Mantine flew northwest from Viridian City, or rather the town that would one day become Viridian City, and passed over Viridian Forest. Under normal circumstances, flying over such a densely populated Pokémon area would've provoked quite a lot of them, especially Flying types, which were among the most territorial even in a peaceful Pokémon world. But Mantine's Champion ranked aura and intimidating size, which bordered on that of a small spaceship, were more than enough to discourage any Pokémon from challenging it for passing over their territory.
Over the course of a day, they flew across the forest and eventually reached a mountain range stretching from Mt. Silver to Mt. Moon in a wide arc. At its center stood a relatively tall peak that was to be known as the Indigo Plateau. It didn’t look any different from all the other peaks in the vicinity, but according to Rotom’s records, it contained an enormous deposit of Fortressite.
This type of rock was likely the reason this peak was eventually chosen as the main combat arena for the Elite Four and the Champion. The material was exceptionally strong and could be processed into ideal construction material, making it far more practical to build the facilities directly at the source rather than transport enormous quantities of it across the region. Reaching the peak also required crossing the mountain range, providing powerful trainers with a natural trial before they could challenge the Elite Four.
As the pair slowly approached the peak, Alex detected a Champion ranked aura nearby. It was coming from a cave high on the opposite side of the mountain. They circled around and soon found the source. Inside the cave was a Tyranitar couple with a baby, and they looked absolutely pissed at the intruders.
Undeterred, Alex approached the cave to inspect the rock more closely, but the Tyranitar clearly weren't having it. Both immediately unleashed powerful Hyper Beams, each blast carrying enough force to blow the top off the mountain. Fortunately, Mantine responded with Protect, easily blocking the twin beams without suffering any damage.
While the Tyranitar recovered from the attacks, Alex hopped off Mantine and entered the cave. He immediately noticed something unusual about the rock wall. Although it was incredibly dense, its interior was riddled with large pockets of air that left sharp, jagged formations along the cave walls. When Alex reached out and touched one, the edge nearly sliced his finger like a paper cut.
It was certainly dangerous in its natural state, but the material's properties made it exceptionally valuable for construction. The raw rock was remarkably pure, with a highly uniform crystalline structure and almost no natural fractures or impurities. It possessed immense hardness and compressive strength, along with exceptional resistance to heat, water, and chemical degradation. More importantly, its mineral composition became highly reactive when processed, allowing it to produce an exceptionally strong and durable cement.
Once processed and cured, the resulting material was incredibly dense, with extraordinary compressive strength and resistance to fracture. It behaved like artificial stone, containing almost no internal voids or weak points. Even tremendous impacts were distributed throughout the structure rather than concentrating in a single location and allowing cracks to propagate through the material.
It was for this reason that this stone, aptly named Fortressite, was classified as a Master ranked resource. It was prized for constructing buildings that couldn't easily be destroyed, even by Master ranked trainers.
“Remarkable,” Alex noted. “The pair live here because the walls naturally prevent intruders from climbing or digging through them. That means they only need to deal with anyone who actually manages to reach the cave, and with the brute strength of two Champion ranked pseudo-legendaries, that's a pretty terrifying prospect.”
The pair of Tyranitar recovered and launched a coordinated Giga Impact at Alex, who was leisurely inspecting the cave and paying little attention to them. Before the attacks could reach him, Aegislash emerged from his shadow and raised its shield to activate Protect. The Tyranitar's fists slammed into the barrier, but the shield absorbed both attacks without issue, completely neutralizing the damage and forcing the couple to recover once again.
“We’ll need to excavate all of this and turn it into powder so we can transport as much of it as possible,” Alex noted. “The Rhyperior will have to handle most of the work, but it’d be good if they had some help.”
Alex turned toward the pair of fuming Tyranitar before shifting his attention to the terrified Larvitar hiding behind them. A sinister smile slowly spread across his face, which seemed to enrage the Tyranitar even further. They launched another coordinated Giga Impact at him, but once again, Aegislash raised Protect and effortlessly stopped both attacks.
“Now, now, don’t be like that. Listen to my proposition first,” Alex said as he dumped the corpse of a Master ranked Stakataka between them. “I’m here for this rock. If you help me out, I’ll feed you this for the duration of the excavation. I’ll also help you find another nesting ground for your baby. How does that sound?”
As Alex spoke, he slowly released his Dark type energy, allowing it to fill the entire cave like a deadly gas. The Master ranked energy was incredibly potent, terrifying the couple as they desperately tried to protect their child. They'd already attacked him three times without managing to inflict even a scratch, and now they faced an opponent whose overwhelming aura made it clear they couldn't win.
Their attention eventually shifted to the corpse Alex had placed between them, and their eyes widened. They could immediately tell that consuming something of this caliber would greatly increase their strength, and there was enough energy-dense rock within the corpse to feed both of them and their child for years if they rationed it properly.
They turned their attention back to Alex, who had already returned to inspecting the cave, completely ignoring them as though they posed no threat whatsoever. The couple exchanged a wary glance, silently weighing their options before reaching the same conclusion. Given the overwhelming difference in power, they had little choice but to accept his offer. They could only consider themselves fortunate that the human had no interest in them or their child and was only after the rock that made up their nest.
“Tyranitar,” they both said, nodding as they accepted his offer.
“Great!” Alex said as he released the Rhyperior pair, all three of his Lucario, and Urshifu before giving them their instructions. “I want you to specifically dig out this rock. It's quite sharp, so be careful and make sure to use your energy when handling it. We’re going to dig out everything we can find on this mountain.”
The Tyranitar couple's eyes widened in surprise at the arrival of even more powerful Pokémon. They realized they'd made the right choice by accepting the deal. If they'd refused, this human and his overwhelming force could've easily killed them and turned them into food instead.
And so, the excavation of Fortressite began in earnest. The Steel type Pokémon broke apart the rock with controlled blows, while the Rock types directed them and guided the excavation to prevent a collapse. Outside, Alex had his water team ride on Mantine while they bathed the mountain in Hydro Pumps, blasting away the useless gravel and loose rock surrounding the Fortressite.
Slowly, they worked their way down from the summit toward the cave, uncovering tons of Fortressite in the process. As they excavated deeper, they gradually flattened the mountain itself, turning what had once been a towering peak into a broad plateau. By the time they reached the cave, they'd accumulated enough of the rare Master ranked material to fill Alex's space bag. However, they didn't stop there. The Fortressite was riddled with air pockets, meaning a considerable amount of space was wasted when storing it in its raw form.
Alex therefore had the Rhyperior and Tyranitar pulverize the excavated rock into a fine powder using their Rock type energy. This allowed him to empty the space bag and pack the processed material far more efficiently. They repeated the process over and over, constantly excavating, pulverizing, and storing more Fortressite as the days passed, gradually reducing the once towering mountain into a massive plateau while extracting every bit of the valuable material they could find.
Throughout the excavation, the Tyranitar got to enjoy the fruits of their labor, namely the Master ranked, energy-dense rock from the Stakataka. The work was demanding, but the rewards were equally substantial, enough that they quickly stopped regretting their decision to cooperate with Alex.
As the days passed, their trust in him grew. Eventually, they became comfortable enough to leave their child in his care while they worked. The little Larvitar was incredibly rambunctious and seemed particularly attracted to Alex's Dark type energy despite not possessing the type itself. Its fascination with such powerful energy at such a young age was a promising sign for its future evolution into a Tyranitar.
Alex didn't mind looking after the little tyke. He had to admit that it was rather adorable. He often carried it on his shoulder or atop his head while he worked, allowing it to ride along as he directed the excavation. Espeon, however, quickly grew jealous of the attention and made her displeasure known whenever Larvitar got too comfortable with him. Alex placated her with head pats, belly rubs, and a little extra attention, narrowly avoiding a confrontation between the jealous Espeon and the baby Larvitar.
As the excavation expanded and more of the mountain was flattened, Alex released more of his Pokémon to provide security and help transport the enormous quantities of Fortressite they were extracting. The combined pressure of their auras was so overwhelming that no wild Pokémon dared approach the shrinking mountain.
Eventually, Alex had accumulated enough processed Fortressite to fill his space bag to capacity for the expedition. He could've left immediately, but he chose to remain. Necrozma had been whining the entire time, which meant it was finally time to head back into Ultra Space and search for more of its missing fragments. Hopefully, with enough of them, it would eventually be able to regain its full body.
As they prepared to leave, however, the little Larvitar refused to let go of Alex's face, clinging to him despite its parents' attempts to retrieve it. The sight clearly broke the Tyranitar couple's hearts, but after everything they'd witnessed, they knew that if they were going to trust anyone with their child's future, it would be Alex.
Alex, meanwhile, had another idea.
“How about coming along as well?” he offered to the couple.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter