"Thank you, both. We'll be leaving now."
Ace carried Zinnia out of the shrine, looked at the two elderly people, and smiled slightly.
"Just who are you people?"
Seeing that Ace didn't take the Red Orb and Blue Orb, the two old people felt slightly relieved and asked in unison.
"Just an ordinary Pokémon Trainer."
Ace replied with a smile, then ignored the two and carried Zinnia as he headed down Mount Pyre.
Watching Ace and Zinnia leave, the two old people exchanged glances. After a moment of hesitation, the elderly woman said, "We should let Tate and Liza come here whenever they can. We're too old; there's no way we can stop anyone."
The old man nodded: "This time, we encountered people with no malicious intent. If someone with ill intentions had come, the Red and Blue Orbs couldn't have been saved."
While the two elders were discussing the future protection of the Orbs, Ace and Zinnia had moved on. Zinnia, having regained her strength, was put down by Ace to walk on her own. Once they were outside Mount Pyre, Ace released his Aerodactyl.
Zinnia asked no questions and likewise released her Salamence, taking flight and following Ace as they headed southwest.
In the afternoon, Ace and Zinnia arrived in Slateport City.
After recalling their respective Pokémon, Ace brought Zinnia to a local food festival in Slateport City.
"Let's take a rest. We'll have to wait here for a few days."
Ace bought some grilled skewers, handed them to Zinnia, and spoke to her.
Zinnia nodded, took the skewers, and started eating.
Ace, meanwhile, was quickly drawn to a stall selling various small items. The stall owner was a middle-aged man, and his display held many worn, old objects, many still covered with yellowish dirt. From their appearance, they seemed to be items excavated from underground.
Ace crouched down and picked up a piece of bone on the stall that resembled a Magatama pendant. A rope had been threaded through the top to make it into a necklace.
It appeared to have been polished from some sort of bone.
Ace quickly examined it and put it down. The bone had been air-dried for too long, making its exterior brittle. Even if he put it into the Revival Machine, he probably wouldn't be able to extract much genetic material.
Next, Ace's attention shifted to a small box of highly polished gemstones.
The stall owner saw Ace looking at the gemstones and immediately grinned: "These are very rare gems! They can increase the power of a Pokémon's moves."
"Something that breaks after a single use? I'm not interested."
Ace shook his head. He casually picked up a small, fractured rock and asked the owner, "How much for this thing?"
"If you really want it, one hundred Pokémon Dollars."
The man glanced at it, then lost interest. He had acquired the rock casually, and aside from its hardness, he didn't know what it was, so he simply put it up for sale.
Ace paid the money and then left the stall with Zinnia.
"Ace-sama, what did you buy?"
Zinnia was curious, wondering what use Ace could possibly have for that rock.
"Just a piece of rock."
Zinnia was clearly unconvinced. If it were just a plain rock, would it be worth a hundred Pokémon Dollars?
Ace smiled. If it were truly a plain rock, it wouldn't be worth it, of course.
However, what Ace was interested in was a small, moss-like green layer attached to the rock.
After a quick scan, the system had alerted him that this part was host to a small amount of the Pokérus—the Pokémon Virus.
In the games, when a Pokémon is infected with the Pokérus, the base points (EVs) it gains after a battle are doubled, including the extra base points obtained through item bonuses.
In reality, this was the first time Ace had ever encountered this substance. Driven by research curiosity, Ace took out a sealed container from his waist pouch and placed the rock inside for preservation.
Now was not the time to study it. Once he had some free time in the evening, he could certainly do a little research.
They continued to wander and eat for a long time before Ace finally found a hotel to stay in.
He and Zinnia took separate rooms. After Ace finished his shower, he took out the sealed container and began the process of extracting the Pokérus.
A series of professional tools were laid out by Ace. He submerged the rock in an extraction solvent. After isolating the Pokérus, Ace transferred it to another culture dish.
Upon injecting a nutrient solution, the Pokérus's activity was instantly activated. It began to absorb the nutrients from the solution and multiply rapidly.
Ace sealed away a portion for storage, then divided the remainder into ten samples, and began to attempt to analyze the virus's structure.
Time ticked by. After wasting six samples, Ace had a rough understanding of the Pokérus's nature.
First, this so-called 'virus' is actually a type of beneficial bacterium. It's only called the Pokérus because it's transmissible and behaves somewhat like a virus.
Fundamentally, once this bacterium invades a Pokémon's body, it significantly stimulates the growth of the Pokémon's energy organs, thereby boosting the Pokémon's overall strength.
Ace pondered for a moment, then opened a Poké Ball. Crobat landed on Ace's shoulder.
Taking out a disposable syringe, Ace extracted a portion of the high-purity Pokérus and injected it into Crobat's body.
The moment Ace withdrew the needle, he could feel Crobat's body temperature gradually rising. Its breathing became rapid, and a visible amount of sweat began to secrete from Crobat's body surface.
"It seems to be working."
Seeing no other change in the highly poison-resistant Crobat, Ace nodded, confirming that the purified Pokérus had no other side effects.
Following the example, Ace began to cultivate the Pokérus on a large scale. After purifying it, he successively injected or fed it to his own Pokémon.
All of his Pokémon were infected with the Pokérus. Aside from a slight physical discomfort, their overall power had noticeably increased.
This method of growing stronger without needing to train surprised his Pokémon. Gengar even held up its arm, indicating that Ace should give it another injection.
"This stuff is a one-time thing," Ace told his Pokémon. "More importantly, the longer you train, the better the effect of this substance will be. If you try to get strong just by relying on this virus, you'll be barking up the wrong tree."
Hearing Ace's words, his Pokémon instantly abandoned that idea.
Ace stored the remaining portion of the Pokérus. As long as he periodically added nutrient solution, the supply of Pokérus would be continuous in the future.
Putting away the vessel storing the Pokérus, Ace waited until the infection status of his Pokémon gradually disappeared before recalling them to their Poké Balls.
"The infection lasts for about ten minutes, depending on the Pokémon's individual condition."
After confirming the Pokérus's duration, Ace finally lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep...
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