Quincy took a deep breath, then sent a message.
"Hello, I'm Quincy, a geology scholar."
His phone vibrated, and the message was quickly answered.
This champion didn't seem aloof at all.
"Hello, I'm Steven. How much do you know about Petalburg Cave?"
Quincy's heart tightened.
He knew absolutely nothing.
How would someone who just played games and watched anime understand the real Petalburg Cave!
Quincy only knew that before long, Petalburg Cave would become Rusturf Tunnel.
And that there were Black Glasses hidden in the grass at the southeast exit. Other than that, he knew nothing.
But Quincy definitely couldn't say that directly.
His fingers quickly tapped out another line on the screen.
"I have my own unique understanding of Petalburg Cave. I'm a scholar, and in my research, I found that Mt. Rusturf was formed by geological plate movements and pressure, located at the junction of two major tectonic plates. In ancient times, this was an ocean, so we can climb the mountain directly and then dig down along the cave."
"Good, since you have so much experience, I'll follow your lead."
Quincy's typing hand froze slightly.
Steven was way too agreeable, wasn't he?
"Alright, no problem."
After sending those four words, Quincy sent another message.
"However, I don't have professional equipment. I've always used rented gear before. You might need to bring me a set."
"No problem."
Steven replied at lightning speed, as always responding with "good, good, good."
Quincy took a deep breath.
He knew deception was wrong.
But for Steven, whether it was a set of equipment or a failed stone-hunting trip, none of it really mattered.
But Quincy had to seize this opportunity to turn his life around!
Opening his mobile banking app, he glanced at his balance.
"1819.19"
Just over a thousand. It looked like he could only hike up the mountain to scout it out.
Before going, Quincy planned to search around the house to see if there was anything useful.
If not a kitchen knife, at least a steel pipe.
Quincy began exploring his home.
It had to be said, the welfare in the Pokémon world was excellent.
The originally cramped rental room had been expanded into a duplex residence with two floors.
The upper floor was an enlarged version of his cramped rental room, while the first floor had a living room, kitchen, study, and an empty room.
Quincy looked at the simple furniture and decoration in the living room, then walked into the study.
The study showed many signs of activity.
And if Quincy wasn't certain he had lived for over twenty years in his previous life and had never lived in such a high-end house with a study, he would really think this study had been used by him before.
Because the study contained many books he had once read thoroughly, the arrangement of books followed his habits, and besides that, there was a box on the desk.
The box was made of black leather and looked extraordinary.
Quincy walked to the desk and somehow opened the box.
Inside the box was a note.
"Hello, dear tenant.
As you can see, this is a gift for you.
When you read this note, I will have already left for a vacation in the Alola region.
The scenery there is picturesque, and it's like spring all year round.
I probably won't be coming back this time. As for the house, I'll leave it for you to manage.
I'll naturally collect rent on time, but other matters might need to trouble you.
So, to thank you for your help, consider these things as advance payment for your assistance.
—Your landlord"
Quincy recalled his landlord.
In his memory, he was a very cheerful old man.
Even in his previous life, in that materialistic world, the old man still managed to offer the shocking rent of 800 yuan per month in this first-tier city.
So Quincy had a very good impression of him.
"It seems I didn't just transmigrate. My interpersonal relationships were almost all brought over too."
Quincy said while moving the note aside, planning to see what surprise the landlord had prepared for him.
"This is... a Pokédex?"
Quincy picked up the first box.
It was a square, game console-like device. Pressing a button would pop out a camera.
Lighting up the screen, he could look up currently discovered Pokémon and their related information.
"A Pokédex... this thing costs tens of thousands of dollars each. The landlord really is a good person."
Quincy set the Pokédex aside, then took out a Poké Ball from the box.
It felt heavy and cold, not like it was empty.
Quincy pressed the button.
Colorful light flashed, and white light appeared beside Quincy.
The light gradually faded, and a Pokémon appeared at Quincy's side.
It looked somewhat like a smooth Godzilla, with a monster-like form and a body entirely made of aluminum alloy.
Its hands, the underside of its abdomen, and toes were all deep blue.
Quincy picked up the Pokédex.
"Lairon, the Iron Armor Pokémon. Its body is like polished metal. Although light and hard, it has the weakness of rusting easily."
Well, that was all obvious information.
Lairon was a Steel and Dragon-type Pokémon. Although its form looked large and clumsy, it was actually quite agile due to its relatively light weight.
Moreover, its base stats were extremely excellent. As a Pokémon that still had one more evolution, its base stat total was as high as 535, even higher than many Pokémon's final evolutions.
The distribution of its base stats was also relatively reasonable, with almost no weaknesses except for its 50 Special Defense.
Plus its excellent type combination and decent move pool.
It was exactly the kind Quincy ideally wanted as a main Pokémon.
Quincy never expected that his old landlord would give him a Lairon!
You had to know this thing's rarity was on par with the pseudo-legendary Tyranitar.
And most importantly, this was practically a miner's dream Pokémon. If it could evolve into Aggron, it could even prevent mine collapses.
Its Steel and Dragon typing could also handle most Pokémon encountered while mining.
Its human-sized form wouldn't be troublesome either.
Quincy felt his eyes getting moist.
This was what you called help in times of need!
"Don't worry, landlord! If any of these tenants dare not pay rent, I, Quincy, will be the first to disagree!"
"Oh right, hello Lairon, I'm Quincy."
Lairon's personality wasn't particularly good, but the Lairon in front of Quincy showed no violent tendencies.
Seeing Quincy extend his hand with goodwill, Lairon also reached out and shook hands with Quincy.
They touched hands with Lairon's hammer-like fists.
"From now on, we're partners."
Lairon realized the importance of these words and nodded.
"Lar—"
The voice was deep, and the tone sounded quite relaxed to Quincy.
Continuing to look through the box, there was a thick book.
"Petalburg Town Chronicles?"
Quincy took the heavy book from the box, and an idea formed in his mind.
After seeing the table of contents showing more than ten pages of information about Petalburg Mine, Quincy was moved to tears.