Boom, boom, boom!
Without exception, the stone door didn't even budge a millimeter.
"Not even a scratch..."
"It seems this door really is strange. There might actually be a Regirock sealed behind it!"
Ethan muttered as he tried various actions again and again, but none of them worked—the door remained completely immovable.
"To solve this puzzle... I might need to understand the inscriptions on the door first."
He ran his hand across the stone carvings, thoughtful.
Even if he couldn't be sure a Regirock was sealed there, the mere fact that a vein of Smooth Rock had formed in this place already proved that something extraordinary was hidden behind that wall.
"Well... even if I could open it now, what might appear after isn't something I can handle at the moment."
Ethen took a deep breath and decided to temporarily abandon the idea of opening the door. He took out paper and pen and carefully copied down all the engraved symbols, planning to find someone who could decipher them once he left.
Once he finished recording the characters, he looked away with a hint of regret and glanced at the Pokémon trying to excavate the nearby wall.
Meltan had shaped its body into a pickaxe form, while Cacturne held it and used it to rapidly strike the rock wall, drilling into it little by little.
At the same time, Absol was using its scythe-shaped horn to slash at the stone; the booming echoes resonated throughout the tunnel.
However, perhaps due to the nature of the Smooth Rock vein, the walls were extremely hard and progress was very slow.
Boom, boom, boom!
Suddenly, as his Pokémon continued digging, a loud roar thundered from outside the cave.
"What Pokémon is coming now?"
Ethan frowned and quickly rushed out with his companions.
Upon stepping outside, he saw a dozen Pokémon gathered at the entrance, cautiously probing the area as if testing the terrain.
"The Gigalith family!"
Recognizing them, his expression changed. What a coincidence—or bad luck—to run into them here again.
Though he soon understood why they were there.
Clearly, they had sensed that the guardian Tyranitar's energy had vanished, so they came to investigate.
After all, beneath that cave lay a rich Smooth Rock mine, an irresistible temptation for any Pokémon with the Sand Stream ability.
Upon seeing him appear, the Gigalith were just as confused: what was this strange two-legged creature doing here?
"This place is mine now. Leave."
Ethan's gaze hardened as he issued a direct warning.
He retreated slightly toward the cave entrance as Cacturne and the others stepped forward to protect him.
The Gigalith hesitated for a moment after hearing him, but they did not withdraw. Clearly, they weren't willing to give up so easily.
"So by capturing Tyranitar, the Pokémon that covet the Smooth Rocks have already begun to move..."
Ethan frowned. And it wasn't just the Gigalith—soon, Onix, Golem, and other Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon began arriving, attracted by the disappearance of Tyranitar's overwhelming presence.
Even if many of them didn't have Sand Stream, the intense Rock- and Ground-type energy concentrated in the cave was an irresistible lure for all of them.
"I need to figure out how to handle this... or officially capture Tyranitar. Otherwise, there's no way I can keep this place under control alone."
With Absol and Kingdra guarding the entrance, Ethan returned inside the tunnel.
After hesitating for a moment, he took out Tyranitar's Poké Ball and released him.
Tyranitar, worthy of being a pseudo-legendary, possessed incredible recovery ability. Despite its severe injuries, it had already regained consciousness and could move a bit.
"TYRAAAN!"
The moment it appeared, Tyranitar roared upon seeing Ethan. Even wounded, its voice thundered with overwhelming power.
And that single roar was enough to paralyze the Pokémon lurking outside. They immediately retreated several steps, frightened by the presence of the former guardian.
"Tyranitar, how about we make a deal?" Ethan said calmly, meeting the eyes of the enraged colossus.
At his words, Tyranitar gradually calmed down.
It looked at Cacturne, Slowking, Meltan, and Vibrava, then turned back to Ethan. Finally, it gave a slight nod.
It had already understood the situation: it didn't have the strength to resist, so it at least wanted to hear what this human had to say.
"It's simple: I give you back your freedom, and you help me with the excavation."
That was Ethan's proposal. He had realized he couldn't maintain this mine on his own, nor did he have an efficient team for the job.
If he freed Tyranitar and convinced it to work in exchange, both sides benefited.
Besides, Tyranitar had been defeated only through the combined effort of all his Pokémon; none of them could face it alone yet, so fully capturing it was impossible right now.
And as for taking it outside the Secret Kingdom, absolutely not—Ethan still didn't have the official permit to capture "Disaster-class" Pokémon.
Therefore, the best choice was to let Tyranitar remain here, free within the Secret Kingdom, to guard and excavate the mine. Once he obtained the right to capture a Pokémon of that tier, then he could officially recruit it into his team.
Also, this was the perfect environment for Tyranitar to train: as long as it continued devouring Smooth Rocks, its power would keep increasing without any human intervention.
And when Ethan became capable of capturing it, he would have a fully developed pseudo-legendary at his disposal—the absolute core of his future Sandstorm team.
For now, with his limited resources, he couldn't sustain such a powerful Pokémon. It was better to let it live here, growing stronger on its own.
(End of chapter)