Looking at these Diamond Spirits, each resembling small Carbink, Akira suddenly wondered—what would happen if they met Diancie?
With that thought, a flash of pink diamond light shimmered, and Diancie's graceful figure appeared before Akira.
Diancie tilted her head slightly, gazing curiously at the Diamond Spirits.
Perhaps due to their similar appearances, Diancie felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with them.
The moment the three Diamond Guardians clearly saw Diancie, their expressions changed dramatically, and they exclaimed in excitement.
"Your Majesty?!"
At the same time, every Diamond Spirit's body began glowing with a bright yet gentle radiance.
Like oversized light bulbs.
This was a gesture the Diamond Spirits reserved only for their Diamond Spirit King.
It was their way of paying respects to their ruler.
They had mistaken Diancie for their Diamond Spirit King!
"Your... Majesty?"
Ging was momentarily stunned, his eyes darting between Diancie and the crowd of Diamond Spirits.
He wasn't the only one—the others reacted the same way.
Indeed, from appearance alone, Akira's Aura Beast bore a striking resemblance to these Diamond Spirits.
Both shared diamond-like features, though the Diamond Spirits had fewer crystalline formations.
Diancie's body had a higher proportion of diamonds, and they were far more eye-catching.
Not only was her color a distinct bright pink, unlike the Diamond Spirits...
She also wore a crown composed of four octahedral diamonds and two elongated diamond prongs.
Above her head, a round pink diamond gleamed brilliantly.
Diancie's size was also slightly larger than that of the Diamond Spirits, comparable to the Diamond Guards.
Yet the auras they exuded were entirely different.
It could be considered as vast as the difference between clouds and mud.
The Diamond Guards' strength was roughly at the S-rank, while Diancie, as a Mythical Pokémon, was a solid SS-rank.
At levels like S-rank and SS-rank, even a minor stage difference represented a massive gap.
Not to mention the two were separated by an entire major stage.
Akira was somewhat surprised—he hadn't expected simply releasing Diancie to provoke such an intense reaction.
The cavern, as a production site for Gemstone Power, was already extremely bright, with diamond radiance shining everywhere.
Now, the Diamond Spirits were glowing like lightbulbs, one after another, emitting strong light.
This made the cavern even brighter—any more, and it might become impossible to see anything.
It was almost like setting off a flashbang.
But that wasn't the main issue.
Rather, the reaction of the Diamond Spirits and the words of the Diamond Guards sparked a brilliant idea in Akira's mind.
He had already considered taking the Diamond Spirits with him—after all, their abilities were incredibly useful.
Not only were the Gemstone Power and accompanying ores they created beneficial for Steelix,
but if Meowth later mastered the Bone Clan's forging techniques, they would need raw materials—namely, those rare ores.
With the Diamond Spirits, it would be like possessing an endless supply of precious minerals.
There'd be no need to exhaust oneself scouring the Dark Continent just to find a few specific ores.
Moreover, the ores created by the Diamond Spirits could serve other purposes.
These mystical minerals could work wonders across various industries in human society.
So the demand would undoubtedly be high.
Though he wasn't short on money and had no need to sell the ores,
they could still play a significant role in his plans.
All in all, the Diamond Spirits were a highly valuable species, well worth recruiting.
And it wouldn't even require much effort—just providing them with a rocky area or a mountain,
a safe environment where they could live peacefully.
In return, they could continuously supply Gemstone Power and other rare ores.
Like an inexhaustible gold mine.
Such a peaceful place might be extremely rare in the Dark Continent, but the Six Continents had no shortage of them.
With just a little thought, he could name several suitable locations to relocate the Diamond Spirits.
Originally, he had planned to take them to a safer place, given the dangers of the Dark Continent,
in exchange for them periodically providing some ores.
But now, he had a better option.
The Diamond Spirits were similar to the Stone Giant species—both were hierarchical in nature.
For example, Stone Giants were classified by their evolutionary stage, such as size and color, ranging from Rock, Silver, to Golden Giants.
Judging by Jin's final form, it seemed Stone Giants could achieve even higher evolutionary stages.
In other words, their current upper limit appeared to reach SS- rank.
A species with decent potential.
The Diamond Spirits were the same, but their sense of hierarchy was even more pronounced and strictly observed.
The hierarchy among the Stone Giants seemed to stem more from respect for strength.
If a mutated Rock Giant possessed S-rank or even higher power, it would still be revered by the Silver Giants or even the Golden Giants.
The Diamond Spirits were different.
Their king was a supreme existence, the most important figure in their hearts—a belief deeply ingrained within them.
Moreover, the birth of the Diamond Spirit King was intrinsically tied to them.
Only by gathering a large number of Diamond Spirits and combining their abilities could a Diamond Spirit King be nurtured from the rocks.
Without their king, a group of Diamond Spirits would be like a ship without a rudder, unable to unleash their true power.
Coincidentally, Diancie's appearance, abilities, and even the aura it exuded closely resembled that of the Diamond Spirit King.
Thus, all the Diamond Spirits and Diamond Guardians regarded Diancie as their king and pledged their allegiance.
Akira cast a deep glance at the adorable Diancie, silently adjusting his plans in his mind.
Diancie could perfectly serve as the new Diamond Spirit King, leading these Diamond Spirits.
Whether led by Diancie or by himself, the group would ultimately be under his control.
Compared to the original plan, the chances of success were now significantly higher.
However, there were still some issues—whether they would truly accept Diancie as their king, and whether they could communicate with each other.
A few moments later, the glow from the Diamond Spirits dimmed in unison, and the cavern returned to its original brightness.
Yet, perhaps because they had grown accustomed to the brighter light, everyone felt the cavern had darkened, though it was merely an illusion.
The elderly Diamond Spirit raised its head and asked Diancie in a puzzled tone,
"Are you... our king?"
Once the initial shock of their first meeting faded, the aged Diamond Guardian quickly realized something was amiss.
It knew exactly how the king of their kind was born.
Without exaggeration, given their current abilities, they were utterly incapable of nurturing a king to lead them.
Nor did they have any lost king or other kin wandering outside.
Thus, this figure before them was not their true monarch—merely one whose appearance and aura bore an uncanny resemblance.
Diancie blinked, sensing the unique sound waves from the Diamond Guardian.
After a brief pause, it responded slowly,
"I am not of your kind... but I can feel that we are very similar."
In just a few moments, Diancie had deciphered the sound wave communication and replied in the same language.
Simultaneously, its words were translated by the device, allowing Akira and the others to understand.
Akira was momentarily taken aback—not by Diancie's words, but by another thought.
Meowth's translation device could interpret the languages of other creatures.
Could it also translate Pokémon speech?
If so, it would effectively mean his Pokémon could "speak" human language.
Unfortunately, the translation device's output was uniformly mechanical in tone.
It would be far better if it could mimic the voices of different creatures—for instance, producing a cute voice when Diancie spoke.
After listening to Diancie's words, the elderly Diamond Guard showed a conflicted expression before turning to its two companions beside it.
Having received their agreement, it then looked back at Diancie—and by extension, Akira and the others.
It could tell that this creature, who resembled their race's monarch, was deeply connected to those bone-like beings.
Especially the one leading them.
"Might we ask a favor of you?"
"We wish to follow this esteemed one, accompanying her as subordinates."
...
The situation unfolded far more smoothly than Akira had anticipated.
He hadn't even needed to speak—the Diamond Guards had taken the initiative to request to follow Diancie.
Which, in effect, meant following him.
This was also the unanimous decision the three Diamond Guards had reached after careful consideration.
First, their numbers were few, and after enduring prolonged exploitation, they could no longer muster much strength.
Producing a true monarch for their race was an exceedingly difficult task.
Achieving that would require a great deal more time.
During that period, they would struggle to protect themselves.
If they encountered another crisis like this, they would be powerless to resist.
By staying with their powerful saviors, their chances of survival would be much higher.
Yet none of these were the true deciding factor.
What truly cemented their resolve was Diancie's overwhelming aura of gemstones, her pure essence, and her unfathomable power!
With a ruler like her leading them, their development would accelerate.
Moreover, by accompanying their saviors, they could also repay their debt of gratitude—contributing in whatever ways they could.
After weighing all these factors, the Diamond Guards had made their request.
And so, Akira effortlessly added this invaluable race to his collection.
This also served as a reminder to him.
It was true that the Dark Continent was fraught with danger.
And it was also true that it held countless bizarre and wondrous Hopes.
But for him, gains didn't necessarily have to be Hopes—even unique species could be just as valuable.
Take the Diamond Spirits, for example.
Their abilities were comparable to Hopes, and acquiring them was akin to obtaining Hopes.
Moreover, these were Hopes in endless supply, as they could continuously produce precious ores.
The Diamond Spirits were just one such example—perhaps there were other species capable of yielding rare plants?
Or creatures that could secrete highly concentrated, energy-rich fluids?
The Dark Continent was vast.
Any manner of strange creatures could exist.
Some, like the malicious Treants, were hostile by nature, while others, like the Diamond Spirits, preferred peace and stability.
So, in the future, if he encountered similar species, he could consider taking them along as well.
For those with useful abilities but troublesome dispositions, Nihilego could make an appearance.
Nihilego's toxins could subdue other creatures, turning them into obedient puppets under his control.
Since both sides were in agreement, things proceeded without a hitch.
Akira first introduced them to the Network Space, then had them settle there for the time being.
After all, though the Diamond Spirit colony wasn't massive, it still numbered several dozen.
A radiant procession like theirs marching across the wilderness would be far too conspicuous.
Keeping them in the Digital world was the most practical solution.
Once they returned to the Six Continents, he could then find a suitable location for them to settle and produce ores.
According to Akira's estimation, they would most likely be heading back soon.
The Diamond Spirits had been taken away, and naturally, Akira didn't overlook the entire cavern chamber either.
After all, there were still plenty of unexcavated Gemstone Power and other ores inside.
For example, the Gasification Stone was among them.
Akira took one out to test it, and it behaved exactly as described by the Pokedex Ability.
Once the fist-sized Gasification Stone was extracted from the Stone Wall, it visibly shrank at a rapid pace.
In the end, it completely vanished, dissipating into the air as gas.
The cavern chamber might have been a bit large, but Porygon-Z could still handle it.
All they needed to do was partition the outer section of the chamber beforehand, then divide the inner walls into smaller segments to load into the Network Space.
Thoughtfully considering that the Diamond Spirits would still need to "eat" in the Network Space, Akira also made sure to pack plenty of rocks inside.
With the Diamond Spirits settled, Steelix had also finished its meal.
After devouring three Golden Giants, Steelix's strength had reached S+ rank.
Once it finished off the remaining Stone Giants, Steelix was just a hair's breadth away from SS- rank.
All it needed was to consume some more Gemstone Power, and it would easily break through to SS- rank.
By then, Steelix's power would surge dramatically!
Akira could hardly imagine just how far this Shiny Alpha Steelix, with its multitude of ore-based abilities, could grow in the end.
Finally, Akira didn't forget to take the items from Jin's chamber as well.
A throne embedded with numerous gemstones?
Take it!
Murals depicting the surrounding terrain?
Take them!
As for books and other items, needless to say, they were all taken too.
Every last valuable item was packed up and hauled away.
And with that, they would leave this place behind, setting off toward their next destination—
The marshlands where the ultimate longevity food, Nitro Rice, could be found!
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