"I can take you with me. We'll go out there together and see the world."
Kael patted Rhydon's thigh. He stood at 1.75 meters—tall among his peers—but even with Rhydon sitting down, he could only just reach its leg.
"Don't worry about your treasure. Lulu and I will definitely help you find it. When we do, we'll leave together."
Seeing that Rhydon still seemed hesitant, Kael quickly added that reassurance.
"Roar… wuu…"
Rhydon shook its massive head, waving its arms excitedly.
"Big guy says it doesn't want any treasure anymore. He just wants to leave with you. He doesn't want to be separated from us," Lulu translated.
Hearing that, the corner of Kael's lips curled upward. He declared loudly, "We're friends. Friends don't let friends be sad. I'll definitely help you find what you lost."
At that moment, his tone was unwavering—his acting worthy of an Oscar.
Admittedly, deceiving Rhydon like this was a little shameless. But over these past few days, Kael had truly come to regard the big fellow as a friend—family even. He always devoted 100% of himself to his Pokémon.
Perhaps Lulu, as his starter, received a bit of favoritism. But whether it was Weavile or Feebas afterward, he had always trained them with wholehearted dedication.
"Roar!"
Kael's firm optimism infected Rhydon. The big fellow nodded vigorously, signaling its trust. Soon it returned to its usual cheerful mood.
...
Early the next morning, Kael was fully geared up, wearing the bamboo hat he used for wilderness exploration. Standing atop Rhydon's broad, sturdy shoulder, one hand resting on its black horn, he looked every bit like a commander.
Lulu's petite body sat on Rhydon's right shoulder. With this massive Rhydon—a walking heavy tank—clearing the way, Kael felt brimming with heroic spirit. Like a tank commander, he believed that with this giant beast opening the path, no treacherous terrain could block them; they would charge through anything, unstoppable.
Rhydon broke into a trot. Though its weight was astonishing and its speed not particularly fast, its sheer size meant that a single stride equaled five of a normal person's. By that measure, its running speed far surpassed that of humans.
A dead tree trunk lay across their path. Without hesitation, Rhydon stomped it to splinters.
A tangled web of thick vines blocked the way ahead. A boulder the size of a washbasin shot forward and smashed the vines to pieces.
This was Rhydon's Rock Blast—hurling massive stones at its opponent in rapid succession. When fired continuously, the power was formidable.
And what if a cliff blocked the road?
No problem.
Rhydon simply lowered its head and began digging with the fifty-centimeter conical horn on its snout—boring straight through from underground.
In that instant, Kael truly witnessed what a super drilling machine looked like. Buzzing—
Rhydon's horn spun at high speed like an electric drill. What seemed like solid rock crumbled like tofu before it. As a Ground-type Pokémon, digging was one of its innate talents—and the big fellow excelled at it.
With a thunderous crash, dust billowed everywhere. At the base of the cliff now stood a massive tunnel. Rhydon had forcefully drilled a passage over three meters in diameter straight through the mountain from east to west.
Looking back at the pitch-black tunnel behind them, recalling the deafening screech of horn grinding against rock, Kael couldn't help but shiver. Yet the grin on his face only widened.
This was exhilarating.
"Rhydon, you're incredible!" Kael praised sincerely.
Lulu nodded in wholehearted agreement.
"Roar~"
The big fellow squinted happily, like a child being praised by family. Its tail shot up proudly as it thumped its chest, producing a booming sound to show just how mighty it was.
...
With Kael deliberately taking a winding route, the group wandered around the island for over two hours before finally arriving at their carefully planned destination around noon.
"Look! Big guy's treasure is over there!" Lulu's sharp eyes spotted it first.
Not far to the southeast, atop a large tree, lay the Rainbow Orb—still attached to the rock fragment it had once been embedded in—resting quietly in a large bird's nest.
A Pidgeotto was nestled beside it, basking in the energy radiating from the pearl with a blissful expression.
This energy radiation brought tremendous benefits to living creatures. Ever since discovering this miraculous object in its nest yesterday, the Pidgeotto hadn't left.
"ROAR!"
Following Lulu's direction, Rhydon saw its treasure in the nest—especially with a thieving bird sprawled over it.
Its temper flared instantly.
No more words were needed. It chose violence.
Rhydon picked up a stone from the ground—not too large, afraid it might accidentally damage its treasure.
Arm raised high—whoosh!
A fist-sized rock shot past Pidgeotto's head. Though it didn't strike directly, the intense friction set the feathers atop its head ablaze.
Startled stiff, Pidgeotto only snapped back to its senses when it realized its feathers were on fire. It scrambled out of the nest and flapped frantically to extinguish the flame.
Looking down at the furious Rhydon below—who was already tossing another stone in its palm—how could it not know who the culprit was?
The island's undefeated overlord.
It had seen this giant Rhydon's destructive power before. Now, facing that murderous glare, it felt nothing but dread.
It had no idea what was happening—but of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, retreat is best. Revenge? Unthinkable. It swallowed its resentment and fled at top speed before the second stone could fly.
Watching Pidgeotto's retreating silhouette vanish into the distance, Kael could only mutter inwardly:
"Pidgeotto… sorry about this. You'll have to take the blame this time. But hey—you basked in that orb's radiation for a whole day yesterday. That must've done you plenty of good. Not exactly a bad trade…"
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