As a stone collector.
Da Wu has an unusually keen intuition for mineral veins, but occasionally he also encounters quite deadly dangers.
Eight hours ago, while searching for stones in an abandoned mine, he unfortunately encountered a cave-in, causing him to fall into a narrow crevice in the rock layers.
Fortunately, Pokémon were right by his side, and after arduously digging a path downward, he discovered an underground cave connected to an underground river.
After a lot of effort and searching, he finally managed to find a path leading to the surface.
"Although it was quite tough, this journey was worth it."
Da Wu took out a semi-transparent, yellow gem with a progressively deepening color from his pocket, and dazzling light was released inside the car.
It glows!?
Baimu was instinctively startled, as in his knowledge, all glowing stones have radiation and could easily cause cancer.
But then he realized it was a Stone of Light, a type of Evolution Stone.
"Such high-quality Stones of Light are very rare to come by."
Da Wu marveled, gazing at the Stone of Light in his hand with an expression of great fascination.
"Uh, quality? Are there quality differences in Evolution Stones? Would it affect the evolution of Pokémon? Like if they come into contact with higher quality Evolution Stones, the evolved Pokémon become stronger."
Baimu asked curiously.
Da Wu chuckled, "Of course there are differences in quality among stones, from diamonds to jade, and then to these Evolution Stones, considering purity, luster, and so on. As for whether it affects the evolution of Pokémon, that's beyond my knowledge. The reasons for Pokémon becoming stronger or weaker are diverse and complex, a profound subject."
"I see."
He nodded to show he understood.
Da Wu then continued, "Back to the main topic, see that mountain range? Based on my experience, the underground caves I traversed are beneath there. That area contains many metal veins; it's a bit difficult to mine, but that's not your objective, right?"
Mr. Champion pointed to a tall and imposing mountain range not far away, stretching for several kilometers. Under the sun's light, it appeared both desolate and magnificent.
"That's true, but we are not interested in the mountain range itself…"
Baimu hesitated.
The mountain was manageable to discuss, but the mountain range was too extensive.
At this moment, Aggron seemed to understand Da Wu's words, and started exclaiming, "Rawr! Rawr!"
"Alright, alright, we'll go take a look, okay!"
He responded helplessly, fearing this guy might start shaking the car out of excitement; it nearly tipped over because of it earlier.
Da Wu couldn't help but laugh aloud, "Hahaha, it seems your partner is very energetic, which is a good thing; vitality signifies youth and infinite possibilities."
"Indeed, they are very youthful... Mr. Da Wu, is your Aggron also like that, extremely fervent about territory?"
Baimu asked while driving, and Deino remained fixated on his head, even with Da Wu's presence.
"It used to be, but my situation is somewhat complicated. I have two Aggrons and an Aron." Da Wu said, pulling out three Pokeballs.
And chose to open one of them.
Bam!
A flash of white light, and an Aron landed in Da Wu's arms.
"Breeding duplicates, huh..."
Baimu glanced over, not finding it strange, as many trainers in animations enjoyed duplicate breeding, believing each Pokémon, even at each evolutionary stage, possesses unique characteristics.
"This is one of the first Arons I bred and has always been a great helper in my search for various stones."
Da Wu smiled as he caressed the Aron.
"Boop!"
The Aron replied with a smile, then looked over at Aggron and Mawile, greeting them cheerfully.
The latter two responded with calls upon seeing this.
"When I was about ten, its brother evolved into an Aggron and occupied the back mountain of my house as its territory, driving away many Pokémon originally living there."
Da Wu recounted an amusing incident, "Of course, it later got scolded by my dad and faced the blame from both me and Aron, ending unresolved."
"What about the other one?"
"The other one was caught as an Aggron already, maybe because it's female, not as passionate about territory, or perhaps because it's older."
Da Wu chuckled, "Pokémon, like people, have different thoughts at different stages."
Baimu nodded in agreement.
Before long.
They arrived at the foot of the continuous mountain range.
Da Wu glanced around and pointed at a mountain hollow, "It should be over there; you can have your Aggron dig down. It should be around three or four hundred meters."
Three to four hundred meters...
Baimu turned to look at Aggron, "What do you think?"
"Rawr!"
Aggron had no objections; it might dislike a short or steep mountain, but a whole mountain range was certainly not a problem.
That was a whole mountain range!
Baimu watched it dumbfounded, then asked, "Should we let Steelix help?"
In terms of digging efficiency, Steelix would undoubtedly be faster and more professional; a Big Monster would be relatively slow.
"Rawr!"
Aggron swung an arm, indicating no need to trouble that guy.
Though it didn't mind sharing its territory with companions, it still hoped to unearth a new realm on its own, "Rawr..."
It glanced around, seemingly observing something, wagging its tail in delight, before letting out a low growl and started digging with its claws.
Dirt flew in the air.
"Make the hole bigger!"
Baimu shouted and soon heard Aggron roar.
In no time at all, a steep, downward sloping, pitch-black tunnel appeared before them, widened enough by Aggron's efforts for two people to enter.
Pokémon digging is different from machine digging; machines need to transport the earth away, whereas Pokémon use attribute energy to push the dirt sideways, creating space.
"These caves developed by Pokémon, due to their lack of solidity, are quite dangerous, prone to collapses at any time." Da Wu spoke softly, "Under normal circumstances, I would never advise you to go in, but the situation is special today."
He opened a Pokeball.
Bam.
A black Claydol appeared floating in the air, slowly rotating its body, causing its six eyeballs to blink alternately.
"Just this once."
Da Wu gestured at the cave with open hands, smiling, "I trust that your experience with underground environments is extensive enough to avoid imitating this lightly."
A blue light flashed.
The soil above the cave entrance, originally inclined to collapse, became solid and reliable under a mysterious force.
Baimu donned the miner's multi-piece set prepared in advance, switched on the headlamp, and followed Aggron's tracks inside, with Mawile trailing behind, and Deino already returned to its Pokeball.
As the digging was downward, the decline was steep.
Before long, Baimu had to carry Mawile in his arms, utilizing its Electromagnetic Levitation to continue downward.
At this moment.
A sudden "boom" echoed from deep within.
The gravel on both sides quivered, cascading deeper, causing Baimu to jolt as well.
"Looks like we've hit a larger rock formation." Da Wu issued a warning, about to say something, when a sudden soft pop erupted from below.
Followed by a rumbling sound, as if something was gushing out.
Da Wu frowned, "It seems we've hit an underground river rather than a cave. Give me your Pokeball, I'll bring Aggron up."
As soon as he finished speaking.
"Rawr!!"
A loud roar came through.
Baimu had initially wanted to tell Da Wu that his Aggron could surf, having also learned to hold its breath underwater, so it wouldn't sink, but found Aggron had already ascended.
Beneath it was muddy water, appearing to have mixed with a lot of sand and mud.
Seeing its trainer and the trainer's friend above, Aggron immediately picked up speed, "Rawr!"
What are you standing around for! Run!
"Actually surfing..."
Da Wu was rather amazed watching Aggron stride on water, then glanced at Baimu, his eyes filled with question marks.
How did you teach Aggron to surf in a water-scarce and arid inland area!?
Can you teach me?