"If I'm not mistaken, the special stone you saw is 'high-quality Adamite.' Adamite disappeared thousands of years ago; only a few pieces remain, kept in museums as collectibles. However, those are all ordinary Adamite."
"The difference between ordinary Adamite and high-quality Adamite lies in the amount of radiation they received from the sandstorm core. What I didn't expect is that something like this would still be left deep underground."
"Is Adamite related to Smooth Rock?" Terrance suddenly asked.
"Perhaps. Adamite and Smooth Rock are both connected to the power of sandstorms. My guess is that Smooth Rock is a sandstorm core whose power has weakened countless times. As for why there's such a large difference between the two, it may be due to the environments in which they formed. But one thing is certain: Smooth Rock forms from nothing, while Adamite is created when sandstorm energy radiates into an already existing ore," Mr. Brandon said.
Mr. Brandon's explanation left Terrance deep in thought. He had never expected that stone to have such an origin.
A product of intense radiation from a sandstorm core?
At the same time, Terrance immediately connected Regirock's agitation with the Adamite, forming a clear line of reasoning. No wonder Regirock cared so much about it. Even ordinary Adamite would be a great supplement for it, let alone high-quality Adamite that had been preserved for a thousand years, isolated deep underground.
Terrance felt fortunate. If it hadn't been for a coincidence, and for him and Tyranitar spending several months excavating the place, then that piece of high-quality Adamite might have remained buried underground forever. Missing such a rare treasure would have been truly regrettable.
"This is comparable to a Smooth Rock…no, perhaps even more precious than a Smooth Rock. Uh… but that's not quite right either. Come to think of it, Adamite is a great supplement only for Regirock. For Tyranitar, it might not necessarily be beneficial…"
"Wait… aside from Regirock, many Pokémon in the desert were also attracted by the fluctuations of the unearthed Adamite. Does that mean Adamite isn't only beneficial to Regirock? And Tyranitar evolved right after eating it back then. There are still many suspicious points about that."
While Terrance was pondering, Mr. Brandon had already recalled Regirock.
"That Tyranitar is truly fortunate. What it ate was priceless," Mr. Brandon said. He had already learned many details from Terrance earlier, and as he looked at Terrance's Poké Ball, he couldn't help but add, "Adamite can be considered a specialty of the Hoenn Desert. The conditions required for its formation are extremely harsh. The remaining pieces are all kept in museums as peerless treasures. Although their practical value isn't very high at the moment, they possess tremendous historical research significance. If we're lucky, they might even allow us to trace the strength of a super-ancient civilization."
"But saying all this now is too late, since Tyranitar already ate it," Terrance said with a bitter smile.
The two did not dwell on the matter further. Besides answering Terrance's questions, Mr. Brandon had another purpose for coming to the desert.
"Regirock should have left from here, right?" After the two left the ruins, Mr. Brandon walked to the place where Regirock had dug its way out and spoken seriously.
"Yes. By the way, Mr. Brandon, are you planning to capture that Regirock?" Terrance asked. Mr. Brandon had been paying attention to this Regirock for a long time, so the question wasn't unreasonable.
However, Mr. Brandon's answer surprised Terrance greatly, because it involved another secret Terrance had already brushed against.
"No. I only want to use it to find Mirage Tower," Mr. Brandon said, glancing at Terrance. "Mirage Tower…also known as the Mirage Ruins."
Mirage Ruins!
"That place…" Terrance had been confused since earlier; countless threads of thought were tangled in his mind and needed sorting out.
According to the historical texts Mr. Brandon had investigated, the Mirage Ruins, also known as Mirage Tower, were a product of the strength of an super-ancient civilization. That would also explain why it appeared and disappeared so mysteriously.
"Years ago, I once entered Mirage Tower. However, because I touched certain taboos, I was expelled by an ancient existence within it. Since then, it seems I've lost the opportunity to enter Mirage Tower. No matter how I search, I can't find that place anymore. I've tried many methods, but unfortunately it's like a kind of barrier, impossible to locate. And the most frustrating part is that Mirage Tower occasionally moves on its own. Whenever I get close, it disappears."
"In the past, I relied on the Regirock traveling with me to search for Mirage Tower. Perhaps because Mirage Tower had long been in contact with the sandstorm core, Regirock seemed to possess the ability to sense it. Unfortunately, after that incident, not only I but even Regirock lost that sense. So after making many preparations, I decided to make one final attempt to see if I could track down the location of Mirage Tower by locking onto another Regirock. It's the only method I haven't tried yet."
As Mr. Brandon finished speaking, Terrance's mind suddenly rumbled with realization. That explained why he had encountered Regirock again inside Mirage Tower.
"Mr. Brandon, the ancient existence you mentioned… was it Unown?!"
Unown are said to be the script of an ancient civilization. If Mirage Tower was a product of a super-ancient civilization, then the presence of Unown within it would not be surprising.
At that moment, Terrance vaguely grasped a piece of crucial information, yet he couldn't fully seize it.
Just like Mr. Brandon, he had also been expelled by the Unown.
"Yes. Unown are the script of ancient civilization. Perhaps they themselves are the power left behind by that civilization. Even though technology is highly developed today, the power of ancient civilizations is still something incredibly mysterious and incomprehensible. Tens of thousands of years ago, there may have existed an even more glorious human civilization in this world. Unfortunately, everything disappeared," Mr. Brandon gave Terrance a meaningful look and continued, "Unown represents one of the world's seven greatest mysteries, a puzzle that adventurers have long hoped to solve. Understanding them is not only the dream of adventurers but also the dream of the entire academic world."
"Perhaps, if one could capture Unown, everything would be solved."
Mr. Brandon's idea was not to capture Regirock, but to capture Unown. Terrance was startled by the thought, yet he could also somewhat understand it.
But could those Unown really be captured?
Terrance didn't know how Mr. Brandon had been expelled, but he himself had been cast into a space-time rift…
****Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 65 chapters on my pa*reon.