https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-390-The-Lost-Underground-Nation-Mysterious-Fossils-Are-they-Pokemon-/12537552/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-392-An-Ultra-Rare-Pokemon-a-Millionaire-Contest-is-Born-/12537554/
Chapter 391: A Bountiful Harvest of Golden Coins!
Chapter 391: A Bountiful Harvest of Golden Coins!
"What were you just doing?" Rei asked in surprise as she stopped and waited for Naoki.
Naoki pulled out a stone from his pocket, "I just found a bunch of these stones that look like gems."
Rei examined it and guessed, "It's probably some kind of ancient fossil. The tectonic movement two million years ago led to the extinction of many ancient Pokemon."
"Ancient Pokemon..." Naoki fell into deep thought.
As far as he knew, there were a total of 15 different fossil Pokemon that had been discovered so far.
There was Omanyte, Kabuto, and Aerodactyl from the Kanto region; Anorith and Archeops from Hoenn; Cranidos and Shieldon from Sinnoh.
And then there were corresponding fossil Pokemon in the Unova, Kalos, and Galar regions as well.
Only the Alola and Pasio regions didn't have any fossil Pokemon.
"These ancient stones are extremely valuable to fossil enthusiasts!" Rei smiled, "I suggest you keep it safe. If you have the chance in the future, you can trade it with other collectors."
Naoki thought about it and agreed.
Moreover, Pasio didn't have any institutions to revive fossils. If he wanted to revive this fossil, he would have to go to the Kanto or Hoenn region.
However, he didn't have much time for that now. In a few days, his Eevee egg would hatch, and he would need to take care of the newborn Eevee.
Since that was the case, he decided to keep the stone safely stored away for now and revive it later when he had the opportunity.
He wondered if the technology to revive fossils had become more accessible over time.
The two continued on their way and soon arrived at the entrance of the ruined castle.
The steps leading up to the castle were full of cracks and covered in debris and dust.
Rei walked up and gently touched the stairs, brushing away the dust that clung to her fingers.
"It seems like no one has been here for a long time," she said. "Good, I don't have to worry about someone getting to what I want before me."
She then looked up at the castle ruins standing tall in the darkness and smiled, "Let's go. First, I need to find the secret chamber used by the Pasio Empire to store confidential information."
Naoki nodded and followed her up the ancient steps. After passing through a broken archway, they officially entered the castle grounds.
Compared to the outside, the buildings within were reduced to piles of rubble, a testament to the destructive power of the calamity-level Pokemon from the Pasio Empire.
Their designation as calamities was indeed fitting.
Just then, Naoki heard rustling sounds coming from behind them.
As he turned to look, Golurk reacted even faster.
"Ahga!"
With a roar, a wave of oppressive aura surged from Golurk, and a strong gust of wind blew back the Noctowl that were trying to sneak up on them.
Naoki accidentally made eye contact with one of the Noctowl, and a chill ran down his spine.
"Be careful! Noctowl absorb human bioenergy. Avoid eye contact with them if possible!" Rei warned.
Naoki snapped out of his daze and quickly scanned their surroundings. There were eight Noctowl in total, lurking in the shadows, rarely seen by humans.
Even with Golurk's display of power, the effect on them was minimal.
As the Noctowl drew closer, Naoki gave a quiet command, "Flamethrower!"
"Ahga!"
Golurk immediately opened its mouth, and a torrent of fiery energy surged forth, engulfing the Noctowl in a blazing inferno.
The Noctowl screeched in pain and finally retreated into the darkness, their fear of the flames overcoming their desire for an easy meal.
"Be careful. It seems like there are other Pokemon here besides Noctowl!" Rei said, having received a message from her Solrock.
"Got it!" Naoki nodded.
Rei surveyed their surroundings, studying the structure of the place. "This is the entrance to the castle. Based on the architecture of that time, the main keep of the castle should be further up!"
The two continued upward, with Rei leading the way and navigating their path.
Naoki and Golurk stayed vigilant, keeping an eye out for any Pokemon that might ambush them in this desolate place.
As a tomb raider and history teacher, Rei seemed to have a deep understanding of the past.
Gradually, they reached a small wooden door next to the castle's main hall.
"This is it!" Rei exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she gazed at the door.
Just as she was about to rush forward and push open the door to uncover the secrets within, Naoki noticed movement in the piles of rubble on either side of the path.
One of the Claydol's heads kept turning, its eyes glowing yellow as it locked its attention solely on Rei inside the secret chamber.
That Claydol suddenly unleashed its full power and charged at Rei with its right fist raised high.
"Watch out!" Naoki shouted. Golurk, standing next to him, immediately rushed forward and used Dragon Tail to repel the attacking Claydol.
Rei's Solrock faced off against the other Claydol.
As a Dark-type Pokemon, Solrock had an inherent type advantage over the Claydol.
Although the battle didn't end as swiftly as Golurk's, Solrock's agility and type advantage quickly overcame the Claydol.
The defeated Claydol's eyes dimmed, their bodies falling still.
Only then did Rei heave a sigh of relief. "That was close. Good thing you're here; looks like I made the right choice."
Naoki gestured forward with his chin. "Let's focus on the task at hand."
"Yeah!"
Rei stepped forward and pushed open the door.
Naoki peered inside from the doorway. It seemed like this place was once used to store books and archives.
Dusty tomes and yellowing scrolls lay scattered on the ground, and Rei eagerly dove in, searching for information related to the Calamity Treasures.
With nothing else to do, Naoki sat on the steps leading to the castle's main hall with Golurk by his side, waiting.
During the wait, Naoki took out the "gemstone" he had found earlier and idly played with it.
Golurk stared at the stone, its gaze unwavering.
Naoki raised an eyebrow. "Golurk, do you know what this is?"
"Ahga..." Golurk seemed uncertain.
Naoki realized that Golurk didn't know what it was either.
He had thought that Golurk, being from the past, might have some knowledge about it.
Now that he thought about it, the stone didn't really look like a fossil after cleaning. Instead, it resembled a gem, somewhat like amber.
"Maybe I can turn this into a pendant and wear it as an accessory?" Naoki mused.
He held the stone up to his neck, imagining how it would look. Aside from being a bit large, it actually suited him quite well.
Just then, he heard Rei's excited voice from behind.
"I found it! The scroll that mentions the Calamity Treasures! With this, I can locate those four Calamity Pokemon!"
Naoki turned around. Remembering the legend of the Calamity Treasures, he asked, "Are you sure you want to unseal them? What if, after the seals are broken, those Pokemon go berserk and bring disaster to the Pasio region?"
"Umm..." Rei faltered.
Naoki's reminder made her think of something.
According to the legend, the four Calamity Treasures, whose true forms were Pokemon, had transformed into their calamitous states by absorbing humans' desires and greed.
With this in mind, Rei quickly lowered her head to scrutinize the contents inscribed on the scroll.
Being well-versed in ancient texts, it didn't take her long to decipher the writing.
The scroll mentioned that the king had invited a renowned Pokemon Tamer to suppress the four Pokemon.
The Tamer had used eight stakes to restrain the Calamity Pokemon and seal them away in four separate shrines.
"Those with greedy hearts must not break the seals, lest the calamities return to plague the world. Only when one with a pure heart breaks the seals will the Calamity Treasures reveal their true forms," Rei murmured, reciting the ancient text.
Only one with a pure heart could break the seals...
Was she such a person? She coughed awkwardly. Well, probably not. Her motive for seeking the Calamity Treasures was to possess and collect them for herself.
Rei felt a bit embarrassed, but having come this far, she couldn't just give up.
She put away the scroll and turned to Naoki, who was waiting patiently. "Ahem, I'm done with my business here. Now, let's get to work collecting those gold coins for you! If I'm not mistaken, the path to the treasury should be over here!"
Naoki glanced at the scroll in Rei's hand but didn't ask further questions.
After all, his goal for this trip was simply to help Cofagrigus collect enough ancient gold coins to evolve into a Runerigus.
The two of them made their way along the dilapidated path, traversing most of the ruins until they reached the castle's treasury.
Perhaps as an anti-theft measure, the treasury door and walls were constructed from an extremely sturdy material.
Over the millennia, neither rain nor groundwater had managed to erode them, and the place remained intact.
The door was locked, and Naoki was about to ask Golurk to break it down when he saw Rei take out a small metal piece from her bag and fiddle with the lock.
"Damn!" Naoki exclaimed, his eyes glued to the mound of gold coins.
Rei stood at the doorway, smiling, "It looks like your wish is about to come true as well!"
Thinking about the soon-to-be-born billionaire, Naoki couldn't help but grin. He then walked forward with Golurk, beginning to stuff the gold coins into his bag.
After filling his bag, he paused and lay down on the pile of gold coins.
Rei: "?"
Closing his eyes, Naoki said, "I've always wondered what it would feel like to sleep on a pile of treasure, like in the movies."
Rei asked, trying to hold back her laughter, "So, did you find out?"
"Yeah." Naoki sat up, "It's hard and uncomfortable."
"Pfft!" Rei giggled.
Naoki then resumed filling his bag with the golden coins.
Aside from the dazzling pile of gold coins, there were other treasures as well, such as golden crowns, necklaces, pigeon-egg-sized rubies, and a golden royal scepter.
Naoki wasn't interested in these items; the crown and scepter might have been used by deceased kings, and the thought of owning such items made him feel uncomfortable.
Thus, Naoki spoke up, "I only want the gold coins. You can have the rest."
"You don't want them?" Rei asked, surprised. Her eyes scanned the room, and she added, "This golden scepter, for example, could fetch a price of several tens of millions on the outside market."
Several tens of millions?
Hearing this figure, Naoki's heart stirred slightly.
But as he lifted his head and met Rei's meaningful gaze, he suddenly understood.
This girl was testing him! When Rei had recited the contents of the scroll earlier, she hadn't turned her back to him, so Naoki had also heard the part about only those with pure hearts being able to unseal the Calamity Treasures.
Would he choose a lifetime of wealth or the four Calamity Pokemon?
Without a moment's hesitation, Naoki had his answer.
He wanted the Calamity Treasures; he wanted to possess a Snow Leopard Pokemon of his own! Thus, he firmly refused the other treasures, "No thanks, I'll just take the gold coins."
After all, that had been his goal for this trip.
Hearing this, Rei's face lit up with realization, and she sighed, "What determination... Alright, I understand. In that case, I'll take these, then. Once I've thoroughly studied these scrolls back home, I might need your help again. I'll be counting on you then!"
"Sure." Naoki smiled and nodded.
The underground ruins exploration came to a successful end, and Naoki and Rei made their way back through the underground cave, returning to the vast Hoenn Desert.
By now, the sky had brightened, signaling the arrival of a new day.
Exhausted from their all-nighter, the duo looked weary.
Rei drove them back to Bottle Cap City, where they parted ways at the intersection.
Rei asked, "What are your plans now?"
Yawning, Naoki replied, "I'm going home to get some good sleep. What about you?"
"I'll find a hotel to get some rest, too. Thanks for your help this time. Let's collaborate again if we have the chance. See you!" With a wave, Rei turned and soon disappeared into the bustling streets of Bottle Cap City.
Naoki, on the other hand, mounted Golurk and began their journey back to the ranch.
Golurk was also feeling sleepy, so it flew at its fastest speed to get home sooner.
In less than ten minutes, they arrived at the ranch.
Back home, Naoki released all his Pokemon from their Poke Balls.
Naoki had intended to give the bag of gold coins to Cofagrigus but was too tired to do so. He tossed the bag into the living room and went straight to his room to fall asleep.
Drowsily, Naoki felt something hard and poking in his pocket. He closed his hand around it, took it out, and tossed it aside before falling into a deep slumber.
Soon after, Big Brother Butler came in with a cup of warm milk.
Seeing that Naoki was already asleep, Big Brother Butler didn't disturb him.
It picked up the scattered clothes on the floor and prepared to put them in the washing machine.
Just as Big Brother Butler turned to leave, it spotted the stone that Naoki had tossed aside.
Big Brother Butler picked up the stone and left the room, placing it in the item pile that Naoki used to store Everstones, Fire Stones, Water Stones, and other similar items.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
