Day 34 of the journey to Kanto. Cloudy.
Reiji got up early, went to Eevee's room, and recalled it into its Poké Ball. Then he slung on his backpack, put on his sun hat, and left the Pokémon Center.
He planned to have breakfast on the mountain. The single room at the Center was too cramped to let all his Pokémon out.
At the base of Evolution Mountain, the land looked stripped bare. Vegetation was sparse—just short patches of grass that didn't even reach his calves. Most of the terrain was pocked with holes, dug out by treasure hunters searching for Evolution Stones. The entire mountainside had been riddled with pits, leaving it ugly and uneven.
He found a larger cave and settled inside to stay out of the heat. Then he released his Pokémon so they could eat. He let Eevee out as well and had it join them.
Eevee barely ate. It kept glancing toward the town below—the place it had lived before.
As soon as Reiji arrived at the mountain's base, Darkrai had already warned him. Something was watching them from the shadows—more precisely, watching Eevee.
"Darkrai, go call it over," Reiji said. He had no intention of letting Absol lurk in the dark. Since it had come, he might as well return Eevee properly.
"Alright."
Darkrai slipped away through the shadows and stopped behind a pile of jagged rocks. Absol was hiding there.
Darkrai's presence didn't startle Absol. They had already crossed paths yesterday.
Absol sensed it approaching long before it appeared. Its perception was sharp—that was how it could detect disasters in advance.
A moment later, after a brief exchange with Darkrai, Absol finally stepped out. It climbed onto a cluster of rocks and looked down at Reiji and his Pokémon.
"Absol?"
Reiji looked up at the white-furred Pokémon. Under the sunlight, its sleek coat stood out against its deep crimson eyes. He met its gaze without hesitation, completely calm.
It was his first time seeing one in person. Absol was extremely rare—just a step below pseudo-legendaries—and highly sought after by Trainers.
But this one was fully grown. Catching it wasn't even a consideration. He didn't try to communicate either. Absol's expression revealed nothing, and it clearly had no interest in dealing with humans.
Reiji picked Eevee up from the cave. He wasn't even sure if Eevee would recognize its mother.
The moment he lifted it, Absol tensed. Its claws dug into the rock, ready to react if the human did anything to harm the child.
Reiji set Eevee down, placed a box of Dark-type Pokéblocks beside it, then took one out and fed it to Eevee. After that, he stepped back, giving them space.
Only then did Absol move forward. It lowered its head and sniffed Eevee. The bandages and the scent of medicine were still fresh.
Reiji spoke up quickly. "The bandages will come off on their own in a couple of days. It'll recover completely. No need to worry."
"Eevee…" Eevee had never seen Absol before, but the moment it appeared, something about it felt familiar. Its mood lifted slightly.
"Sol…" Absol gently nudged Eevee with its head, confirming it was its child. The scent was unmistakable.
It raised its head and gave Reiji a brief look. It didn't touch the food. Instead, it picked Eevee up in its jaws and bounded toward the mountain peak in a series of swift leaps.
Reiji watched until they disappeared from sight, then let out a quiet breath.
No fate between them.
"It doesn't want the Pokéblocks. You and Gengar can have them," he said.
"Heh heh—"
Gengar melted into the shadows, swallowing the box whole as it sank into the ground.
Reiji finished his meal, recalled the rest of his Pokémon, and left Poliwhirl out by his side. Darkrai and Gengar stayed in his shadow, helping keep the heat off.
Now it was time to search for Evolution Stones.
Riolu couldn't help with detection, so that job fell to Darkrai. Gengar would retrieve anything found underground. He could also use Kingler to dig, but that would cause too much damage. Gengar was better for this job.
They moved along the base of the mountain while Darkrai scanned ahead. It didn't take long before it picked up a weak energy signal—an Evolution Stone, but probably not high quality.
It made sense. People focused on the mountain itself. The base was mostly ignored, so stones here went unnoticed.
They stopped at the spot Darkrai indicated. Gengar slipped underground, passing through layers of rock. It could sense the stone too, just not as clearly as Darkrai.
Deep below, it found a dull, grayish rock embedded in the stone. It swallowed it whole, then returned to the surface without ever showing itself. A moment later, the rock dropped out of its shadow.
Reiji had seen this enough times that it didn't even register as strange anymore. He took out a hammer and cracked the rock open.
Inside was an orange-yellow crystal, with what looked like a flame flickering within.
"Fire Stone?"
He picked it up. The surface was warm, and much rougher than the polished ones sold in shops. Those had clearly been refined.
[Fire Stone: A mysterious stone that can evolve certain Pokémon (Purity: 41.02%)]
"Only forty-one percent. Maybe two or three million," Reiji said, weighing it in his hand.
Selling it locally would fetch less. The market here was flooded.
He'd stash it for now and sell it elsewhere—probably back in the Orange Archipelago.
He still had a seven-hundred-million gap to fill. A couple million barely made a dent.
Even if he needed two or three hundred stones, finding that many wouldn't be easy.
He put the Fire Stone away and kept searching around the base instead of heading up. Even mid-grade stones added up.
And Evolution Mountain wasn't just about Evolution Stones. All kinds of stones could be found here.
While wandering, he came across several exposed fossils. They were among the least valuable finds, but he picked them up anyway.
After all, fossil revival technology existed. They might be useful someday.
After collecting a few, he noticed most of them were marine fossils. Some he recognized immediately—Omanyte shell fossils were everywhere. So many that he stopped bothering to pick them up.
No Aerodactyl fossils, though. The panel hadn't flagged any. A bit disappointing.
Ancient marine fossils like Omanyte didn't interest him much. He already knew where to find living ones—no need for fossils.
Still, the trip wasn't a waste. After circling the base, he ended up with seven Evolution Stones.
Three Fire Stones—two low-grade, one mid-grade.
Two Water Stones—both low-grade.
One Thunder Stone—low-grade.
One Leaf Stone—also low-grade.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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