As they headed toward Mining Tunnel No. 2, the group encountered increasingly larger Pokémon along the way, including several Clefairy.
It had to be said that Pokémon contracts were truly powerful. As mentioned before, even when facing members of their own species, captured Pokémon would not hold back when carrying out their Trainer's orders.
Luna's Clefairy was no exception.
The Clefairy they encountered along the way were all defeated by its Double Slap. Even after an Ordinary-tier Clefairy had already lost its ability to battle, it would still receive two extra slaps.
Icarus always felt that this Clefairy had some rather strange hobbies.
Since they had been moving directly toward Mining Tunnel No. 2, it didn't take long before they reached the entrance.
Several members of the Wu Neng Family were stationed there.
After presenting their mission credentials, the group was allowed inside.
The tunnel walls were lined with glowing fluorescent stones. The rock surfaces were rough, uneven, and covered in countless marks left by years of excavation.
Clearly, this was an old mining tunnel.
That was hardly surprising.
The best-ranked tunnels had been mined for many years by countless people. Any valuable ore deposits near the entrance had long since been exhausted, leaving only deeper veins.
As a result, the danger level wasn't especially high. Ordinary-tier high-level Pokémon were uncommon, while most inhabitants were either Newbie-tier or low-level Ordinary-tier Pokémon.
"Come out, Graveler!"
As soon as they entered, Stone released his starter Pokémon.
After all, this was Graveler's home turf.
"Hey-cha!"
Graveler happily greeted everyone the moment it appeared.
"You come out too, Weepinbell. Pidgeotto, return for now."
Icarus also switched Pokémon, releasing Weepinbell and recalling Pidgeotto.
The narrow tunnel limited flying anyway.
As for Houndoom, it remained outside as a scout.
"Moo moo!"
Weepinbell cried happily as soon as it emerged.
Although all their Pokémon had long since been upgraded to Luxury Balls, most of them still preferred being outdoors after growing up alongside their Trainers.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
The little Squirtle immediately ran over to greet its senior teammate.
"Moo moo~ Swish! Swish!"
Seeing the little turtle, Weepinbell extended two vines, wrapped them around Squirtle, and began swinging it back and forth like a pendulum.
"Squirtle Squirtle!"
The little one clearly loved it.
"Woof…"
Nearby, Houndoom watched enviously.
Back when it was still a Houndour, Big Brother Weepinbell used to play with it the same way.
Now that it had grown up, it felt too embarrassed to ask.
"Alright, alright. Time to mine."
After letting everyone enjoy themselves for a while, Icarus clapped his hands.
"Okay. Graveler, focus on sensing ore. Sandshrew, help search too. Sandslash, guard the surroundings. Kangaskhan, stay close."
Following Icarus's instructions, the Pokémon quickly assumed their assigned positions.
Since Stone was the mining specialist, his Pokémon formed the outermost layer of the formation.
"Hey-cha!"
"Kuga!"
With everything ready, the group picked up their mining picks and began moving deeper into the tunnel.
For quite some distance, the journey remained peaceful.
But the deeper they went, the more Pokémon they encountered.
Some fled immediately.
Others foolishly charged forward.
And sometimes Icarus actively sought them out.
For example, two Sandshrew that had nowhere to escape were caught by Weepinbell's vines and dragged out.
Perfect practice opponents for Squirtle and Clefairy.
Realizing escape was impossible, the Sandshrew launched an attack.
Their claws glowed white as they charged.
"Squirtle, Withdraw and block them!"
Since these Sandshrew were only Newbie-tier Pokémon, Icarus had no intention of letting stronger teammates interfere.
Squirtle would handle defense alone.
"Clefairy, Disarming Voice!"
Luna immediately followed up.
"Bang! Bang!"
The Sandshrew's claws struck Squirtle's shell.
The damage was negligible.
Just as the two Sandshrew prepared to retreat and switch to ranged attacks, Clefairy's song echoed through the tunnel.
"Clefairy Pii"
The melody was beautiful and strangely captivating.
After several days of training, Clefairy's control over Disarming Voice had improved dramatically.
At first, the move affected allies as well.
Now it only targeted opponents.
"Kuu… Kuu…"
The Sandshrew unconsciously began humming along.
Their movements slowed.
Their minds became dazed.
"Now, Squirtle!"
The moment the opening appeared, Icarus gave the order.
"Squirtle!"
Squirtle burst from its shell and fired two Spiral Water Guns.
BANG! BANG!
The Sandshrew were blasted backward.
The Water-type energy left them miserable.
"Press the advantage! Bubble!"
Why wait for them to stand up?
Icarus firmly believed in finishing off fallen opponents.
"Squirtle~!"
Several bubbles flew toward the Sandshrew.
"Kuu…? Kuga…?"
After taking both the Water Gun and Bubble attacks, the two Sandshrew finally collapsed.
"Clefairy~"
The moment the battle ended, Clefairy hurried over.
It aimed at the scratches on Squirtle's shell and used Heal Pulse.
A soft white glow washed over Squirtle.
The scratches vanished completely.
"Very good, Luna. Clefairy not only has excellent battle talent, but its Heal Pulse is becoming more proficient as well."
Icarus nodded approvingly.
"It's all thanks to your training, Master."
Luna smiled modestly and immediately gave all the credit to him.
"Haha. Alright, come help me process these."
After capturing the Sandshrew and checking their potential, Icarus discovered both were merely Ordinary-tier Low potential.
Not worth selling.
"Yes, Master."
Although Icarus had deliberately trained Luna to handle Pokémon corpses over the past two years, she still struggled with it.
The incident from years ago had left a lasting impression.
Even now, she remained somewhat squeamish.
However, Icarus never allowed her to avoid it.
As a future long-term expedition member, she had to adapt.
Otherwise, she would eventually become a liability.
The Sandshrew were quickly processed.
But afterward, Luna still turned pale and retched slightly.
"Luna, you need to get used to this."
He looked at her seriously.
"I'm not making you do this for no reason. The farther we travel, the more dangerous and bloody things will become. I want you prepared beforehand."
"I understand, Master."
She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and forced a smile.
Icarus nodded.
For problems like this, there really was no shortcut except gradual exposure.
Afterward, the group continued deeper into the tunnel.
Suddenly—
"Hey-cha! Cha!"
Graveler pointed excitedly toward the left.
"Graveler says there may be an ore vein over there!"
Stone's face immediately lit up.
"Let's check it out."
Everyone readily agreed.
After all, finding a vein this early was excellent luck.
However, after walking only a short distance, they heard the sounds of mining.
CLANG!
CLANG!
BANG!
"Whew! I'm exhausted!"
"…Looks like someone got here first."
Stone scratched his head awkwardly.
At that moment, a deep voice echoed from ahead.
"Friends behind us, this mining area was claimed first. Please continue deeper."
Soon, a Graveler and a Sandslash emerged from the shadows.
A moment later, Graveler tossed over a dozen decent-quality ores.
"My friends, consider these compensation for your wasted trip. Please do us a favor. There are plenty of unoccupied veins farther ahead."
The miner had clearly judged their strength through his Pokémon and chosen diplomacy over conflict.
Inside the tunnel, a middle-aged miner stood nervously beside another Sandslash.
In mining tunnels, disputes over ore veins were extremely common.
Some trainers spent hours finding a good location and clearing away wild Pokémon.
Others simply seized the prepared area.
In deeper tunnels, miners occasionally even killed one another.
As a result, weaker miners rarely ventured too far alone.
They usually formed teams.
Though richer ore existed deeper underground, dividing profits among multiple people often resulted in similar earnings.
Stone looked toward Icarus.
After more than two years together, he wasn't wondering whether to accept the ore.
He was waiting to see whether they should simply take the entire mining area.
After all, the vein looked promising.
"Take the ore. We'll continue deeper."
Icarus shook his head.
Although he was confident they could seize the area, there was no need to create trouble on their first visit.
There were plenty of opportunities ahead.
"Thank you for the information, friend. We'll be leaving."
After Stone collected the ore, the group quietly moved on.
Inside the tunnel, the middle-aged miner finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"That cost me ten thousand in profit, but staying alive is worth it."
Wiping away cold sweat, he turned to his Sandslash.
"We'll just have to work harder."
"Kuga!"
The Sandslash nodded and resumed digging.
This was precisely why Icarus believed Stone was perfectly suited for mining tunnels.
His Pokémon lineup was practically identical to professional miners':
Graveler + Sandslash + Sandslash.
Graveler located ore.
The Sandslash excavated it.
And together, they possessed enough combat power to survive underground.
After traveling deeper and defeating several groups of wild Pokémon, they finally reached an unclaimed mining area.
"Icarus! Nobody's here! Graveler says the ore vein is rich!"
Stone said excitedly.
"Nobody's here, sure."
Icarus pointed ahead.
"But there's a whole pile of Pokémon. And a snake."
Pairs of glowing eyes stared back at them.
Then—
"ROAR!"
A gigantic Onix emerged from the darkness.
As the ruler of this territory, it angrily warned the intruders away.
For Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon, ore wasn't just valuable.
It was food.
It was their source of growth.
Humans digging up ore were effectively stealing the foundation of their survival.
Conflict was inevitable.
"Prepare for battle!"
Icarus showed no fear.
The Onix was only a mid-level Ordinary-tier Pokémon.
Its greatest advantage was its massive size.
Against Grass- and Water-type Pokémon, however, that size simply made it a larger target.
"You all use Heavy Slam or Magnitude!"
Stone immediately issued orders as well.
His Pokémon nodded.
Then they worked together.
THUMP!
BOOM!
Several Pokémon combined their power into a single devastating tremor.
The ground began shaking violently.
Together, they had effectively recreated the power of an Earthquake.
Fortunately, thanks to Mt. Moon's unique geological structure, the tunnel itself remained stable and did not collapse.
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