Feathers burning like flames?
The only bird Pokémon that fits this description seems to be Moltres!
Mt. Chimney is Hoenn's largest active volcano, so it’s normal for Moltres to descend into the magma to absorb its power.
Moltres’s feathers carry its pure flame energy, so it’s also normal that Growlithe couldn't resist eating the feather.
“What you found should be a Moltres feather. You’ve been active on Mt. Chimney for years. Have you seen Moltres again, or found any new Moltres feathers since?”
Ya Sha rubbed the dog's head fiercely, sighing with a hint of disappointment.
“Just that one! Later, I almost turned Mt. Chimney upside down, but I still couldn’t find a second Moltres feather.”
“Woof!”
Arcanine stared with innocent big eyes; he was just a puppy and didn't understand anything.
Upon learning that Moltres had once visited Mt. Chimney, Kebi’s precognition didn't react, indicating he probably wouldn't encounter Moltres during this Mt. Chimney training.
However, the Pokémon on Mt. Chimney seemed to be facing an impending crisis.
It should be poachers.
Kebi found an empty space not occupied by Slugma and released Chimchar, Piplup, Magnemite, Seedot, Treecko, and Diancie.
Just as Kebi was about to set up the training plan, Ya Sha saw the magnificent Diancie, immediately rushed over from Kebi’s side, and grabbed Diancie’s hands.
“So beautiful!”
“Thank you.”
Ya Sha was startled for a moment, and once she realized Diancie could communicate telepathically, she became even more envious.
Although Diancie was magnificent in appearance and noble in temperament, her Arcanine was not bad either.
Turning her head, Ya Sha watched through gritted teeth as Arcanine had his chin scratched by Kebi, happily sticking out his tongue.
“Arcanine!”
Kebi smiled slightly, “Your Arcanine is excellent.”
Kebi also wanted to capture a fluffy big dog.
Ya Sha, unwilling to be outdone, pulled Diancie into her embrace, “Your Pokémon are also very beautiful!”
Kebi shook his head and began to set up the training plan for the six Pokémon.
Except for Chimchar and Diancie, the other four were not very accustomed to the scorching environment of the volcano, and normal training would consume their stamina exponentially.
Diancie continued to train Harden, Sharpen, Rock Polish, and Power Gem to familiarize herself with her body.
With only a slight guidance from Kebi, Diancie’s potential was rapidly realized.
At lv70 16, Diancie already possessed a total ability value of 720.
Chimchar would be envious to tears; he diligently endured the power of the lava stone, expanding his body's maximum capacity, yet he only increased his ability value from 371 to 392.
Kebi patted Chimchar’s head, “After leaving the lava stone, your body will feel empty. At this time, through training, convert the muscle-building and bone-strengthening Pokémon food and herbal pills you ate into power.”
“This will fill the void, and then you can wear the lava stone again to expand your physique. This way, when you evolve, you will be able to devour the lava stone and become unexpectedly powerful!”
After getting pumped up, Chimchar, full of fighting spirit, used Flame Wheel while stepping on the scorching stone pillars protruding from the magma.
Chimchar was like a bouncy ball, transforming into a fireball bouncing back and forth on the stone pillars.
Piplup was equally unwilling to be outdone; his training involved using Hydro Pump upwards, with the height needing to exceed the eruption hole, which resembled a skylight.
The five-meter diameter eruption hole looked about the size of a window from inside the cave.
The height already exceeded a hundred meters, and Piplup needed to use his fighting spirit to exceed his physical limits to spray Hydro Pump out of the eruption hole.
Kebi lightly tapped his finger, and a colorful light entered the bodies of the training Pokémon.
He now mastered some Psychic techniques to assist Pokémon in developing their potential, which could allow Pokémon to achieve five times the results of their efforts.
This technique was not yet proficient; once Kebi became familiar with his increased Psychic talent, he could boost it to about ten times the effort’s results.
Moreover, this technique could still be improved; one hundred times the effort, or even two hundred times the effort, was not impossible.
Kebi looked at the lava stone in his hand, feeling the scorching and pure magma energy within it.
This stone was very interesting; it only released energy when held by a Fire-type Pokémon.
With a thought, Kebi threw the lava stone into the magma.
As he expected, the lava stone immediately began to absorb the magma's energy after being submerged, recovering the void created by Chimchar's absorption.
It seemed this lava stone was of a higher grade than he had guessed.
Chimchar could devour the lava stone’s energy, but it probably couldn't completely absorb the lava stone’s physical form.
That would require providing Chimchar with an external force that could be borrowed during evolution.
Seeing Kebi begin training, Ya Sha also released her Pokémon to train.
The commotion from Ya Sha’s Pokémon training was much greater.
Flare Blitz, Burn Up, Flamethrower—Fire-type ultimate moves poured out one after another as if they were free.
After observing Ya Sha's Pokémon, the strongest was the Arcanine that had eaten the Moltres feather.
【Arcanine】
【lv70 lv54】
【Ability: Flash Fire (Development 0.7)】
【Aptitude: Gold (49/100)】
It was unknown if Arcanine’s gold aptitude had anything to do with the Moltres feather.
Thinking about it, the connection should not be significant; how much effect could one feather have?
Arcanine’s strength was still a bit lacking; evolving Chimchar by bathing in Arcanine’s flames would not provide a significant boost.
A stronger Fire-type Pokémon was needed.
“Ya Sha, do you know who the strongest Fire-type Pokémon on Mt. Chimney is?”
Ya Sha raised an eyebrow proudly, “Of course I know that, but why should I tell you?”
Kebi said calmly, “Then I can only slowly search for it myself, and someone who wants to battle me will just have to slowly… slowly wait…”
Ya Sha glared at him, “I’ll take you! I’m not sure who’s the strongest, but Camerupt on the north mountain and Magmar on the south mountain are both very powerful Pokémon.”
“Who do you want to see?”
With a thought from Kebi, the lava stone flew out of the magma, and a Magmar chased it, leaping out of the magma.
“Chimchar, Flame Wheel!”
Chimchar flew towards Magmar, smashing down from Magmar’s head, directly forcing Magmar back into the magma.
Ya Sha’s eyes lit up, “Let me! A Magmar that can swim in magma, I like!”
Kebi hadn’t even thought that the lava stone could be used to fish for Pokémon in the magma.
Ya Sha had her Camerupt chase into the magma, but Magmar still got away.
“Quick, use that stone of yours to help me fish for Magmar again.”
Kebi smiled slightly. Now, who was asking whom for a favor?
Ya Sha, you don’t want Magmar to just run away, do you?
Just kidding, Kebi put the lava stone into the magma, but the cunning Magmar didn’t fall for it.
They fished until nightfall, and besides a few mindless Slugma, which helped Chimchar increase his proficiency in Flame Wheel and Fire Punch, Magmar did not reappear.
The results of the five-times effort training were very pleasing; Chimchar gained 2 points in stamina, 1 point in physical attack, 1 point in special attack, and 2 points in speed in just over half a day.
After a slight adjustment tomorrow, they would see which of Camerupt or Magmar was suitable, and then the day after, they could proceed with Chimchar's fiery evolution.