After sensing Feebas's warning, Lin Mo raised a hand to touch the headlamp on his head, turned up the brightness, and swept the beam ahead.
When the light fell on those two glittering "points," revealing the appearance of the "monster" ahead, he instantly relaxed and called out tentatively:
"Sableye?"
"Yamii?"
Sableye slowly raised its head. Its eyes, like polished gemstones, were filled with confusion, as if asking, "Why did you call me?"
Lin Mo finally let down his guard and said in a low, gentle voice:
"Could you move over a little and let me pass?"
"Yamii?"
Sableye blinked its gem-like eyes and looked at Lin Mo as though it did not understand.
Seeing Sableye's bewildered expression, Lin Mo pointed at the gap beside it and repeated himself more firmly:
"Move over there a little and let me through, okay?"
But Sableye merely tilted its head. At some point, it had acquired a dull gray stone in its arms and was laboriously scraping at the crystals on it with its claws, completely ignoring Lin Mo.
The tunnel was already narrow, and with it blocking the way, there was barely any room to pass.
"Looks like I'll have to push it a little." Lin Mo helplessly gave Feebas, hanging at his chest, a look. "Feebas, get ready to attack. Go easy—just drive it away."
Feebas immediately understood. It leaped out of the inflatable fish tank, poised for action.
The livestream chat instantly perked up:
"Are they fighting? That Sableye scared the crap out of me when it appeared!"
"Same here. I thought they'd run into something supernatural!"
"..."
Lin Mo took a deep breath and quietly gave the order:
"Feebas, use Water Pulse!"
Feebas fiercely flicked its tail fin, spitting out a ring of gentle rippling water from its mouth toward Sableye.
Water Pulse struck Sableye, knocking it stumbling. The stone in its arms hit the ground with a clatter. It finally stopped scraping at the rock and glared at Feebas with gem-like eyes full of anger at being disturbed.
"Yamii!" It shrieked, suddenly turning into a black shadow and appearing before Feebas in an instant as it launched an attack.
Feebas simply slapped its tail against the ground, using the rebound to spring away and dodge Sableye's attack.
"It's pretty feisty." Lin Mo frowned. "Feebas, use Icy Wind. Freeze its claws so it can't use Fury Swipes."
Feebas immediately opened its mouth, blasting out a chilly gust that landed precisely on Sableye's claws.
The cold instantly condensed into a thin layer of ice. Caught off guard, Sableye hissed and hurriedly drew back its claws, shaking them hard in an attempt to break the ice.
Taking advantage of its distraction, Lin Mo quickly squeezed sideways through the passage and shouted to Feebas, "Hold back!"
Feebas immediately stopped using Icy Wind, and only then did Sableye break free from the ice.
But when it saw Lin Mo had already gone ahead, it seemed to grow annoyed. It picked up the stone from the ground, intending to throw it at him;
Yet it froze the moment Lin Mo looked back. Instead, it hugged the stone and let out an unhappy growl at his retreating back.
After walking a few steps, Lin Mo glanced back and suddenly noticed an obvious indentation in the rock wall where Sableye had been standing. Several tiny crystals were embedded inside it, and the stone Sableye had been holding had been dug out from that indentation.
"So it wasn't deliberately blocking the path. It was mining crystals."
Lin Mo suddenly understood. He had thought Sableye was deliberately making things difficult for him, but it turned out he had interrupted its "work."
Lin Mo stopped, took out a small bag of Pokémon Food from his backpack, walked back to Sableye, set the bag on the ground, and softly said:
"I'm sorry about earlier. I interrupted you while you were digging. Take this as an apology."
Sableye watched Lin Mo warily, then looked at the food bag on the ground, a hesitant murmur rumbling in its throat.
It was clearly interested in the fragrant bag, but it remembered being frozen earlier and did not dare approach rashly.
Seeing this, Lin Mo took two steps back to show that he meant no harm:
"Don't worry, there's no other motive. Take your time eating."
Only after seeing him retreat to a safe distance did Sableye cautiously shuffle over to the food bag. It first poked the bag with a claw, and after confirming nothing happened, swiftly tore it open and stuffed a handful of food into its mouth.
The crunching echoed through the tunnel. Sableye's eyes immediately lit up, delight gleaming in its gemstone pupils. Its anger at being interrupted had long since vanished.
"Looks like it suits its taste."
Lin Mo smiled and turned to continue onward.
The livestream chat also breathed a sigh of relief:
"So it was just a misunderstanding. Sableye was only a little cutie focused on digging rocks."
"Look at how happily it's eating. Its eyes are glowing, hahaha!"
"Its eyes are so pretty. I kind of want to raise one."
After finishing the food, Sableye looked up at Lin Mo's departing back, a trace of conflict flashing through its gemstone eyes.
It looked at the crystals in the rock wall, then at Lin Mo's backpack. Its gem-like eyes rolled around. After hesitating for a few seconds, it quickly followed after him.
Lin Mo had only walked a few steps when he heard a faint sound behind him, like tiny footsteps.
When he looked back, he could not help laughing—
That Sableye was following closely behind him, still clutching the empty Pokémon Food bag in its arms. Its gemstone eyes stared straight at his backpack, as though evaluating how much "stock" remained inside.
"This little guy sure doesn't stand on ceremony."
Lin Mo stopped and turned to look at Sableye.
After being discovered, it did not hide. Instead, it trotted up to him, raised a claw to point at his backpack, then pointed deeper into the tunnel, chirping "Yamii, yamii" while nodding its little head furiously.
"You mean there's something good if I follow you?"
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and said to the camera:
"Looks like our little guide wants to take us somewhere nice. Everyone, guess what it could be?"
The livestream chat immediately erupted with comments:
"It must be where it hides its treasures!"
"Don't Sableye like collecting shiny things? Maybe it has rare ores!"
"..."
Lin Mo followed Sableye deeper into the tunnel for around ten minutes before a hidden stone chamber suddenly appeared ahead. In the center of the chamber was a messy pile of things—
Half-chewed crystal clusters, polished iron ore, and even several round pearls. They were clearly all treasures Sableye had collected over the years.
Sableye ran to the pile and excitedly rummaged through it with its claws, as though showing off its wealth.
It dug out a gray stone from beneath the pile. The stone had a smooth surface covered in countless tiny black spots, looking completely ordinary.
"What is this?"
Lin Mo picked up the stone and weighed it in his hand. It felt cold and hard. Blue light flashed in his eyes as the screen in his mind displayed its information:
"Everstone. Pokémon holding this stone will not evolve."
"It's actually an Everstone!" Lin Mo was somewhat surprised.
He knew this kind of stone was extremely valuable to certain Trainers, especially those who liked smaller Pokémon and did not want their partners to evolve;
For example, wealthy ladies who kept cute pets were often willing to pay high prices for Everstones so their Buneary, Skitty, Eevee, and other Pokémon could retain their adorable appearances.
Sableye seemed to notice Lin Mo's interest in the stone. It immediately chirped "Yamii," patted the Everstone with its claw, then pointed at Lin Mo's backpack. Its meaning could not have been clearer—it wanted to trade it for food.
Lin Mo calculated silently. He had no immediate use for an Everstone, but it was worth quite a lot. Trading food for it would be a huge profit.
He took three bags of Pokémon Food from his backpack and placed them in front of Sableye:
"How about these in exchange for your little stone?"
When Sableye saw the three bags of food, its eyes instantly lit up like two lightbulbs. Without a second thought, it nodded, swiftly carried the food into its arms, and then pushed the Everstone forward to signal that Lin Mo could take it.
"This is a good trade!" Lin Mo put the Everstone into his backpack and smiled as he explained to the viewers in the camera:
"I didn't expect such an unexpected gain. Judging from this stone's appearance, there's a high chance it's an Everstone!"
Lin Mo did not directly tell the audience the result of the appraisal from the panel in his mind. He merely gave them a rough guess, giving the viewers something to discuss and letting them seek out the answer themselves.
The moment Lin Mo finished speaking, the livestream chat flooded in like a tide, the screen filled with viewers' comments:
"I think it looks like an Everstone too. If it really is, streamer, you hit the jackpot!"
"It is an Everstone. My Meowth is holding one!"
"Does the rich lady upstairs need another Meowth? I can be your Meowth too!"
"Get lost! I'm a guy, damn it..."
After bidding farewell to Sableye, Lin Mo continued exploring deeper into the cave.
Before long, several Zubat swooped down from the ceiling, screeching sharply as they descended.
"Feebas, use Icy Wind!" Lin Mo shouted.
Feebas immediately released an icy breath. Sensing the energy that countered them, the Zubat scattered and fled.
After walking farther ahead, a Geodude jumped out from behind a rock and blocked the path, waving its fists.
Feebas easily knocked it back with Water Pulse, ending the battle cleanly and decisively.
After walking and stopping like this, fighting several small battles, Lin Mo gradually became a little lost.
There were more and more forks in the cave.
"This place is way too winding." Lin Mo looked at the intersection before him, feeling troubled.
Just then, he heard a familiar "Yamii" from the left fork.
He quickly walked over and peered inside, then burst out laughing—it was actually the same Sableye they had encountered in the tunnel earlier!
Then an even more incredible sight entered his view:
Several round Aron stood in a line. Each one stepped forward and spat a sparkling gemstone or a translucent crystal onto the ground;
Sableye stood guard beside them, handing each Aron a handful of Pokémon Food to taste. After accepting the gemstone, it happily shuffled one step aside, making room for the next Aron to trade.
"Yamii?"
Sableye had just handed over some food when it looked up and spotted Lin Mo.
It froze at first, then followed Lin Mo's gaze downward to the small pile of gems and crystals beside it. Its gemstone eyes filled with embarrassment, and even its ears quietly drooped as it looked exceptionally awkward.
"You... you little guy!"
Feebas, inside the inflatable fish tank hanging from Lin Mo's chest, tilted its head at the scene. Its little tail fin gently swayed, clearly unable to understand Sableye's behavior—
It had loved Pokémon Food so much before, so why was it now giving that food to other Pokémon?
It then lifted its face and stared directly at Lin Mo with wide, round eyes full of confusion, as if asking, "Why is it doing that?"
Meanwhile, the livestream viewers were already laughing uncontrollably, and the chat instantly filled the screen:
"I'm dying! Sableye has become a 'middleman'!"
"It upgraded the streamer's idea—now it trades food for gems. So clever!"
"I get Feebas's confusion! Who would have thought that a little guy who loves food would become a 'trading expert' in the blink of an eye?"
"Sableye has been living in this cave for so long. Of course it would have some special tricks..."
Before you continue