Chapter 33: Attention from Professors

"Stone?"

Professor Elm soon received the news from Professor Oak, and indicated that this question should be handed over to Professor Cozmo in the Hoenn region.

However, Professor Elm was not familiar with Professor Cozmo, and Professor Oak was his teacher, so he naturally sought help from Professor Oak for the first time.

After listening to Professor Elm's retelling, Professor Oak also had a strong interest in the item named "Eviolite"!

"There is actually such a stone? It can provide defense for non-evolutionary Pokémon, has the name of evolution itself, but does not have the effect of an evolution stone... Hmm... It is a brand-new rock that has never been discovered!"

"Maybe it's a meteorite from the universe... Sure enough, it should be notified to the experts in the Hoenn region. In this way, I will also contact my old friend Professor Rowan in the Sinnoh region. After all, the content of Pokémon evolution is his main research direction. He should be very interested in this stone."

"By the way, are there any extra Eviolites on Bugsy's side?"

Professor Elm hurriedly replied: "No, it seems there are none. You want to take it for research, but I heard him say he only bought one, and the craftsman who sold it to him... then I don't know."

"The craftsman seems to be in a very distant place."

Professor Oak: "I see. It is an unexplored area and a remote wilderness. It is normal for these places to hide many secrets and for new magical items we don't know to appear. If we can contact that craftsman... No, let's wait until I talk to them."

"Different regions, natural terrain, types of materials, the appearance and populations of Pokémon are all different. Brand new things that have not been discovered... It's truly heart-pounding!"

Hoenn region, Fallarbor Town.

This is an agricultural town located in the northwest of the Hoenn region, very close to Mt. Chimney, so volcanic ash often drifts here, and the effect it brings is that the local plants grow very lushly.

Professor Cozmo, who is relatively well-known among professors and famous for researching meteorites and rocks, lives in Fallarbor Town because it is very close to Mt. Chimney and Meteor Falls, which is convenient for digging meteorites. Occasionally, Professor Cozmo will also go to the island city of Mossdeep City in the eastern sea to conduct further research on meteorites at the space center there.

And of course, Professor Cozmo likes to study meteorites and dig rocks, so he naturally has a strange friend who likes rocks...

Professor Cozmo's image is like a field geologist, wearing adventure work clothes, glasses, tall and thin, with bright eyes.

"Eviolite? I have never heard of this stone! Where was it unearthed?"

Professor Cozmo was quite shocked by the news from Professor Oak. Professor Oak is an authority in the Pokémon research world, and even Professor Oak didn't know about it, or even heard of it!

A passion for researching new rocks gradually burst out from Professor Cozmo's heart!

Indeed, this stone that has never been heard of, maybe it is a new kind of meteorite!

However, when he heard that the origin of this stone was unknown, and it was sold to a gym leader in the Johto region by a craftsman in a distant region, Professor Cozmo's heart felt cold for half a beat!

A craftsman in a distant region... Saying this proves that it is troublesome to go there now.

Maybe it is a distant land like Kalos or Galar, but their logistics have been done to the Johto region?

It must be a cargo plane from Unova!

After listening to Professor Oak's brief explanation, Professor Cozmo only felt itchy in his heart. Although his research has nothing to do with evolution, Egg groups, or weak Pokémon, the preciousness of this stone and why this stone can exert this characteristic is the essence of his research!

Just like those evolution stones of various attributes that can make Pokémon evolve!

Now, new evolution stones are being discovered one after another!

However, although Professor Cozmo couldn't go to the distant region himself because he still had meteorites to study, he thought of a character, and it was an object that could absolutely be entrusted!

And that person is here now!

"... Beep... Beep." Professor Cozmo dialed a number. After a short wait, a magnetic young male voice came from the other end of the number.

"Hello... Professor Cozmo? I'm Steven, is there anything?"

"It's like this..." Professor Cozmo transferred the news that had been transferred layer by layer to Steven.

Although this kind of "I don't know"—"Ask a familiar person"—"Transfer layer by layer" thing is funny, if the uniqueness of this stone is confirmed, it will be a brand-new milestone discovery for the research world!

After all, now that a stone that increases defense can appear, will stones that increase attack, speed, and life appear in the future?

Its formation, the process of birth, where it was formed, the geological conditions and environment it is in, and even if it came from outside the sky, it involves his main major of astronomy and meteorite science... These are all objects worth studying!

"You said... what?"

Steven on the other end of the phone also seemed a bit unbelievable.

This kind of strange precious gem, he was also hearing about it for the first time!

And as the most famous and richest stone collector, Steven's ability to act can be said to be pulled to the full!

"Professor Cozmo, I can't explain it on the phone. I will ride Metagross to Fallarbor Town immediately. Don't leave! You must wait for me!"

——————

Steven, full name Steven Stone. He is both the champion of the Hoenn region, a well-known rich second generation, and the young master of the well-known large enterprise Devon Corporation. At the same time, he is also a famous gem collector.

However, although his family's enterprise is located in Rustboro City in the west of the Hoenn continent, he himself lives in Mossdeep City, an island city in the eastern sea.

After Professor Cozmo contacted Steven, he restarted the discussion with Professor Oak, and Professor Elm also joined the discussion group.

And their discussion was conducted via video phone.

Although it is called a video phone, in fact, this thing is more like a special machine with multiple functions. The video phone is just an ordinary accessory on this machine. The video phone in the research institute even has the function of transmitting Pokémon at any time and anywhere over long distances.

Professor Oak's image appeared on the screen, classic red shirt and white coat, gray hair.

"About that stone..." Professor Elm spoke: "I have already asked the local gym leader Bugsy and learned the name of the shop of the craftsman who sold this stone."

"This craftsman seems to have some relationship with Mr. Kurt, and he just returned to Johto from Sinnoh recently... No, it can't be said to be in Johto. In fact, the craftsman seems to be in a certain place in the northern mountains of Johto now. As you said, it is a very distant location, but there seems to be a network there."

"Kurt!" Professor Oak was surprised, but soon he expressed confusion again: "That's not right! Kurt is a craftsman who specializes in making Poké Balls, not a craftsman who specializes in processing stones."

As the first person in Pokémon research and an authority in the research world, Professor Oak knows many famous people and is a friend, and Mr. Kurt is one of them.

Professor Elm pushed his glasses: "Yes, it seems to be just an ordinary acquaintance. Bugsy is a client introduced by Mr. Kurt, but Mr. Kurt didn't mention too much about the craftsman. It seems he didn't care much, or maybe he felt..."

"Felt that he would definitely be able to take out corresponding good things, right?" Professor Oak pondered on the video phone: "Kurt seems to have confidence in him?"

"Hmm, then, the name of that shop is..."

Professor Elm immediately informed: "... Traveler Workshop."

"Traveler Workshop. The name is not prominent. I thought it would be a more flamboyant name." Professor Cozmo muttered, and then opened a page on the computer to search.

"Found it, it's this... but there is no content about Eviolite."

Professor Cozmo turned a few pages carefully and began to scratch his head:

"Wait, look at the description of the things sold in this shop!"

Focus Sash, Focus Band, Black Belt, Cleanse Tag, Spell Tag.

"Oh oh~, there are some rare items!"

Professor Oak on the video phone touched his chin. He was also checking the products in the shop, and these special items directly attracted Professor Oak's attention.

In addition to these things, there are Power Band, Shell Bell, Fire Stone and other rare items in the shop.

"Focus Sash? Haven't seen this thing. It looks like a sleeve or shoulder strap on a martial artist!"

"However, Black Belt, Cleanse Tag, and Spell Tag are all rare and precious items!"

Cleanse Tag and Spell Tag are rare treasures, special charms made by those mediums, prayers, shrine maidens, grave keepers, and psychics.

In places with many Ghost-type Pokémon, or some ominous spiritual locations, and places where a large number of weak Pokémon gather, wearing a Cleanse Tag can easily avoid them.

And an item with a similar effect to this charm is the Pure Incense in the Sinnoh region. After making incense raw materials from some special herbs, it can achieve an effect similar to the Cleanse Tag, and the appearance of this incense is also related to a Pokémon named Chingling.

In the Hoenn region, Chingling is considered a "completed form" Pokémon. However, in the distant Sinnoh region, a pre-evolution form of Chingling, "Chingling," was discovered. An important reason for this difference is that Chingling needs to carry Pure Incense to hatch eggs, so the offspring that appear will not be Chingling but Chingling.

As for the Black Belt, it is an ordinary martial artist's belt, but the Black Belt in the shop clearly states that it can increase the power of Wu Dou-type moves, but... it's called Black Belt, why is it red?

It looks like a leftover product of the Focus Sash!

"... It says on it that this charm can remove any curse state on the body at one time, but it will be discarded after use."

"The Spell Tag can generate curses, which is not surprising."

"Focus Sash can make Pokémon not be defeated by one hit, even if facing unfavorable attributes, they have the power to fight."

"These special effects seem to be different from similar items I have seen before."

"Is this craftsman a powerful medium? I also found a material called 'Old Cloth' behind his shop. Although the photo looks like ordinary rags, even I can feel that these rags are a bit ominous. Could it be the 'Reaper Cloth' used for evolution?"

The three professors discussed their findings, and Professor Elm made a suggestion: "I will buy some, and then hand them over to people with corresponding experience for research and testing!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 34 =====