Chapter 19: Dragon Stone Plate

In the game where he appears, Wang Luo, as a member of the Ginkgo Guild, sells supplies to the protagonist at fixed locations, but according to his own slip-ups, he often slacks off at the guild to investigate various ruins.

Wang Luo keeps shirking duties and complaining, making the guild boss’s head ache.

Yet in the game, he guides the protagonist to obtain various “Stone Plates,” aiming to fulfill his ambitions—though his end result is being defeated outright by the protagonist.

Guang Tai recognized the attribute of that stone plate. The deep red stone plate—the Dragon Stone Plate!

“Huh, do you recognize this stone plate?” Wang Luo thought, watching Guang Tai’s expression change.

He had felt all along that he’d met Guang Tai somewhere before, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall where—and as time passed, the feeling grew stronger.

In the past, only the right person could obtain a “Stone Plate,” but in this era, these plates are often taken by strange individuals, passed around among them, and their numbers differ from those of old.

It’s said that similar stone plates appear in every region, and occasionally, the same plates are unearthed from underground caves in the Sinnoh region.

While Wang Luo was lost in thought, Guang Tai considered something else entirely.

In the game, the Dragon Stone Plate was placed in Hearthome City of Sinnoh, right behind the large statue of Dialga and Palkia—truly something you could “pick up just by walking down the road!”

The original owner naturally knew nothing of this, so he never searched beneath that statue; Guang Tai didn’t know whether Hearthome City in this world even had a Dragon Stone Plate—but he hadn’t expected to find another one here.

Wait—this isn’t a Shendu Stone Plate at all; it’s a Johto Stone Plate.

Johto has no scattered stone plates; you must obtain them from the captain of the S.S. Aqua, who, when speaking of the plates in the game, calls them “strange items obtained from Sinnoh” before giving them to the Johto protagonist.

If the stone plates originally scattered in Sinnoh rather than Johto…

And considering how difficult these items are to collect, they’re undoubtedly highly attractive to craftsmen.

‘Mythical Craft: Dragon Stone Plate (Not Acquired)’

‘Description: A Dragon-type stone plate. When carried, the power of Dragon-type moves increases.’

‘Grants access to unique craftsmanship and clues for crafting mysterious artifacts.’

The thoughts swirling in his mind made Guang Tai pause, then he made up his mind—

“Hmm, twenty thousand Poké Dollars—can you give me a better discount?”

Guang Tai suddenly responded to Wang Luo, pulling him back from his thoughts; hearing the request for an additional discount, Wang Luo scratched his cheek with his fingers, looking embarrassed:

“Huh? This is a special item! No matter how you look at it, anything that boosts a Pokémon’s type-specific move power usually costs this much.”

Guang Tai simply shrugged: “If you give me a bigger discount, next time I can bring you some top-tier items—you’ll be able to sell them for much higher prices!”

“I’m a craftsman. Can’t you give me a little discount?”

Hmm… Wang Luo began weighing his options, but didn’t think long—he immediately agreed to Guang Tai’s request:

“You’ve got a point. Merchants and craftsmen are closely linked. Fine, knowing another craftsman means more outlets for my materials—but if you ever get good items, promise you’ll come to me first.”

“Then I’ll give you a 20% discount!”

Guang Tai successfully obtained the Dragon Stone Plate, and Wang Luo began pulling other goods from his bag.

Sharp Claw, Bug Herb, Sitrus Berry, even Muffle Spray, topical ointments, and various materials harvested from Pokémon.

Evolution Stones—Ice Stone and Leaf Stone.

Guang Tai’s gaze sharpened—he realized now why the Leaf Stone was marked in the Shendu ruins.

Also, a bluish-white beach radish.

“Hmm, that radish is excellent,” the old man in the mountains suddenly spoke, pointing at the bluish-white radish: “He says it was originally a root vegetable from sandy shores, but after improvement, it now grows well in frozen soil—sweet and spicy, truly marvelous.”

“He sold it to me, so I bought some—I’m planting them now.”

Beach Radish, though visually similar to “Ice Radish,” is a completely different crop.

“Ah, this is a vital resource that survives in northern Sinnoh—it’s a specialty crop of Sinnoh! Shendu doesn’t have this crop, because it was only developed over a hundred years ago.”

“But few people live in cold regions—most areas are quite warm, so this radish is hard to sell. I’m glad it sells here in Shendu.”

Wang Luo raised one finger, beaming with genuine joy as he talked about his merchandise.

Guang Tai also thought this radish would be a useful food—he remembered it could be used to make Double Pickle, which boosts a Pokémon’s damage output by 1.5x for five turns after consumption!

Equivalent to raising both Physical and Special Attack by one stage.

Sure enough, Wang Luo noticed Guang Tai staring at the Beach Radish and immediately began pitching it:

“You’re interested in this radish! Let me tell you a secret—no one in Sinnoh today knows this radish can be turned into a special food. Just add Hard Mineral, Rolling Bean, and Royal Leaf, pickle them together, and you get ‘Double Pickle’—feed it to a Pokémon and it becomes incredibly strong!”

“I have some of these ingredients here too. One Beach Radish costs only 1,000 Poké Dollars—and if you buy seeds too, I’ll give you a 10% discount!”

“Also, you need two sets of ingredients to make one portion of Double Pickle.”

1,000 Poké Dollars. Guang Tai remembered the Ginkgo Guild sold radishes for about 800 each.

Everything else was overpriced too!

Times had changed—and prices had soared.

“Muffle Spray, topical ointments”—Guang Tai also selected some items useful for fieldwork, but Wang Luo had absurdly hiked the prices of Sharp Claw and the two Evolution Stones.

Ice Stone: 12,000. Leaf Stone: 10,000. Sharp Claw: 20,000.

After careful consideration, Guang Tai decided to buy only the two Evolution Stones.

“Thank you for your purchase!” Wang Luo, having sold his goods, grew cheerful, his face brightening with a radiant smile.

At that moment, Guang Tai began packing his purchases into his backpack one by one.

The materials and artifacts he bought flooded his mind with vast information, giving him a slight headache.

It felt like intense mental focus.

【Rare Material: Hard Mineral】

【Effect: A translucent mineral resembling rock salt. Loved by Grass- and Rock-type Pokémon, it attracts them to where it’s placed.】

【Acquired Knowledge: 1】

【Mineral Search: Makes it easier to locate minerals you’ve already obtained.】

【Rare Material: Royal Leaf】

【Effect: A radiant herb-king. Added to potions, it increases their healing power.】

【Acquired Knowledge: 1】

【Potion Boost: Increases healing effects of medicines by an additional 5%.】

Plus, various strange Pokémon materials Guang Tai bought: “Gible’s fur, Misdreavus’s feathers, Meowth’s mane, Snover’s fruit, Baltoy’s hair, and Gyarados’s scales.”

Du Jian Qiao waved its blue ribbon, stuffing all these items into Guang Tai’s large backpack.

Afterward, all the information pertained to artifacts and rare materials—but among the artifacts, Muffle Spray and topical Heal Ointment were bought from Wang Luo; though unique, they had no special events or clues, only the same effects as in the game.

“All the money I just earned is gone again!” Guang Tai sighed helplessly.

【Rare Crop: Beach Radish】

【Description: A modern Gailiang radish that thrives in icy, snowy environments—a plant adapted to harsh conditions.】

【Acquired Craft: 1】

【Frozen Soil Cultivation (C+): Plants grown under this method become more frost-resistant.】

【Rare Material: Leaf Stone】

【Description: A magical stone with leaf-like patterns that triggers evolution in certain Pokémon.】

【Acquired Craft: 1】

【Moss Cultivation (D+): Slightly increases chance of growing ‘Light Moss’ from high-quality moss; over time, rocks covered in moss become ‘Moss Rock,’ slightly boosting Grass-type Pokémon’s energy.】

【Rare Material: Ice Stone】

【Description: A magical stone with snowflake-like patterns that triggers evolution in certain Pokémon.】

【Acquired Craft: 1】

【Unique Ice Sculpting (C): A basic yet unique ice-sculpting technique that slightly boosts Ice-type Pokémon’s energy. If an Ice-type Pokémon participates in carving, it can produce an artificial ‘Frozen Rock.’】

‘Mythical Craft: Dragon Stone Plate’

‘Description: A Dragon-type stone plate. When carried, the power of Dragon-type moves increases.’

‘Gained Professional Knowledge: 1’

‘Dragon Tamer: Increases friendship with Dragon-type Pokémon.’

‘Gained Unique Craft: 1’

‘Gained clue to crafting a mysterious artifact: 1’

Guang Tai’s heart froze.

Professional knowledge?

Dragon Tamer—yes, that’s a common profession in the Pokémon world, with practitioners found in every region, each with different lineages.

And the part after that—clues to crafting a vital artifact?

When gaining knowledge, he’d received similar explanations: acquiring rare, precious materials grants corresponding craft techniques, unlocks unique craft paths, and sometimes reveals clues to crafting unique, valuable, or mysterious artifacts.

And yet, stone plates are classified as artifacts, not materials—because they can’t be further processed?

Guang Tai thought this, then continued reading the remaining information.

【Ancient Sculpting Craft (B).】

【Description: We created Pokémon sculptures in the outside world.】

【Through this craft, you may obtain the item ‘Ancient Statue’.】

【Effect: Artifacts crafted via Ancient Sculpting gain the ‘Antique’ property. Different ancient crafts allow creation of ‘Ancient Statue / Ancient Urn / Ancient Crown / Ancient Bracelet’.】

【Requires: Ruin Stone / Ancient Rock / Ancient Crystal. At least a small fragment of Ruin Stone must be embedded during crafting.】

【Mysterious Crafting Clue: [Transparent Bell]—Useful location: Yujou City / Tianqing Mountain.】

【Required Materials: Rainbow Feather, Suicune’s Crystal / Rainbow Rock / Ancient Crystal.】

(End of Chapter)