Fossil Freak

Steven Stone, the eldest son of Devon Corporation, the new regional Champion, and a lover of rare stones.

Today was the third day since he had challenged the Elite Four and claimed the regional Champion title.

Having achieved a grand slam, Steven planned to visit Meteor Falls on his way back home and see if he could find any particularly rare stones.

But before he even reached Meteor Falls, he ran into this.

It felt like a dream.

Steven stared at the stones, while their owner stared at Steven.

"Ahem." Hu Yang coughed lightly.

Steven instantly came back to his senses, the seriousness and calmness returning to his face.

"My apologies."

Steven seemed a little embarrassed. He carried none of the arrogance of a wealthy young master or a Champion.

Perhaps because he was still young, he came across as polite and easygoing.

"It's fine." Hu Yang pursed his lips and braced himself against the snow as he staggered to his feet.

Seeing this, Steven took a bottle of spray from the backpack he carried with him and said,

"Use this. Trainers often run into situations like this in the wild. I suggest carrying some medicine in your backpack in the future. It could make things much more convenient."

"Uh, thanks." Hu Yang thanked him, sat back down beside Axew, and accepted the spray. After looking at it, he found that it was for bruises and sprains.

"How much?" he asked as he sprayed it on himself.

Steven pursed his lips and shook his head. "It's free."

Hu Yang: "..."

Free? Then what did he want?

As if he had heard Hu Yang's thoughts, Steven looked at the stones on the ground, then at Hu Yang, and asked, "Do you like this stuff too?"

Steven wanted them.

Hu Yang thought quickly. He had been wondering who to sell them to anyway. Since that was the case, if the price was right, he could reluctantly sell them to Steven.

"I like money," he said bluntly.

Steven choked on those words. Looking at Hu Yang's clothes and the Axew beside him, he realized that Hu Yang might be a civilian trainer short on cash.

He quickly understood what Hu Yang meant and asked, "How much?"

"What do you think is fair?"

"Three million?" Steven tentatively offered a price.

This time, Hu Yang was the one who choked. He looked at the stones on the ground.

In his mind, Evolution Stones like Fire-type Stones could sell for at most five or six hundred thousand.

The other ancient Pokémon fossils were not rare ones like Omanyte or Aerodactyl fossils either. They were only things like Geodude and Onix fossils.

The only truly valuable ones were the two large extraterrestrial meteorites containing cosmic energy.

In Hu Yang's mind, those two meteorites were worth around five hundred thousand.

Altogether, they were worth at most 1.6 million, nowhere near two million.

He had not expected Steven to offer so much right away. As expected, did wealthy heirs simply not lack money?

"Deal." Hu Yang completed the transaction without hesitation.

Talking to smart people really was that simple.

Steven was equally straightforward. He took a diamond card from his bag and said,

"There are 3.2 million in here. The password is 32154. Consider the extra money a gesture of friendship. This is my contact information. If you have more stones to sell in the future, you can contact me."

Steven was a Champion, and his family did not lack money. He would not cheat him. Even if he did, Hu Yang could always go find him.

So Hu Yang said, "Those two aren't ordinary stones. They're Meteorite Shards, and they contain a great deal of cosmic energy."

Although the energy in those meteorites could revive Mt. Chimney, they were useless in his hands. He might as well sell them to Steven and let him add them to his collection.

"I'll keep that in mind." Steven nodded, then looked at the pile of stones on the ground with some hesitation.

Seeing this, Hu Yang simply gave him the hiking backpack as well.

Joy at a bountiful harvest appeared on Steven's face. After packing away the stones, he looked at Hu Yang and asked, "Do you... need help? I can take you to the nearest town."

Hu Yang waved his hand and shook his head. "No need. I can manage on my own."

He still had things to do.

"All right, then." Steven did not say anything else. He nodded and left, practically bouncing with excitement.

After Steven disappeared from sight, Hu Yang looked at the diamond card in his hand and said excitedly, "Gengar, did you see that? We're rich!"

He would never again have to pinch pennies just to buy shampoo.

Gengar felt somewhat conflicted at the sight.

Just then, a scruffy man wearing glasses suddenly jumped out of the nearby bushes.

Hu Yang immediately put the card away warily.

The man stared at his face with an excited expression. "I saw it!"

Hu Yang: "?"

The man said, "I saw it! You brought back so many fossils from that place. How did you do it?"

"What the hell does that have to do with you?" Hu Yang was speechless. Was this guy insane?

The man continued muttering to himself. "Not a professional explorer, yet you were able to bring back so many fossils at once. Could it be..."

He abruptly looked up in shock. "You're a magician?!"

Hu Yang: "..."

From a certain perspective, he really was a magician.

Hu Yang turned around and limped onward, letting Axew continue leading the way.

Axew looked at his foot, worried.

Gengar tried to support him from the side, but its hand passed straight through Hu Yang's body.

Hu Yang: "... It's just a minor injury. Don't worry."

"Don't go!" At that moment, the man quickly moved in front of him.

Hu Yang took out Roserade's Poké Ball. "Looking for a beating?"

The man quickly shook his head. "I just want you to help me with something. Once it's done, I'll give you a huge gift!"

Hu Yang became a little interested. "What kind of huge gift?"

"You're a trainer traveling outside, right?" The man sized Hu Yang up and down before saying,

"If you help me complete that task, I'll give you a Pokédex that only direct members of the Pokémon League can possess!"

Hu Yang said, "What task?"

The man wore a mysterious expression. "Have you heard of Mirage Tower? It is a mysterious tower standing deep in the desert. Legend says it contains two incredibly rare ancient fossils. As long as you bring them back for me, I'll give you the Pokédex!"

Hu Yang: "..."

He studied the scruffy man with a strange expression.

Could this guy be the Fossil Maniac from the game?

Thinking about it carefully, the Fossil Maniac's house really was nearby.

Like Steven, this man was obsessed with stones. In the game, Roxanne had gone to his home to ask him for a stone, but he refused, and she ran out crying.

"No." Hu Yang refused. Whenever he needed money, he could simply come back to Meteor Falls and restock. A Pokédex was not essential to him.

Besides, there were only two fossils in Mirage Tower.

The revived Anorith and Lileep would be rare, but Devon Corporation's fossil revival technology had not yet appeared. It was not worth making the trip.

The Fossil Maniac grew anxious. "Why? What would it take for you to agree?"

Hu Yang thought carefully and said, "I can do it for you, but you'll have to pay more."

The Fossil Maniac froze. "I don't have that much money..." All his money had gone into excavating fossils.

"Then let me visit your fossil collection and pick a few things from it," Hu Yang said.

The Fossil Maniac had been digging up fossils for so many years. Who knew what rare stones he might have in there?

For example, a certain Pokémon's Mega Stone.

They were far too rare. Not only could they not be mass-produced, they were also difficult to obtain, making every single one priceless.

Once Mega Evolution became public knowledge, there was no need to guess how the status of these Mega Stones would change.

Axew used Fire-type Stones and Thunder Stones to sharpen its teeth. Maybe it could learn Thunder Fang and Fire-type Fang. (Enchanting its teeth, definitely.)