With the Salamence leader's permission secured, Alex moved freely through Area 25.
Ditto—currently maintaining his Golem form—took the lead. His heavy stone body blended naturally with the terrain as he advanced through the mineral-rich corridors. Every few steps he stopped, crouched, and examined rocks roughly the size of a Key Stone or Mega Stone.
He was thorough.
Anything that showed even a faint crystalline irregularity was dug out, cleaned, and inspected. Most were worthless—ordinary mineral deposits shaped by erosion.
But persistence paid off.
After several hours of searching and excavation, Ditto finally uncovered one Mega Stone and two additional Key Stones hidden within a dense vein of compressed rock.
Alex stored them carefully.
That brought his total to eight Mega Stones—one of them already compatible with Scizor—and seven Key Stones.
A Luxurious collection.
He already knew that in the future, the Mega Stones he could not personally use would sell for an astronomical amount.
A Mega Stone didn't merely grant evolution. It effectively raised a Pokémon's combat capability by five levels and added a direct statistical enhancement on top of that. In practical terms, a properly utilized Mega Evolution could make a Pokémon feel eight or even nine levels stronger.
In a world where even a two-level gap could decide life or death, that kind of jump was absurd.
The market would go insane for it. If he ever chose to sell. Each Megastone was so valuable that it was a crucial decision whether to sell one or two of them.
A Mega Stone was more than just currency. It was power. Not abstract influence. Not symbolic status. Real, measurable power. Power he could place directly into the hands of someone he trusted.
Steven. Maria. Maybe even Daniel and Elise in the future.
A single Mega Stone could elevate a Pokémon by 8 or 9 levels in raw capability. In practice, that meant turning a close fight into a decisive victory. Turning a dangerous mission into a manageable one.
Or turning survival into certainty.
Selling one would bring absurd money but Alex don't really need that much money.
But giving one away?
That could create something far more valuable than profit.
Loyalty. Strength within his circle.
Insurance that the people standing beside him would not fall behind. Alex understood something most trainers didn't:
Wealth was useful but Power was the most imported
Power distributed correctly was strategic correct. And Mega Stones were the kind of assets that could shape the balance of an entire region if placed in the right hands.
The decision to sell one—or to keep it—would never be about just money.
He's already found another way to raise money, even if it's a bit slower. Alex still needs money, but it's not as urgent as it was at the beginning.
After Alex and his Pokemon had searched Area 25, He began looking for a new area for the group to go to next.
While Alex studied the map, deciding their next route through Meteor Falls, Crobat and Scizor drifted a few steps away from the group.
Which, historically, meant trouble.
The others didn't even look up.
They were used to it.
Crobat folded his wings dramatically and squinted at Scizor. "Hey, you Tin-Can Ninja, why did you just give me that weird look? What's wrong with you?"
Scizor's metallic claws tightened with an audible clink. "What are you talking about, you Discount Dracula? Do you seriously think I'd waste my time staring at an overweight bat?"
Crobat froze mid-hover.
"…Overweight?"
He descended slowly until he was eye-level with Scizor.
"I weigh less than you, you Red Recycling Bin."
Scizor gave a dry, metallic chuckle. "Impressive. You weigh less and still look twice as wide. You have my deepest sympathy for being born a Four-Winged Mistake."
Crobat's wings flared out in outrage. "Excuse me? At least I can fly and glide without sounding like someone shaking a toolbox down the stairs!"
Scizor stepped forward, wings twitching. "At least I don't look like a cave decoration that learned how to scream."
A small psychic sigh echoed nearby.
Gardevoir leaned slightly toward Umbreon. "Sister… am I imagining things, or are these insults new?"
Umbreon blinked slowly, watching the two with the tired expression of someone who had seen this pattern a hundred times.
"You're right. These are new. Creative… but excessively hostile."
Ditto, currently still in his Golem form, rumbled from behind them. "Oh? You mean Red Recycling Bin and Four-Winged Mistake? I thought those were inspired."
Blaziken crossed her arms. "Brother, what are you talking about? Those are A+ nicknames. Efficient. Direct. Emotionally devastating."
Umbreon stared at her. "A bit too devastating. They both look like they're about to start fighting."
Crobat and Scizor were now nose-to-claw, glaring.
Blaziken shrugged.
"And this is new?"
She glanced over at Alex, who hadn't even lifted his eyes from the map.
"Relax. The two big brothers would never actually attack each other."
At that exact moment, Crobat hissed, "Say that again, you glorified nutcracker."
Scizor's claws snapped once. "Gladly, you overweight bat."
The rest of the team collectively ignored them.
Luxio used the chaos between Crobat and Scizor as the perfect distraction.
While the two were busy inventing new psychological warfare tactics, Luxio quietly padded over to Kingdra and Zweilous.
His tail swayed with unusual enthusiasm.
"Hey… I started a new hobby," he said, lowering his voice like he was sharing classified information. "It's called Yu-Gi-Oh!."
Kingdra tilted his head slightly.
Zweilous' two heads blinked in sync.
Alex had given Luxio a full set of cards and several starter decks after noticing how fascinated he'd been watching a duel recording. Since then, Luxio had been obsessed.
"Guys, seriously," Luxio continued, his voice bright, "it's actually amazing. Strategy, combos, mind games… and you get to dramatically point at people when you activate something."
He demonstrated by lifting a paw and declaring in an overly intense voice,"I activate my trap card!"
Kingdra gave a polite nod. "..."
Luxio grinned. "How about I give you both a starter deck? We can try it together."
Kingdra hesitated for a moment. Being partially aquatic came with limitations. He had to return to his Dive Ball every few hours, and outside of water he relied on controlled Water Energy to maneuver properly.
"Really?" Kingdra said thoughtfully. "Alright. I'll try it after we get back. As long as you don't complain if I accidentally soak the cards."
Luxio's eyes widened in horror for half a second—then he recovered.
"We'll laminate them."
Zweilous' left head spoke first."If it involves competition, I approve."
The right head added,"If it involves beating Luxio, I strongly approve."
Luxio puffed up proudly. "You're both underestimating my deck-building genius."
Zweilous smirked—both heads this time. "We'll see."
Deino, who had evolved into Zweilous, seem suddenly developed a new personality. but It's more like the original personality Deino split into two.
However, this is only temporary; Alex had already researched it. When Zweilous eventually evolves into Hydreigon, the split consciousness stabilizes. The two personalities merge back into a single, unified will—more complete than before.
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if the story gets 100 powerstones in 24 hours, I will upload 1 bonus chapter tomorrow.
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