Pokémon: I have no choice but to do this old thing?

Chapter 125 Wrestling Hawkman Mega Stone

Deep in the Oruans Forest, at the entrance to a hidden mine tunnel.

Zhang Jianying squatted on the ground, deftly setting up a simple outdoor campsite. Gardevoir used its psychic powers to move several flat stones to suitable positions, laid out a moisture-proof mat, and helped the trainer secure the tent frames.

"Okay, that's all for now."

Zhang Jianying patted the dust off her hands, took out a portable stove from her backpack, and said, "Let's contact them first."

He opened the communication function in the encyclopedia, found Cynthia's number, and dialed it. The tone of the call connecting sounded exceptionally clear in the silent forest.

Deep inside the underground mine tunnels.

"Beep beep beep—"

The communicator's beeping echoed through the narrow cave. Cynthia stopped, took out her Pokédex from her waist, and saw Ralts's portrait on the screen.

A smile unconsciously crept onto her lips as she gestured to Karuni in front of her, "Wait a moment."

Karune was directing her Tyranitar, the massive Ancient Pokémon digging into the rock face with its powerful forelimbs, each swing sending shards of rock crashing down. Hearing Cynthia's words, she turned and raised an eyebrow: "That kid's here?"

"Mmm." Cynthia nodded and pressed the answer button. "Feed?"

"It's me." Zhang Jianying's voice came through the receiver, accompanied by the soft sound of the campfire being lit. "I've set up camp near the mine entrance. How's the situation over there?"

"We're still down there." Cynthia glanced at the violently pulsating ripples on the life energy detector. "We've detected a very strong reaction point—but now that you're here, let's go up and meet up."

She turned to look at Karuni and mouthed, "It's time to go out."

Karuni nodded knowingly and patted the rough skin of the Monster Jaw Dragon: "Alright, big guy, let's stop for a moment."

The monstrous jaws growled, retracted its claws, and took two steps back. It had dug a pit nearly two meters deep into the rock wall, and the faint reflection of some kind of ore could be seen from the depths.

"Let's go." Karuni recalled the Jaw Dragon, and the two walked out along the mine tunnel they had come from.

At the entrance to the mine tunnel, Zhang Jianying had already set up a pot and was putting chopped tree fruits and meat into it. The firelight illuminated his profile, and the aroma of food filled the cold forest air.

Gardevoir sat quietly to one side, its sky-blue hair gleaming warmly in the firelight. Suddenly, it raised its head, its orange antennae glowing faintly.

"They're here?" Zhang Jianying followed Gardevoir's gaze.

Footsteps echoed from the depths of the mine, and two figures emerged one after the other—it was Cynthia and Karune.

Cynthia's golden ponytail swayed slightly as she stepped out of the mine tunnel. Her first sight was of Zhang Jianying in the camp, and the pot of steaming stew. For some reason, she suddenly remembered her conversation with Karuni in the mine tunnel, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to regain her usual composure, and stepped forward: "How did it go? Did you see Dr. Blatano?"

Zhang Jianying stood up and nodded. "Yes, I've seen them. The professor even recorded my and Gardevoir's Mega Evolution data." He looked at the two of them. "And you? Did you find anything?"

Cynthia shook her head, walked to the pot, squatted down, and naturally took the bowl Zhang Jianying handed her: "Didn't find a suitable Mega Stone. We did detect a very large reaction point just now; the intensity of its life energy far exceeds that of ordinary evolution stones—"

She paused, then looked up at Zhang Jianying: "Would you like to come down with us to take a look later?"

"Even stronger than the reaction of the Super Stone?" Zhang Jianying became interested.

At that moment, Karene walked over, and Gardevoir promptly handed her a cup of freshly brewed tree sap. Karene took the cup, smiled and thanked Gardevoir, then continued, "Someone," she deliberately drew out, glancing at Cynthia, "was worried you'd get lost while looking for us, so she dragged me out the moment she received the call. She didn't even bother mining Mega Stones."

Cynthia rolled her eyes at her best friend, annoyed. "You talk too much."

But her slightly reddened ears betrayed her thoughts. Zhang Jianying noticed this and felt a warmth in his heart. He then smiled and invited the two of them, "Let's eat first. You'll have the energy to mine after you eat."

The three sat around the fire, and the simple stew tasted especially delicious in the winter forest.

After a brief rest, the three tidied up their campsite and re-entered the mine tunnels. With Zhang Jianying joining them this time, the atmosphere in the group became noticeably more lively.

Following the tracks they had left behind, they quickly returned to the pit dug by the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The ripples on the life energy detector pulsed even more violently, almost exceeding the reading range.

"This is it." Cynthia pointed deep into the rock wall. "The source of the reaction should be in here, about a few dozen meters away."

Zhang Jianying surveyed the hard rock wall, then stroked his chin: "Leave it to me."

He took a Poké Ball from his waist and gently tossed it: "Torterra, I choose you!"

A flash of white light, and the massive body of the Earth Platform Turtle appeared in the narrow mine tunnel, almost taking up the entire width of the passage. It shook its head, and when it saw the rock wall before it, its eyes suddenly lit up—it could mine again!

Before Zhang Jianying could give the order, the Earth-Based Turtle had already skillfully activated [Earth Power]. Pale brown energy flowed from its limbs into the ground, and the rock wall in front of it began to part like quicksand, forming a neat tunnel.

At the same time, another Poké Ball on Zhang Jianying's waist opened automatically, and a pair of rats hopped onto the back of the Torterra.

"Squeak!" "Squeak!"

The two mice whispered excitedly, their little noses twitching incessantly. In their "Scoop" ability, the surrounding rock walls were filled with shimmering points of light—energy fluctuations emanating from various ores and evolution stones—and a massive signal as conspicuous as the sun.

"Squeak!" The large mouse stood on the head of the earthen tortoise and pointed to a certain spot in front of it with its little paws.

The smaller hamster pounced directly onto the rock wall, its sharp incisors clicking and chewing.

Under their command, the Earth Platform Tortoises adjusted the direction of the [Earth Power], increasing their digging efficiency by three times.

Cynthia was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled, "Pretty professional. Have you done this before?"

Karuni teased, "Oh, you came prepared. You seem quite interested in my little Bamboo Orchid?"

Zhang Jianying was wielding a pickaxe to help the Earth Platform Turtle clear away the rubble when he heard this. He turned around and said helplessly, "I participated in the Underground Cave competition in Baidai City before, so I'm quite skilled at it."

He paused, then added, "And this Earth-Turtle guy—seems to have a particular fondness for mining."

"A large underground cave?"

Cynthia seemed thoughtful. "I heard that Steven, the former Hoenn Champion, also participated in that tournament? Who won?"

Zhang Jianying nodded: "Daigo participated, and he came in first place."

He sighed, his tone tinged with a mixture of admiration and helplessness: "Some people really do grind and spend money, it's just too much to compete with."

"That's true."

Cynthia chuckled, "Everyone knows Daigo's hobbies. Before he stepped down as champion, he would sometimes skip the championship meetings of various leagues, which angered the Hoenn League officials so much that they wanted to cut his allowance several times."

With the Torterra learning to bite Garchomp but clearly deviating into a professional mining version of Earth Power, and a pair of rats accurately locating ore, the mining progress is astonishingly fast.

About ten minutes later, the larger hamster suddenly jumped excitedly onto the tortoise's head, patting its carapace with its tiny paws and pointing to a spot on the right rock wall. The smaller hamster pounced on it, its front teeth making a "crunching" sound.

"There's something here!" Zhang Jianying's eyes lit up, and he immediately stepped forward to help with the digging.

Cynthia and Karune joined in, and the three of them, along with their three Pokémon, surrounded the small rock face. The sound of pickaxes striking the rock echoed through the mine, and with a crisp "ding," a soft, colorful light shone through a crack in the rock.

Zhang Jianying carefully pried open the surrounding rocks with his pickaxe, and a fist-sized stone rolled out. He bent down, picked it up, and wiped away the dust.

The stone's outer shell is a deep red, but inside, green, yellow, and black veins intertwine and flow like living things, radiating a mysterious luster under the dim light of the ore on the mine walls.

"This is—" Cynthia took the stone and examined it carefully.

Karune also came over to look, and the three of them formed a circle, with the Pokémon also curiously peeking over.

Cynthia took a thick atlas from her backpack; it was Dr. Blatano's illustrated guide to known superstones. She quickly flipped through the pages, comparing the patterns and colors inside the stones.

"Red outer shell—with green, yellow, and black spiral patterns inside —"

She muttered to herself, her brow furrowing slightly, "No record. This isn't in the known Super Stone Encyclopedia."

Zhang Jianying stroked his chin, staring at the stone, feeling a sense of familiarity. So, he activated his almost forgotten cheat code.

A pale blue light screen unfolded before my eyes, and lines of information appeared:

【Item Name: Wrestling Hawkman Evolution Stone】

[Effect: When held by Hawthorne, it can undergo Mega Evolution when resonating with its Trainer's Bond Points.]

Before Zhang Jianying could finish reading the introduction, the Poké Ball on Karuni's waist opened automatically.

"It's noisy!"

Her wrestling hawk jumped out, pointing excitedly at the Mega Stone in Cynthia's hand, and tugging at Karni's clothes, making a "chattering" sound, her eyes full of longing.

Zhang Jianying: "————"

He silently closed his data view. Hmm, it's not that I can't remember, the cheat is really not very useful.

This cheat is trash, it's shameful!

The two of them were stunned at the same time.

Cynthia and Karune exchanged a glance, both seeing the same surprise and disbelief in each other's eyes.

"Could it be?" Cynthia's voice was somewhat excited.

"Is this... the Super Stone from Hawkman?"

Karuni took the stone, feeling the warm pulse emanating from her palm.

Her wrestling hawk was already circling around her impatiently, flapping its wings incessantly.

Cynthia quickly flipped through the picture book, and after confirming that there were no records, she took a deep breath: "Let's give it a try."

Karune nodded, unable to contain her excitement either. The newly discovered Mega Stone, a Mega evolution form never before recorded—this could be a major breakthrough in Kalos's research on Mega evolution!

She removed the necklace she always wore from her neck; the pendant was an exquisite keystone. The Hawkman stood before her, his gaze resolute.

Karuni handed the Super Stone to the Wrestling Hawkman, who carefully took it with its wings and then held the stone in its claws.

"Are you ready?" Karuni asked softly.

The Hawkman nodded vigorously.

Karune clutched the Key Stone to her chest and closed her eyes. The bond between Trainer and Pokémon resonated silently in the mine, and the Key Stone began to emit a rainbow of light.

The Super Stone on the chest of the Wrestling Hawkman lit up simultaneously, with red, green, yellow, and black lights intertwining and connecting with the seven-colored radiance of the Key Stone!

Mega Evolution—!

The light of evolution illuminated the entire mine tunnel as bright as day.

When the light faded, Super Wrestling Hawkman reappeared in the same spot.

Its original red and green mask has been transformed into a magnificent gold and black design, its body has become taller and stronger, and the edges of its wings gleam with a metallic sheen.

"It's noisy—!!!"

Super Wrestling Hawkman tilted his head back and let out a long cry, his voice filled with excitement and joy.

It leaped lightly through the mine tunnels, making a standard wrestling gesture, eager for an immediate battle.

Cynthia held up the encyclopedia, meticulously documenting the entire evolutionary process. Her eyes shone with an astonishing brilliance, the excited light of a scholar discovering an unknown mystery.

She quietly moved closer to Zhang Jianying and whispered, "So, we've unearthed a super-sized stone that hasn't been discovered yet?"

Zhang Jianying nodded, watching the Wrestling Hawkman adapt to his new form: "It seems so. Didn't Dr. Blatano say there must be other undiscovered evolutions?"

"marvelous--"

Cynthia murmured, deeply captivated by the feeling of discovering the unknown, like opening a blind box. Suddenly remembering something, she turned to look at the pair of rats still standing on the turtle's back on the earthen platform.

The two little ones were huddled together whispering, their beady eyes fixed on the unopened bag of Pokémon snacks in Cynthia's backpack.

Cynthia's eyes lit up, and a gentle smile spread across her face. She walked over and gently picked up the two mice: "Good job, little ones."

A pair of mice stood in her warm palm, looking up at the human.

"Squeak?" The large mouse tilted its head.

Cynthia's smile softened even more: "Can you sense any other similar sensations?"

The two mice nodded, looked at each other, and began to whisper among themselves. After a moment, they both raised their little paws, extended their short little fingers, and made a "swap" gesture.

Cynthia looked at Zhang Jianying with a puzzled expression.

Zhang Jianying suppressed a laugh and translated, "They said they wanted to exchange a stone for a snack."

Cynthia suddenly understood, then smiled confidently and said to the two mice, "How about this, one rock for a month's worth of snacks. How about it?"

"Squeak??"

"squeak!!"

The pair of mice nodded rapidly, their small eyes instantly igniting with fierce fighting spirit. They exchanged a glance, seeing the same determination in each other's eyes.

I'll go all out for snacks!

The large mouse jumped onto the turtle's head on the earthen platform, waving its little paw and pointing deeper into the mine tunnel. The small mouse also jumped onto the rock wall, its little nose twitching incessantly.

The Earth Tortoise let out a low growl and activated [Earth Power] once more, continuing to dig in the direction indicated by the mice.

Seeing the "professional treasure hunting team" get back to work, Zhang Jianying, Xilona, ​​and Karuni exchanged smiles.

However, what they didn't know was...

Deeper into this mine tunnel, in a cave made of natural crystal, a group of tiny Pokémon were frantically running around in circles.

They formed a circle, communicating with each other at a unique frequency, their voices filled with anxiety and worry.

Just now, the most important member of their group—

They ran away secretly!

In the center of the crystal cave, an exquisite throne carved from pink diamonds stands empty.

Only a small diamond crown lay quietly on the seat, radiating a lonely and mysterious light in the dim glow of the rocky walls.