Kalos region, Battle Chateau, evening.
As the sun set in the west, Lance and Wikstrom stood on opposite sides of the battle field, staring at each other.
Wait.
They had clearly agreed to challenge Johan who had just become a Duke, so how did it end up... with the two of them fighting each other?
This wasn't right!
Where was Johan?
Meanwhile, on Kalos Route 10, heading toward Coumarine City, a Rotom-Bike was leisurely cycling along.
"Riding my beloved bicycle~ I'll never get stuck in traffic~"
Johan hummed an off-key tune, his lips curved in a slight smile.
Want to challenge me? You think I don't know what Lance and Wikstrom are thinking?
The "mission" of challenging for Duke rank to exchange for a Mega Stone was complete. There was no point staying at the Battle Chateau - he wasn't planning to challenge for "Grand Duke" rank, he'd eaten Siebold's free cuisine several times, and feeling satisfied, he naturally left.
"Rotom, accelerate!"
"Understood, Rotom!"
After recovering from the battle, Rotom was now in good spirits, having gained some understanding of its own strength.
While it still didn't particularly like battling, it wasn't as resistant anymore.
Zzzt—
Golden electrical current appeared on the bicycle's rear motor. Rotom-Bike's speed immediately increased considerably, but remained within Johan's acceptable range.
However, at this moment, Regieleki in the Luxury Ball at his waist seemed to sense something. An electrical current shot from the Poké Ball into the bicycle's motor.
Whoosh—
The bicycle's speed increased again.
"Rotom, that's a bit too fast!" Johan gripped the handlebars tightly, his expression immediately changing.
"It's not me, Rotom—"
Rotom-Bike's speed continued climbing, quickly exceeding Johan's control range.
The next second.
Bang—
The bicycle shot through the guardrail, tracing a beautiful arc through the air. Larvitar, sitting in the back seat, gripped the seat firmly and blinked its bewildered eyes twice.
"Yoji?"
Flying again?
Then it heard Johan shout:
"Dragonite, save—!!"
On a grassy area where a not-too-dense forest met a stream, Johan stood with his arms crossed and a serious expression.
In front of him, Regieleki, less than 1.5 meters tall - more accurately, only 1.2 meters - hung its head low, its signal lights flashing embarrassedly.
"...So, without my permission, don't randomly charge Rotom in the future!" Johan said seriously.
"Regi... Regieleki..."
Regieleki nodded honestly.
It didn't know either - it had just felt Rotom increase its electrical output earlier and thought it was trying to do something, so it helped out. Who knew...
"Draaa~~"
Dragonite smiled foolishly nearby, patting Regieleki's shoulder to indicate it was fine.
Johan was in great shape and couldn't be seriously hurt by a fall. Rotom-Bike's quality was excellent too, and if worst came to worst, Tinkaton could help repair it. No big problem.
"Eleki..." Regieleki cautiously glanced at Johan and nodded again.
Johan knew Regieleki hadn't done it intentionally, but he still needed to give proper warnings. Otherwise... this time it was just a bicycle, but next time if it was a car or airplane, wouldn't that... make them fly even faster?
He looked up at the sky. The sun was already hanging on the treetops, its dim yellow light like an oversized candle flame, swaying as if it might fall at any moment.
"It's getting late. Let's camp here tonight."
"Ka-kaah!"
Gengar reacted fastest, immediately springing into action to set up the tent!
Then the other little ones also started moving, leaving only Regieleki standing in place, not knowing what to do.
"It's fine. Watch what everyone's doing, learn from them. When you've learned and want to help, then help."
Johan said this while taking out his fishing rod. This time... he definitely wouldn't come up empty!
There happened to be a river nearby, and it even flowed toward the ocean. This would surely yield good catches!
"Regi..."
Regieleki looked at the busy little ones, its signal lights flashing.
When its gaze fell on Larvitar, who was heartily gnawing on minerals, it suddenly gained some understanding.
Eating!
I know how to do that!
It immediately sat on the ground with Larvitar, enjoying energy cubes while Rotom appeared beside it to record.
"Yoji!"
Larvitar finished the pile of minerals in front of it and immediately clapped its hands, scratched its bottom, and stood up.
That pile was just a pre-dinner snack for it.
It glanced at Johan, who was still "battling" with his fishing rod, rubbed its chin thoughtfully twice.
What to do next?
"Yoji!"
Got it!
Larvitar slapped its palm with its fist, immediately having an idea.
The blunt horn on its head glowed slightly as it lowered its head, looking like it was searching for something on the ground.
This was its unique "ability." After eating some Earth Plate fragments, Larvitar had developed a special sensitivity to the earth, allowing it to sense some underground networks and the earth's rhythm.
Put more simply - finding minerals.
Larvitar didn't understand the principle of sitting idle and eating away resources, but it knew that in a situation of only eating without bringing anything in, the family savings would eventually be depleted. So Larvitar worried about the distant future despite no immediate concerns, checking every new place for mineable minerals.
Johan was aware of this.
Although Larvitar couldn't dig up much each time, every little bit helped. As long as it filled in the ground afterward, he let it be.
Larvitar kept its head down, like sweeping for mines, taking small steps and gradually searching the surroundings with the camp as the center.
However, the soil around here seemed quite good. Larvitar couldn't find any mineral-rich ores and immediately lost some interest.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar, having finished setting up the tent, saw this scene and patted the little one's head.
It indicated not to be discouraged - tonight they'd explore a bit farther. Earlier in the forest, it seemed to have seen something glowing that looked like minerals.
"Yoji!"
Larvitar nodded vigorously.
Following big brother Gengar, there was no need to worry about having no "food"!
Night fell.
In the temporarily erected tent, Johan crawled into his sleeping bag, still muttering about his fishing experience.
"There's definitely something wrong with that river!"
First, let him clarify - he definitely didn't come up empty!
Catching seaweed still counted as catching something.
In the not-too-large tent, the little ones huddled together. Rather than being uncomfortable, it felt quite cozy. Plus with Ceruledge constantly radiating heat, there was no worry about the night being too cold.
"Gengar, lights out," Johan said.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar took a deep breath and blew hard at the electric lamp. Regieleki nearby immediately cut power to the lamp.
Since Regieleki temporarily joined the team, the power supply for various electrical equipment changed from Rotom to Regieleki.
Then Gengar took out a Poké Ball and recalled Regieleki.
That yellow fellow was the biggest light source after all.
Soon, steady breathing sounds came from the sleeping bags.
A pair of crimson eyes suddenly lit up in the quiet tent.
Then came another pair of slightly confused but alert eyes - undoubtedly Larvitar's.
Gengar glanced at Urshifu and Dragonite sitting at the entrance, floated to a corner of the tent, and lifted the blanket laid on the ground. This was what it had prepared in advance - a hole for Larvitar to dig out.
Gengar itself could directly phase through the tent and float out.
This time, they wouldn't bring Tinkaton or Urshifu, because tonight's main objective was mining!
"Oowoo~"
Ninetales, curled up beside Johan, opened its eyes a crack and glanced at Gengar and Larvitar preparing to go out.
It wasn't afraid of anyone else, but when it came to Johan and Ninetales as Johan's "representative," Gengar was still a bit intimidated. It immediately put on what it thought was a "harmless" smile.
However, Ninetales didn't mean anything else. It knew what Gengar was like, so it just reminded Gengar not to make too much noise.
Gengar immediately made an "OK" gesture and said quietly:
"Ka-kaah~"
Trust me to handle this~
With that, it ran out of the tent with Larvitar.
Dark and windy night.
Two shadows, one large and one small, tiptoed away from the tent toward the forest not far from camp.
When they had gone far enough, the two little ones became bolder in their movements.
"Yoji?"
Larvitar stared hard at the pitch-black forest but couldn't see the "glowing thing" Gengar mentioned.
Gengar squinted and scanned around, also finding that the glowing thing it saw earlier was gone. But it patted its chest confidently, indicating they should get closer to look - there definitely was something!
So.
The two little ones entered the forest under the moonlight.
The nighttime forest wasn't quiet. Rustling sounds continued constantly. Tonight's sky had many clouds, with moonlight only occasionally peeking through, leaving only blurry spots when it fell into the forest.
"Yo-Yoji!"
Suddenly, Larvitar spotted the "glowing thing" Gengar mentioned, pointing toward the distance with excitement in its eyes.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar put on a mature expression, raising its hand and pressing down to signal Larvitar to stay calm. Then...
Its body turned into black mist, swiftly rushing toward the glowing location.
The next second.
"Pumpkaboo!!"
A Pumpkaboo looked terrified at Gengar, who had suddenly appeared behind it. The "glowing thing" Larvitar and Gengar had seen earlier was the light emanating from Pumpkaboo's pumpkin-like body.
There's a ghost!!
Pumpkaboo screamed and ran away, sweating profusely.
"Ka-kaah?"
Watching the fleeing Pumpkaboo, Gengar scratched its head.
But isn't that guy a ghost too?
"Yoji~"
Larvitar trotted over, also seeing the rapidly disappearing Pumpkaboo.
This is the mineral big brother Gengar mentioned?
Larvitar picked up a stone and ground it against its teeth, tilting its head.
Doesn't seem like very hard mineral, and it can run...
Gengar coughed lightly, knowing it had misjudged. But its eyes rolled as it patted Larvitar's head.
"Ka-kaah!"
Don't worry! First check if there are any minerals underground nearby!
Oh...
Larvitar nodded, its horn glowing slightly again as it lowered its head to search.
Gengar rubbed its chin, brain spinning rapidly, thinking about how to get past this awkward situation.
But unexpectedly, Larvitar suddenly cried out in surprise.
"Yoji!"
There's something!
Hm?
Gengar was stunned and quickly floated to Larvitar's side, finding it staring at the ground covered with rotting leaves. Then it immediately dove underground.
Before long, it floated back out.
There really was something!
"Ka-kaah?"
What are you waiting for? Dig!
Larvitar also reacted and immediately started digging.
Truth be told, while both knew the move Dig, Larvitar was simply faster at digging than Ninetales.
"Yoji!"
When Larvitar poked its head out, it was full of excitement, holding a... diamond in its hand!
About half the size of its palm, even under the dim moonlight, it sparkled slightly.
A diamond!
Since Johan's last purchase from Steven, Larvitar had deeply appreciated diamonds' deliciousness - much better than some so-called rare minerals!
However, Johan hadn't bought "many," and they were long since eaten by Larvitar.
It never expected to dig one up here.
Gengar had somehow put on sunglasses and stood with hands on its hips, laughing proudly.
"Ka-kaah?"
See? I didn't lie to you, did I?
"Yoji!"
Larvitar also mimicked by putting on sunglasses and nodding repeatedly.
Big brother Gengar is amazing!
Hearing this, Gengar secretly sighed in relief.
That was close...
"Yoji?" Larvitar scratched its head.
But big brother Gengar, did you turn off the lights? Why is it so dark?
Hearing this, Gengar immediately removed Larvitar's sunglasses. Only then did Larvitar understand and show a silly grin.
As a Ghost-type Pokémon, Gengar's vision was the same whether wearing sunglasses or not, but Larvitar was different.
"Ka-kaah~~"
Gengar shook its head, then called down into the hole.
There might be more underground~
That made sense. Larvitar quickly threw the diamond in its mouth and dove back down.
Gengar scanned the surroundings, quietly filled in the hole Larvitar had dug, then followed underground.
So...
"Yoji!"
There really was more!
Underground.
Larvitar found another diamond and showed it off to Gengar.
Like this, Gengar and Larvitar dug diamonds while going deeper underground. Soon Larvitar's mouth was full, and it started stuffing them into Gengar's mouth.
Bonk!
Gengar lightly tapped Larvitar's head.
Just eat them - why stuff them in your mouth without eating?
"Mm mm..."
Larvitar realized.
Oh right.
Its mouth moved as it chewed.
However, as they found more and more diamonds, even with Larvitar eating while digging, it couldn't keep up.
Rich! So rich!
The two little ones looked at each other, both seeing excitement in the other's eyes.
Had they hit a diamond vein?
Gengar's mind filled with images of future ice cream eating - wouldn't it be throwing away one for every one eaten?
Luxurious!
Larvitar's mind filled with images of bathing in diamonds in the future, not just that - diamond bowls! Diamond beds! Eating meals with the bowl, sleeping while gnawing the bed - absolutely perfect~
Just as the two little ones were lost in wild fantasies, Larvitar suddenly dug into empty space, unknowingly reaching an underground passage and falling down with a "thud."
"Yoji?"
The little one rubbed its head twice and stood up shakily.
Where is this?
Gengar also floated out from the passage Larvitar had dug, eyes full of curiosity.
Unlike Larvitar, it had heard Johan mention that beneath the Kalos region existed a massive underground Diamond Kingdom, inhabited by numerous Carbink, with the entire kingdom wrapped in countless diamonds, brilliantly dazzling.
Could this be the legendary Diamond Kingdom?
But...
Gengar scratched its head.
Where was the brilliant dazzling? Where was the bling bling?
"Yo-Yoji!"
Larvitar opened its mouth wide, pointing at a stone pillar in front, drool uncontrollably flowing.
Although it couldn't see clearly, it could confirm that pillar was covered with a thick layer of diamond ore!
Whoosh!
Gengar raised its palm, a ghostly blue flame appearing in its hand, illuminating the surroundings.
"Ka-kaah~(°ロ°)!"
"Yoji~w(°ｏ°)w"
Both little ones widened their eyes.
Under the ghostly blue flame's glow, the underground cavern's scenery appeared before them - dazzling, bling bling...
About three or four rock pillars in view were all covered with thick diamonds. The cavern walls were also covered with diamonds of various sizes, sparkling and refracting light under the flame's illumination.
Gulp—
Larvitar swallowed and stiffly turned to look at Gengar.
"Yo-Yoji?"
Can we fit it all?
Gengar snapped back to attention, its expression becoming serious as it nodded firmly.
"Ka-kaah!"
Of course! Don't underestimate my 'Shadow Empire'!
Larvitar looked worshipful.
Then what are we waiting for?
Start digging!
Without hesitation, Larvitar immediately crawled to a wall and began digging diamonds from it.
These crystalline diamonds were naturally irregular in shape, some large and some small, with most surfaces rather dull. But for Larvitar, it didn't matter - just the difference between eating in one bite versus several bites.
Meanwhile, Gengar wandered around the cavern.
Was this the Diamond Kingdom?
Where were the Carbink Johan mentioned, and that legendary Diamond Princess?
But after wandering half a circle, forget the Diamond Princess - it didn't see a single Carbink.
Moreover, although it and Larvitar had been amazed when the ghostly fire first lit up, after actually walking half a circle, it discovered... this place seemed much smaller than imagined.
"Ka-kaah?"
This isn't the Diamond Kingdom?
Then why are there so many diamonds...
Rumble rumble—
A stone suddenly rolled down from the wall.
Hm?
Gengar looked at Larvitar working hard as a diamond miner behind it, then at the stone that rolled to its feet.
How did digging over there make stones fall here?
Before Gengar could figure it out.
Crash—
Suddenly more stones fell, followed by a pink figure stepping on stones and sliding down with a somewhat panicked expression.
Its lower body resembled the Carbink Johan had mentioned, but the diamonds on its body were pink. It wore a white gauze dress, with pink diamonds forming a crown on its head, and red eyes filled with panic.
What Pokémon was this? Never seen it before.
Gengar's eyes showed confusion.
If Johan were here now, he would definitely recognize this pink diamond-crowned Pokémon as Diancie, princess of the Diamond Kingdom and legendary Mythical Pokémon!
However, while Gengar only felt confused seeing Diancie, Diancie was frightened seeing Gengar.
It was indeed the Diamond Kingdom's princess, shouldering the great responsibility of reviving the entire Diamond Kingdom.
You see, while Carbink belonged to the "Fairy" and "Mineral" egg groups, every Carbink was genderless.
In other words.
The Carbink population couldn't reproduce through mating.
Carbink birth theoretically had only two methods.
First, diamonds or mineral creatures buried thousands of meters deep underground would transform into Carbink through special changes.
This was how most Carbink populations or Carbink veins formed.
Second, the Diamond Kingdom's method - through "Eternal Crystals" created and condensed by Diancie with life energy, Carbink could be born.
All Carbink in the Diamond Kingdom were born this way, with "Eternal Crystals" as the kingdom's core.
However, in recent years, the Diamond Kingdom's "Eternal Crystals" had dimmed, with very few Carbink being born from them. The entire Diamond Kingdom faced a crisis of population continuation.
As the Diamond Kingdom's princess, young Diancie shouldered the responsibility of creating new "Eternal Crystals."
But Diancie was too young, and under the Diamond Kingdom's protection, it hadn't experienced much. It couldn't condense new "Eternal Crystals" no matter what.
From the Diamond Minister's accounts, Diancie learned that the legendary "Life God" Xerneas could grant life energy - exactly what Diancie lacked most.
So.
Shouldering the entire Diamond Kingdom's fate, Diancie embarked on a journey to find Xerneas.
During this journey, it needed places to rest and recover.
This cavern it entered was once a Carbink population's mine. It originally wanted to rest here briefly, but who knew... instead of seeing Carbink, it saw Gengar glowing with ghostly blue light upon entering...
"A ghost!"
Diancie screamed and tried to run toward the entrance passage.
But at this moment.
Larvitar, who had been busy mining diamonds, naturally saw Diancie's appearance.
Pink diamonds?
That taste...
Larvitar, mouth watering, immediately thought big brother Gengar had discovered even more remarkable minerals and pounced over.
This scene in Diancie's eyes...
Diancie: Σ(дlll)
My life is over!
Half an hour later.
"Ka-kaah~Ka-kaah~"
"Yoji~Yoji~"
Gengar and Larvitar sat almost identically, rubbing their chins and nodding.
In front of them, Diancie's pink eyes were filled with grievance. Through halting explanations, it finally made them understand it was a Pokémon, not a diamond.
Larvitar looked regretful.
Too bad.
It thought it was some unprecedented pink diamond. Now it turned out... to be a Pokémon.
You couldn't eat Pokémon - if Johan found out, forget getting its butt beaten, its head would be smashed.
Gengar thought a bit more than Larvitar.
"Ka-kaah?" It looked at Diancie with consideration.
You say you're a diamond mine princess, so you can also produce diamonds, right? Pink diamonds?
Hearing Gengar say this, Larvitar perked up again.
Pink diamonds? Really possible?
Hearing this, Diancie looked troubled, but facing this fierce-looking "evil ghost" and vicious "little dinosaur," it seemed to have no right to refuse?
It said quietly: "I can, but please... don't be disappointed."
With that, it closed its eyes, raised both hands, brilliant pink radiance appearing between its palms. As it lowered its head and brought its hands together, the pink light also converged.
When it opened its hands again, a crystalline and regular pink diamond appeared in its palms.
"Yo-Yoji?"
Witnessing the entire process, Larvitar vigorously rubbed its eyes twice, opened its mouth, somewhat disbelieving.
The diamonds it longed for could be created just like that with a wave of the hands?
And it was an unprecedented pink diamond!
Carefully taking it from Diancie's hands, Larvitar held the pink diamond up to Gengar's ghostly fire to examine.
Sparkling and twinkling.
It really was a diamond!
Without hesitation, it threw it in its mouth, eager to taste the pink diamond's flavor.
However...
Crack—
Larvitar's teeth clamped down, and with slight pressure, the pink diamond immediately crumbled into crystalline pink dust that dispersed. Larvitar only felt its upper teeth hit its lower teeth.
Eh?
It smacked its lips twice.
No taste?
No.
The diamond disappeared on its own!
Witnessing the process, Gengar and Larvitar, who bit empty air, looked at Diancie in unison.
Diancie unconsciously stepped back and said haltingly:
"I-I said before, don't be disappointed. I can't control my power yet, so the diamonds I create can't maintain themselves for long."
Can't control its own power?
Gengar and Larvitar looked at each other.
What do you do when a Pokémon can't control its power?
Find a trainer!
Where could they find a trainer who could help Diancie control its power?
Right here in front of them!
Johan!
"Ka-kaah~Ka-kaah~"
"Yoji~Yoji~"
So Gengar and Larvitar gestured extensively, gradually making Diancie understand their meaning.
At the same time, Diancie slowly realized these two Pokémon who looked like bad guys at first glance... didn't seem as "evil" as they appeared on the surface. They actually seemed like good guys?
Simple Diancie, inexperienced in worldly matters, could still sense that besides being interested in diamonds, Gengar and Larvitar held no malice toward it.
Moreover, it became curious about the so-called "trainer" Gengar and Larvitar described.
"Can a trainer help me control my power?"
"Ka-kaah!"
Gengar raised one finger and shook it gently.
"Yoji!"
Larvitar copied, also raising one finger and shaking it.
An ordinary trainer definitely couldn't do it, but if it was Johan...
The two little ones looked at each other and spoke in unison.
That would definitely be easy!
"Johan..." Diancie softly repeated the name, hope shining in its eyes. "Can you take me to find him?"
No problem!
Both little ones simultaneously made "OK" gestures.
Diancie immediately rejoiced, lifting its dress and saying hurriedly: "Then please take me there!"
With that, it quickly ran toward the entrance passage.
Seeing this, Larvitar was about to say, wait for me to finish harvesting these diamonds first, no, mining them.
But nearby Gengar indicated it was fine - these diamonds had been here so long without anyone touching them. Besides, just the two of them digging was too slow. Tomorrow they'd bring everyone to dig together!
Larvitar immediately thought that made sense.
Tomorrow they'd bring everyone to share this harvest's joy. Seeing so many diamonds, Johan would probably be happy enough to jump five meters high.
So Gengar and Larvitar followed Diancie out one after the other.
Dark forest, dim environment.
Hoothoot and Noctowl played night's sad songs in the corners as Diancie excitedly ran out from a stone crevice, joy on its face.
However.
Just as it emerged from the crevice, a night breeze passed, and it gradually calmed down.
Why had it rushed into that Carbink mine earlier?
It suddenly shivered.
"Found you." A mocking voice came from behind a nearby tree trunk.
A woman in black magician robes with red hair and high heels emerged from behind the tree with a Delphox.
The orange flames at the tips of Delphox's branch-like arms brought some light to the dim forest.
"So you went underground."
On the other side, from the treetops, a man in ninja attire wearing a mask also spoke.
Beside him, in the shadowy leaves, stood an upright Greninja.
Both Delphox and Greninja's gazes locked onto Diancie, who had just emerged.
Only then did Diancie remember why it had hurriedly run into the underground crevice and the Carbink mine - wasn't it to escape these two guys who had been searching for and trying to capture it?
"Oh no..."
In its excitement, it had forgotten this important matter.
"Millis, I spotted it first this time!" the woman in magician robes with Delphox declared.
The ninja Millis on the treetop chuckled, his voice coming from behind the mask.
"Flame, I'm not playing your first-come-first-served house games."
These two were the famous hunters of the Kalos region - ninja Millis and magician Marilyn Flame.
"Ka-kaah?"
At this moment, a voice came from the crevice behind Diancie.
How lively!
Gengar grinned, showing white teeth, and floated out with a cheerful smile.
"Yo-Yoji~"
Larvitar followed close behind, still chewing diamonds it had grabbed along the way with "crunch crunch" sounds.
"Gengar and Larvitar?"
Millis and Flame looked at each other.
Helpers Diancie had found?
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Powerstones?
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