Chapter 351: Too Young!
> [S-Rank Treasure – Heart of the Earth: Excavated from deep volcanic layers that even magma could not melt. Rich in both Fire and Ground-type energy. Carrying it boosts evolution speed and overall energy amplification.]
Without a doubt—
This was another S-Rank treasure, and one that Hikaru desperately needed.
His Larvitar was currently level 48—just two levels away from evolution.
Hikaru believed this treasure could significantly speed up that gap.
But there was a problem.
That furious Steelix below…
Judging by its level and talent, Hikaru immediately understood why it was so agitated.
As the saying goes: "Blocking someone's path to ascension is like killing their parents."
By taking this treasure, Hikaru was essentially preventing that Steelix from ever becoming a Heavenly King-tier Pokémon.
That… didn't sit quite right with his beliefs.
Usually, when inviting Pokémon to battle outside of official matches, Hikaru would always leave behind energy cubes as thanks.
But technically, this treasure wasn't Steelix's—it was placed here by the Alliance, meant for contestants with enough luck and ability to obtain it.
Even if Hikaru didn't take it now,
in seven days, the Alliance staff would come and collect it anyway.
And who knows—
Steelix might even get beaten by them when that time came.
Thinking through it, Hikaru decided: he would keep the treasure.
As for Steelix…
If fate allowed them to meet again, he'd leave it a customized Talent-Enhancing Energy Cube.
Something to help it find another path forward.
"Ugh, it's so mad…"
Sakura mumbled with a grimace.
Even several kilometers away, she could feel the waves of furious energy.
Right now, Steelix was furiously smashing its head into the mountainside in frustration.
"..."
Hikaru's eyes twitched.
Because... he sensed that someone was actually approaching the Steelix amidst all this chaos.
And it was someone he recognized—
the ones he'd seen during the sky-drop treasure earlier:
A team with a Gengar, Lapras, and Gyarados.
All were at Peak Master level, or just about.
This time, they were unknowingly becoming Steelix's new punching bags.
Those poor trainers' faces were probably turning green by now…
Shaking his head, Hikaru dismissed the scene from his Aura-vision.
"Let's go."
They had picked enough Oran Berries, and Latias had already stealthily retrieved the treasure.
All of this had taken quite a bit of time.
It was now close to dusk.
In another two or three hours, the first safe zone would begin to shrink.
That other team was strong enough—
they should be fine.
"Okay…"
Everyone mounted their flying Pokémon and soared into the sky.
…
That night.
The sky above the sea was filled with starlight,
each glimmer twinkling like gems scattered across a black velvet canvas.
Moonlight spilled over the ocean's surface,
casting shimmering ripples of silver.
On a quiet beach, the waves lapped gently like soft cotton.
The group had chosen a small island near the edge of the safe zone.
At the moment, the three girls were huddled together, chatting with their Pokémon—
while poor Hikaru?
He was stuck turning all the freshly picked Oran Berries into Energy Cubes.
Once the safe zone shrinkage phase began at night,
Rotom's public broadcasts would end.
After that, nothing would be streamed live until 8:00 AM the next morning.
After crafting a few high-quality Energy Cubes,
Hikaru casually tossed them into the air.
Immediately—
Several Rotoms zoomed over and snatched them up happily,
abandoning the other contestants on the island without a second thought.
Naturally, this led to a wave of howling comments in the livestream chat:
> [This isn't a tournament anymore… it's a beachside vacation!]
[Good food, free treasure, and three gorgeous ladies? You're too lucky, Hikaru!]
[Rotoms! Don't sell yourselves out so easily for a few snacks! Show us the girls again!]
[Wait… is Hikaru the only one who thought about feeding his Rotoms?]
Of course,
Hikaru couldn't see the chat.
He had only called the Rotoms over to ask a question:
"Rotom, how many contestants are left now?"
"Roto~!"
His exclusive blue smartphone-Rotom buzzed, its antenna sparking:
> "Remaining contestants: 552."
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"So many eliminated in just one day, huh…"
Although not every contestant was a Master-tier Trainer,
most had unique specialty Pokémon and were at least Lord-tier in strength.
He glanced at the map again.
A quarter of the safe zone had already vanished.
No one was sure how the zones would shrink next,
but Hikaru didn't dwell on it.
He focused entirely on crafting more cubes.
Thanks to this afternoon's berry expedition,
they had collected enough high-quality Oran Berries to make plenty of cubes—
enough to last several days.
Compared to Hikaru, who had to work several hours,
the girls had it much easier.
They laid down mats on the sand and enjoyed a moonlit beach picnic.
Bathed in silver light,
their voices carried across the water like sweet birdsong.
When women gather together,
what do they talk about?
Gossip, of course.
Followed closely by body measurements.
Hayashi Mei glanced at Sakura,
who kept glancing over toward Hikaru.
The look in her eyes was thick and obvious—hard to hide.
"Hey, Snow," Hayashi Mei smirked.
"There's still time tonight. Why don't you tell us how things are going between you and Hikaru~?"
Her tone was playful and teasing.
That one line was enough to get Lili's attention too.
"Yeah, yeah! No phones tonight—might as well chat~"
"Huh?"
Sakura had been worried about Hikaru working so hard to finish everything at once—
he always hated leaving things unfinished.
But when her cousin asked that out of nowhere,
her face immediately turned red.
"I-It's not like that… Hikaru keeps saying I'm still too young..."
Upon hearing that,
Lili suddenly raised her voice,
"Too young?!"
She playfully reached forward,
wanting to measure something.
Sakura immediately hugged her chest and backed away.
"It's my age that's small—not this!"
"..."
Hayashi Mei chuckled.
"That's not good, though. With someone as amazing as Hikaru,
who knows how many girls will try to chase after him in the future..."
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