After teleporting away, David and his Pokémon returned to their previous resting spot.
However, their campsite had been taken over by a group of tiny "uninvited guests."
"Pika~ Pi!"
A group of Pikachu, drawn by the enticing aroma of the beef stew David had prepared, were feasting on their lunch while they had been away.
Seeing David and his Pokémon suddenly appear, the Pikachu enjoying their meal were startled and dropped the unfinished food in their paws, ready to flee.
Watching the little creatures scatter in alarm, David quickly used his Aura power, conveying through telepathy that he had no intention of harming them.
Every fan of the Pokémon series likely holds a special fondness for Pikachu.
David was no exception. Looking at the Pikachu before him, he recalled past memories and his yearning for the Pokémon world.
A genuine smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
Perhaps David wouldn't capture a Pokémon like Pikachu now, but that didn't diminish his affection for the species.
After sensing David's Aura power and discerning the emotions within it, the little creatures hesitantly stopped their retreat.
However, they still didn't dare approach again.
David didn't say much. He simply tidied up the surrounding area and then stood up, preparing to leave.
"Don't be afraid! We're leaving now, and all this food is yours..."
With that, he didn't linger any longer, turning and leading Zorua and the others toward the core area.
The Pikachu left behind looked at each other uncertainly. After confirming that David and his Pokémon had truly departed, they resumed enjoying the delicious food they had never tasted before.
In the core area, on the highest peak of the entire mountain range.
On the usually silent mountaintop, apart from the howling wind, there was a rare stir of activity.
"Zorua, use Double Team to dodge, then follow up with Icy Wind!"
The scene shifted to show David directing Zorua in battle against a powerful Pokémon.
"Roar!"
Just as David's words fell, a metallic, silvery-gray beam of light shot straight at Zorua from a nearby cave.
Flash Cannon!
However, because Double Team was used in time, this powerful Flash Cannon only shattered a few of Zorua's illusions and blasted a hole in the nearby mountain wall, without achieving any real effect.
"Roar~ Roar!"
Accompanied by ferocious roars and trembling ground, a massive green figure burst out of the cave.
A blood-red, terrifying head, deep crimson spikes growing from its green skin, coupled with peculiar wings that had evolved due to its long-term activity in caves and underground lairs.
Aside from its significantly larger size, it looked exactly like what David had seen in the Pokédex.
The identity of David's opponent was already clear—it was a Druddigon, often called the shame of Dragon-type Pokémon.
Watching Druddigon's massive figure charge out of the cave, Zorua opened its small mouth and unleashed a blast of Icy Wind at it.
The howling cold wind, mixed with numerous ice shards, directly struck Druddigon's body.
"Roar~!"
The erosion of Ice-type energy made it let out a painful roar.
[Name: Druddigon]
[Type: Dragon]
[Gender: ♂]
[Energy Level: 41 (Professional Stage One)]
[Aptitude: Light Purple]
[Ability: Rough Skin]
[Held Item: None]
[Moves: Scratch, Leer, Bite, Dragon Tail, Slash, Metal Claw, Dragon Claw, Hone Claws, Scary Face, Snarl, Iron Head, Flash Cannon, Scale Shot, Poison Tail, Assurance, Crunch...]
The Druddigon that appeared before them was already a Professional-level Pokémon.
This Druddigon was precisely the major challenge that the officials had prepared for the examinees in this assessment. (This excluded Clefable; the cave where Moonlight Lake was located was an undiscovered secret spot, and no one except David knew there was a Gym-level Pokémon residing inside.)
Although it was jokingly called the shame of Dragon-type Pokémon, a Professional-level Dragon-type was still quite intimidating when facing students whose Pokémon were, at most, Veteran-level.
After David received the box with the Dragon-type symbol from Hannah, an appraisal by his watch showed that David had earned a full 1,000 points.
When he opened it, the contents were exactly as he had expected: exclusive resources for Dragon-type Pokémon—a Dragon Scale.
A dark green Dragon Scale with a rough, rock-like surface texture.
Relying on his family's inherited expertise, David's gentle touch immediately identified it as a Druddigon's Dragon Scale.
According to Hannah, they had secretly stolen the box from Druddigon's cave while it was out hunting.
They had expended tremendous effort to obtain this box.
First, they exploited Druddigon's poor flying ability, as its wings had nearly atrophied due to long-term activity in underground caves.
They had a companion with a Flying-type Pokémon deliberately lure Druddigon away from its lair.
Then, before it could return, they had a Ghost-type Pokémon infiltrate Druddigon's territory and steal the box.
Unfortunately, they had barely gotten their hands on it—it hadn't even been in their possession for long—before Josiah and his group, who had also arrived in the area, set their sights on it.
Seeing that it was a Dragon-type Pokémon resource, Josiah naturally wouldn't let it slip away, so he tenaciously pursued Hannah and her group.
This led to the scene David had witnessed earlier, and in the end, the treasure they had fought over for so long still fell into David's hands.
Following their trail, David made his way to this mountain peak, located Druddigon's cave, and that was how the initial confrontation had begun.
Although both were Druddigon, the Dragon Scale in David's hand clearly did not come from the Druddigon before him.
The rich energy emanating from the Dragon Scale, even without professional machine testing, allowed David to determine that the owner of this scale was at least a Druddigon approaching Elite level.
David estimated that this scale was most likely left behind by the parents of the Druddigon currently standing before him.
Then, as the secret realm where the Druddigon lived completely merged with Earth and was discovered by exploring staff, it naturally became one of the rewards for this assessment.
A Dragon Scale from a Druddigon approaching Elite level was indeed valuable. David estimated it was worth at least a seven-figure sum.
Coupled with the fact that Dragon-type resources were consistently in high demand but short supply, its value would likely increase significantly, making it quite a profitable find.
As for keeping this Dragon Scale for himself, David had never even considered it.
Are you kidding? Other things aside, his family had the most of this stuff. What was the point of keeping Druddigon scales?
If he really wanted some, he might as well just ask his own father for resources, or if that didn't work, wait a year or two for his older sister's Dragonite to break through to Elite level.
Wouldn't an Elite-level Dragonite's Dragon Scale be far superior to a Druddigon's Dragon Scale?
But these were all matters for the future. For now, he had to deal with the Druddigon right in front of him!