Staring at the aptitude evolution stones scattered throughout the depths of the mine, Aiden Flint felt his heartbeat quicken.
Without hesitation, he released every Pokémon within his system space—Rayquaza, the flocks of Pidgey and Pidgeotto, the Treecko clan, and the entire Aron line.
Under his command, they began transporting every single aptitude evolution stone from the cavern into the system space.
To anyone unfamiliar with their true value, these stones looked no different from ordinary ore. Only Aiden, aided by the system, could immediately recognize their extraordinary nature. It was also the reason he'd noticed how abnormal the Aron tribe was in the first place—and why he'd managed to take the entire clan under his wing.
Otherwise, who knew whose hands this treasure would have fallen into later?
As the thought crossed his mind, Aiden couldn't help but wonder—if he made proper use of these stones in the future, could his Pokémon all step into gold aptitude?
No… perhaps gold wouldn't even be the limit.
At the very least, the newly obtained shiny Aron clearly had the potential to challenge red aptitude.
After all, even among the Aron clan, there were over ten individuals with purple aptitude. Once they evolved into Aggron, it wouldn't be strange if several gold-aptitude Pokémon emerged.
For a brief moment, Aiden had the absurd feeling that gold aptitude was starting to feel… cheap.
Of course, he knew that was just an illusion brought on by standing atop a literal mountain of aptitude evolution stones.
After over an hour of work, more than two thousand standard-sized aptitude evolution stones had been transferred into the system space.
In addition, there were over three hundred stones the size of basketballs, each containing far denser energy.
Finally, there was the mother ore—a massive slab more than three meters long. Even with three Lairon working together, moving it had been no easy task.
If these stones were put up for auction, countless Trainers would fight over them. Aiden could instantly become unimaginably wealthy.
But selling them all would be foolish.
These stones were far too valuable.
Thinking ahead, Aiden divided the standard stones into five portions. The largest share naturally went to the Aron clan—without them, none of this would have been possible.
The massive mother ore was placed deep within the Aron territory. Each Aron was also given a standard aptitude evolution stone to carry.
The remaining stones were distributed among the Treecko and Pidgey clans, with each group receiving ten basketball-sized stones as their long-term foundation.
By rough count, Aiden now housed 303 Aron and Lairon, 131 Treecko including Grovyle, and 515 Pidgey and Pidgeotto.
Including Milotic, that made a total of 950 Pokémon.
Even after distributing nearly half the standard stones, he still had more than two hundred large stones remaining—enough to support dozens of future clans.
Satisfied, Aiden instructed his core Pokémon to train while carrying fist-sized stones within the system space, while also keeping standard stones on their person in the real world to absorb energy gradually.
Steady, long-term improvement—that was the goal.
Once everything was settled, Aiden followed Lairon and Grovyle out of the hidden mining zone, returning to the main mountain area near Dewford Town.
Only after leaving did he realize how deceptively vast the underground complex had been.
Before he could reflect further, the sound of metal striking rock echoed nearby.
Aiden turned toward the noise.
And froze.
Not far away stood a young man with short blue hair, dressed in a refined suit, wielding a strangely crafted metal pickaxe—cheerfully mining away.
The image was… deeply unscientific.
There was no mistaking him.
Steven Stone.
Former Hoenn Champion.
Heir to Devon Corporation.
Aiden walked over, unable to hold back.
"Honestly… you're a rich young master, yet you spend your days mining like this?"
Steven paused, resting the pickaxe on his shoulder, and turned with an easy smile.
"Another adventurous Trainer, I see. Not many people wander this deep into the mountains."
Aiden chuckled lightly.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're Steven Stone, former Champion of the Hoenn League."
Steven laughed openly.
"So you recognized me. What brings you here? Hunting for Pokémon?"
Aiden nodded.
"Something like that. I just gained a very reliable partner."
As he spoke, the golden, shiny Aron stepped forward.
Steven's eyes lit up.
"A shiny Aron… impressive luck. You're not an ordinary Trainer."
He wiped his hands and extended one.
"Let's properly introduce ourselves. A Trainer like you won't remain unknown for long."
Aiden shook his hand.
"My name is Aiden Flint. I'm from Littleroot Town. I started my journey just a month ago—Professor Birch gave me my first Pokémon."
Steven's brows lifted slightly.
"One month?"
He glanced at Grovyle.
"Already this far evolved… that's rare."
After a moment, Steven smiled wider.
"Then I'll call you Aiden. I don't often meet Trainers while mining. How about a friendly battle?"
"I've been stuck in the mountains too long—my hands are itching."
The air between them subtly shifted.
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