Steven was obsessively stroking a rock wall, his fingertips tracing the naturally formed ore patterns, his whole body almost pressed against it.
Ariel looked at him like this and couldn't help but find it funny.
He understood Steven; this man's love for stones was deep in his bones, even surpassing his obsession with fame and fortune.
It was precisely this rock wall that gave Ariel a flash of inspiration.
With a flick of his wrist, a red and white Poké Ball appeared in his palm.
With a soft "pop," white light burst forth, and a little fellow with a green body and a diamond-shaped red armor on its belly appeared before everyone.
Larvitar.
As soon as it landed, its small eyes curiously scanned the surroundings, and it was immediately instinctively attracted by the environment full of rocks and minerals, letting out a low, eager grumble from its throat.
"Hmm?"
Steven, who was focused on digging for stones nearby, was disturbed by the movement. He straightened up, patted the dust off his hands, and his gaze was immediately fixed firmly on the little fellow.
He stepped over in a few strides and circled Larvitar twice, his eyes filled with unconcealed amazement.
"Brother Ariel, you... how did you get another Pseudo-Legendary?"
His voice carried a complex tone, containing both happiness for his friend and the surprise of a collector seeing a rare treasure.
"Tyranitar's species is not common."
Ariel put one hand in his pocket, looking like it was only natural.
"Who would think they have too many of these? Isn't the more, the better?"
These words were simply overbearing.
Hearing this inhumane conversation between the two, Masaki and Tome glanced at each other, both seeing a trace of helplessness and a bitter smile in each other's eyes.
One was a mysterious Trainer who could pull out a Pseudo-Legendary at will, and the other was a Champion who had mines at home and treated rare ores as nothing; ordinary people probably really didn't understand their world.
Ariel no longer paid attention to Steven's "jealousy." He squatted down and patted Larvitar's hard head.
"Go ahead, eat as much as you want."
Having received permission, Larvitar let out a cheerful Growl and, like a cannonball leaving the barrel, charged straight at the nearest stone wall.
Its diet was very special; soil, rocks, and minerals were all things to fill its stomach.
This entire Mt. Pyre was nothing short of a gluttonous feast for it.
Legend has it that before Larvitar evolves, it needs to eat an entire mountain to accumulate enough energy.
"Crunch— Crunch—"
The crisp yet dull sound of chewing echoed in the silent tomb passage, sounding particularly abrupt.
Larvitar opened its large mouth and could bite off a basin-sized piece of stone in one go; the hard rock was as crisp as a biscuit in its mouth.
Gravel and powder fell from the corners of its mouth.
As Larvitar ate almost frantically, its level also began to increase.
Level 11... Level 12... Level 13...
Ariel was very satisfied with this. As expected, Larvitar's growth path was different from that of ordinary Pokémon.
Ordinary Pokémon need training, experience, and the cultivation of resources.
While Larvitar also needs these things, the most important is still resources!
"During the Larvitar stage, the amount of energy accumulated by eating directly determines its upper limit after evolution."
"So at this stage, the priority is to find a mountain and eat it empty."
Ariel muttered.
But seeing Larvitar feasting, the expression on Steven's face gradually became solemn.
He frowned, a hint of worry showing in those beautiful blue eyes.
"Brother Ariel,"
He hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Mt. Pyre is, after all, the public cemetery for the entire Hoenn, a place where the deceased rest in peace. Letting Larvitar eat like this... if it really eats the mountain empty, wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?"
His tone was very serious.
As a Trainer with great ambitions, he had a responsibility to maintain the peace and traditions of this land.
Hearing this, Ariel waved his hand with an indifferent smile on his face.
"Relax, the kid is still small; how much can it eat? Just think of it as helping Mt. Pyre clear out its internal structure."
Just as he finished speaking, he himself glanced toward Larvitar.
With just one glance, the smile on his face froze.
In just the time it took to say those few words, Larvitar had already gnawed a deep, bottomless hole into the solid rock wall!
The pitch-black entrance was like the mouth of a monster, with a large amount of gravel scattered around.
This efficiency was simply more exaggerated than a professional mining team, making one's eyelids twitch.
This was no child; it was clearly a small tunnel boring machine.
"Ahem."
Ariel coughed awkwardly twice, his mind spinning rapidly as he immediately thought of a way to shift attention.
He looked at Steven with a mysterious expression.
"Steven, look, although most of the stones Larvitar has eaten have gone into its stomach, there will always be some fragments left, right?"
Steven didn't understand and nodded along with his words.
Ariel continued to guide him:
"Look closely at the fractures of these fragments; aren't they more natural and pure than those we cut with tools? Maybe you can find some stones with beautiful shapes or unique internal structures inside?"
These words accurately hit Steven's soft spot.
"Is that so?"
Steven walked over half-skeptically; although his words carried a hint of doubt, his body was very honest.
He leaned down and began to search carefully around the edge of the large hole Larvitar had gnawed.
His gaze was focused and sharp, like a hawk searching for prey.
Masaki and Tome watched from a distance, feeling that this scene was unspeakably weird.
Suddenly, Steven's movements stopped.
It was as if he had discovered a new world, as he carefully picked up an unremarkable stone from a pile of gravel.
The stone was only palm-sized and looked unremarkable in the dim light. But in Steven's eyes, it surpassed ten thousand jewels.
"This... this is..."
Steven's voice was trembling. He carefully wiped the dust off the stone's surface with his sleeve, revealing a perfect five-pointed star-shaped cross-section with smooth edges and sharp corners, as if it had come from the hands of a top craftsman.
"Nature's masterpiece! This is simply nature's masterpiece!"
Steven was instantly as excited as a two-hundred-pound child. He held the five-pointed star stone, looking at it over and over, the light in his eyes brighter than the sun.
He suddenly turned back and shouted at Larvitar, his tone full of urgency and desire:
"Quick! Larvitar, keep eating! Eat faster! Just follow this direction and eat hard!"
At this moment, the peace of the public cemetery and the rest of the deceased were all thrown to the back of his mind.
In his world, only this five-pointed star stone and the possibility of more strangely shaped stones remained.
Looking at the disheveled but ecstatic Steven, Ariel smiled and shook his head.
Controlling the lifeblood of a stone fanatic is sometimes just that simple.
Inside the cave, Larvitar's gnawing sounds became more vigorous, and gravel flew everywhere.
Steven, like a diligent miner, followed behind Larvitar, constantly "treasure hunting" in the rock piles, letting out a few surprised exclamations from time to time.
The solemn and respectful atmosphere of the entire Mt. Pyre was completely ruined by these two buffoons.
Masaki and Tome were completely speechless.
Ariel looked at this scene in a great mood.
However, at this moment, an inexplicable chill quietly crawled up his spine.
It wasn't the chill in the cave, but a feeling of being watched.
Then, a strange laugh rang out around them without warning.
"Jie jie jie..."
The laugh wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear, like fingernails scratching glass, sharp and piercing.
It didn't seem to come from any specific direction; rather, it seemed to seep out from all directions, from the cracks in the rocks, and from the depths of the darkness, echoing back and forth throughout the tomb passage.
Everyone's smiles froze on their faces at this moment.
The cave instantly fell into a dead silence.
Only that faint, eerie laugh continued to echo, carrying an unspeakable malice.
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