Chapter 28: Steven’s Gift, the Pseudo-Legendary Beldum!

Facing Steven's accusations, Zhang Feng could not help but retort: "That was only because you used your ace against me first! I am clearly just a novice trainer, yet you sent out a Master-level Pokémon. Isn't that being a bit excessive on your part?"

Steven was even more infuriated by Zhang Feng’s attempt to keep up the pretense of being a novice. "You call yourself a novice trainer? Find me another 'novice' who owns a Legendary Pokémon! Stop with the act of playing the fool to catch the tiger!"

When Zhang Feng produced his Pokédex and showed the date he had registered as a trainer, Steven was rendered completely speechless. After checking the date multiple times and hearing the context provided by Professor Birch, Steven was genuinely stunned. Perhaps, for the first time, his composure was truly shattered. This brat really had only been a trainer for a little over a month!

Good heavens! He couldn't help but recall what he himself was doing when he first started out.

The two looked at each other in silence for a long time, until suddenly, they both burst into laughter. Perhaps the friendship between men is just that strange; after a battle where Steven used his Shiny Metagross to trounce three of Zhang Feng’s main Pokémon, Zhang Feng refused to take it lying down and used his own ace, Rayquaza, to sweep three of Steven’s own, effectively calling it even.

"You guy... I originally saw your Grovyle and thought you were a decent trainer, so I wanted to test your strength and gift you a Beldum. Instead, you ended up making me look so disheveled!"

With that, Steven produced a Poké Ball. A moment later, amidst a flash of red light, a sturdy Beldum appeared before Zhang Feng. Even though Zhang Feng knew Steven intended to give him a new Pokémon, he was still surprised to see it was a pseudo-legendary like Beldum.

"This... such a precious pseudo-legendary, you're giving it to me?"

Seeing Zhang Feng suddenly acting a bit bashful, Steven felt a sense of satisfaction—finally, he had managed to get one back on him! Steven smiled and said, "Oh, it’s just a pseudo-legendary. I have a whole group of them at my family's mines. I just think this little guy has potential, but I don't want to raise another Metagross, so I wanted to entrust him to an excellent trainer rather than let his talent go to waste."

"Ding! The current attribute values for Beldum are as follows:"
Pokémon: Beldum
Level: 18
Ability: Clear Body
Type: Steel/Psychic
Potential: Gold
Bond Evolution: Locked
Mega Evolution: Locked
Moves: Take Down...
Intimacy: 20
Background: Born within a Metagross colony, a Beldum with exceptional talent.
Hobbies: Battling, eating ore.

Gold potential! Another gold potential! As expected, Steven was just showing off his wealth in disguise, but since he was willing to gift such an excellent Pokémon, Zhang Feng decided not to argue. Besides, the guy was undeniably wealthier than him—there was no denying that.

Zhang Feng looked at the Beldum and said with a smile, "Beldum, are you willing to follow me on adventures around the world, become the strongest Metagross, and defeat Steven’s Shiny Metagross?"

Hearing this, black lines appeared on Steven's forehead. Could he not say something nice instead of teasing him? Surprisingly, the Beldum looked at Steven, then at Zhang Feng, and nodded firmly.

Zhang Feng pulled out a Luxury Ball, replaced the Beldum's original Poké Ball, and successfully captured another powerful Pokémon with immense potential. This was his first pseudo-legendary. Unlike other pseudo-legendaries that evolve at level 30 and reach their final form at level 56, Beldums only have "Take Down" as an initial move. They generally evolve into Metang at level 20 and can reach their final form, Metagross, at level 45. In comparison, Metagross’s combat strength matures much faster than other pseudo-legendaries.

Of course, there is another theory regarding their evolution: that it requires two Beldums to fuse into a Metang, and two Metangs to fuse into a Metagross, totaling four Beldums. Zhang Feng thought the requirement of four Beldums was too terrifying, so he decided to let his Beldum evolve through leveling instead.

"Regardless, thank you, Steven!"

Seeing Zhang Feng thank him, Steven said magnanimously, "Actually, I should be the one thanking you. It is the Beldum's luck to meet a trainer like you. Besides, my Metagross and I gained a lot from our battle with your Rayquaza; I feel like our strength can improve even further!"

"Let’s battle again sometime, Zhang Feng!"

As if recalling something, Steven added earnestly, "I wouldn't recommend being so flashy with your Rayquaza. Even within the Pokémon League, there are ambitious people. Be careful!"

After bidding Steven farewell, Zhang Feng kept his advice in mind and headed toward the Pokémon Center at the foot of the mountain with his two newly acquired Pokémon. Fortunately, Aron and Beldum hadn't lost their ability to battle, otherwise, Zhang Feng would have had to rely on Rayquaza to clear out any wild Pokémon along the way.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Zhang Feng handed all five of his Pokémon to Nurse Joy. He also had her check the three Arons he had captured earlier before placing them into his system storage. Once his team had regained their vitality, Zhang Feng released all five of them.

Currently, the strength of Zhang Feng’s five Pokémon was as follows: The strongest was Milotic at level 34, the only fully evolved Pokémon he owned. Next were Grovyle at level 33, Pidgeotto at level 33, Aron at level 25, and Beldum at level 19.

"Battling a top-tier trainer like Steven, I believe you all gained something. This defeat is normal because the gap between us and him is still too large."

"However, do not belittle yourselves. He has been training for over a decade to reach his current strength, and we have plenty of time!"

"Let’s all work hard to become stronger and surpass every powerful enemy in the future!"

Zhang Feng reached out his hand. Seeing this, Grovyle was the first to place its right hand on his. Milotic followed, gently laying its tail on top of Grovyle’s hand. Pidgeotto followed suit, placing its wing on the tail. Seeing this, Aron and Beldum nudged their heads together in the center.

"Let’s do our best!"

The Pokémon responded with firm, unwavering cries. For the sake of their trainer, they were willing to endure every hardship and adventure to become the strongest Pokémon. This was the bond between a trainer and their Pokémon, and the true joy of adventure.