Steven and Cynthia

Looking at the boy and girl about his own age standing before him, Blake truly realized for the first time just what level his father stood at in his field. His father, Stone, and Professor Carolina were chatting nearby. His dad 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, Steven, said with a smile. Though still young, he already called to mind the refined young nobleman he would become in the future.

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

Seeing how polite they were, Blake naturally could not be rude. He immediately introduced himself.

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

Steven looked at Blake, who was half a head taller than him, then at the Haunter beside him. Curiosity filled his eyes. That Haunter seemed unusual.

Haunter was not an especially rare Pokémon. Although many people held prejudices against Ghost-type Pokémon, resulting in relatively fewer people raising them, the Gengar line was certainly not uncommon. Especially in places such as graveyards, ruined ancient temples, and abandoned chemical plants, Gengar and its kin often appeared in groups.

But this Haunter was clearly different. It was far too intelligent. Though the Gengar line was known for its high intelligence, the Haunter before him was obviously exceptional. Its curious yet appraising gaze made it clear that it was almost excessively smart.

"Actually, my father didn't mention that there would be others our age. It's nice to meet you both."

Blake was all too familiar with Cynthia and Steven. One was the wife of countless people, and 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.

"We'll have to trouble Dr. James this time. My son has been just like me since he was little—obsessed with all kinds of ancient buildings and mine tunnels, especially rocks. He heard that this ruin had yielded quite a few unusual ancient minerals, so he pestered me for days just to come have a look. Don't worry, though. He may be obsessed with rocks, but he's absolutely obedient and won't run around recklessly. If anything happens, just call me, and I'll take him home right away."

"And my child as well. Sigh, her parents weren't around when she was young, and I spoiled her rather badly. She published a paper on ancient mythology recently, and she's become a little too full of herself. So I'm entrusting her to you, Dr. James. Let her understand the difference between theory and practice."

Meanwhile, Stone and Professor Carolina were showering James with compliments. To those outside the field, James was merely a very capable ruin explorer. But those who truly understood the field knew exactly how remarkable he was. In archaeology, an industry that placed immense 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 that ruin—it has already been mostly excavated. My son is here as well, and since they're all around the same age, they can look after one another."

James had known about this before coming. After all, his team was not one that people could simply join whenever they wished. It was precisely because he knew that he had brought Blake along. Herding one sheep was the same as herding a flock; he might as well take the chance to teach his son.

"Then we'll be in your care. Oh, right, I've booked the hotel. I'm sorry, but there are matters at my company that prevent me from accompanying you the whole time. Still, my driver will be at your service throughout. This is his number, and mine is on there as well. If my brat causes any trouble, please tell me immediately."

Stone took out a business card and handed it over.

"Then let this old lady do the honors as your host. If you don't mind, let me 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 a great help to my own research. This time, I've found some clues as well, so it happens to be a good opportunity to conduct an experiment."

James also held the highly respected Professor Carolina in great esteem. Seeing her lower her stance so much made him feel somewhat embarrassed. Sigh, it was all for their children.

"Ah, that paper. Speaking of which, there are still many contradictions in it. This old lady isn't particularly confident about it either. If it can be of help, that would be wonderful."

Professor Carolina waved her hand, looking somewhat 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 eyewitness accounts numbered zero. By comparison, Dialga and Palkia, known as the gods of time and space, had more or less been witnessed before.

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

Unlike 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 experiences growing up. After only a few sentences, they were already chatting about everything under the sun.

"I rarely see my dad looking this serious."

Steven looked at the excited Stone, who seemed like a young man again, and smiled.

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

Blake leaned against the wall and watched James holding forth nearby. He checked his watch. Very good—half an hour had already passed, yet there was no sign of them stopping anytime soon.

"Is Dr. James a very introverted person?"

Cynthia asked curiously.

"Extremely. He's the complete opposite of my mom. Hm? Where's my mom?"

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

"Huh? I remember seeing Auntie just now."

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

"Kehehe—"

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, and someone was lying on top of her. Yes, it was Blake's mother, Louise.

"Well, being able to fall asleep in this situation really is just like Mom."

Blake slapped a hand to his forehead and spoke helplessly.

"Hahahaha, Auntie is such an interesting person."

Cynthia covered her mouth and chuckled.

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

Blake was utterly speechless. Compared with his very particular father, his mother truly had no taboos at all. Still, at least she had floated off somewhere else, right? At least she was not interrupting anyone's conversation.

"But it really does look comfortable. It feels so soft and squishy."

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

"Raaah!" Gible cried disdainfully. To him, that soft, fluffy appearance had no sense of intimidation whatsoever. It did not look powerful at all.

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

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

"Yo! Kids! Having a good chat?"