Chapter 62Two extremely effective ground-based attacks, along with the devastating rge-area Fme Burst from Bziken—a move with almost no restraint and energy quality far beyond its tier—inflicted serious damage on Nidoking and Nidoqueen.

  The two were paralyzed, unable to move, but still managed to stay on their feet. Despite the fierce assault, their durability and bance allowed them to remain in the fight.

  "Iron Tail! Maintain control over Gigalith! Continuous Fmethrower!"

  Tetsuya barked out commands without hesitation, taking advantage of the brief stalemate while his three Pokemon recovered from their recent attacks.

  Tyrantrum's steel-coated tail glowed with a bright white light as it swept viciously across the abdomens of Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Bziken followed up instantly, spewing a continuous stream of searing fmes.

  Between the shifting sands beneath them and the relentless heat of the fire, the two Poison-Ground types could no longer hold their ground. Their roars of pain echoed through the cave before their charred, dust-covered bodies colpsed to the ground, fainted and defeated.

  Tetsuya swiftly threw two Poké Balls, capturing both without much resistance.

  Only a little more than a minute had passed since the battle began. A few other cave-dwelling Pokémon, drawn by their boss's call for help, arrived just in time to witness their leader being sealed away into a Poké Ball.

  Each newcomer reacted differently. A reckless Zubat darted forward without thinking, only to be swatted against a stone wall by Tyrantrum's powerful Arm Hammer, instantly knocked out.

  Paras and his two companions wisely chose to flee the scene. Tetsuya didn't bother to pursue them.

  Their materials might be worth something, but tracking them down was more hassle than it was worth. One or two Paras weren't valuable enough to divert his focus.

  He picked up the two Poké Balls, shrank them, and activated the auto-lock function to prevent any escape attempts.

  In recent years, Poké Balls had been updated with a new feature: by default, captured Pokémon could enter and exit their balls freely unless specifically locked by the trainer. While this function had saved many lives in critical situations, it also came with risks.

  For Pokémon like Nidoking and Nidoqueen, who were not destined to be part of his team, Tetsuya had no intention of giving them that freedom. He couldn't afford to be caught off guard.

  Still, he was gd that the two of them would fetch a decent price on the bck market.

  But tely, Tetsuya had been visiting the bck market too frequently, and it was starting to weigh on him.

  He figured it might be smarter to exchange them for resources at the Pewter Gym instead.

  The bck market profits were high but shady. As long as it was small-scale, he could get away with it, but moving powerful Pokémon for rge sums of money too often would put a target on his back.

  Raiji, the Pewter City Gym Leader, had hinted at that more than once—sometimes subtly, sometimes less so.

  Tetsuya wasn’t naive. The bck market might look wless, but the Pokémon League had eyes everywhere.

  Selling Caterpie or common Pokémon might fly under the radar, but unloading strong fighters repeatedly? That was a different story.

  Trading resources with gyms might just be exploiting a loophole, but it was a safer one. The League turned a blind eye to it—for now.

  Still, gyms weren’t easy customers. Their standards for trades were much higher than the bck market. They wouldn't take anything subpar.

  But Tetsuya had a way around that.

  He looked deeper into the cave, wondering what else might lie inside.

  Ordering Tyrantrum to lead the way, the dinosaur-like Pokémon marched forward with confidence. It had been in this cave many times before and had even bested Nidoking and Nidoqueen on earlier occasions when they were less powerful.

  This wasn’t their first incursion.

  Tetsuya slipped on his night vision goggles without hesitation. He didn't need Bziken to light the way—that would be wasting his talents.

  He liked to say he had a photographic memory, and while that was mostly true, even he forgot things sometimes. Having a perfect recall doesn’t mean everything is at the front of your mind all the time.

  He followed Tyrantrum into the cave—and stopped.

  A bze of color greeted him. The entire cave interior was lit by glowing moss and clusters of fluorescent stones.

  With a groan, he ripped off the night vision goggles.

  "Seriously? You made the outside pitch-bck, but the inside looks like a rave? What were you two thinking… oh, right. Poison-types."

  He muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. The logic of Pokémon never failed to baffle him.

  With the cave fully illuminated, Tetsuya began his search, fnked by his loyal team.

  Bziken stayed close, acting as a personal bodyguard, while Tyrantrum and Gigalith took up positions at the other entrances, standing guard against any intruders.

  Though Nidoking had ruled this domain, Tetsuya wasn’t about to let his guard down.

  Wearing a gas mask and disposable gloves, he got to work.

  "Nice, first score: solid rock."

  He nodded to himself, holding up a chunk of the special mineral. Rock-types loved this stuff. It naturally replenished energy and enhanced their strength.

  Gigalith especially thrived on it; this kind of rock was a staple in its diet.

  From a rough estimate, the haul was enough to feed Gigalith for two days.

  Not bad. Nidoking and his crew didn’t eat rocks, so they probably used it as a reward for underlings.

  He tossed the chunk into his spacious storage backpack and continued his search.

  This cave was huge. Even if he didn’t find a Moon Stone, there was still plenty of value to be had.

  Tetsuya combed the area inch by inch, determined to uncover every hidden treasure.

  "Haha, there it is!"

  He beamed with satisfaction, plucking a small patch of green, glowing moss from a piece of fluorescent grass.

  All his studying and knowledge weren’t for nothing. This odd cave yout finally made sense.

  He tucked the moss into a sample container, already calcuting the potential benefits it could bring.

  Today had been a good day.

  This is light moss, which often grows deep under the sea and in caves. When discovered, the surrounding environment is usually bnketed in fluorescent grass and glowing stones, making it stand out vividly.

  Its function is subtle but useful: with long-term use, it can slightly increase a Pokémon's resistance to Water-type moves. While the effect is limited, it's still valuable for Rock-, Ground-, and Fire-type Pokémon.

  At present, most light moss on the market is harvested from the wild. Trainers typically choose to keep it for themselves rather than sell it. The only known institution capable of cultivating light moss artificially is affiliated with the Oak Research Institute, which keeps the market price high.

  Tetsuya swept his surroundings and carefully gathered a full bag of light moss. He weighed it slightly in his hands. Gigalith wouldn’t benefit much from this in terms of Water resistance, so for now, Bziken was the only one who could use it. It would st about two months—saving him a good chunk of Alliance coins.

  Of course, "long-term use" didn’t mean just a couple of months—it was more like years. Luckily, he hadn’t taken too much, or he’d be in the red.

  Still not satisfied, Tetsuya began combing over the area again, hoping for something else.

  "Where’s the cy? There should be cy here," he muttered to himself.

  What he was after now was Light Cy—a substance typically found alongside light moss. The two were almost symbiotic.

  Light Cy is used to boost a Pokémon’s ability to use Reflect and Light Screen more efficiently. Usually, if you found light moss, you’d find Light Cy nearby. Not always, but often enough to hope.

  Eventually, tucked into a small corner of the cave, he spotted a fragment of Light Cy. It wasn’t rge—maybe half the size of his palm—but his face lit up.

  Even that small amount was worth a fortune. The Oak Research Institute paid top coin for Light Cy since it helped in cultivating more light moss. The two were directly reted: more cy often meant better moss yields.

  Carefully, he packed the cy into a box and pced it into his backpack. The value of this single find alone was in the millions. And he wasn’t done yet.

  With a gleam in his eyes, Tetsuya walked toward a cleared-out space in the cave that was clearly used as a resting spot by Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Several stones had been arranged into a makeshift bed.

  As he approached, his heart skipped a beat.

  Two Moon Stones y quietly beside each other.

  Jackpot.

  Moon Stones are among the most versatile and valuable evolutionary stones known. Six different Pokémon are confirmed to need them for evolution—Nidoking and Nidoqueen, the psychic-type Musharna, the graceful Clefable, the dreamy Wigglytuff, and the mysterious Delcatty.

  The first three are battle-hardened favorites among trainers. The tter three, adored by Coordinators and breeders, are a staple in contests and showcases.

  Because Pokémon evolving through stones generally don’t have level restrictions, Moon Stones retain their high market value.

  Tetsuya picked them up and did a quick scan, summoning Zero to measure their energy levels.

  Seventy-six and seventy-seven—not amazing, but decent. He wasn’t disappointed. It was unlikely to find high-quality stones like the Fire Stone he once discovered.

  Besides, Nidoking and Nidoqueen had likely already used the highest-quality stones avaible to them when they evolved. These remaining two were the leftovers.

  Still, even the leftovers of evolution stones were worth a fortune. They’d once owned five pieces. Among humans, that would’ve made them billionaires.

  Tetsuya grinned. "Well, they had good luck. I just had better."

  He dropped the two Moon Stones into his backpack and scanned the room one st time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

  Nothing else. Good.

  It wasn’t surprising there were no Pokémon eggs around. According to Oak Institute research, once a Nidoran female evolves into Nidoqueen, she loses the ability to y eggs. Instead, she gains greater attack capabilities to protect her offspring.

  If she wants to reproduce, it has to be while she’s still a Nidoran.

  That’s why you often see Nidoran males and females cuddling in the wild—they're trying to make the most of that window.

  Tetsuya chuckled to himself. He still remembered being surprised the first time he saw a Nidoking and Nidoqueen couple acting all lovey-dovey.

  Of course, it was their business, but... with Nidoqueen’s armor-like scales and bristling spines, he couldn't quite picture how they pulled it off. Not that he wanted to.

  With the three Pokémon accompanying him, he walked out of the cave, feeling the satisfying weight of his spoils in the backpack. The Moon Stones alone made this trip more than worth it.

  Back at the Pewter Gym, Brock looked up from his desk, surprised. "Tetsuya? I thought you were still enrolled at the Pokémon Research School. What brings you back so suddenly?"

  "I only have morning or afternoon csses. The rest of my time is free," Tetsuya replied casually.

  He was practically glowing with excitement. "And I had a pretty good trip to Mt. Moon."

  Brock raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

  Tetsuya unclipped three Poké Balls from his belt and held them up. Pointing to two of them, he said, "These are Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Elite-tier. Their potential's pretty much maxed out—they evolved too early with Moon Stones. I’d like to hand them over for processing.

  The third is a Tyrantrum. I want to assess its potential. If it checks out, I’ll keep it here at the gym as a second-string team member."

  Naturally, he already knew their potentials. But there was no need to say that out loud.

  Brock nodded. "Alright. These three could be quite valuable. But you don’t need to bring them to me directly. Just hand them over to the logistics department."

  He was right. As the acting Gym Leader, he didn’t usually deal with these kinds of administrative matters.

  "Come on," Tetsuya scoffed, shooting him a look. "You think I’d bother you over just that?"

  He pulled two Moon Stones from his bag. "This is the real prize."

  "Only two?" Brock said with mock disdain, even as his fingers snatched them up for inspection.

  Even for a major gym like Pewter, which was right next to Mt. Moon, Moon Stones weren’t easy to come by. They were rare meteorite fragments that survived entry through the atmosphere—provided they didn’t get vaporized by a certain dragon in the sky.

  "What are you pnning to do with them?" Brock asked, his tone a little more serious now.

  Tetsuya just smiled.