Crunch, crunch, crunch...
In the quiet of Diglett's Cave, Ace swung his pickaxe enthusiastically at the rock face before him.
Rocks flew, hitting Ace, but they were all blocked by his one-piece suit, causing him no harm.
And the pickaxe in his hand once again proved the saying: "System-made, always excellent."
Even a young kid like Ace could easily smash through rocks with the pickaxe.
Zubat hung upside down from the cave ceiling, vigilantly watching their surroundings to prevent Ace from being attacked by wild Pokémon.
"Fossils are usually hidden within rocks. I hope I haven't picked the wrong spot."
Ace's limited archaeological knowledge was still stuck on videos he'd seen in the past, where someone chipped a shell fossil out of a rock.
So, he figured, to find fossils, he had to dig within these rocks.
But perhaps that very first moment he entered the cave had completely used up all of Ace's good luck, because Ace dug there for a long time. Apart from a pile of gravel, he found no fossils, not even a single strand of hair.
But Ace, refusing to give up, continued to dig. He refused to believe he couldn't find a fossil!
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
After two more swings, Ace felt the sound was off, and quickly moved closer.
Removing the pickaxe, Ace looked at the wall and realized he had broken through the entire rock face. Through the newly made hole, Ace saw faint rays of light coming from the other side.
"Did I dig outside?"
Having been in the dim environment for so long, suddenly seeing light made it impossible for Ace to see what was on the other side.
After closing his eyes for a while, Ace finally adjusted to the light. Peering through the dug-out hole, he saw some glowing fungi growing on the other side.
These fungi emitted a faint light, illuminating the entire cave section opposite him.
"Looks like Paras."
Ace watched as Paras occasionally walked among the fungi, and he couldn't help but take a few steps back.
Although Paras aren't powerful Pokémon, their various spores are quite dangerous to humans.
So, if he could avoid conflict with them, Ace figured it was best not to bother these little creatures.
But just as Ace was about to leave, the hole he had dug was suddenly blocked by an eye that was all white.
The sudden appearance of the eerie eye startled Ace, making him instinctively take a few steps back.
However, Ace quickly realized it was a Parasect's eye!
Parasect saw Ace, and its eyes were filled with anger—the anger of its territory being invaded.
The next moment, a shimmering powder surged through the opening, rapidly heading towards Ace.
"Zubat!"
Ace immediately called out. Zubat had already noticed the situation, swiftly flew to Ace's side, its wings gleaming with a metallic sheen. With a powerful flap, it created a whirlwind, blowing the powder back.
"Go!"
Without another word, Ace immediately fled.
In such a narrow space, Zubat couldn't unleash its full power. Moreover, besides Parasect, there were numerous Paras.
If they were surrounded by these creatures, Zubat alone wouldn't be able to withstand the onslaught.
Zubat saw Ace retreating and quickly followed. Soon, they were far from that spot.
But the anger of invaded territory wasn't so easily dispelled. The Paras rushed to the gap, waving their claws and began to break down the wall. Once the gap was wide enough, they swarmed through.
However, Ace and Zubat had already escaped. The Paras, not finding the invaders, could only helplessly return behind the wall.
After they had all returned, some Diglett emerged from beneath the ground.
These Diglett looked at the now-damaged wall, and their faces instantly showed expressions of delight.
They had wanted to remove this wall for a long time, but the wall was too large, and they alone couldn't transport the entire rock face out.
But now that the rock face had been broken through, its overall structure was damaged. This meant they could use this as a starting point to slowly break down this troublesome wall.
"He's a good person."
The Diglett looked in the direction Ace had fled. For them, their impression of Ace immediately improved.
Meanwhile, Ace, running wildly and without direction, sadly realized he was lost.
Looking at the dozens of dense holes before him, Ace turned to Zubat and said dejectedly, "Zubat, can you scout these tunnels?"
Zubat shook its head decisively. These tunnels were so dense, like honeycomb-patterned soundproofing material. After its supersonic waves were emitted, most of them were absorbed. In its perception, the area before them was a deep abyss, and Zubat dared not blindly lead Ace forward.
"Then never mind, let's go back the way we came."
Ace sighed. With so many tunnels, if he chose poorly, he would truly be lost here.
Instead of risking that, it was better to go back the way he came while he still remembered the path.
But just as Ace was about to leave, three heads suddenly emerged from one of the tunnels. Ace paused. It was Dugtrio, the evolved form of Diglett.
Dugtrio called out to Ace. Ace didn't understand its meaning, but Zubat reacted, flapping its wings and flying towards Dugtrio.
"Is it telling me to follow?"
Seeing Zubat's actions, Ace immediately understood. Following Zubat, Ace walked to Dugtrio.
Dugtrio, seeing Ace follow, nodded to him, then led him deeper into the tunnel.
Ace followed Dugtrio closely. After an unknown amount of time, Ace gradually realized that Dugtrio had led him into a large underground space.
Here, many Diglett were going in and out, carrying chunks of gravel on their heads and dumping them into a large pit.
"Is this where you dispose of debris?"
Ace saw this scene and couldn't help but ask Dugtrio.
Dugtrio nodded, then continued leading Ace and Zubat forward.
When Ace and Zubat reached the large pit, Ace could see more clearly that the pit was filled with rubble, and scattered around it were numerous evolutionary stones!
Thunder Stones, Fire Stones, Water Stones, Leaf Stones—all four types of evolutionary stones were present.
Dugtrio indicated to Ace with its gaze, meaning he could take one of the evolutionary stones.
"Why are you giving me something?"
Facing Dugtrio's kindness, Ace was a bit bewildered. He hadn't done anything, had he? Why would they give him something?
Dugtrio said nothing, just quietly walked over, picked out a relatively large Fire Stone, and placed it in front of Ace, balancing it on its head.