Chapter 128: The Second Mega Stone

“Na-da?”

The Axew, its snout smeared with dirt from foraging on the ground, lifted its head, looking a bit grimy.

Hu Yang: “...”

He was well aware of the Axew’s habits.

Once it evolved from Axew to Fraxure, if its tusks broke, they wouldn’t grow back again.

Therefore, after every battle, Fraxure would grind its tusks against stones by the water’s edge and use the minerals in the soil to maintain and care for them, ensuring their longevity.

“You silly little dragon,” Hu Yang murmured, wiping the excess dirt from the Fraxure’s mouth, mentally noting to buy new grinding stones and dental care products for it.

After finishing its dirt snack, Fraxure stood up obediently, allowing its trainer to pet it, and emitted an affectionate call: “Na-da~”

Since its evolution, Hu Yang had rarely seen Axew display such a coquettish demeanor.

Seeing it now, he felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Seizing the moment, he turned that happiness into action, pulling out a bottle of specially crafted refreshing soda from his backpack and feeding it to Fraxure with his own hands.

Fraxure reached out its paw, trying to hold the bottle itself, but the doting trainer refused.

Unable to resist, Fraxure blushed and shyly said, “Na-da...”

In the wild, once an Axew evolved into its final form, Haxorus, its personality, though still gentle, grew more independent.

They were fiercely territorial Pokémon, terrifying when angered, showing no mercy to intruders.

A mighty Haxorus did not rely on others.

They transformed from the protected into the protector.

How could a mature, excellent Haxorus still act like a little Axew and beg for affection?

Though Fraxure had not yet evolved into Haxorus, this subconscious notion had already taken root within it.

Hence, after Hu Yang finished feeding it soda, Fraxure shyly scurried away.

Hu Yang: “...”

He put away the empty soda bottle, planning to dispose of it properly once he reached the city.

Looking around, he noticed Gengar huddled with Ralts and Gardevoir, selecting ingredients they liked, likely to hand over to Hu Yang for cooking.

Charmander trailed nearby, watching curiously.

Seeing this, Hu Yang called out: “Charmander!”

“Fire?” Charmander looked up, as if asking what was needed.

Hu Yang waved at him, and Charmander immediately dropped the ingredients in hand and ran over.

“Fire!”

“What do you want to eat? I’ll cook for you,” Hu Yang asked as he petted Charmander’s head.

Charmander in real life was truly adorable.

Its eyes were a clear, bright blue, its body a vibrant orange with a creamy underbelly and the underside of its tail.

“Fire~” it replied cheerfully, meaning “Anything’s fine~”

Hu Yang thought it was very obedient, though its kind of obedience differed from Axew’s when it was young.

Axew was somewhat naïve and slow-witted, while Charmander was genuinely gentle and docile, but not as straightforward as Axew.

He recalled a book he once read at school about Charmander’s nature.

It said that Charmander was the calmest among its evolutionary family and was stubbornly loyal to its trainer.

Because of this, Charmander was chosen as the starter Pokémon in the Kanto region, bred and offered by Pokémon breeders to new trainers.

Charmander’s body was genuinely warm to the touch.

Hu Yang scooped it up, playing happily with it.

Yes, a little warm companion for winter, perfect!

He imagined giving it a fragrant bath when they returned and cuddling it to sleep—how perfect that would be.

Just as Hu Yang daydreamed about holding Charmander on a snowy winter night, Gengar and the others came over carrying the ingredients they had picked.

Hu Yang set Charmander down and began cooking.

Gengar pulled Charmander aside, whispering something to him.

Hu Yang couldn’t understand, but judging by Gengar gesturing toward the flame on Charmander’s tail, he guessed they planned to use the fire to roast the meat.

Hu Yang focused on preparing lunch for each Pokémon.

In the afternoon, Noctowl continued fetching stones.

Hu Yang stayed put, directing several Pokémon in simulated battle training.

Before long, evening fell.

Hu Yang lit a portable camping lamp in front of the tent and counted their afternoon’s haul.

It consisted of eighteen Moon Stones, two ancient fossils from Noibat, and three Everstones.

This was quite a rich harvest.

The only regret was the absence of any Keystone or Mega Stones.

Having collected the Everstones from Magikarp, Hu Yang packed them away and looked toward the depths of the Moonview Mountain cave.

Noctowl had yet to return.

Checking the time, Hu Yang saw it was already eight o’clock at night.

According to plan, he would only stay one night at Moonview Mountain, leaving early the next morning.

After all, he had come just to take a look and try his luck; he couldn’t stubbornly linger here.

There were plenty of Moon Stones; he could give one to Professor Birch later.

Given the origin of Moon Stones, they couldn’t be mass-produced—without meteors falling to Earth, their numbers would dwindle like Mega Stones, fewer with each use.

As Hu Yang pondered, a familiar call echoed from deep inside the cave.

He immediately recognized it—Noctowl was back.

Noctowl landed before him, opened its beak, and dropped one of the stones into his hand.

[Ancient Fossil Dragon Evolution Stone: A mysterious stone that, when held by an Aerodactyl, enables it to Mega Evolve during battle.]

“Oh? It really dropped one?”

Hu Yang was surprised; he had nearly given up hope.

“Thank you for your hard work!” Hu Yang patted Noctowl’s head.

But just then, Noctowl suddenly turned its gaze toward the darkness deeper in the cave.

“Gah?”

“What’s wrong?” Hu Yang was taken aback.

As he looked up, a group of familiar figures emerged from the shadows.

They were the same group of Clefairy he had seen rummaging through trash bins back in Nibi City.

“Clefairy!”

The Clefairy appeared suddenly, glaring angrily at Noctowl before fixing their eyes on the Aerodactyl Evolution Stone in Hu Yang’s hand.

Hu Yang: “...”

Could it be that Noctowl had snatched this from them?

He looked down at the Moon Stone, and its description changed as the Clefairy appeared.

[Clefairy’s Spaceship Repair Tool (misidentified): A treasured item collected by Clefairy longing to return to their homeland; they intend to use this stone to repair their damaged spaceship.]

Across the campfire, the Clefairy chattered “Clefairy, Clefairy” angrily.

Hu Yang couldn’t understand them, so he asked Gengar to translate.

“What are they saying?”

Gengar glanced at the Mega Stone and said, “They’re saying this belongs to them...”