"This is the Trainer Association's underground secure warehouse. Normal rare items are stored in, um~ Warehouse No. 2. You're permitted to select any two items as your championship reward."
"But remember, you can only choose two! All items stored here are carefully registered and catalogued with identification numbers. Make sure to register your selections with me again when you leave."
The staff member led David to the entrance of Warehouse No. 2, gestured for him to enter by himself, and made sure to issue this warning before departing.
After the staff member left, David pushed open the heavy door of Warehouse No. 2 and walked in at an unhurried pace. He had plenty of time to make his selections, so there was no need to rush—he could take his time examining everything carefully.
As soon as he pushed the door open, the lights throughout the warehouse automatically illuminated. The vast storage space became brightly lit, and rare treasures were neatly arranged in protective display cases, each one emitting an alluring luster under the overhead lights.
They sat there quietly, awaiting the arrival of someone destined to choose them.
David slowed his pace considerably, carefully observing his surroundings with keen interest.
The outermost perimeter of the warehouse was filled with high-grade Evolution Stones. From the most common and numerous Fire Stones, Water Stones, and Thunder Stones, to the considerably rarer Moon Stones and Sun Stones, everything was available in substantial quantities.
Next to each stone, its respective purity percentage was clearly marked. David noticed that they were all above 80% purity, which indicated quite good quality. In terms of market value, even the cheapest stones here were easily in the six or seven-figure price range.
However, after David's rough inspection of the area, he found no Evolution Stones with purity exceeding 90%. Given the Trainer Association's substantial resources and standing within the League, it was impossible for them not to possess any such high-quality stones.
When an Evolution Stone's purity reached over 90%, its value increased several times over compared to lower-purity versions. These exceptionally precious items must have been stored elsewhere, in an even more secure location. The staff member had specifically mentioned that "normal" rare items were stored here in Warehouse No. 2.
That implied other "abnormal" or exceptionally rare items should be stored in a different, more restricted area. Since this was designated as Warehouse No. 2, there was probably a Warehouse No. 1 or something similar for even more valuable treasures.
Putting aside the Evolution Stones displayed before him, David continued walking deeper into the warehouse. While these stones were certainly good quality, they were just mediocre in his estimation—not worth wasting one of his precious selection opportunities on.
The central area of the warehouse mostly contained held items used by Pokémon in battle. In just a short while, David had already encountered countless rare items like Everstone, Mystic Water, Assault Vest, Fairy Feather, Dragon Scale, and many more, all displayed dazzlingly before him, just waiting for him to "favor" them with his selection.
This time, David found a temporary target that caught his attention. Among the collection of items he had just examined, he noticed a Black Belt that boosted the power of Fighting-type moves, and the Fighting-type energy it contained felt quite rich and concentrated.
Although it couldn't compare to Zorua's Spell Tag in terms of quality, its amplification rate hovered around 24%, making it a perfectly viable option for his purposes.
His Riolu still hadn't received any held items yet!
David hadn't managed to find anything suitable in his family's Gym inventory, and he had originally planned to check the upcoming auction house later. If there was a suitable item available here, he wouldn't mind selecting it as one of his two choices.
After passing through the area where held items were prominently displayed, the next section appeared considerably more chaotic and disorganized. David looked ahead and saw various miscellaneous items scattered throughout the very back of the warehouse, as well as a substantial number of items without specific appraisal results or clear identification.
Things like ancient Cloudspire antiques, excavated artifacts recovered from secret realm ruins, and similar archaeological finds—there were numerous examples of such items, occupying approximately half of the entire warehouse's storage space.
Looking at the eclectic collection of items before him, after giving it considerable thought, David recalled his experience finding the Riolu Pokémon Egg previously using his Aura, so he thought to himself, "Help me out! All-powerful Aura."
He quietly expanded his Aura outward in gentle waves, attempting to replicate his previous successful operation.
His Aura Power swept methodically through the surrounding area, but initially there was no notable reaction. Just as David was beginning to feel disappointed, he suddenly sensed a distinctly special Aura emanating from a certain spot through his Aura perception.
Invisibly, there seemed to be a faint voice calling out to him, beckoning him forward.
"What's going on here?"
David walked forward with purpose, intending to investigate the specific situation more closely.
"Hmm~ This is…"
Once he reached the location in question, with just a single inadvertent glance, David's gaze was instantly and irresistibly drawn to a particular item positioned not far away.
It was a white stone, unassuming in appearance.
Amidst the dazzling brilliance radiating from the many valuable treasures surrounding it, this dull, unremarkable white stone was completely inconspicuous and easy to overlook. In fact, due to a prominent crack running across its surface, one might legitimately wonder how this seemingly damaged object had even ended up being placed in this warehouse at all.
Could it simply be filler material to occupy shelf space?
Yet it was from this very stone that a distinctive Aura emanated—an Aura that made David feel an inexplicable sense of closeness and familiarity. It seemed to carry Dragon-type energy, somewhat similar in nature to the Aura David had previously sensed from his older sister.
However, under David's careful Aura perception, this particular Aura felt far more noble, powerful, and fervent than his older sister's Dragon Force inheritance.
The Moore family's bloodline had inherited the power of Dragon Force across multiple generations, so even though David himself hadn't awakened Dragon Force abilities, due to his inherited bloodline, he would naturally feel a strong affinity and attraction toward the Aura of Dragon-type energy.
After taking a more careful look at the stone, David's body surprisingly trembled involuntarily at the sight of this seemingly worthless "junk," and he quickly walked to the display case holding the mysterious stone, his excitement barely contained beneath the surface.
Suppressing his excited emotions with considerable effort, he focused his attention on the annotation placard positioned next to it.
At this moment, he already had a developing theory forming in his mind.
If his guess was not mistaken, this inconspicuous little stone sitting before him was an unparalleled treasure that the entire warehouse's contents—no... ten, a hundred, even a thousand times this warehouse's worth—could not possibly compare to in value.
[Unknown White Stone: Discovered on an unnamed archipelago in the East Pacific Ocean. Emits a faint trace of exceptionally high-quality Dragon-type energy, but after thorough examination by League researchers, no obvious abnormalities or unique properties were conclusively identified. Based on the visible crack present on its surface, it is currently speculated to be a mineral resource somehow related to an unknown Dragon-type Pokémon species. Due to apparent damage, its internal energy has been slowly leaking out. Long-term carrying by a Trainer or Pokémon has a certain statistical possibility of promoting the awakening of dormant Dragon-type bloodline traits. Due to its uncertain but potential value, it is currently sealed and stored in Warehouse No. 2 of the Imperial City Trainer Association…]
After reading through the detailed notes with an increasingly excited heart, David's mind was practically reeling with shock and realization—everything matched perfectly!
How could this possibly be "some resource related to an unknown Dragon-type Pokémon"! This WAS the Dragon-type Pokémon itself, merely in dormant form.
Based on the current descriptive notes and his detailed memories from his previous life's knowledge, David could now confidently confirm his initial conjecture: this inconspicuous little "broken stone" sitting before him was an absolutely unparalleled treasure of immeasurable worth.
This white stone was precisely one of the two legendary dragons from the Unova region's founding mythology—the pure white Dragon deity representing the philosophical aspect of truth and ideals, the White Yang Pokémon of Truth itself—Reshiram.
And according to established game lore and Pokémon mythology records, when Reshiram and its counterpart Zekrom's physical bodies were destroyed in ancient conflicts, they transformed into the Light Stone and Dark Stone respectively, entering a state of dormancy while awaiting the destined hero who would eventually reawaken them.
Since he could discover the Light Stone at this precise moment in time, wasn't this clearly fate's deliberate arrangement! As he'd suspected all along, he truly was the protagonist of this story!
David excitedly opened the protective display case with trembling hands and carefully took the Light Stone in his grasp. A subtle but distinct Dragon-type energy Aura emanated gently from its surface. Cautiously, he allowed his own Aura Power to permeate into the stone, and immediately a warm, comforting sensation transmitted directly into David's consciousness.
It felt as if, in this singular moment, what he held cradled in his hand was not merely a cold stone, but rather a living, breathing flame of pure white fire.