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June 27th

When Hikaru woke up from his sleep, he noticed something pressing down on his chest, making it a little hard to breathe.

Celebi was lying quietly on top of him.

Meanwhile, Doublade remained propped against the wall at a 45° angle, now appearing as two separate swords, resting even more securely.

Outside the house, Petilil remained nestled in the soil and hadn’t returned inside.

This workshop is getting lively.

Hikaru now had three Pokémon by his side—although he hadn’t officially captured Celebi, they had become friends, which felt even better.

He lay there, staring at the ceiling, unwilling to move in case he disturbed Celebi. Before long, Celebi stretched lazily, its tiny feet flexing as it let out a light, joyful sound.

“Tii~”

Seeing Celebi wake up, Hikaru’s mood also improved. However, he couldn’t help but notice the dark rings around Celebi’s eyes, resembling sleep deprivation.

Forget it. Some comments are better left unsaid.

“Good morning.”

Hikaru greeted Celebi, who flapped its tiny wings and hovered into the air, allowing him to sit up. However, Celebi seemed to notice his sluggishness and quickly flew to his head, closing its eyes as it began to hum softly.

The sound was incredibly pleasant, like distant chimes echoing through the sky.

Heal Bell restored Hikaru’s condition!

“Oh! I feel great now!”

“Let’s have breakfast first!”

Hikaru patted Celebi’s head and went to the kitchen.

Today, he planned to make something special.

After obtaining Hard Minerals, he had yet to attempt crafting Lure Dumplings. Now was the perfect time to put that technique to use.

In the Hisui era, Lure Dumplings were made by combining lure ingredients with specific plants or minerals. The base was typically rice dumplings or flour-based dumplings.

Wait… if I use rice, isn’t that just onigiri? And if I use flour, isn’t that basically steamed buns?

Thinking this over, Hikaru began making Lure Dumplings. He steamed rice, shaped it into dumplings, and mixed in the Hard Minerals, causing the dumplings to take on a faint pink hue. This completed the most basic “Mineral Lure Dumpling.”

However, after contemplating the crafting knowledge in his mind, he decided to enhance it further.

“Celebi, can you use Magical Leaf?”

Celebi, who had been curiously eyeing the dumplings, looked up at Hikaru and nodded.

“Tii!”

It didn’t know why Hikaru was asking, but it immediately produced a flurry of Magical Leaves.

Hikaru blended the leaves into the Mineral Lure Dumplings, adding chopped berries as well.

『Crafting Complete!』

『Crafted Food: Mineral Lure Dumpling』

『Effect: Made from minerals, Magical Leaves, berries, and lure ingredients. Strongly attracts Grass- and Rock-type Pokémon. Mixing in other special ingredients may create unique effects.』

『Bonus Effect: Overgrowth Food – Temporarily enhances Grass-type energy, benefiting Grass-type Pokémon growth!』

『Knowledge Gained: Cooking Expertise – Food quality increased by 15%.』

Wait… did I just make an Overgrowth Dumpling?

Hikaru looked at the dumpling in his hand and passed it to Celebi, who immediately took it and devoured it with delight.

It’s delicious!

Stretching his body, Hikaru noticed Doublade waking up, floating lazily from its corner. Outside the window, Petilil’s leaves swayed as it peeked in curiously.

Everyone’s awake!

Hikaru opened the window, picked up Petilil, and made a few more dumplings. Both Petilil and Doublade were delighted, especially Petilil, who felt a surge of power after eating the Overgrowth Dumpling.

“Waa waa!”

The leaves on its head seemed to grow slightly larger!

“Alright, today we’ll head to Shinto Forest. I need to prepare my equipment first.”

After breakfast, Hikaru gathered everything he needed:

Work attire Material backpack Carving and repair tools Luminous Moss (for Celebi)

Suddenly, Celebi flew over to its statue and hugged it tightly.

“You want to take it with you?”

“Tii!” Celebi nodded eagerly. It really liked the statue. But after glancing around, it quickly floated over to Doublade and whispered something.

“Yuuuu~” Doublade translated, “Celebi wants to trade something valuable for the statue.”

“Labi~!” Celebi chirped proudly, expressing its reasoning.

Through time travel, it could collect treasures from different eras! If Hikaru was willing to trade, it wouldn’t take the statue for free.

“If we place Celebi’s statue in the forest shrine, it’ll probably function like a save point for wild Pokémon, huh? Since it allows move re-learning.”

Hikaru chuckled. “Alright, I’ll look forward to the trade next time.”

“Tii~!” Celebi nodded confidently, promising that its next gift would not disappoint.

Once Hikaru and the Pokémon were ready to leave, Petilil excitedly joined in.

“Since no one’s staying home today, we’ll all go together.”

“Waa waa~!”

Petilil clenched its leafy fists with determination. It had been training and working hard these past few days—now it was stronger than ever!

“You’re pretty eager, but we might not run into those Hisuian Voltorb this time.”

Hikaru patted its leaves, then set off with his Pokémon toward the forest.

After they left, deep within the forest, a Turtwig peeked out from the bushes, watching Hikaru and his Pokémon with envy.

It must be nice to have companions…

But since they weren’t here today, it could finally come to the workshop and bask in the sunlight. Photosynthesis would help the plants on its back grow better.

I don’t have any companions, so I have to rely on these “special grasses” to get stronger.

Perched atop the workshop roof, Unown E observed the Turtwig.

It had noticed this little guy visiting for the past few days—it must’ve been brought here by Celebi.

Since it didn’t seem to be damaging the land, Unown E decided to continue watching for now.

…

With Celebi leading the way, the group first passed through the area where they had previously chopped trees, then moved deeper toward the northwest—toward where they had found the Black Apricorn tree.

The route soon changed.

“Wait, this is the same direction that Hisuian Voltorb rolled off in?”

Hikaru rubbed his chin and checked his supplies. Just in case, he took out a Max Repel and a Silent Spray.

Max Repel: Prevents weak wild Pokémon encounters. Silent Spray: Temporarily silences footsteps, making it harder for wild Pokémon to detect the user.

Petilil remained on high alert, constantly scanning the surroundings.

After using the sprays, the effect was immediate—wild Pokémon moved away. Hikaru picked up several dropped Pokémon materials along the way, as well as more Hard Minerals.

They had been traveling northwest for a long time now. Yet, contrary to expectations, no battles had broken out.

No wild Pokémon attacked.

No Hisuian Voltorb appeared.

Then, Celebi suddenly flew ahead and gestured excitedly.

“Tii!”

We’re here! The ruins! Let’s collect some stones first!

A massive fallen tree lay across the forest path, surrounded by other tilted trees. Something must have happened here.

“Doublade, use Fury Cutter.”

Technically, Cut would be better, but the fallen tree was too massive.

Doublade immediately unsheathed its blades.

Double-speed Fury Cutter—Cancel!

“You don’t have to cancel this one…” Hikaru scratched his head as Doublade swiftly carved out a large gap in the tree, allowing them to pass through.

Beyond the dense greenery, they emerged into an open clearing—clearly not a natural formation. The entrance to an ancient ruin stood before them, partially collapsed, with signs of previous repairs.

Hikaru took a step inside and immediately sensed something was off.

The patterns on the ground… they looked familiar.

Like an H.

“This… Is this Rock Mountain Ruins?!”

Hikaru gazed deeper into the ruins. The temple’s primary color was an earthy brown, seemingly built from a mixture of mud bricks and stone.

In various legends, Rock Mountain Ruins was known as the resting place of Regirock, one of the legendary titans. The ruins’ locations and unlocking methods varied across different regions, but their connection to the titans remained consistent.

As Hikaru walked further inside, he noticed that, just like in other Rock Mountain Ruins, there were no extra rooms—only a main hall. Inside, a massive stone statue of a giant figure stood, though it was severely damaged.

Signs of battle covered the area.

For a moment, Hikaru felt a strange sensation—as if time had rewound. The broken ruins before him restored to their original state in his vision, showing the temple as it once was.

He quickly shook his head, snapping out of the illusion. As the vision faded, new knowledge surfaced in his mind.

So that’s it… This illusion was triggered by my “Ancient Inscriptions” knowledge!

Understanding of all ruin-related knowledge has increased by 25%.

So that’s what it meant… I can now perceive how ruins originally looked and decipher hidden mechanisms and inscriptions!

With this newfound insight, Hikaru quickly noticed something hidden beneath a pile of rubble in the corner—a cache of iron ore and a faintly glowing purple stone placed on the ground.

It was an Evolution Stone!

Hikaru hurriedly picked up the Evolution Stone, verifying its authenticity. Since he had previously obtained one before, no new crafting techniques were triggered, but he still felt satisfied.

“Yuuu~!”

Doublade immediately reacted upon seeing the Evolution Stone, vibrating excitedly.

It’s back! The stone is back!

“I’ll help refine it when we return,” Hikaru reassured.

“Yuuup~!”

For once, Doublade’s two blades didn’t argue; instead, they seemed genuinely happy.

Not long after Hikaru and his Pokémon entered the ruins, a large Scyther landed on a fallen tree nearby.

Its eyes widened at the sight of the massive tree that had been cleaved cleanly in half.

“Scy!”

A powerful opponent!

Scyther sharpened its scythes, its gaze filled with caution as it examined the footprints on the ground.

Did an outsider enter?

The swordsmanship displayed in that cut was beyond ordinary. If a trainer like that remained in the outer regions of the forest, it would pose a problem for its dominance.

“Scy.”

A black phantom-like titan,

A giant bear covered in peat,

A rock colossus,

And now, a human who could slice apart massive trees?

There were too many obstacles to its rule.

First, that massive bear had wandered into the outer forest, causing a mess. Then, the stone giant’s awakening had disrupted the forest’s peace. Now, even humans were meddling in things.

Yet, despite all this frustration, Scyther felt an unusual hesitation.

Why don’t I feel the urge to attack this human?

Every time it attempted to follow the footprints deeper into the ruins, its battle instincts dulled. It couldn’t explain the sensation, and after several moments of indecision, Scyther reluctantly flew away.

This human is strange… I’ll deal with that stone giant instead!

With that, Scyther disappeared into the depths of the forest.

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep