Ace gazed longingly at the Fire Stone. Even though he didn't need it himself, if he sold it, his wallet wouldn't be so empty!
"Then I won't be polite," Ace finally gave in to temptation and took the Fire Stone, placing it in his backpack.
"Oh, right, Zubat, can you help me ask Dugtrio if there are any fossils here? I want to dig for one."
Seeing how amiable Dugtrio was, Ace's courage grew. He wanted to unearth a fossil, but randomly searching here would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
However, with a local expert like Dugtrio leading the way, the efficiency would be far greater than Ace slowly trying on his own.
Zubat reluctantly went to translate for Ace, conveying his thoughts to Dugtrio.
Dugtrio paused, then nodded, taking the lead towards a tunnel entrance.
Seeing this, Ace and Zubat quickly followed.
They walked for an unknown amount of time in the dim cave. Ace could only roughly estimate that it was already night by how many times his stomach rumbled.
After a quick snack, Ace and Zubat drank some water. Dugtrio finally led Ace and Zubat to their destination.
It was a path that hadn't been fully excavated, but on the wall at the end of the path, a scythe-shaped stone skeleton was embedded in the mud.
"Kabutops!"
With just a glance at the distinctive scythe, Ace immediately recognized what Pokémon's skeleton this fossil belonged to.
He excitedly pulled out his pickaxe and pried the skeleton out of the mud.
The entire skeleton was just a single scythe, but for Ace, it was enough.
Because the side quest could now be completed!
"Side Quest (Excavation Expert) completed. Task evaluation: B. Reward: 400 gold coins, three task points."
But this was only the beginning.
Ace knew that there was a large fossil museum in Pewter City. If he could find more fossils and sell them, it would be a significant amount of money.
More importantly, what Ace truly wanted was an Aerodactyl. While Kabutops was strong, it didn't meet Ace's requirements.
"Let's look for the Old Amber."
Ace swung his pickaxe, beginning to excavate the wall.
Dugtrio tilted its head, a bit confused about what Ace wanted to do.
However, it seemed Ace wanted these things.
Dugtrio thought for a moment, then suddenly burrowed underground. When it reappeared, it had some fossilized teeth on its head.
"This is..."
Ace was stunned. Reality wasn't like a game where you could immediately identify the type of fossil. More often, it was like this: only fragmented body parts, making it difficult to identify the fossil.
But this was true for others. For Ace, who had the system, the information on these fossilized tooth fragments quickly appeared before his eyes.
"Aerodactyl's Tooth Fossil: These are the fangs of an Aerodactyl from ancient times."
Ace's eyes widened, and then he looked at the pickaxe in his hand.
At this moment, Ace genuinely felt that this thing was a bit too expensive!
He carefully put the tooth fossils away. With these items, Ace could attempt to revive an Aerodactyl. If he truly obtained an Aerodactyl, Ace's strength would be significantly boosted.
Dugtrio saw Ace put away the items and nodded. It burrowed underground once more, and when it reappeared, it brought up more broken bone fragments.
There were also Omanyte shell fossils and Kabuto foreleg fossils.
Dugtrio went down and up several times, and Ace acquired three sets of Aerodactyl fossils, along with more than a dozen sets each of Omanyte and Kabuto fossils.
"Dugtrio, thank you so much."
Ace was truly grateful to Dugtrio. Its help saved him a lot of time.
Thinking of this, Ace spent some gold coins and ordered a customized Pokémon food for Dugtrio.
Opening the can and offering it to Dugtrio, Ace sincerely said, "This is a thank you gift."
Dugtrio looked at the can and the delicious-smelling food inside. After a moment of hesitation, Dugtrio began to eat heartily.
Watching Dugtrio eat, its eyes narrowed in happiness, Ace knew that Dugtrio truly loved the taste.
With plenty of fossils, Ace stopped digging. With one less thing on his mind, a wave of exhaustion immediately washed over him.
He put down his backpack and leaned against it, sitting down.
Although he didn't know the exact time, Ace had walked all day and dug at the rock face, leaving him utterly exhausted.
Leaving Zubat, the night owl, to stand guard, Ace quickly fell asleep. A slight smile occasionally appeared on his sleeping face, clearly indicating that Ace was having a good dream.
With no more side quests to restrict him, Ace spent the following time rushing towards Pewter City.
Having Dugtrio lead the way saved Ace many detours, but it still took him three full days to reach the end of Diglett's Cave.
"Dugtrio, thank you for leading the way..."
Seeing the sunlight from the cave exit in the distance, Ace was about to thank Dugtrio for guiding him these past few days, but when he came to his senses, he realized that Dugtrio, who had been leading the way, had already vanished without a trace.
"It left so quickly..."
Ace shook his head helplessly, then climbed out of Diglett's Cave.
The sunlight poured down, and the dazzling light made Ace close his eyes. Only when he felt he could tolerate it did he slowly open them a crack.
Once he had fully adjusted to the sunlight, Ace finally emerged from Diglett's Cave.
Looking around, he noticed that, compared to Vermilion City, the area around Pewter City was remarkably barren.
This was normal, however. As a city currently rich in mineral resources, Pewter City had suffered severe environmental damage to its surroundings.
This situation would only slowly recover, but it would take at least several years of effort to restore the lush green mountains and clear waters.
Seeing the city in the distance, Ace took a deep breath, tightened his backpack, and quickly walked in the direction of Pewter City.
He needed to quickly sell the two evolutionary stones and the large quantity of fossil fragments he had. Otherwise, with the League currency Ace currently held, it wouldn't be enough to sustain his journey.
As Ace gradually moved away from Diglett's Cave, a patch of ground outside the cave shifted. Dugtrio emerged from the ground, watching Ace's retreating back.
Perhaps it was seeing Ace off, or perhaps there was another meaning.
But...
Who knew?
After all, in a journey, meeting and parting are always the norm.