Chapter 137: Shane's Solrock

"So... which bastard did this?!"

Maki stared at the dozen or so rocks piled at the crossroads. Each stone bore either Mawile's bite marks or Charmeleon's claw scratches—clear evidence of the markers he'd left behind earlier. Yet now, someone unknown had gathered them all in one place.

He froze at first, then realization struck him like a Thunderbolt.

"You didn't just pick them up—you deliberately put them here to mess with me? Talk about adding insult to injury!"

Maki gritted his teeth in frustration. No wonder he'd felt like he'd been circling the same area. Every time he marked his path, someone was sneaking behind him, undoing his work.

"If I catch you, you're gonna regret it! No mercy!"

Maki cursed the unseen culprit under his breath, but Charmeleon seemed to notice something, stepping toward the pile and picking up one of the rocks.

"What is it?" Maki forced himself to calm down and asked.

"Raa!"

Charmeleon placed the stone in front of him, motioning for him to take a closer look.

"Hmm... this is..."

Maki examined the rock. Claw marks—no surprise there. But there was also a distinct bite mark, one that had taken off a small chunk of the stone.

It couldn't have been Mawile—he'd have known if she'd made that mark. Just to be sure, he handed the stone to Mawile.

"Maw?"

Mawile shook her head firmly. This wasn't her handiwork.

"That's weird..."

No human would gnaw on rocks—at least, no sane human. The only explanation was that a Pokémon had done it.

The first image that flashed through Maki's mind was Larvitar, but he couldn't be sure. Plenty of Rock-type Pokémon ate minerals. But why would any Pokémon bother collecting ordinary rocks?

What Maki didn't know was that Larvitar had been the culprit. The little Pokémon had scooped up the stones because they looked unusual—but after one bite, he realized they tasted awful. Disappointed, he'd spat them out and left them behind.

Maki clenched his fists.

"I can't let this go... I will find whoever did this."

He wasn't the type to swallow his pride. If Larvitar was behind this, there had to be tracks nearby—its small, dense body would leave marks even on rocky terrain.

Sure enough, with some careful searching, Maki and his Pokémon found faint footprints leading deeper into Mt. Moon.

The tracks were faint, broken in places, but they pointed the way forward. The further they followed them, the more the environment changed—fewer Zubat, more Golbat, and even the occasional Onix sleeping soundly in the shadows.

Maki knew better than to wake something like that. He crept past quietly, though the sight of such powerful wild Pokémon made him uneasy.

If Larvitar could survive here... maybe its parent is nearby.

A wild Tyranitar would explain everything—how the small Pokémon managed to survive in such a dangerous place.

Maki's heart raced. If he caught both Larvitar and Tyranitar, he'd make a fortune—even if he didn't hand them over to Team Rocket.

Wild Pokémon that grew strong without human help often sacrificed potential for power, but pseudo-legendary Pokémon like Tyranitar were different. Even a fully evolved specimen would have hidden strength waiting to be unlocked.

But then the tracks vanished—fading until there was nothing left to follow.

Maki was about to give up when a pair of crimson eyes glowed faintly in the distance.

"Lunatone..."

The Meteorite Pokémon hovered silently, its stony body reflecting the dim light.

Lunatone and Solrock were rare, discovered only a few decades ago near meteor crash sites. Many believed they came from space.

Maki, however, couldn't help but think of Martin—the clueless NPC from Pokémon Sword and Shield—who did nothing but spam Cosmic Power in Max Raid Battles.

He sighed.

"Let's just hope this one isn't as useless."

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