Chapter 139: Fire Gem

"You know nothing of my true power; in the future, I will undoubtedly become stronger than you." Heatran seemed to employ provocation tactics, but unfortunately, Lian remained unfazed.

"Ha ha," Lian chuckled dismissively.

Lian had always viewed Julian's Charmeleon as an ordinary one, yet his own Charmeleon was far from average. Even if Julian's Charmeleon increased its strength, it would still not be a match for him.

Once Lian evolves, there will be a qualitative leap in his abilities, and he has the potential to become even more powerful in the future, possibly reaching the limits of base stats.

Moreover, while the Petaya Berry is rare, it's not essential. It merely allows earlier mastery of advanced Fire-type moves.

With no pressing matters at hand, Lian decided not to linger further. He planned to find a Pokemon for battle first, aiming to complete today's combat rating assessment.

Additionally, Lian intended to collect some raw Fire Stones near the volcano's rim, which could later be sold for profit. Steel Fire Mountain does not prohibit gathering Fire Stones, as most are found deep within the volcanic crater, inaccessible to regular individuals. The best they can hope for is picking up a few stones along the outer edges with some luck.

Moreover, the League sends teams annually to sweep through and collect newly formed Fire Stones, ensuring their availability remains limited.

"I'll go explore for a bit," Lian announced as he ventured away, starting his search for raw Fire Stone crystals.

Recalling the locations he had noted earlier, Lian swiftly moved towards those spots and began gathering Fire Stones. In no time, he collected three or four rounded Fire Stones, which could potentially yield seven or eight polished ones when refined.

After amassing some Fire Stones, Lian used Metal Claw to break off unnecessary rock fragments, then hid them all in a discreet corner, planning to retrieve them upon departure.

Now, Lian needed to find a suitable Pokemon for a battle to earn Combat Points; fighting while carrying Fire Stones would be impractical.

The variety of Pokemon near the volcano was limited, with only a few Fire-types present. Lian decided to seek out a Camerupt since other Fire-type Pokemon were too weak. Even if victorious against them, the combat rating reward might not be significant.

Camerupt was already among the stronger options available; with some luck, encountering a higher-level Camerupt could yield over a thousand Combat Points as a reward.

As a dual Fire and Ground-type Pokémon, Camerupt had decent offensive capabilities but was notably slow, making it relatively easy to counter.

Finding a solitary Camerupt proved challenging, so Lian patiently searched, occasionally venturing into territories of other Fire-type Pokémon and facing their attacks.

Near the volcano's crater, by the lava pool:

Julian's Charmeleon consumed a Petaya Berry, savoring its spicy and bitter taste.

Meanwhile, Heatran unleashed Inferno nearby, guiding Charmeleon's learning process. Determined to leave this place, Heatran spared no effort in training.

Being a Legendary Pokémon, its full commitment to training Charmeleon could elevate even a pig to great heights, presenting a remarkable opportunity for Julian's Charmeleon.

"Can I truly become stronger than him someday?" Charmeleon asked while practicing new Fire-type moves.

Julian's Charmeleon fully understood Lian's prowess. Being slightly more intelligent than average Pokémon, ever since its defeat in Falcon City by Lian, it had set its goal to one day overcome him. However, witnessing Lian win the Extreme Speed Conference widened the perceived gap between them, instilling a sense of despair that it might never catch up.

But upon arriving here and encountering Heatran, Charmeleon underwent significant growth, boosting its confidence immensely.

Although their recent chance encounter during battle may not have seemed significant to Julian, Charmeleon knew well that Lian was merely playing around.

"Of course," Heatran responded confidently. As a Legendary Pokémon, dedicating itself to training Charmeleon would undoubtedly elevate it far beyond ordinary Pokémon.

The disparity between a Legendary Pokémon and a regular one is immense. In its prime, Heatran was once a terrifyingly powerful entity. If not for encountering "that person," it wouldn't be confined here, guarding the volcanic crater, unable to venture out.

Hearing Heatran's words, Julian's Charmeleon displayed a determined gaze. It vowed to train diligently, striving to surpass Lian soon and ultimately defeat him fairly and decisively.

***

Unaware of Charmeleon's thoughts, Lian searched diligently but couldn't find any isolated Camerupts. However, he did discover something else.

He now stared at a translucent red stone, which was no ordinary rock; it appeared more like a gem.

Indeed, the fiery-red stone before Lian was a Fire Gem, containing concentrated fire energy. Unlike the Fire Stone, this seemed artificially crafted due to its precise and regular shape, far too refined for nature to produce spontaneously.

"How is there a Fire Gem here?" Lian wondered, puzzled. Since Fire Gems were man-made, finding one deep within Steel Fire Mountain seemed highly unlikely, even if accidentally dropped by someone.

Lian extended his claw to pick up the Fire Gem, but as soon as he touched it, the gem lit up as if triggered, emitting a dazzling glow and releasing astonishing amounts of fire energy.

In the game, Fire Gems temporarily enhanced a Pokemon's Fire-type move power, functioning as a single-use item.

However, this world clearly presented differences as the Fire Gem emitted astonishing fire energy, converging towards Lian.

Feeling the intense concentration of fire energy, Lian found it peculiar for a Fire Gem to appear here but had no time to dwell on it further.

With his high Fire-type Energy Control Rating, he sensed an immediate temporary boost in his fire energy, albeit not permanent.

After a moment, the Fire Gem shattered into ordinary stones, losing its original luster.

Lian carefully analyzed the recent surge of fire energy and detected nothing unusual. In fact, instead of being tangled together, the fire energy was separated into fine threads, akin to his precise control practice within the system space.

"Can these thread-like energies temporarily increase my energy capacity?" Lian wondered, surprised. Within the system space, he possessed exceptional Energy Control and unlimited resources, so he hadn't realized that the isolated Fire-type energy could have such remarkable effects.

However, Lian sensed that the amount of fire energy stored within the Fire Gem was immense. Even with his skills in the system space, it would have taken him considerable time to separate such vast quantities of filament-like energy.

He speculated that some advanced technology must have achieved this feat. As a research institute specializing in Pokemon, it's logical for them to study various elemental energies found in nature, so encountering such developments isn't surprising.

For instance, Mewtwo is a human-created Pokemon, and similarly, Genesect, Porygon, among others, were all artificially produced.

If humans can create entire Pokemon species, there seems to be no limit to the technological advancements they could achieve.

Having serendipitously acquired the Fire Gem, Lian felt elated. Although the increased energy capacity was temporary, it significantly enhanced his understanding of Fire-type energy.

Normally, he would need to reach higher levels before mastering additional Fire-type moves. But with this method of temporarily boosting his energy threshold, he could now unleash more powerful attacks sooner than expected.