Day 36 of the journey to Kanto. Clear skies.
Reiji and Keith got up early, ate breakfast, packed up camp, shouldered their bags, and prepared to head down the mountain.
Leaving the stolen goods aside, Reiji's own haul over the past two days came to one high-grade Evolution Stone, six mid-grade stones, and thirty-seven low-grade stones.
Altogether, the high-grade stone was worth over ten million, the mid-grade stones around twenty million, and the low-grade stones roughly forty million. More than seventy million in total.
Mining really did pay. Just digging around the mountain for a couple of days had brought in over seventy million. No wonder Evolution Stones were cheap down in town—there were simply too many of them here.
Still, once Evolution Mountain's supply dried up, prices would rise. Especially in the hands of merchants who knew how to hoard.
The fact that he had found only one high-grade stone already showed how badly the supply had been drained. The sharper merchants couldn't have missed that. High-grade stones were rare even here, mid-grade stones were getting harder to find, and low-grade stones weren't worth much because they carried a chance of failed evolution.
It was a shame he hadn't found a top-grade Water Stone. Not a single rare stone either—almost everything had been common.
Reiji looked back at Evolution Mountain one last time, then had Pelipper carry him and Keith down. They said farewell to the mountain and landed outside Stone Town.
After being carried by Pelipper, Keith finally got his first taste of a thrilling flight. Even after his feet touched the ground, his legs were still weak.
Reiji laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it. You're catching Flying-types, after all. Sooner or later, you'll be flying through the sky with them."
"I understand." Keith took several deep breaths, steadied himself, and followed Reiji into Stone Town on foot.
"You found two Evolution Stones. Sell one, then buy yourself some daily supplies—clothes, food, Pokémon food. Once you're done, wait for me at the town entrance."
Reiji sent him off to handle his own shopping. He still had to evolve Shelmet. It would be quick, and they could meet up afterward.
"Got it."
Keith had lived on the streets long enough that a task like this wouldn't trouble him. He simply hadn't had the money before. One Evolution Stone was worth around a million, enough to handle plenty of things.
After they split up, Reiji went looking for a trade machine. Machines like that usually appeared during festivals, and a town built around Evolution Stones naturally held festivals of its own.
Even if there wasn't one happening right now, he only needed to find the organizers and rent a trade machine long enough to evolve Shelmet and Karrablast.
He had already prepared everything on the mountain. Shelmet's shell had been coated with Damp Rock powder four or five times. Reiji had also given it a mid-grade Thunder Stone to hold in its mouth, and he hadn't held back on Bug Gems either.
Karrablast had also been coated head to toe in Damp Rock powder. Reiji had instructed it to merge the Damp Rock material into the armor when it fused with Shelmet's shell, though whether that would work remained to be seen.
After asking around, he quickly found the group that usually organized the festivals. An old man led him to the organizers' warehouse. Reiji placed the Poké Balls on the machine and started the trade.
The machine hummed. The two Poké Balls were pulled in, then rolled back out a moment later.
When Reiji picked them up again, the Pokémon inside had already changed.
After getting the new Pokémon, he slipped the old man a pack of cigarettes, said goodbye, and headed for the town entrance to wait for Keith. Once Keith arrived, they could set out for Celadon City.
At the entrance, Reiji found a quiet corner and opened Accelgor's panel to check the result of the trade evolution.
[Accelgor (shiny)]
[Type: Bug]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 64%]
[Level: 42.17%]
[Ability: Hydration/22.23%][Hidden Ability: Unburden/12.13%]
Bug-type: [Moves: (Bug Buzz/32.34%) (Leech Life/32.23%) (Struggle Bug/12.53%)]
Normal-type: [(Protect/36.14%) (Recover/18.82%) (Baton Pass/15.62%) (Quick Attack/5.22%)]
Grass-type: [(Absorb/25.11%) (Mega Drain/28.42%) (Energy Ball/16.14%)]
Poison-type: [(Acid/31.27%) (Venoshock/13.21%)]
Psychic-type: [(Rest/15.12%) (Agility/3.42%)]
Other moves: [(Hidden Power Electric/40.23%) (Mud Shot/35.22%)]
After evolving, Accelgor's potential had reached 64. A little low. It had barely touched the Elite Four threshold, so pushing it further would take years.
Its level had entered Advanced tier, at least. That part was decent.
Hydration hadn't changed much. Its hidden ability had become Unburden, replacing its old Overcoat.
The move changes were minor. It had only gained two new moves: Quick Attack and Agility.
As expected of a speed-focused Pokémon. Just evolving had given it two acceleration-based moves.
Its Electric-type Hidden Power had also shot straight up to 40 proficiency. Looks like Accelgor had absorbed quite a bit of energy from the Thunder Stone.
Reiji released Accelgor right away and had it spit out the Thunder Stone. The Bug Gem came out with it, drained completely into a clear, empty stone.
"Accel!" Accelgor spat out the stones and looked down at itself. It seemed to have hands now.
"Congratulations on evolving, Accelgor. We'll celebrate later."
Reiji smiled and patted Accelgor's golden head. It felt like a hard helmet, almost as if its shell had become a hat.
After calming the excited Accelgor, he opened the Thunder Stone's panel. Its purity had dropped, turning it into a low-grade Thunder Stone, just as expected.
A little over twenty percent of the Thunder Stone's energy had been Accelgor's limit. Any more, and it wouldn't have been able to absorb it.
"Accelgor, come test your speed."
Reiji set down the Thunder Stone, gave Accelgor a Berry to hold, took out a stopwatch, and prepared to test its base Speed of 145.
"Accel!"
Accelgor stepped over and looked toward the small mound Reiji pointed at. The moment Reiji gave the signal, it shot across the distance.
To Reiji, it looked like a gust of wind had passed. Accelgor simply vanished from sight.
"Come back. Again."
Reiji recorded the time, then had Accelgor eat the Berry so it counted as having lost its held item. After that, he had it run the same distance again.
"Accel…"
With a sharp whoosh, Accelgor appeared on the mound again. Reiji hit the stopwatch and couldn't help thinking that it was absurdly fast.
Base Speed 145, plus Unburden doubling its speed.
The second run was faster than the first.
Over the same distance, Accelgor took four seconds the first time. After Unburden activated, it took a little over three.
Once Unburden's proficiency rose, its doubled speed could push that down to two seconds.
Then there was Agility.
At that point, Reiji only wanted to ask one thing: could anyone even keep up?
And with Electric-type Hidden Power stimulating cell activity and stacking another layer of speed, Accelgor might break past 500. It would move like lightning.
When it ran, it really did look like a golden bolt. Its head was gold—the shiny coloration—so the image fit perfectly.
Reiji called Accelgor back, gave it a Pokéblock, and returned it to its Poké Ball to rest. Intense movement burned through stamina fast. A hundred kilometers for two Pokéblocks was already efficient enough.
Accelgor's result satisfied him. After recalling it, he opened Escavalier's panel.
Its potential had only just reached Elite Four tier, two points lower than Accelgor and ten below Forretress.
But that wasn't the main point.
He released Escavalier, then brought out Hanhan.
"Escavalier, I'll send you back soon. For now, defend with everything you have."
"Esca."
Escavalier had no bond with Reiji. Reiji hadn't raised it, and they had spent very little time together. Still, it obeyed. Only obeyed.
"Rhydon, use Fire Punch. Don't go all out. Just a couple of light hits."
Reiji turned to Rhydon.
Hanhan's raw power was definitely above Magmar's, though its Fire Punch was probably weaker. Escavalier wasn't Advanced tier yet. If it could take three punches, that meant the Fire resistance worked.
"Raaah."
Rhydon gave Escavalier a warning cry, then swung a fist wrapped in flames.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
After three punches, Escavalier had been knocked into a grassy pit. It shook its head and floated back up.
"Escavalier, anything feel wrong?" Reiji hurried over to check.
"Esca, Esca." Escavalier shook its head. The impacts had left it a little dizzy, but its body felt fine.
"Good. It works."
Reiji touched the armor. Aside from a few blackened scorch marks, there was no injury. He sprayed it with medicine and recalled Escavalier.
Damp Rock powder could improve Fire resistance. The only question was the limit. He wasn't going to have Hanhan knock Escavalier unconscious just to test that limit. Then he'd have to send it for treatment, and a new Pokémon would attract attention.
After thinking it over, he decided not to bother. He would transfer Escavalier back to Mikan Gym once they reached Celadon City. Accelgor alone would continue with him.
Escavalier's defenses definitely couldn't match Forretress, and its potential was lower too. Its role also overlapped with Forretress, so leaving it at Mikan Gym made sense.
After recalling both Pokémon, Reiji returned to the town entrance. Keith still hadn't arrived.
No idea what that kid was doing.
Keith didn't come.
Absol did.
"In the forest. I sense it. It's Absol," Darkrai said in Reiji's mind.
After disappearing for two days, Absol had finally shown up.
It had probably gone to their campsite, found them gone, realized they had come down the mountain, and followed them to town.
"Let's go."
Reiji took out a Poké Ball, released Eevee, held it in his arms, and walked into the forest.
"Eevee…" Eevee looked around nervously from Reiji's arms. Maybe it was wondering where he was taking it.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves. Reiji walked only a dozen steps into the trees before stopping.
Rustle—rustle—
The moment he stopped, a white figure shot out.
Who else could it be but Absol?
"Go on."
Reiji set Eevee on the ground, smashed Eevee's Poké Ball against a rock, breaking it cleanly in two, then turned and left the forest.
He would be lying if he said he didn't feel anything. But Eevee's mother was right there. What was he supposed to do—hold the child hostage and force Absol to obey him? He wasn't that kind of person.
Absol's mouth twitched when it saw how decisively Reiji walked away. His lack of hesitation actually threw it off. This human clearly didn't want to raise a child either. He had dumped Eevee back on it and even looked relieved when he turned away.
But Absol didn't want to raise a child either. That was why it had originally left Eevee with humans at the foot of the mountain. If Eevee could follow this human, that would be good too. Absol could tell he was decent enough—a human worth trusting.
"Eevee!"
Eevee ran up to Absol and rubbed against it excitedly.
"Ab."
Absol lowered its head and groomed Eevee with its tongue. After spending a little while with it, Absol picked Eevee up in its mouth and carried it to the edge of the forest, where Reiji stood near the town entrance.
Then it pushed Eevee out.
"Ab…"
"Eevee?"
Eevee stumbled out of the grass, then ran back in—only to be pushed out again.
After several tries, Eevee finally understood.
Absol didn't want it either.
It wanted Eevee to go with the human.
"Ab! Ab!" Absol called again and again, urging Eevee forward.
"Eevee…"
Eevee had only just been abandoned once. Then it found its mother, only to be pushed away again. Tears welled up at once. It only wanted a home. Why was that so hard?
"Little one, why are you crying?"
Reiji noticed the commotion and saw the same Eevee from earlier. He walked over and gently rubbed its fluffy head. The little thing was crying.
"Ab."
When Absol saw Reiji approach, it gave a low cry, then turned and left.
Reiji said nothing.
He didn't say, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of Eevee."
He didn't say, "I'll treat Eevee like family."
He said nothing at all.
Absol had given Eevee to him because it trusted him. Because it believed he was a Trainer worth entrusting Eevee to.
That was enough.
He wouldn't betray that trust. Eevee would live without worry.
As for the boy who had abandoned Eevee, there were too many kids like that in this world. People even abandoned starter Pokémon, let alone an Eevee.
What was Reiji supposed to do? Grab the kid by the collar and lecture him that abandoning Pokémon was wrong? The kid would probably stare at him like he was an idiot and say, "What's it to you?"
The League kept promoting the idea that humans and Pokémon should live in harmony, and that wasn't wrong. But the Pokémon world still centered on humans. Abandoning a Pokémon wasn't illegal. The League couldn't control it. No one could. At most, people could condemn the Trainer morally.
Law was the bottom line of morality, and some people liked walking right along that line.
Pokémon weren't protected wildlife. Sometimes humans lived like stray dogs themselves. If even people had no real protection, who cared about another dog?
"Eevee…"
Eevee ignored everything around it and kept crying.
Reiji sighed and took out a new Poké Ball—a Heal Ball—and caught Eevee.
As for the wound in Eevee's heart, that would take time. He didn't need Eevee to fight anyway. He had plenty of time.
Then there was Riolu already giving him trouble. Now he had a problem Eevee too. Just thinking about it made his head hurt.
"Boss! Boss, I'm late!"
Keith came running out of town and spotted Reiji near the forest. He hurried over, panting hard.
"It's fine. Let's go."
Reiji put away Eevee's Heal Ball, released Tauros, climbed on, and set off.
As for Keith?
Of course he would walk behind the bull.
Keith could only rely on his own two legs and keep pace with Tauros.
As they moved farther away, Absol stood on the mountain and watched them on the forest path—watched Reiji, and the Eevee in his arms.
Then it raised its head and let out one long cry.
A farewell to Eevee.
"Awooo…"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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