Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom-Chapter 585 - 584: I Might Have Struck a Fortune!

Day Six.

Mythical Island.

Sandstone Zone.

Cain, accompanied by Drapion and Larvitar, resumed his treasure hunt.

For Larvitar, this was a source of immense joy—not so much for the thrill of the hunt, but for the reward that usually awaited at the end:

Plenty of delicious food!

The previous night, Larvitar had enthusiastically recounted to Aron what happened during these expeditions, making Aron incredibly envious.

If Aron had the same skills as Larvitar, he would have insisted on joining Cain to help find more minerals.

That day, the "treasure hunt" began smoothly, but as they reached the edges of the sandstone zone, they noticed something unusual.

According to the layout of Mythical Island, the Tree of Life stood at the center of the island. The meadow where Altaria lived was in the southern zone, quite far from the center.

North of that meadow stretched the Scolipede Forest, and beyond it lay the vast sandstone region, home to many Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon.

Beyond the sandstone zone, to the north, was a mountain range dividing the region in two. On this day, Cain and his team, while exploring, found themselves near this mountain range.

During the search, Cain came across several deep pits with clear signs of prior excavation. These pits, originally full of minerals, were now empty.

The first name that came to Cain's mind was Shuichi. This was surely the place where Shuichi had been transported, and the stones stored in his space pocket likely came from here.

There were traces of Excadrill both underground and on the surface.

What confirmed Cain's suspicions even further was that, in one of the deposits pointed out by Larvitar, Drapion found diamonds embedded in the rocks. They were identical in quality and color to the ones Larvitar had devoured earlier.

This confirmed that there wasn't a true diamond deposit in the sandstone zone, which was a bit disappointing. However, the abundance of other minerals they had found was still highly valuable.

Curiously, the closer they got to the mountain range, the more diamonds appeared in the deposits. While finding many diamonds in the central zone might have been normal, being at the boundaries of the sandstone region made it unusual.

After finishing the excavation of another deposit, Floette used her Grassy Terrain move to help the Pokémon recover energy. Then, after a quick lunch, they resumed their search.

They hadn't gone far when Larvitar, perched on Drapion, suddenly jumped in excitement, nearly causing Drapion to trip due to the unexpected weight.

Larvitar quickly patted Drapion's back in apology, wearing an expression that said, "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."

Noticing Larvitar's reaction, Cain asked, "What's wrong? Did you find something?" Larvitar nodded excitedly, pointing with his tiny hand toward a specific spot, shouting enthusiastically.

He seemed to be saying, "There! There's something delicious there!"

Following the direction Larvitar pointed, Cain saw that he was gesturing toward the base of the mountain. Could it really be a diamond deposit?

Wasting no time, Cain instructed Drapion to head there. At first glance, there were no visible signs on the surface or on the mountain wall. It was a steep cliff, at a ninety-degree angle, covered with loose rocks.

Cain summoned all his Pokémon, knowing that working in such an unstable area required caution, as rocks could fall at any moment.

Drapion, being the most skilled at digging, took the lead. Mining also served as excellent exercise for Drapion, helping him improve his body control and joint strength.

Slowly, they began excavating under the cliff. Larvitar was restless, pacing back and forth, clearly drawn to whatever was inside.

After about 40 minutes of teamwork, just as Cain began to doubt whether Larvitar had been mistaken, something happened.

Clang!

The metallic sound of Drapion's strike indicated they had hit something hard. Hearing this, Larvitar rushed to the spot, pointing excitedly and nearly drooling, convinced they had found "something delicious."

Cain approached to inspect and found small fragments of diamonds glimmering in the rock wall. "Is this... a diamond deposit?" Cain couldn't believe his luck.

Could it be that his good fortune would soon run out after this?

Motivated by the discovery, Drapion began digging with renewed enthusiasm. As Cain collected the stones, Larvitar took advantage of every small fragment that fell, quickly popping it into his mouth.

The crunching sound of diamonds being bitten was unmistakable, and though he tried to be discreet, the noise gave him away.

However, as the excavation continued, Cain noticed something strange. The quantity of diamonds seemed excessive, and most intriguingly, their color and quality were unnatural!

Then, it all clicked. Cain realized these diamonds hadn't been naturally formed.

His expression shifted from surprise to overwhelming joy.

If his assumptions were correct...

He had struck a fortune!

(End of Chapter)