Chapter 74

Getting the orange badge, the storm of Mount Moon was completely turned over, Huo La walking out of Vermilion Gym, even his footsteps were a bit lighter.

He strolled along the seaside promenade of Vermilion City with Xiao Gang, holding a cup of iced orange soda in his hand, watching the waves hitting the reefs, and really had a bit of the ease and contentment a teenager should have.

"Huo La, you're in a really good mood today." Xiao Gang glanced at the smile he couldn't hide at the corners of his mouth, and couldn't help but tease.

Since they met, this kid had mostly revealed a calmness out of step with his age, rarely having such a relaxed appearance.

Huo La took a sip of soda, the cold sweetness sliding down his throat, he nodded with a smile: "Indeed quite smooth. It's still more than a year until the Indigo League starts, and I've already gotten three badges, the progress is faster than expected."

"Speaking of which, I was just thinking, whether to take a boat from Vermilion Port to the Orange Archipelago to look around." Huo La looked toward the place where the sea and sky met in the distance, his eyes carrying a bit of yearning, "Orange badge matches Orange Archipelago, sounds very interesting, maybe I can encounter some Pokémon not in Kanto."

"Orange Archipelago, huh..." Xiao Gang looked toward the sea following his gaze, his tone also carrying a bit of longing, "I've heard of that place long ago. It's said there's an independent Orange League there, the Gym Leaders are called the 'South Cross Stars', and their strength is not weak. Although it's not an official competition league like the Indigo League, it's also certified by the Pokémon League, and its gold content is not low."

Huo La nodded, his footsteps stopping unconsciously by a reef.

The waves rolled fine sand over his ankles, he turned to look at Xiao Gang beside him who was staring at the waves in a daze, and suddenly opened his mouth: "Xiao Gang, do you think Onix could have other forms?"

Xiao Gang was stunned by the question, subconsciously rubbed his chin: "Other forms? I've heard of Onix's evolution Steelix, it's said it needs special items to evolve, the evolution conditions are indeed quite harsh... but I haven't considered letting my Onix evolve for the time being."

His Onix was a partner who had grown up with him since childhood; compared to a stronger form, he cared more about their mutual tacit understanding.

Huo La smiled—he naturally knew the evolution conditions of Steelix, it only needed a Metal Coat.

But Metal Coat was not cheap on the market, for Xiao Gang who had to take care of his younger brothers and sisters all year round and wasn't well-off, it indeed counted as "harsh".

"I'm not talking about evolution." Huo La shook his head, specifically emphasizing his tone, "I'm talking about the body composition of Onix."

"Composition?" Xiao Gang frowned, a bit behind his train of thought, "Isn't Onix composed of rock and soil? This is clearly recorded in all the data."

"The Onix now is indeed like this." Huo La squatted down, picked up a quartz stone washed smooth by the waves, and held it up to Xiao Gang, "But if, there were Onix composed of crystal, diamond, or even other rare rock minerals? After all, from a geological point of view, crystal and diamond are essentially extensions of rock, all belonging to mineral crystals."

Just as Huo La's words fell, Xiao Gang's body trembled violently, his eyes lighting up instantly.

He grabbed Huo La's wrist, his tone carrying irrepressible excitement: "You mean... the body composition of Onix might change because of different growth environments? For example, growing up in a cave rich in crystal mines, the body would crystallize?"

As a Trainer obsessed with Pokémon breeding, he instantly captured the value of this conjecture.

No one had ever proposed the possibility of "mineral composition differences" for Rock-type Pokémon—this was simply opening the door to a new world.

"I admit, what you said makes too much sense." Xiao Gang's voice was even trembling, he stared fixedly at the quartz stone in Huo La's hand, his mind already outlining the appearance of a Crystal Onix, "Even in the depths of my heart, I feel, this isn't 'possible', but 'must exist'! It's just... it's just that in the current Pokémon data, there is absolutely no record of this."

"No record doesn't mean it's impossible." Huo La stood up, threw the quartz stone back into the sea, splashing a circle of ripples, "Isn't the super-ancient Dragonite the best proof? Before Dr. Zheng Hui's thesis was published, who would believe there really were super-ancient Pokémon that were twenty meters tall and covered in runes?"

He paused and continued: "The Pokémon world is too big, there are still too many corners humans haven't explored. Maybe in the depths of some isolated crystal vein, there lives a group of Crystal Onix; in the diamond mineral layer, there are Diamond Onix that can reflect sunlight. It's just that we haven't discovered them."

Xiao Gang fell into complete contemplation, his eyes filled with fanatical yearning.

He remembered the records he had seen in the breeding manual: Onix would replenish stamina by devouring rocks, and the rocks of its body would be replaced as it aged.

Since they could be replaced, then being replaced with rare minerals didn't seem like a fantasy!

"Huo La, you are... too amazing!" Xiao Gang came back to his senses, excitedly grabbing Huo La's shoulder, "This conjecture is too important! When I have the opportunity in the future, I must go to the mineral veins all over the world to see, maybe I can really find the Crystal Onix you mentioned!"

Looking at Xiao Gang's shining eyes, Huo La smiled—he just casually mentioned the settings in his memory, but didn't expect to ignite the passion of a breeder.

This was perhaps the charm of the Pokémon world, there were always unknown miracles waiting for people to discover.

"Maybe if we go to the Orange Archipelago, we can encounter it?" Huo La suggested with a smile, deliberately keeping him in suspense.

Xiao Gang's eyes lit up even more, he clenched his fists tightly: "Let's go! Let's go to Vermilion Port now to ask about the boat schedule! If we can really find a Crystal Onix in the Orange Archipelago, I must properly study its breeding method!"

Saying this, he pulled Huo La and ran toward the port, orange fallen leaves flying behind the two, the sound of the waves seeming to become cheerful.

The scene of heading straight to the port and queuing to buy tickets to the Orange Archipelago didn't appear as expected.

At this moment, Huo La and Xiao Gang each held a beautifully printed boat ticket, the ticket surface printed with the golden boat name "Saint Tenu", and the route information to the southeast sea area of Vermilion City.

"This ticket... really doesn't cost money?" Xiao Gang pinched the ticket, his brows slightly furrowed, his tone filled with disbelief.

Huo La leaned against the plane tree by the street, his fingertips rubbing the edge of the ticket, his eyes carrying a bit of a smile: "This ticket is already in our hands, isn't it, it really didn't cost money. Let's go, the expenses have been a bit high recently, go back to the Pokémon Center to pack up, check out of the room, and board the ship directly to eat, drink, and live for free."

Just ten minutes ago, as the two walked to the entrance of Vermilion Port, they saw three "staff members" wearing "Cruise Ticket" badges.

Magenta long hair hidden under a wide-brimmed hat, navy blue short hair combed neatly with hair gel, the child wearing a suit was standing on tiptoe distributing flyers to passersby.

If it wasn't Musashi, Kojiro, and Meowth, who else could it be?

Originally, Musashi, Kojiro, and Meowth looked at the people coming, Huo La and Xiao Gang, and wanted to bypass them, but Huo La took the initiative to walk over and ask for two flyers.

The flyer was surprisingly printed with "Trainers can ride the 'Saint Tenu' for free", hence Xiao Gang's exclamation of disbelief.