Steven and Cynthia

Looking at the teenage boy and girl standing before him, both about his own age, Blake truly understood for the first time just what level his father stood at in his field. His father, Stone's chairman, and Professor Carolina were chatting nearby. His father could actually make people of this caliber extend their hands first?

"Hello, I'm Cynthia. Professor Carolina is my grandmother."

The blonde girl, Cynthia, was the first to extend her hand.

"I'm Steven Stone. Just call me Steven."

The silver-blue-haired boy smiled as well. Though still young, Steven already carried hints of the refined young gentleman he would become in the future.

"Hello, I'm Blake. Dr. James is my father. I came along this time to learn."

Since they were being so polite, Blake could not possibly be rude. He immediately introduced himself.

"Ha! I've heard of you—the new generation of the Ghost-Taming Clan. But I didn't expect us to be around the same age."

Steven looked at Blake, who stood half a head taller than him, then glanced at the Haunter beside him. Curiosity showed in his eyes. That Haunter seemed rather unusual.

Haunter was not an especially rare Pokémon. Although many people held prejudices against Ghost-type Pokémon, resulting in relatively fewer trainers raising them, Gengar and its evolutionary line were certainly not scarce. In particular, places such as graveyards, ruined ancient temples, and abandoned chemical plants often had Gengar appearing in groups.

But this Haunter was clearly different. It was far too intelligent. The Gengar line was known for its high intelligence, but the Haunter before them was obviously something else. Its curious yet appraising gaze made it clear that this Haunter was almost excessively clever.

"Actually, my father didn't mention that there would be others our age. I'm glad to meet you both."

Blake was incredibly familiar with Cynthia and Steven. One was the wife of countless people, while the other was the husband of countless people. If the human characters in Pokémon were ranked, both of them would easily make the top ten.

"This time, I'll have to trouble Dr. James. My son has been just like me since childhood, fascinated by all sorts of ancient structures and mine shafts. He's especially obsessed with every kind of stone. He heard that quite a few unusual ancient minerals had been discovered in these ruins, so he pestered me for days just to come and see them. Don't worry, though. He may be obsessed with stones, but he's absolutely obedient and won't run around recklessly. If there's a problem, just call me, and I'll take him home anytime."

"And my child as well. Sigh, her parents weren't around when she was young, so I spoiled her rather badly. She published a paper on ancient mythology before, and she's been getting a little too full of herself lately. So please, Dr. James, help her understand the difference between theory and practice."

Meanwhile, Stone's chairman and Professor Carolina were taking turns saying nice things to James. To people outside the field, James was simply an impressive ruins explorer, but those who truly understood the field knew just how formidable he was. In archaeology, an industry that placed enormous importance on seniority, James—only in his thirties and not yet forty—already stood at the summit, a legend admired by countless people.

"Don't worry. You both know about these ruins already—they've mostly been excavated. My son happens to be here too, and they're all around the same age, so they can look out for each other."

James had known about this before coming. After all, his team was not somewhere people could simply join whenever they wished. That was precisely why he had brought Blake along. Herding one sheep was no different from herding a whole flock; he might as well take the chance to teach his son something.

"Then I'll leave him in your care. Oh, right, I've booked the hotel. I'm sorry, but there are matters at the company, so I can't accompany you the entire time. However, my driver will be at your service throughout. This is his number, and mine is on there too. If my brat causes any trouble, please let me know immediately."

Stone's chairman took out a business card and handed it over.

"As the local host, let this old woman do her part. If none of you mind, then let this old woman treat everyone today."

Professor Carolina said with a hearty laugh.

"You're too kind, Professor Carolina. Your previous research on the god of the negative world in mythology was of great help to my own work. I happened to discover some clues this time, so it's the perfect opportunity to conduct an experiment."

James greatly respected Professor Carolina, the highly esteemed old scholar. With her lowering her stance so much, he felt somewhat embarrassed. Sigh, it was all for their children.

"Ah, that paper. To be honest, there are still many contradictions in it, and this old woman isn't particularly confident about it either. If it can be of help, then that would be wonderful."

Professor Carolina waved her hand, looking slightly embarrassed. There was simply too little information about Giratina. They could not even be certain whether the translation of its name was correct. Everything concerning Giratina had been interpreted from ancient records, while actual sighting records numbered zero. By comparison, Dialga and Palkia, known as the god of time and god of space, had more or less been sighted before.

"Looks like Grandma is having a great time talking."

Compared with the adults still exchanging pleasantries, the three teenagers had already become familiar with one another. They came from three different places and were all curious about each other's upbringing. Within a few sentences, they had begun chatting about everything under the sun.

"I rarely see Dad looking this serious."

Steven said with a smile as he watched Stone's chairman, who looked as excited as a teenager on the other side.

"Compared to that, it's even rarer to see my dad talking to people so smoothly. He's socially anxious to the bone."

Leaning against the wall, Blake watched James speak animatedly nearby and checked his watch. Great. Half an hour had already passed, yet he showed no sign of stopping at all.

"Is Dr. James a very introverted person?"

Cynthia asked curiously.

"Extremely introverted. He's the exact opposite of my mom. Hm? Where is my mom?"

Only then did Blake realize that his mother seemed to have disappeared.

"Huh? I remember seeing Auntie just a moment ago."

Steven also noticed that someone was missing and hurriedly looked around.

"Haunter—"

Watching them search everywhere, Haunter helplessly facepalmed. It stepped forward and poked Blake, who followed its hand and looked over. Not far away, a female Jellicent floated in midair, with someone lying atop it. Yes, it was Blake's mother, Louise.

"Fine. The fact that she can fall asleep in a situation like this only proves she really is Mom."

Blake smacked his forehead and spoke helplessly.

"Hahaha, Auntie is a very interesting person."

Cynthia covered her mouth and laughed softly.

"Don't mention it. Sometimes my mom acts like a little kid."

Blake was thoroughly speechless. Compared to his father, who was so particular about everything, his mother was truly someone without taboos. Still, at least she had floated off somewhere else, right? At least she had not disturbed anyone's conversation.

"But she does look really comfortable. She seems so soft."

As another girl, Cynthia could not help saying so as she looked at Jellicent floating in the air. Its enormous head, like a waterbed, looked incredibly soft no matter how she looked at it.

"Gible!"

Gible cried out disdainfully. In his view, something so soft and squishy had no intimidation factor at all. It did not look powerful in the slightest.

"All right, you're the best. Don't be jealous."

Cynthia smiled and comforted Gible. Louise also noticed them and guided Jellicent over.

"Yo! Kids! Having fun chatting?"