"Hidden quest? What the heck is that?"
Ace looked at the sudden completion of the hidden quest, feeling completely lost for a moment.
"A hidden quest is a task that the host cannot view. It cannot be actively completed but is triggered passively. Once the prerequisites are met, the hidden quest is completed."
The system provided an explanation, but it only made Ace's face twitch.
In short, Ace couldn't see this kind of quest. If his actions happened to trigger one, it would automatically be completed.
"Whatever, I'll just treat it as a small surprise."
Ace said nonchalantly. From his point of view, these kinds of quests were a complete mystery, so maintaining a relaxed mindset was the most important thing!
Seeing the Revival Machine get on track, Ace breathed a sigh of relief.
His efforts over the past while had finally borne fruit.
Taking advantage of a break, Ace pulled out the hidden map the system had given him from his pouch.
He took out a rolled-up, yellowish piece of parchment, tied with a thin piece of twine.
Ace untied it and spread the map out on the lab table.
The paper gave off a faint smell of mildew, and the edges were frayed. Looking at the map and the grid of latitude and longitude lines, Ace saw that it marked a coastal area. The location was very close to his home!
"System, I feel like you did this on purpose."
Ace looked at the location, compared it to the map on his electronic watch, and quickly confirmed the coordinates.
The system remained silent. Ace, curious, put the map away, prepared his gear, and decided to try and find the treasure marked on it.
Half an hour later, Ace put on the diving equipment he had bought before, brought Lapras and Blastoise with him, and jumped off a cliff into the sea.
Lapras and Blastoise surrounded Ace. Ace lay on Lapras's back and patted it.
Lapras instantly understood and swam toward the location shown on the map, with Ace on its back.
Blastoise followed closely behind. If any Pokémon tried to attack them, they would be met with a Hydro Pump from Blastoise!
Lying on Lapras's back, Ace glanced at the navigation on his electronic watch. They were still some distance from their destination, but a wide, deep trench had already appeared before them.
Ace compared it to the map and quickly confirmed that their next course of action was to follow this trench.
He patted Lapras, which changed direction and began to descend into the trench. Blastoise, seeing this, immediately followed.
As they descended, the surroundings grew darker, and the water temperature gradually dropped.
Ace turned on the light on his electronic watch, illuminating the environment around them. He quickly noticed something was off.
There were architectural remains scattered around the trench.
"Atlantis?" Ace wondered. Comparing it to the map, they arrived in front of a building that resembled a temple.
"This must be the place."
Ace thought to himself. Then, Blastoise took the lead and swam into the temple.
Thud!
But in less than three seconds, Blastoise was sent flying backward, tumbling several times before stopping next to Ace.
Splash!
A sound of water breaking reached his ears. A blue figure shot out, pointed a finger at Blastoise, and sent waves of energy toward it.
It was psychic power!
"Bubble Beam!"
Ace's muffled voice rang out. Blastoise's cannons fired a large number of bubbles, which collided directly with the opponent's psychic power.
Thud!
With a dull sound, the Bubble Beam instantly shattered the psychic power and continued toward the opponent without losing momentum.
The blue figure quickly flicked its tail, instantly dodging the attack.
"Pretty fast, but this Golduck's moves aren't too powerful," Ace thought to himself, and then said to Blastoise, "Withdraw."
The Golduck's Zen Headbutt hit Blastoise's shell, but it was a direct clash between its attack power and Blastoise's shell.
The result was that Blastoise moved back a little, while Golduck was left dazed in its spot.
"Skull Bash."
Boom!
Blastoise charged with a powerful Skull Bash, smashing its shell into the Golduck's body. The Golduck instantly turned into a cannonball and was sent flying.
Using this opportunity, Lapras took Ace and swam into the temple.
The temple hall was full of silt. After Ace got off Lapras's back, he stepped onto the ground, and his ankles were instantly submerged in the silt.
In this silt, dense water weeds grew. Even without any sunlight, the water weeds here were particularly lush.
"This is a bit troublesome."
Ace tugged at a water weed beside him and easily pulled it out of the loose silt.
"System, where's the treasure?"
"Please discover it yourself, Host."
"...You're relentless."
Without a single hint, Ace was about to throw away the water weed in his hand, but then he stopped.
"Huh, that's a bit strange."
Ace held the water weed and pulled it.
The water weed was extremely tough. After withstanding Ace's pull for a moment, it snapped with a snap.
As the water weed broke, a light green liquid seeped from the break. Lapras brought its head over and, with a flick of its tongue, took the broken water weed into its mouth.
After chewing a few times, Lapras's eyes lit up. It then opened its mouth and started eating the other water weeds beside it in big mouthfuls.
"It must be these water weeds," Ace thought, watching Lapras.
It was well known that Lapras usually ate specially customized Pokémon food and Pokéblocks. Its palate was extremely refined, and Ace had spoiled it.
For a Lapras like this to eagerly devour wild water weeds was enough proof of how delicious they were.
"System, analyze these water weeds."
Ace held the broken water weed in front of him. The system quickly scanned the water weed, and its information appeared before Ace.
"Morey Seaweed: An extremely rare and precious seaweed that requires very specific growing conditions. To Water-type Pokémon, its taste is an impeccable delicacy. Long-term consumption can slightly increase the power of Water-type moves."
"Morey Seaweed has been added to the system's store. Water-type Pokémon food and Pokéblocks have been updated."
Ace quickly checked the system store and found that one gold coin could be exchanged for one catty of Morey Seaweed. The food and Pokéblocks for Water-type Pokémon had all increased by one gold coin.
Ace was fine with this. The price increase wasn't too outrageous, and the updated items were more effective for training Water-type Pokémon, so there was no reason for him to refuse.