Delia broke the food into small pieces to feed Dragonair and Dratini while tilting her head to look down the main road.
She watched those few Trainers rushing past carrying pickaxes, her face full of confusion.
"Hey, that's strange."
Delia brushed the crumbs off her hands and turned to say to Roy.
"I just saw a group of people like them holding pickaxes on the road ahead."
She pointed in the direction where those people had disappeared.
"Is there some kind of mineral vein around here? Why is everyone acting like they're rushing to dig for gold?"
Misty was smoothing out Blastoise's shell, and when she heard this, her ears perked up instantly.
She shoved all the remaining food in her hand to Blastoise and stood up abruptly.
"A mineral vein?"
Misty's eyes lit up instantly.
That brightness was on par with seeing a rare Water-type Pokémon.
"Could it be that someone found treasure around here?"
She waved her hands excitedly.
"And then the news spread, attracting many Trainers to come and dig?"
"Maybe it's a rare ite mineral vein!"
"Or a secret treasure from an ancient ruin!"
The more Misty talked, the more excited she became, and she had already started stomping her feet on the spot.
"Roy! Let's hurry over and take a look too! If there really is some treasure, if we go late, it'll all be dug up by others!"
Delia was also infected by her excitement, turning to look at Roy with anticipation in her eyes.
"Roy, should we go over and take a look too?"
"Maybe we can really dig up something good."
The two of them talked back and forth, discussing heatedly.
Delia guessed it might be some kind of rare ore.
Misty was even more exaggerated, already imagining the scene of digging up an ancient Water-type Pokémon fossil.
Just as the two were discussing excitedly.
A crisp notification sound rang in Roy's ears.
Ding!
[Triggered Mission — Sky Hegemony: Use Charizard to defeat the awakened Aerodactyl in the Big Rock Valley!]
[Mission Reward: Charizard Level + 3!]
Immediately followed by a second sound.
Ding!
[Bonding Mission — Bond with Togepi: Help Misty find the Togepi egg!]
[Mission Reward 1: Beauty Aura — Great Love: Designate an already obtained aura to be shared with two bonded beauties within a certain distance. When both beauties are by your side, this aura's effect is increased by an additional 100%!]
[Mission Reward 2: After Togepi hatches, permanently share Togepi intimacy with Misty!]
Roy immediately understood.
In fact, when he first saw the group of Trainers holding pickaxes and wearing dust-proof suits, he had already guessed if they had arrived at that place.
Now that the mission was triggered, it was equivalent to confirming it for him directly.
Big Rock Valley.
This was it.
The location of this canyon was very special, not far from the big desert in Neon Town.
In recent years, the sandstorms had become increasingly severe, and the surface had been severely eroded.
Some rock layers that were originally buried deep underground were slowly exposed.
Some sharp-eyed Trainers discovered traces of fossils in those exposed rock layers.
Once the news spread, it immediately attracted a large number of Trainers wanting to get rich to flock over.
After all, a complete ancient Pokémon fossil could fetch an astronomical price on the market.
Even if they didn't sell it, keeping it for themselves might allow them to revive a rare ancient Pokémon.
Who could resist this temptation?
However, Roy's interest in Big Rock Valley went far beyond just fossils.
He knew that in some underground cave in this place, an Aerodactyl was sleeping.
When he saw the Aerodactyl icon on the lighthouse gate before, he immediately thought of Big Rock Valley.
At that time, he was already planning that when he passed by in the future, he must go in and take a look.
The potential of that Aerodactyl was very high.
Now two more missions had been triggered.
One Big Rock Valley, and it gave him a double mission binding directly.
Charizard Level + 3, this reward was very solid.
The "Great Love" Beauty Aura was even more incredibly practical.
Designating an already obtained aura to share with Delia and Misty, and the effect could even double when both were by his side.
This bonus, just thinking about it was wonderful.
As for Togepi, after hatching, sharing intimacy with Misty was equivalent to getting a bond bonus for free.
This canyon, he had to go no matter what.
However, before setting off, Roy was in no hurry to rush.
He took out Charizard's Poké Ball.
A red light flashed.
Charizard stood in front of him, the flame on its tail burning steadily.
Roy opened the system panel and took a look.
He still had seven intermediate rare candies in storage.
These were his hidden stash, and he hadn't been willing to use them until now.
Now, it was time.
"Charizard."
Roy lined up the seven intermediate rare candies and placed them in front of Charizard.
"Eat these."
Charizard lowered its head to look at the candies emitting rich energy, then looked up at Roy.
A trace of confusion flashed in the dragon's eyes.
But there was no hesitation.
It lowered its head and swallowed all the candies in one gulp.
Seven intermediate rare candies went into its stomach.
Charizard's aura climbed steadily.
Its dragon scales shimmered with a faint luster.
The flame on its tail suddenly shot up a large chunk.
Its body temperature was also rising sharply.
The surrounding air was scorched until it slightly distorted.
[Pokémon: Charizard, Level: lv43 → lv50]
[Candy Balance: Basic Rare Candy 16, intermediate rare candy 18, high-grade rare candy 3]
Gym-level.
Charizard looked down at its claws, feeling the surging power within its body.
It looked up and let out a high-pitched dragon roar.
Roy looked at Charizard's state and nodded with satisfaction.
Boosting Charizard directly to Gym-level wasn't just to complete the mission.
More importantly, he was preparing to capture that Aerodactyl.
Aerodactyl was not a gentle character.
The overlord of the sky in ancient times.
Violent temper, fast speed, fierce attacks.
If Charizard was still at level 40+, it might not necessarily gain an advantage against it.
But now that it had reached Gym-level, that was different.
Plus Charizard's own combat experience.
This Aerodactyl, he was determined to get.
However, having levels alone wasn't enough.
Roy thought of another thing.
That Aerodactyl's flying speed was famously fast in ancient times.
If it couldn't win and ran away, Charizard might not be able to catch up with its speed.
He had to plug this loophole as well.
Roy rummaged through his system backpack and found something.
Speed Potion.
This was a reward given by the system when he captured Squirtle before.
[Speed Potion — After use by a Pokémon, permanently increases Speed base stats by 20% or significantly enhances speed-related ability effects.]
It had been gathering dust in his backpack, and now it was just the right time to use it.
"Charizard, drink this too."
Roy handed the potion over.
Charizard took it and gulped it down.
The moment the potion entered its throat, Charizard's body shook violently.
Its wings spread out with a swoosh, and the wingspan seemed to be a bit wider than before.
The muscle lines on the dragon wings became smoother and sharper.
The entire physique had a feeling of being optimized.
Charizard tried flapping its wings twice.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Two wing beats.
It didn't even count as a warm-up.
But the wind pressure stirred up had already bent the grass beside it.
It could feel it.
It was faster.
Not just a little faster.
It was faster by an entire level.
Roy looked at the +20% mark behind Charizard's Speed base stat on the system panel.
Now it was foolproof.
The level reached Gym-level, and the speed increased by another 20%.
Let alone defeating Aerodactyl.
Even if it wanted to run, it would have to ask Charizard's wings if they agreed.
After making all the preparations, Roy packed up his backpack and stood up.
He turned to look at Delia and Misty who were still there discussing the treasure.
"Let's go."
Both turned their heads at the same time.
"Where to?"
Roy pointed to the vaguely visible silhouette of the canyon at the end of the road.
"We're also going to take a look ahead to see what treasures can be dug up."
Delia and Misty exchanged glances.
The next second, both of them jumped up simultaneously.
"Great!"
"Let's go, let's go!"
Unknown rewards often have great temptation.
Delia quickly packed up the remaining food.
Misty had already put on her backpack and was bouncing on the spot, urging them to hurry up.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Don't dawdle! If we go late, all the good things will be dug up by others!"
Roy laughed as he watched the two's excitement.
He packed away his Poké Balls one by one and waved his hand.
"Let's go, to Big Rock Valley."
The three of them left the forest.
Walking through a flat and desolate area.
The ground under their feet became increasingly dry, and the vegetation became sparser.
On the distant horizon, some undulating rock layer silhouettes began to appear.
The embryonic form of Big Rock Valley slowly appeared before the three of them.
It was a canyon area that had been eroded by wind and sand for countless years.
The rock walls were steep, and gullies crisscrossed.
Looking from afar, it looked like the earth had been slashed open by someone with a giant axe.
At the entrance of the canyon, quite a few people had already gathered.
Some were carrying pickaxes and walking inside, while others were pushing small carts loaded with crushed stones and walking outside.
Some even simply set up tents on the flat ground next to the entrance, looking like they intended to camp out here for a long time.
The whole scene was as lively as an open-pit mine.
"Wow, so many people."
Delia looked at the scene before her, somewhat surprised.
"It seems there really are quite a lot of fossils in this canyon, otherwise it wouldn't attract so many people to come."
Misty stood on tiptoes and peered into the crowd, wanting to see if she could find any clues.
Just at this moment.
A burst of extremely eye-catching noise came from not far away.
"Gary, Gary! Treasure hunting number one!"
"Gary, Gary! Fossils in hand!"
"Go, go! Gary is the best!"
The voices were uniform and full of energy.
Roy looked in the direction of the sound.
A convertible sports car was parked next to the canyon entrance.
Standing next to the car was a group of cheerleaders in short skirts, waving pom-poms in their hands, shouting slogans energetically towards the direction of the canyon entrance.
In front of the cheerleaders stood a boy with spiky hair.
Purple shirt, wide collar, arms crossed, standing in an extremely arrogant posture.
Good brother, Gary is here too.
No matter where this guy goes, he always brings such a grand display.
When the three of them walked over, the cheerleaders' chanting just came to an end.
Gary turned around, just about to walk into the canyon.
Then he saw Roy.
"Yo, isn't this Roy?"
Gary saw them from far away and walked over with a swaggering gait.
The expression on his face was very smug.
He glanced behind Roy, saw Misty and Delia, and immediately chuckled.
"You kid, your journey is still quite enjoyable."
Gary crossed his arms and looked him up and down.
"Bringing two such pretty female companions, although compared to my young master's fan club..."
As he said this, he pointed his thumb at the group of cheerleaders waving pom-poms behind him.
"They are much weaker, but for you, it's still not bad."
As soon as these words came out.
Misty's expression changed on the spot.
With her hot temper, when had she ever suffered such an insult?
"What kind of stuff is that?"
Misty stood beside Roy, hands on her hips, chin held high.
"This young lady is worth six of them!"
She wasn't bragging.
The four sisters of Cerulean Gym were famous beautiful girl Trainers in the Kanto region.
In terms of looks, temperament, and strength, Misty really hadn't feared anyone.
Misty looked up and down at the group of cheerleaders behind Gary and snorted through her nose.
"Roy is raised by me to be plump, healthy, and is very strong now!"
She raised her hand and patted Roy's shoulder, looking smug.
"What about you? You wouldn't still be paying to keep those six cheerleaders, right? Hmm?"
Misty's words struck accurately and ruthlessly.
She had been trash-talking with her three sisters in the Gym since she was little.
The four sisters bickered every day, and the verbal skills she trained were not something an average person could handle.
This kind of sarcastic and slightly insulting talk came as naturally to her as drinking water.
Gary was choked up.
He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that he really couldn't out-talk this girl.
"These, these are all external topics for us Trainers!"
Gary waved his hand, hurriedly changing the subject.
His expression became serious again, and fighting spirit ignited in his eyes.
"Our main focus should still be comparing our capabilities regarding Pokémon!"
He stared at Roy, his tone becoming solemn.
"Roy, before it was just your luck, capturing some good Pokémon and stealing the spotlight at Grandpa's place."
When Gary said this, there was clearly dissatisfaction in his tone.
"This time, I will dig up the best ancient Pokémon fossil and send it back for Grandpa to see."
He raised his hand, pointing at Roy.
"Let them know, between you and me, who is the future light of Pallet Town!"
Listening to this, Roy actually wanted to laugh a little.
Speaking of which, on this journey, he and Gary really hadn't met directly.
But there was an important connection point between the two — Professor Oak.
Every time Roy sent those powerful Pokémon back, Professor Oak would call Gary.
"Gary, Roy has captured another super rare Pokémon!"
"Gary, look at Roy, how fast he is progressing!"
"Gary, you need to work harder!"
Once or twice was fine.
With more times, Gary's mentality exploded.
With Professor Oak, he had completely become the negative example of "someone else's child."
Over time, a sense of competition against Roy accumulated in Gary's heart.
And this sense of competition grew deeper and deeper.
This time when he met Roy in Big Rock Valley, his competitive nerve immediately tightened.
He unconsciously started bickering with Roy again.
After leaving his battle declaration, Gary stopped talking nonsense.
He turned around, shouldered the pickaxe on the ground, and with his group of cheerleaders, rushed into the canyon, blood boiling.
The momentum was as if he were going to dig up a mountain of gold.
Misty looked at Gary's retreating back, extremely anxious.
She grabbed Roy's hand and pulled hard.
"Hurry, hurry, Roy!"
"We need to run faster!"
"We can't let this stuck-up young master dig up good things before us!"
"We must outdo him!"
Misty was born a competitive enthusiast.
Usually, she could find some challenge goals for herself even when there was nothing.
Now that Gary had issued a challenge directly to her face, her competitive spirit was completely ignited.
She was so excited that she wished she could rush into the canyon now, dig up a pile of treasures, and throw them in Gary's face.
Delia, watching Misty like this from the side, couldn't help but laugh.
"Misty, don't be anxious, listen to what Roy has to say."
Her trust in Roy was deep in her bones.
Since Roy had said he wanted to come and take a look, he must have his own plans.
Roy gently patted the back of Misty's hand.
The movement was unhurried.
"No rush."
His voice was very calm.
"We don't need to follow the crowd."
Misty was stunned for a moment and looked up at Roy.
Roy's gaze swept over the crowd swarming into the canyon entrance.
Those people were carrying pickaxes, pushing small carts, and rushing inside like they had been injected with chicken blood.
Afraid that if they were one step late, the good things would be snatched by others.
"Over here."
Roy withdrew his gaze and turned to look at an inconspicuous path to the side.
That path was sandwiched between two giant rocks, the entrance was very narrow, only allowing one person to pass through.
The ground was covered with weeds, looking like no one had walked there for a long time.
Compared to the lively scene on the main road, this side was as desolate as a forgotten corner.
"I'll take you to dig up something good."
When Roy said this, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
The tone was confident and mysterious.
Delia and Misty exchanged glances, and although they had doubts, they still followed.