"As a Fighting-type Pokémon, Riolu should always rely on its body as its main support. But with the weak constitution this Riolu was born with, its fate of being unable to become a powerful Pokémon was already sealed."
"No matter how hard this Riolu works, it can't change that."
Lucas Silver let out a sigh. Although he also greatly liked that Riolu's hardworking personality, birth defects were impossible to compensate for.
"I see."
Ethan nodded slightly, but suddenly remembered his own Shellder.
However, even though Shellder had been born with a cracked shell, its psychic power was incredibly strong, allowing it to find its own path and still become a very powerful Pokémon. Ethan just didn't know whether Shellder's path could be replicated in Riolu.
"Let's go, the research is about to begin."
Lucas withdrew his gaze and spoke to Ethan.
Ethan nodded and took one more look at that hardworking Riolu before following Lucas toward the research room.
...
In the days that followed—
Sandslash and Meltan cooperated continuously with the experiments, taking advantage of the opportunity to eat and drink comfortably.
Although the research took quite some time, Sandslash's combined moves once again left all the researchers bewildered.
Even when Sandslash demonstrated every detail of his combined moves from beginning to end right in front of them, the researchers still made no progress.
Unlike them, Ethan, after observing the Drilbur over those days, gained a great deal of inspiration and continued perfecting Sandslash's training method.
Meanwhile, Sandslash also frequently approached the Drilbur and Excadrill to exchange experiences, even battling them several times, gaining tremendous benefits.
On the other hand, ever since he saw that defective Riolu, Ethan couldn't stop thinking about him.
During this time, Ethan often went to visit him, and each time he went, without exception, he always saw the little one training with all his strength.
That moved Ethan. He wanted to help that little guy, but after investigating further, even he was left without answers.
Shellder had a birth defect, yes, but it also possessed extraordinary psychic power, which allowed it to forge its own path.
But that Riolu... aside from his hardworking nature, he had nothing else that stood out. That also frustrated Ethan.
...
Half a month later—
In a Silver family conference room.
Around a round table sat the high-ranking members of the Silver family.
On the screen in front of them, information about Meltan was currently being projected.
"Is it confirmed?"
"The relationship between this Meltan and that legendary Pokémon?"
The head of the Silver family spoke once everyone had finished reviewing the data.
Right after his words, the projection changed and the image of a statue appeared.
The statue was made entirely of steel, with a humanoid shape. Its head consisted of two golden nuts embedded atop one another; each hand had three black iron nuts; another rested on its abdomen; and each foot stood on top of a nut. It indeed resembled Meltan to some degree.
If Ethan had been there, he would have recognized it immediately: it was the evolved form of Meltan, Melmetal, the Steel-type mythical Pokémon.
In ancient times, Melmetal was considered a Pokémon capable of producing steel, so it was revered by the people. This statue was clearly a relic left behind by those people.
"From the appearance and body structure, the two Pokémon must be related. However, legendary Pokémon in stories usually don't have evolutions, so we still cannot determine their exact relationship." The researcher in a lab coat frowned.
"Has the reproduction method of Meltan been confirmed?"
The head of the Silver family frowned again, dissatisfied with the previous answer.
"Meltan has no gender, similar to Magnemite, and its reproduction should be similar. But we still aren't sure whether this Meltan can evolve. That requires further research..."
"..."
As the researchers continued presenting data, the information about Meltan slowly grew more complete.
"How is the translation of the ancient texts from the Steel Temple progressing?"
"Can we confirm the exact identity of the Pokémon revered in that temple?"
After reviewing Meltan's information, the family head looked toward the linguist specializing in ancient Pokémon World texts.
"For now, we've only deciphered these words: 'Pokémon that creates steel.'"
"These texts seem even older than the traditional writing of that world. They're proto-modern ancient scripts, and the translation process is extremely difficult."
The linguist frowned even more, emphasizing the difficulty of the work.
"Continue the research. You may leave."
The family head waved his hand.
"Lucas, you said that Ethan wants a Riolu, correct?"
Once the researchers had left, the head of the family looked at Lucas.
"Yes, I tested him earlier."
"Ethan probably doesn't know how Riolu evolves either, but he said he can try. The requirement is that we give him a Riolu so he can study it."
Lucas replied immediately. Although they were father and son, in the conference room there was only the family head and the family members.
"What do the others think?"
The family head looked around.
"Heh, that Ethan thinks he's very clever."
"He wants to get a Riolu that easily, without paying anything?"
One of the high-ranking members snorted disdainfully.
The others nodded. After all, Riolu was a very rare Pokémon. How could they just give one away so easily?
"I think it could work."
"Not only might Ethan discover Riolu's evolutionary method, but forging a good relationship with him is important. We may need his Meltan in the future."
At that moment, a high-ranking member with glasses spoke; he was one of the Silver family's strategists.
"Meltan?"
"Right... if we want to find the legendary Pokémon from the stories, we might need to use his Meltan."
The others immediately understood and nodded, though still somewhat undecided. After all, it was like an investment: they didn't know if there would be a return.
"Have you already forgotten the defective Riolu?"
The strategist spoke again.
Upon hearing this, everyone showed an expression of sudden realization.
(End of chapter)