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"You! Do you even know what you're saying?! You're completely out of line!!"
Seeing that Liam didn't back down and instead became even more aggressive, Black Ape clenched his fists tightly and shouted at him, face dark. But before he could say much, he was stopped by the white-bearded elder—Gyokuryu Shigen.
Gyokuryu Shigen looked at the Garchomp standing behind Liam with an astonished expression, his eyes filled with admiration. His gaze toward Liam softened significantly—no longer condescending, but instead warm, almost as if he were looking at a junior of his own.
"Very impressive. Truly outstanding. This Garchomp with its unusual coloring has been nurtured by you remarkably well. I can clearly sense the powerful, surging dragon energy flowing within its body. Excellent! Absolutely excellent!"
Impressive, truly impressive—these were the words of praise coming from the current clan head of the Dragon Tamers, a superpower who wielded ancient draconic strength, in recognition of Liam's Garchomp.
"Haha, then I must thank you for your kind words. I'm truly grateful for such high praise for my Garchomp."
The moment Liam heard Gyokuryu Shigen praise his Garchomp, his usually cold face unexpectedly broke into a smile. His gaze toward the old man grew gentler, and without realizing it, he had begun addressing him respectfully.
"Hahaha! Good! Young man, you're excellent as well! You have a pure heart that loves Pokémon—far better than my disappointing grandson. It seems this Garchomp found the right trainer after all... Black Ape, open Box No. 2 and give him one of the eggs inside."
Gyokuryu Shigen, shrewd and seasoned with age, instantly picked up on Liam's subtle shift in attitude. Laughing heartily, he showered more praise on Liam, then turned and instructed Black Ape to open Box No. 2 and present one of the Pokémon eggs within to Liam.
"Huh? My lord! But that egg is—!"
Black Ape was startled and turned quickly to object, but before he could finish, Gyokuryu Shigen interrupted him again.
"I know exactly what that egg is. There are two of them anyway. Giving one away won't hurt anything. I'll handle the consequences. You don't need to worry."
Gyokuryu Shigen glanced coldly at Black Ape as he spoke, his tone leaving no room for argument.
That one glance sent a chill through Black Ape's body. He didn't dare say more, and quickly opened Box No. 2 beside him. From within, he pulled out a dark green Pokémon egg and walked over to Liam, muttering as he did.
"Here. Take it. Hold it carefully—it's valuable! If you drop it, I'm not paying for a replacement!"
He shoved the egg into Liam's arms with a scowl, then turned and stomped off.
Liam looked down at the egg in his arms with confusion, then turned toward Gyokuryu Shigen for an explanation.
Seeing the look in Liam's eyes, Gyokuryu Shigen smiled and said:
"These two eggs were found by the hunting group in Mt. Silver. If there's no mistake, they should hatch into Larvitar. Larvitar, as you may know, can eventually evolve into the Tyrant of the Sands—Tyranitar. It's a rare and precious species. Originally, the plan was to bring both back to the League for cultivation, but now, let this one be a peace offering from Black Ape to you. I hope you won't dwell on the earlier unpleasantness. Let it all be water under the bridge."
Gyokuryu Shigen's face was gentle as he spoke of the egg's value, but his tone was relaxed, as if he were merely giving away a Rattata egg. Watching from the side, Black Ape swallowed nervously and enviously.
Liam's mouth fell open in astonishment. He tightened his grip on the dark green egg, suddenly terrified he might drop it by accident.
He never imagined he would obtain a Larvitar egg so easily. His goal for coming to Mt. Silver in the first place had been to try his luck—see if he could catch a member of the Tyranitar line. But after arriving, he realized just how unrealistic that goal was.
Mt. Silver was simply too vast, and its Pokémon were far too scattered. That morning, after wandering for hours, he'd only encountered two Pokémon—one of which had been driven to desperation and fled toward him. It was clear now how difficult it would be to find any Tyranitar-line Pokémon here.
And yet now, a complete Larvitar egg was resting in his arms. How could Liam not be excited?
"Ahem… hahaha, I'll gladly accept this peace offering then. As for Black Ape's earlier behavior, I'll be the bigger person and let it go. Hahaha, I still have things to take care of, so I won't disturb you any further. Let's talk again when there's time. Farewell!"
Wearing a bright smile, Liam spoke to Gyokuryu Shigen and Black Ape. Then, as if afraid they might regret it and take back the egg, he quickly called over Garchomp and Arcanine, turned around, and dashed into the corridor at full speed—disappearing in an instant.
"Tch! Country bumpkin…"
Black Ape scoffed at Liam's hasty departure, but in his narrow eyes burned an intense light of envy, jealousy, and resentment.
"All right, stop wasting time. Get up here—we need to return to the Johto League Headquarters immediately and get this thing back safely."
Once Liam was gone, the warmth in Gyokuryu Shigen's expression vanished. His commanding aura returned, and his voice turned cold as he spoke to Black Ape.
"Yes, sir!!"
Feeling the oppressive pressure from Gyokuryu Shigen, Black Ape quickly responded and carried the two aluminum cases onto the helicopter. The rotor spun faster, and the craft slowly lifted off from the ground.
—
In the air, inside the helicopter, Black Ape stared uneasily at the two boxes beside him. Finally, he pointed to the unopened Box No. 1 and turned to ask Gyokuryu Shigen:
"My lord, was it really worth exposing the identity I've kept hidden for so long, just for that item we happened to discover? And to have you come out in person… wasn't that overkill?"
Gyokuryu Shigen had been resting with his eyes half closed. At Black Ape's question, he opened one eye, glanced at him, and then reached out to open the box while speaking in a low voice:
"Your hunting group originally intended to use Mt. Silver as a foothold to re-enter Kanto's poaching trade. That in itself didn't concern me—I would've ignored it. But that you found this in Mt. Silver? That I cannot overlook. The value of this item isn't something you or I can measure. Forget your cover—sacrificing a life would be worth it. This concerns the future of all Johto."
Emotion stirred in Gyokuryu Shigen's voice. After a pause, he sighed and continued.
"Sigh… Even I never imagined that the legendary figure would leave behind a relic in Mt. Silver… let alone this sacred item. Perhaps… this is humanity's one chance at redemption. Let's pray that the disaster from over a century ago never repeats itself…"
As Gyokuryu Shigen whispered, the aluminum case creaked open.
Both men stared silently at what lay inside—a translucent bell radiating a mysterious light.
They said nothing for a long time.