out a massive chunk of it, exposing bare black soil and littered Bug-type remains.
Seeing several Combee still patrolling the area, Haruki decided against sparking another mass pursuit and quietly left with Metang and Skiploom.
The rest of the journey went smoothly, partly because Haruki deliberately avoided potential trouble.
By afternoon, the number of wild Pokémon in the flower field had noticeably decreased. Signs of human activity started to appear.
Haruki stopped cautiously, recalled Metang, and continued on foot with Skiploom.
After another thirty minutes of walking, they started encountering more Pokémon again.
Most of them were Combee. And now, instead of fleeing, they boldly flew over to nuzzle up against him.
These were "domesticated" Combee, far more docile and friendly toward humans.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Haruki spotted a brawny man accompanied by a particularly pudgy Vespiquen.
"A Trainer, huh? The town's this way~"
"Got it, thanks man!"
Thankfully, he wasn't stopped to buy any Honey. Haruki didn't ask any more questions either, he just wanted to get to the town and rest.
Another thirty minutes passed, and finally, nestled within the sea of flowers, Haruki caught sight of Floaroma Town in full bloom.
To be honest, he was a bit numb to beauty at this point. He barely gave the picturesque town a glance and headed straight to the Devon Hotel to check in.
Haruki gave all three of his Pokémon a thorough cleaning, then scrubbed himself inside and out.
Only after that did he collapse onto the soft bed, replaying recent events in his mind.
From setting out in Jubilife City to now, the journey had been one for the books.
First, there was discovering Indium-tungsten Ore in Ravaged Town, which instantly fueled the energy-starved Beldum and led to its successful evolution.
'Oh, and in the middle of all that… the mysterious voice, and that persistent pinkish-purple mist.'
Haruki thought the voice might've filled in the missing Psychic energy Metang lacked… maybe even gave it more than necessary.
The unusually strong Confusion and its early mastery of Zen Headbutt were all proof of that.
Then came the long mining operation. Haruki didn't call Steven to take over until his entire spatial backpack was completely full.
And what he'd assumed would be a relaxing stroll through the flower field turned out to have strict no-destruction rules, which ended up forcing his "majestic" Shiny pseudo-legendary Metang into being a literal mount.
Then came the massive chase across the flower field.
Looking back, it was lucky Haruki hadn't strayed too far from the main route; none of the wild Pokémon he encountered were overly powerful.
If he had wandered deep into the flower field and run into some Elite-tier wild Pokémon… things wouldn't have ended so smoothly.
And then came a double blessing!
Skiploom learned Tailwind. Metang learned Thunder Punch.
Their overall combat strength had skyrocketed.
Especially Metang… it was like a complete rebirth.
Satisfied with the recap, Haruki turned serious again.
He still had quite a few things to take care of.
The Indium-tungsten Ore had already been handed over to the Devon Corporation for development. If Steven had already surveyed and evaluated the site, it was probably about time he got back to Haruki.
If they could keep working together smoothly like before, that would be ideal.
If not... well, Haruki would deal with that when the time came.
With that matter put aside, next came the issue of training Metang.
Metang had undoubtedly grown the most throughout this journey. But if that rapid growth led to wasted potential, then the blame would fall on Haruki as the Trainer.
So a closed-door training period was in order, enough time for Metang to fully adapt to its new power.
During that time, both Marowak and Metang would also need to get used to Skiploom's Tailwind support.
A sudden boost in speed could be a powerful weapon, but if not mastered, it would just throw off their rhythm.
…And then there was Marowak.
Watching its teammates grow one after another, Marowak didn't say anything, but Haruki knew it must have felt the pressure.
It had been sneaking in extra training regularly.
Haruki didn't stop it. He just quietly handled the logistics behind the scenes.
Marowak didn't have Skiploom's race-defying talent.
And it wasn't a pseudo-legendary like Metang, with a path to power just by growing step by step.
Marowak's growth was destined to be forged through blood and sweat. But that was something it had understood since birth.
So this closed-door training? Marowak would be there for every moment of it.
With his thoughts sorted, Haruki moved on to planning their training regimen.
He pulled out the respective Training Manuals and guides for each of his Pokémon and began building their training plans based on their current conditions.
The next morning, Haruki signed out an Intermediate Mimicry Room and started the intensive closed-door training with all three Pokémon.
And just like that, a whole month passed.
During that time, only one thing happened: Steven called to report on the Indium-tungsten Ore.
The survey results showed that the remaining yield wasn't massive but it was highly valuable. If fully mined, it was estimated to be worth the equivalent of half a Quasi-Elite Four-level Metagross.
Under their 50/50 agreement, Haruki's share would be a quarter of a Quasi-Elite Four Metagross.
But let's not forget: Haruki still had an entire spatial backpack full of Indium-tungsten Ore.
Just that alone could make up another quarter of a Quasi-Elite Four Metagross.
Not wanting to go through all that hassle again, Haruki simply asked Steven to send someone to retrieve his mountain of Indium-tungsten Ore directly.
The method was secure, and it wouldn't expose anything. Saved him a ton of trouble.
So, yeah… this deal? Haruki definitely came out ahead.