The rushing waterfall began to change noticeably under the effects of the Pokémon's moves.
With Air Slash striking again and again, and the invisible magnetic manipulation constantly disrupting the flow, the rain-like cascade quickly weakened into a light drizzle.
Serperior extended vines from both sides of its body, weaving them into a green canopy beneath the waterfall.
For a moment, the waterfall broke apart, and the entrance to a hidden cave behind it finally appeared before Silas and his three Pokémon.
"Serperior!"
Silas shouted loudly.
They had to hurry. The Pokémon's interference with the waterfall wouldn't last long. Compared to the nearly endless power of nature, the time they could hold it back was only short.
Unless they could burn all the water away—or drink it dry.
Obviously, the latter was impossible.
Serperior quickly understood Silas's intent. Under its control, another thick vine extended from the green canopy and wrapped around Silas's waist.
In the next moment, Silas was lifted into the air.
His eyes locked firmly on the dark cave entrance ahead as he silently calculated the distance.
When he reached the right angle, Silas stepped on the vine beneath his feet and used it as leverage to launch himself directly toward the cave.
At the same time, Serperior released the vine around his waist with perfect timing.
Thud.
The sound of his landing echoed in Silas's ears.
He rolled forward smoothly to absorb the impact, then turned toward the outside. From his belt, he pulled out a Luxury Ball.
"Serperior, Togekiss—stay outside and keep watch. Don't let any people or Pokémon get close.
Ampharos, you're coming with me."
All three Pokémon nodded.
A flash of red light returned Ampharos to its Luxury Ball.
Serperior and Togekiss soon stopped resisting the water flow.
Within seconds, the silver-white curtain of water again covered the rocky wall behind him, and Silas's silhouette gradually disappeared.
Serperior looked at Togekiss and let out a short cry.
Togekiss nodded obediently and spread its wings, hovering at an angle below the cave entrance.
Satisfied, Serperior flicked its tail and coiled atop a large rock beside the riverbank.
Inside the hidden cave, Silas couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He could only sense the waterfall's position through sound and touch.
But he remained completely calm.
"Take over, Ampharos."
The next moment, pink Ampharos appeared in a flash. The orb on its tail lit up brightly, and the previously pitch-black cave became crystal clear.
As a key lighthouse Pokémon, Ampharos was an essential beacon for sea travel. The light from its tail could reach a tremendous distance—lighting a cave was trivial.
Its illumination was far better than the natural flames provided by Fire-type Pokémon.
"There's airflow, but not much… so it's probably semi-enclosed."
Silas quietly assessed and drew a conclusion.
That meant he didn't need to worry about running out of oxygen anytime soon, even though he had prepared two oxygen tanks in his spatial backpack just in case.
"Let's go."
Silas spoke to Ampharos, who was curiously sniffing along the cave wall.
In terms of age, Ampharos really was still just a child.
"Aamph~"
It wasn't upset about Silas interrupting its investigation.
Ampharos closed its eyes happily and chirped.
The cave wasn't tall—some parts required Silas to crouch to pass through but thankfully it was wide enough for both him and Ampharos to walk without issue.
After passing through the winding tunnel, Silas soon saw a faint glow around the next bend.
He was certain it wasn't coming from Ampharos's tail.
What could it be?
Feeling a pleasant curiosity, his steps unconsciously quickened.
"So it's this thing."
There was a hint of joy and also a hint of indifference in his voice.
Rounding the bend, he saw the object clearly, a Moon Stone.
The gently glowing Moon Stone was wedged into the cave wall, illuminating a wide area.
Silas walked forward and pried it free with a bit of force.
"Not bad. Better than nothing."
He weighed the stone casually in his hand and tossed it into his backpack.
According to Zero's scan, the Moon Stone's quality rating was 85, a good evolutionary stone, but still not enough.
For Silas now, only evolutionary stones with a quality of 90 or higher could excite him.
After all, nearly all of his main Pokémon were approaching pseudo-Elite level. When pushing toward Elite rank, items that could be bought with money had very limited effect.
Only extremely rare and precious items could provide meaningful breakthroughs.
If one tried to obtain such items with money alone, the price would be absurd. Trading rare items for other rare items was far more sensible.
To Silas, this Moon Stone was basically something he could sell to fund his team's meals.
"Aamph~"
Ampharos—who had been searching the cave walls from the moment they entered—quickly rushed over after seeing Silas pocket the Moon Stone.
It proudly raised its tiny arms like it was presenting a treasure.
Resting in its palm was a beautiful heart-shaped stone.
"Very nice."
Silas smiled and patted Ampharos's head, then accepted the item—a Heart Scale.
Besides its heart-shaped appearance, its surface shimmered with multicolored rainbow-like patterns. It was a rare crafting material, often purchased at high prices by jewelers to be combined with Corsola horns to create jewelry.
Sometimes, Heart Scales were even used as tokens of affection.
Though it wasn't a useful battle item for Pokémon, its value was still decent.
"Let's keep searching. There should be more."
Silas, maintaining his thrifty attitude, instructed Ampharos.
Ampharos nodded enthusiastically.
Time passed quickly, and the small cave was soon fully explored by the pair.
Besides the Moon Stone and Heart Scale, Silas and Ampharos also found two or three sizable Star Pieces, as well as seven or eight red and blue Ancient Artifact Fragments.
The Star Pieces, being a type of hard mineral primarily originating from meteorites, were likely the reason a Moon Stone had formed here in the first place.
Perhaps a meteorite had fallen in this location a very long time ago, and over the ages—through geological changes and shifts in terrain—this area gradually became the hidden cave behind today's underground waterfall.
The other fragments, however, were not particularly rare across different regions.
After years of research, scholars eventually determined that these shards were materials used in ancient times to craft Pokémon-related tools or, more precisely, the remnants of such tools after they were broken.
These ancient Pokémon tools served functions similar to modern Poké Balls, although the methods used by ancient humans were much more primitive and carried a degree of coercion.
The shards generally came in four colors—red, green, blue, and yellow and many research institutes continuously purchased large quantities for study.
Because of their connection to Pokémon-related artifacts, their value was even higher than that of Star Pieces.
Silas glanced around. The uneven cave walls looked as if they had been widened by their excavation efforts.
He concluded there was probably nothing else worth finding here.
...
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