After bidding farewell to Saphhire, Axel once again followed Gimmighoul with Pheromosa.
After turning a few corners, Gimmighoul's footsteps grew faster and faster, and the box it dragged along the ground constantly sparked.
"Clatter—"
Gimmighoul abruptly braked and stopped in front of a large pile of dirt, looking at Axel with a pleading gaze.
"Pheromosa, help Gimmighoul blow the dirt away."
"Yo~"
Pheromosa nodded gently and spun lightly in place.
A fierce storm arose, blowing the entire room clean.
An ancient-looking treasure chest with a bronze lock appeared before Axel.
Gimmighoul immediately jumped out of its box and rammed fiercely into the bronze lock.
"Clatter—"
The box shattered, and dozens of shiny gold coins spilled out from the cracks, emitting the clinking sound of coins colliding.
Gimmighoul's eyes lit up, its pupils turning into coin shapes, and it excitedly grabbed the coins from the ground, shoving them back into its own chest all at once.
The box quickly filled with coins, radiating a dazzling golden light.
Gimmighoul cupped its hands toward Axel and Pheromosa, then jumped back into its own box.
In the next moment, a strong light of evolution emerged from the box, with Ghost-type and Steel-type powers continuously converging.
When the white light faded, Gimmighoul's box disappeared, and a Pokémon made entirely of gold appeared before Axel.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
— Gholdengo (Level 36): Treasure Pokémon. Its body is composed of 1,000 coins. It enjoys being close to people and can quickly form bonds with anyone.
— Type: Steel, Ghost
— Ability: Golden Body (A sturdy golden body that does not oxidize and is immune to opponent's status moves.)
— Moves: Tackle, Astonish, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Substitute, Metal Sound, Nasty Plot, Recover, Make It Rain
— Potential: Elite Four
— Traits: King of the Rich (Gold), Steel Mastery (Red), I'm the Boss(!)
• King of the Rich: Because it used more coins during evolution, it became a top-tier among Gimmighoul. Using Make It Rain produces more coins, with power +50.
• Steel Mastery: Using Steel-type moves becomes faster, and power increases by 40%.
• I'm the Boss(!): As long as an opposing Pokémon accepts Gholdengo's coins, the damage it deals to Gholdengo is reduced.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Looking at Gholdengo's moveset, Axel's mouth twitched.
It wasn't that he thought it was weak, this guy was just too down-to-earth.
Didn't even learn something like Hex; might as well ditch the Ghost-type altogether.
But when he looked at the traits at the end, Axel suddenly felt being "down-to-earth" might not be so bad after all.
With Make It Rain boosted by 50%, and combined with Steel Mastery, the move's power was comparable to a kick from Pheromosa.
Although the move had side effects, Gholdengo's traits could reduce enemy damage.
Pretty solid as a lead.
"Haoh~"
After evolving, Gholdengo fastened the chest it once resided in to its waist with a watch-like strap.
It tossed its golden hair a few times and revealed a kind, friendly smile.
It walked a few steps and stood next to Axel and Pheromosa, pulling out two gold coins and stuffing them into their hands.
Axel: "..."
Although the gesture was nice, when paired with that unique smile, Axel couldn't help but be reminded of a certain kind of creature, capitalists.
'If it had a cigar too...'
'No, no, absolutely not!'
Axel hurriedly tossed that dangerous thought from his mind.
'Capitalists get hunted down, turning Gholdengo into a capitalist would bring divine punishment.'
"Alright, I'll keep these coins for you. When we run out later, just make more."
"Then it's up to you to handle the food expenses for your brothers and sisters."
Gholdengo nodded heavily and produced a large pile of gold coins, cupping them in both hands and offering them to Axel expectantly.
"Not bad," Axel patted Gholdengo on the head and grinned.
'No wonder the Pokédex said this guy can bond with anyone quickly.'
Handing over a pile of gold coins like that, who wouldn't be moved?
Axel accepted the coins, "Once you generate even more wealth, I'll make you the most powerful Gholdengo in the world."
"Haoh! Haoh!"
Off to the side, Pheromosa turned slightly away, unable to bear the sight. A crisp voice echoed in Axel's mind.
["Trainer... didn't you just say capitalists deserve divine punishment...?"]
Axel blinked, "How could a Trainer's duty be compared to capitalism?"
"You wouldn't want your trainer to live off soft meals, would you?"
Hearing that, Pheromosa rolled her eyes. Her big purple eyes looked especially contemptuous.
["Wasn't Saphhire a rich lady? Didn't you still take from her?"]
"That was etiquette. It's the etiquette of the Hoenn region."
"Hmph!", Pheromosa tilted her small face up and snorted coldly at Axel.
Axel turned to look at Pheromosa, feeling this little one didn't know who was in charge anymore.
'You really think just because you're physically strong, you can act without restraint?'
"Tonight, one-on-one, I'll show you the price of doubting your trainer!"
Pheromosa: (•́へ•́╬)!
'Who's afraid of who?'
———
After settling their battle plans, Axel took Pheromosa and the newly evolved Gholdengo to Gardevoir's location.
With their psychic link, as long as they weren't too far apart, it was easy to find each other.
By the time they arrived, the flames had already been extinguished by Gardevoir, and Blaise was lying on the ground, barely breathing.
He didn't know what he had experienced, but his eyes were full of fear as he looked at Gardevoir.
Even though he was bleeding all over and the bones in his leg were twisted at an unnatural angle, he still tried hard to crawl away from Gardevoir.
In Gardevoir's hand was a sleek and futuristic-looking detector.
When Axel appeared, Gardevoir's icy expression melted instantly, and she smiled sweetly at him, raising the detector in her hand.
["Master... this is for you!"]
"Heh~", Axel scratched Gardevoir's firm nose bridge and took the detector, turning to look at the barely alive Blaise.
"You know how to use this thing?"
"I do, I do!", Seeing someone other than Gardevoir appear, Blaise seemed to have found a lifeline.
"As long as your Gardevoir stops hurting me, I'll tell you everything!"
Axel paused in thought, "Then do you know what my name is?"
Blaise: "???"
'No wonder Gardevoir was so ruthless, it turns out you're the true devil who trained her.'
"Alright, just kidding. Tell me what this thing does."
"Thank you, sir," Blaise forced himself to stand and gave Axel a deep bow.
Axel grinned, but suddenly felt a cold aura from beside him.
Then he saw Pheromosa's amused gaze and Gardevoir's smiling face squeezing through her clenched teeth:
["Touch her... that etiquette from the Hoenn region...]
["What now... no more touching?"]
Axel: "???"
'Traitor, traitor, dared to backstab your trainer.'
'Pheromosa, tonight, it's a death match!'
———
A moment later, after Axel learned how to use the detector and was about to finish off Blaise, he suddenly sensed a scorching aura coming from the end of the corridor.
Axel instinctively pulled the physically weaker Pheromosa and Gholdengo behind him, eyes blazing as he stared at the red figure appearing in the distance.
The red figure looked thinner than Blaise but radiated a much more dangerous aura, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Tabitha, one of the three executives of Team Magma. I hope you'll return the detector and Blaise to me."
"If not... then I'll have to let you witness the true essence of fire."
Axel grinned and took out Gyarados's Poké Ball.
"Then let's give it a try?"
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