Teacher Boo wasn't the type to dawdle.
When he heard Himeko ask that, he went straight to the point and stated his purpose.
"I still have two Key Stones."
"By analyzing the ancient genes contained in the Key Stones, I selected the two Pokémon that are the most suitable."
"One is Lopunny, and one is Gardevoir."
After Teacher Boo finished speaking, he paused.
His gaze shifted to Himeko's Gardevoir and Lopunny not far away.
When he first arrived at this conclusion, the first thing that came to mind was naturally Himeko's two Pokémon.
"I've already reported this. Tomorrow morning, the Minister from Military Headquarters will come personally to examine my research results."
"When tomorrow comes, either I'll use these two Key Stones on the Pokémon they bring over, or I'll find two Pokémon myself and run a test demonstration."
"So…"
When Teacher Boo got to this point, he didn't continue.
His meaning was already crystal clear.
He'd come to Himeko precisely to use these two Key Stones on her Gardevoir and Lopunny.
In his view, his research had succeeded, with no hidden risks whatsoever.
Since that was the case—
Such a chance to raise one's strength for free should obviously be given to someone he was more familiar with, like Himeko-chan, rather than to whatever Pokémon Headquarters brought.
What's more…
The reason his research results could break through so quickly was entirely thanks to GeoGreymon.
Using these two Evolution Key Stones on Lopunny and Gardevoir also counted as a return and a thank-you.
"Okay."
Himeko nodded and agreed.
With an opportunity like this to push her strength even further, there was no way she would refuse.
Lopunny and Gardevoir naturally wouldn't refuse either.
"Then it's settled! Tomorrow morning—see you at the institute!"
The moment Teacher Boo saw Himeko agree, he immediately let out a sigh of relief and broke into a smile.
To be honest, he hadn't expected Himeko to respond this quickly.
Teacher Boo stood up and took a couple of steps toward the door—
Then suddenly turned back.
"Almost forgot something!"
As he spoke, he reached into the pocket of his white lab coat and took out another Key Stone.
"This Evolution Key Stone is for you. It's Charizard's."
"It's the one I showed you before—the Key Stone that lets Charizard evolve into that blue-black form."
"I don't know whether GeoGreymon can evolve through a Key Stone."
"But the evolution factor inside his body still hasn't stabilized. It's pretty chaotic—so it might be useful to him too."
"When you see him, you can try it."
As he spoke, Teacher Boo handed Himeko a smooth, round little sphere about the size of a bottle cap.
The whole thing was blue.
Around its middle was wrapped a ring of black banding.
Himeko brought it close to her eyes, examined it, then nodded and carefully put it away.
She knew how precious Key Stones were.
Especially now, when the research team under him had achieved such a breakthrough.
Every Key Stone could be called priceless.
And yet, under these circumstances, Teacher Boo still deliberately saved one for Shiko.
The old man really was more than decent.
"Thank you."
Looking at Teacher Boo, Himeko said those two words from the bottom of her heart.
No matter whether this Evolution Key Stone would ultimately be useful for Shiko or not—
She would remember this kindness.
"What are you being polite for?"
Teacher Boo chuckled.
With both hands tucked into his lab coat pockets, he hummed a little tune and strode away in big steps.
…
At the same time.
Inside Dragon Valley.
Three months had passed.
And Shiko's situation was about what he'd predicted.
By working hard and diligently completing his daily quests every single day, he had already crossed the peak of Gym level.
His level had reached early-stage quasi–Elite Four at level 52.
And beyond that—
Over these three months, he'd gained other harvests as well.
Aisa's Dragonite—unbelievably battle-hungry—had relied on Shiko's overwhelming dragon might and perfectly embodied what it meant to be a shameless lackey.
It drove off an Elite Four–level Dragon-type Pokémon that occupied one of Dragon Valley's peaks: Druddigon.
Just like that, it successfully took the mountain and became a "mountain king" there together with Shiko.
And Shiko?
He also reaped a benefit.
That mass of Dragon-type energy crystal Druddigon had seized back then naturally fell into Shiko's hands now.
The one Druddigon had was far bigger than the one Shiko had gotten from Drampa before.
Drampa's was only about half a fist in size.
Druddigon's was almost a full fist!
Not only that—
After Dragonite became the "mountain king," it didn't forget who dug the well after it drank the water.
It even diligently helped Shiko collect the other small fragments of crystal held by various weaker Dragon-type Pokémon within the territory controlled by this peak.
After all, Dragonite understood this much:
If Shiko's powerful dragon might hadn't been there back then to intimidate all those restless Elite Four–level Dragon-type Pokémon on the other peaks…
There was absolutely no way Dragonite could've taken a peak so easily and claimed it as its own turf.
With all those energy crystals added together—
In the end, they actually let Shiko raise the Dragon-type law within his body to five percent in just three months!
It didn't sound like much.
But Shiko was already very satisfied with this result.
Moreover—
The current five percent, compared with the mere two percent from three months ago…
The amount of Dragon-type energy stored in his body and the degree of control he had over it were completely not on the same level.
It was the difference between heaven and earth.
Just five percent—
And Shiko already felt a surging sense of power, to the point where he sometimes swelled up and felt like he was almost invincible.
He couldn't even imagine what kind of existence he would become…
Once he truly mastered a full one hundred percent of the Dragon-type law.
"Roaaar!!"
With a low, rumbling roar, Shiko rose upright on the summit.
His draconic eyes looked toward the deepest part of the entire valley—
Toward that highest peak, the one continuously overflowing with unimaginably powerful Dragon-type energy.
With his current self…
He should be able to break in and take a look.
Quasi–Elite Four strength.
Plus five percent mastery of attribute law.
Shiko was no longer the Shiko from three months ago.
He had the confidence to withstand that terrifying suffocating pressure.
In the sky, the sound of wingbeats rang out.
A yellow streak like a shooting star swept across the heavens and stopped in front of Shiko.
"Let's go. It's time."
Shiko looked at the Dragonite hovering in midair and spoke.
The moment it heard that—
Excitement immediately poured into Dragonite's eyes.
Finally?
After three months, they were going back there again!
This time…
They should be able to succeed, right?
Feeling the fierce aura waves coming off Shiko's body, Dragonite was excited—
Yet in its heart, it couldn't help but mutter one word.
Monster.
During these three months together, it hadn't seen Shiko seriously train even once.
Nor had it seen him battle at all.
What Shiko did every day—
Was either sleep and sunbathe,
Or wander around to patrol his territory,
Or find a Dragon Scale Fruit tree and eat until full.
In short: leisurely and laid-back to the extreme.
By comparison—
Dragonite hadn't slackened at all these three months.
It trained honestly and diligently.
It had even clashed and fought with quite a few Elite Four–level Dragon-type Pokémon throughout the valley.
And even so—
It had only managed to raise its level by two.
Now look at Shiko.
He'd jumped straight from Gym level to quasi–Elite Four!
That leveling speed…
Could only be described with one word: absurd.
Shiko didn't have the mind to guess what Dragonite was thinking.
Right now, all his attention—
Was fixed on that mysterious peak at the very center of the valley.
Shiko once again set out with Dragonite,
Stepping onto the road toward the deep inner mountain.
Along the way—
Shiko once again felt those hidden, obscure gazes landing on him from the shadows.
Without question, just like three months ago—
They were those Elite Four–level Pokémon quietly spying on his movements from the dark.
But compared to back then—
In their eyes now, you could clearly sense a strong emotion of wariness.
Before long—
Shiko and Dragonite once again arrived near the foot of that peak.
A powerful oppressive force and dragon might slammed into them head-on.
Dragonite did everything it could to resist that aura.
Three months of training—
Finally showed its effect.
Compared to last time, it advanced several more meters before it could no longer withstand the pressure and hit its limit.
It could visibly feel its own progress.
Dragonite's heart couldn't help but feel a bit smug—
But when it looked at Shiko, it froze.
Shiko strode forward at a brisk pace.
As if he wasn't affected by the aura at all.
With almost no pause—
In the blink of an eye, he reached the base of the peak.
For an instant—
Dragonite's gaze toward Shiko became even more wary and cautious.
Three months…
And he'd advanced this much?
Quasi–Elite Four strength…
And he could withstand such terrifying pressure?
Dragonite stared blankly at Shiko's figure, filled with a helpless feeling of "dragon to dragon—and it still makes you want to die."
At the foot of the mountain, Shiko stopped, then glanced back and gave Dragonite a look.
Dragonite nodded.
It flapped its wings and left.
It couldn't get in anyway.
Staying here wouldn't help.
There was no need to stand here and forcibly endure this overwhelming pressure.
Watching Dragonite leave—
Shiko continued forward alone.
At the foot of the mountain, there was a small path leading all the way up toward the summit.
The instant Shiko stepped onto it—
That powerful dragon might covering his entire body and making him feel uncomfortable vanished all at once.
It felt like he had crossed the edge of a barrier.
Everything around him returned to normal.
Shiko let out a soft sound of surprise, his heart filling with curiosity.
He followed the mountain path upward.
On both sides of the road were withered trees that towered into the clouds.
No leaves.
Only bare trunks and branches.
Everything looked deathly and bleak.
When he reached the mountainside—
The path suddenly ended.
The end wasn't what Shiko had expected, a direct route to the summit.
Instead, it was a huge, naturally split cave mouth.
Shiko moved closer—
And immediately felt a fierce aura of Dragon-type energy surging out from deep within.
Something was wrong here.
Shiko's heart jolted.
Without any hesitation, he entered the cave mouth.
After entering the passage—
By looking at the marks along the stone walls, Shiko judged that although the cave entrance itself was naturally formed, the inside had been excavated and constructed later.
Smooth stone walls.
A floor paved with stone bricks.
Everything proclaimed traces of activity that had once happened here.
Wait.
Was it really humans who had been active here?
Shiko raised his head and looked at the ceiling, a doubt suddenly forming.
If this passage really had been carved out by people—
Then why was it built so tall?
So tall that even Shiko, a massive Pokémon nearly four meters long, could easily pass in and out?
If it were a tunnel dug for humans, two or three meters of height would be more than enough.
Digging it this high would be nothing but a waste of labor and resources.
Unless…
Noticing this unusual point, a bold guess surfaced in Shiko's mind.
Maybe this passage wasn't dug by humans at all—
But carved out by Pokémon?
Very possible.
Shiko's gaze turned toward the depths of the dim passage.
The more he looked, the more certain he became.
There was something special inside this mountain.
The tunnel slanted downward.
It also bent many times—after a few steps, there would be another turn.
He had no idea how far he'd walked or how many meters he'd descended—
Until the aura beside him began to rise wildly and rapidly.
Only then did Shiko reach the deepest part.
At the end of the passage was a massive cavern.
So huge that Shiko felt as if the mountain's entire body had nearly been hollowed out.
The cavern was remarkably bright, filled with a terrifying high heat that was hard to endure.
That was because—
At the back of the cavern was an ocean-like lake of molten lava, constantly rolling and releasing heat.
Stepping into the cavern, Shiko noticed the layout—
And his heart instantly jolted.
There were enormous tools placed here.
Giant hammers, giant clamps, and all kinds of heavy forging implements.
At first glance—
This place looked like the smithy of a giant blacksmith.
Without question—
None of these things were meant for humans to use!
Shiko's eyes slowly swept across those massive tools.
With all the clues combined—
An astonishing guess suddenly took shape in his mind.
A gigantic Pokémon…?
What?
Could it be the legendary giant war golem?
Could it be…
This place once belonged to…
…
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]