The silence of the Ship was a physical presence after the earthy, resonant chaos of Diglett's Cave. Alberto stood in the corridor, the only sound the drip of water from his fatigues onto the polished floor and the heavy thump of his pack hitting the ground.
He was exhausted in a way he hadn't been since basic training—a deep, marrow-level fatigue from channeling unfamiliar energies for hours. But beneath the weariness, a steady hum of triumph buzzed. He had done it. First successful mission: asset acquisition and recruitment.
"Alright, Trias. Home turf."
He released the Dugtrio. In the stark, artificial light of the corridor, Trias looked different—less a part of a natural landscape and more like a sculpture of living earth. Its three heads swiveled, taking in the endless doors, the sterile walls, the impossible geometry. A pulse of profound disorientation, tinged with awe, flowed through their psychic bond.
This is not-earth. It is… hard air. Silent stone.
"It's the Ship," Alberto said, kneeling. "Our home base. It's safe. And it connects to all the earths we talked about."
He projected feelings of safety, stability, and the memory of the cave. Trias's anxiety eased, replaced by a burgeoning, intense curiosity. It began shuffling along the corridor, tapping a head against a door (which chimed softly, making it jump back), and then, with a digger's instinct, pressed against the metal floor. It couldn't dig here. The floor was impervious. This seemed to impress Trias more than anything.
Alberto left his partner to explore and hauled his pack toward the section of the Ship that had formed in response to his first acquisitions: the Vault. A previously smooth wall now featured an archway. Inside was a space that felt both infinite and meticulously organized. Shelves, cabinets, and crystalline cases lined the walls, all empty and waiting. In the center, a large, hemispheric interface glowed softly.
He upended his pack onto the floor in front of the interface.
The haul spilled out: the common iron ore chunks, the dull gem fragments, the Tiny Mushrooms, the Pearl, the Stardust, the Soft Sand tribute from Trias, and finally, the prize—the cluster of evolutionary stones. The Water Stones shimmered with latent liquidity, the Leaf Stones smelled of crushed herbs and deep forest, and the Fire Stones radiated a gentle, dry heat.
The hemispheric interface brightened. A thin, scanning beam of blue light lanced out and passed over the entire pile.
Inventory Assessment Initiated.
Categorizing...
- [Tier 0] Common Minerals (Iron Ore): Construction Grade. Low Energy Signature.
- [Tier 1] Precious Fragments (Pearl, Stardust, Gem Shards): Decorative/Trade Commodity.
- [Tier 1] Organic Components (Tiny Mushrooms): Alchemical Reagents.
- [Tier 2] Attuned Elemental Focus (Soft Sand): Earth-Aspect Augment.
- [Tier 2] Attuned Elemental Catalysts (Evolutionary Stones x12): High-Grade Condensed Elemental Energy.
The items vanished in brief flashes of light, reappearing neatly sorted on the shelves. The ores on a heavy stone shelf. The mushrooms in a climate-controlled glass case. The Pearl and Stardust in a velvet-lined drawer.
The stones, however, were treated differently. The Soft Sand was placed on a pedestal that subtly vibrated. The twelve evolutionary stones floated into a central, transparent cylinder filled with a shimmering, neutral energy field. They hovered there, slowly rotating, their elemental auras visibly pulsing.
Primary Strategic Resource Identified: Elemental Catalysts.
Applications Unlocked:
1. Direct Absorption: User may attune to a compatible stone to temporarily enhance innate elemental abilities (Risk: Energy Feedback).
2. Crafting Focus: Use as core component for Ship-based fabrication of enhanced gear (Requires: Fabrication Module - Not Unlocked).
3. Multiversal Trade: Universal high-value currency. Equivalent to mid-grade mana crystals, spirit stones, or infused gemstones in most systemic worlds.
Recommended Action: Liquidate lower-tier assets for local currency to acquire world-specific necessities. Retain Catalysts for cross-dimensional operations.
Alberto stared at the display. It was a confirmation and a roadmap. The Ship wasn't passive; it was an active partner in his logistics. And it was telling him to keep the stones.
But he needed local capital now. The plan was to sell most, but maybe not all. He needed to experiment.
"Can I remove items from the Vault?"
Affirmative. Designate retrieval.
"Retrieve one Fire Stone, one Water Stone, and the Pearl."
The cylinder opened. One fiery and one watery stone, along with the Pear, floated gently into his waiting hands. The Fire Stone was warm, like a sun-baked river rock. The Water Stone was cool and slick. The Pearl was just… a pretty pearl.
"Alright, Trias," he called out. "Field test. Then we go shopping."
---
Back in the Pokémon world, in a secluded corner of Viridian Forest near his "door spot," Alberto prepared for his experiment. Trias watched, heads cocked.
He started with the Fire Stone. Holding it in his right hand, the hand of his Magma manipulation, he focused on drawing the energy in. It was like tapping a vein. Heat, raw and wild, flooded up his arm. His skin glowed a dull red, and when he opened his palm, a gout of flame—not magma, but pure, concentrated fire—erupted, singing a nearby bush. The stone in his hand dimmed slightly. The power was intense, but unfocused. It was fuel, not control.
Next, the Water Stone in his left, Ice hand. This was a paradox. Ice was absence of heat, but the Water Stone's energy was fluid, nurturing. He pulled on it. Instead of cold, a wave of hydraulic pressure built in his palm. With a grunt, he released it, and a jet of water like from a fire hose blasted a furrow in the dirt. The stone dimmed. He then tried to use the Water Stone's energy to shape his Ice. He formed a simple ice dagger. With the stone's power flowing, the dagger melted, reformed, and refroze with a clarity like diamond, its edge impossibly sharp. It still required his focus, but the stone provided a purer, more potent source.
He absorbed the residual energy from both stones back into himself—the Fire Stone's heat settling into a comfortable warmth in his core, the Water Stone's chill leaving his left arm feeling refreshed. The stones themselves were now dull, inert grey rocks. Drained, but perhaps rechargeable in their native elemental environments.
"Efficient, but consumable," he muttered to Trias. "Good for a boost in a pinch. Not a permanent solution."
The Pearl was just currency.
An hour later, he was in the underground flea market of Celadon City, a place where trainers with more grit than money came to trade. He wore a hoodie bought with his last ₽200 to obscure his features. The Pearl and the common gem fragments were sold to a bored-looking jeweler for a quick ₽15,000.
The real business was with a different sort of vendor—a woman with sharp eyes and an Alakazam beside her that scanned every customer with psychic precision. Her stall dealt in "specialty battle items."
"I'm looking to sell," Alberto said, his voice low. He placed the drained, inert Fire and Water Stones on the counter. To the untrained eye, they looked like oddly shaped, lifeless rocks.
The vendor picked one up. Her Alakazam's spoon twitched. It looked at its trainer and gave a barely perceptible nod.
"These are… spent," the vendor said, but her tone was curious, not dismissive. "The matrix is intact, though. High-quality. A skilled Channeler or a gym with a type-energy chamber could recharge them. Where'd you find them?"
"Diglett's Cave. A new fissure," Alberto lied smoothly. "They were like that when I found them."
"Hmm. Even spent, the matrix is worth something to the right buyer. I'll give you ₽40,000 for the pair."
It was a lowball. A fresh Fire Stone could fetch over ₽100,000. But a spent one was a novelty. He needed the money, not the haggle.
"Deal."
The transaction was swift. As he turned to leave, the vendor spoke again. "You find any more 'fissures' with pretty rocks, you come see me. I pay better for… lively ones."
Alberto just nodded. He now had over ₽55,000. It was time for the main purchase.
He found a quiet alley, opened the Catalogue, and navigated to the ability he needed.
Pokémon Speech (Basic Empathy/Intent Translation): ₽50,000
Purchase? Y/N
He selected Y.
The transfer was instantaneous. The Catalogue glowed, and the funds in his pocket vanished. In their place, a new layer of perception settled over his mind. It wasn't hearing words. It was like the psychic sense, but refined, translated. He could now understand the intent behind the sounds and emotions, and project his own with perfect, instinctive clarity.
He looked at Trias's Pokéball. "Let's try this."
He released the Dugtrio. The three heads looked up at him.
This place smells of many humans. And sadness, came the clear, rumbling concept, not in English, but directly into his understanding.
"It's a city. Lots of people, not much earth," Alberto said, focusing on projecting his speech into the same conceptual language. "How does this sound?"
Trias's heads bobbed in unison, a gesture of surprise and delight. You speak the true-tongue! Not just feeling-words. Good! Now we can talk of deep plans and far tunnels!
The difference was night and day. Before, it had been exchanging crude emotional packets and images. Now, it was a conversation. The bond between them snapped into sharper focus, warmer, more real.
"First deep plan," Alberto said, smiling. "We need more than money. We need allies, and we need a place to train. I have an idea."
He recalled Trias and used his new funds to buy a few practical items: a sturdy backpack, real food, a map of Kanto. Then, he headed for the city's outskirts, to a patch of neglected land near Route 16.
Using his map and his new ability to communicate with the local bird Pokémon (a flock of Spearow who agreed to temporarily relocate for a handful of berries), he scouted. He found what he needed: a rocky outcrop with a clay-rich soil base, away from main paths.
Here, he began to train in earnest, with Trias as his partner and drill instructor.
Wood Manipulation: He didn't just grow plants. With Trias softening the earth, he learned to shape it. He created a wall of interwoven roots and hardened clay. He grew a thick, living canopy for shelter. He and Trias worked in tandem, the Dugtrio's earth-moving making his botanical shaping faster, more efficient.
Ice & Magma: This was dangerous, and required Trias to stay back. He learned to create a blade of ice and then sheathe it in a skin of superheated Magma, creating a steam-charged weapon that shattered with explosive force. He learned to flash-freeze a patch of ground to make it brittle, allowing Trias to shatter it with a single Dig attack.
Psychic Telekinesis: It remained his weakest, most draining skill, but its precision was unmatched. He practiced using it to deflect small rocks Trias tossed, or to remotely trigger simple snares made of vines.
For three days, they trained. They ate. They slept in a shelter Alberto grew from the land itself. The silent, lonely mechanic was gone. In his place was a leader, talking strategy with his partner, his voice mingling with the rumble of earth and the crackle of elemental energy.
On the evening of the third day, as the sun set, Alberto sat with his back against their living shelter. Trias was half-submerged in a cool patch of earth it had made.
You are a good digger, for a surface-thing, Trias sent, the concept tinged with deep respect. Your plans are solid. What is the next tunnel?
Alberto looked at his hands—calloused, a minor burn on one from a misjudged Magma flow, a trace of frostbite on the other. He looked at the Catalogue, open to the Multiversal Resource Index. It now listed the ten remaining Evolutionary Stones in the Vault as his primary strategic reserve.
"The next tunnel isn't here," Alberto said, his gaze drifting to the invisible door only he could summon. "We've got a good start. We have a foundation. But this world's stones… they're just one type. The Ship is asking for more. Different kinds. And for that…"
He stood up, brushing dirt from his pants. The logistical mind, the Maintainer, was fully online, assessing the next system in need of service.
"…we need to go to a world where the magic is in the ground, waiting to be mined. A world where they understand the worth of a stone. We're going to a world of wizards, Trias. And we're not going as tourists."
He focused. The door to the Ship shimmered into existence against the rocky outcrop.
"We're going as prospectors."