Chapter 260: Magearna

At present, the technology to revive fossils hasn't been discovered yet. It's likely still lying dormant in some ancient ruins, waiting for humanity to uncover it.

Once this technology is discovered and fossil revival machines are created, these machines would be able to bring fossils back to life, transforming them into living, breathing Pokémon.

Of course, the fossils in front of him were definitely out of the question. As a semi-expert in geology, Julian could spot the fakes at a glance.

But that round sphere… it looked somewhat real.

Authentic.

Julian walked up to a young man standing next to a sphere roughly a meter in diameter. Touching its surface, it indeed felt like it was made of genuine stone material.

This thing wasn't fake.

"Zack, why are you putting such a big Poké Ball here? Who in their right mind would buy this?" Taylor sneered.

Seeing Julian take an interest in the sphere shaped like a Poké Ball, Taylor, despite her dislike of him, didn't want to see him get scammed right in front of her.

Poké Ball?

Taking a closer look, the sphere did indeed bear an 80% resemblance to a Poké Ball.

"Julian, this 'Poké Ball' must have been carved, right?" Chase asked curiously.

Julian shook his head. If it had been carved, there would be clear markings. Its natural appearance, coupled with the surface wear, suggested it could be centuries, if not millennia, old.

"Miss, this isn't carved. It's an heirloom from my grandfather. He told me he found it in a ruin"

Zack interjected the moment he heard Chase's comment.

"A ruin? Forget whether your grandfather even had access to a ruin, but who goes into one and brings back something like 'this'?"

Taylor said mockingly, pointing at the sphere with a smirk.

Ruin entry slots were incredibly valuable. No one would waste their time and effort bringing out something so seemingly useless.

"That's just what my grandfather told me! Believe it or not, it's up to you!"

Zack's face flushed slightly as he stubbornly defended himself.

"Classmate, if this really came from a ruin, even a random rock from there might have research value"

Zack said, now turning to Julian. He could sense Julian's mild interest in the sphere.

He hadn't had a single sale all day, and he was counting on Julian to break that streak.

Besides, he noticed that Taylor, the young lady of a prominent family, seemed to care a lot about Julian, and the presence of Chase only added to his assumption that Julian was someone wealthy.

Julian's interest in the sphere wasn't exactly for purchasing—it was more out of curiosity. What kind of natural environment could have shaped a stone sphere to resemble a Poké Ball?

Could there be a Pokémon inside?

The thought crossed his mind, recalling the anime where oversized Poké Balls were used to imprison ancient Pokémon.

Julian instinctively activated his Probing Eyes to examine the stone sphere.

Pokémon: Magearna (Steel/Fairy)

Level: 0 (73)

Potential: Blue

Ability: Soul-Heart

Item: None

Moves: None

TMs: None

Egg Moves: None

Note: The Soul-Heart within has disappeared. Re-injecting a Soul-Heart is required for revival.

---

"How much is this stone?" Julian asked.

"A million"

Zack replied quickly, realizing Julian was serious about buying.

"Zack, have you lost your mind? This thing isn't worth a million!"

Taylor glared at Zack, preparing to persuade Julian not to waste his money.

But before she could intervene, Julian had already taken out his phone. He scanned the payment code on Zack's stall without hesitation.

"XXX has transferred 1,000,000."

The notification sound from Zack's phone chimed the next second.

Taylor was stunned. Chase was equally baffled. Even Zack, the seller, stood frozen in disbelief.

'That's it? He paid without bargaining?'

Zack had mentally prepared for some haggling.

As long as the price wasn't below 5,000, he was ready to sell it. The one million was just a random number he'd thrown out, never expecting Julian to actually pay it.

'Is this guy just stupidly rich?'

"Julian, have you lost your mind?!" Taylor shouted.

She couldn't wrap her head around why Julian would spend a million on a useless stone sphere, just because it resembled a Poké Ball.

"Zack, refund him right now, or I'll report you for fraud!"

"Fraud? This was a fair transaction!"

Zack shook his head. There was no way he'd give up that one million now staring back at him from his account.

"Can you tell me which ruin your grandfather brought this from?" Julian asked.

Initially, he hadn't believed the sphere came from a ruin, but now he did.

Magearna

A mythical Pokémon, Steel and Fairy type.

However, it was in a dormant state due to the missing Soul-Heart. To revive Magearna, its lost Soul-Heart would need to be located—most likely in the ruin it originated from.

"It's from the Ancient Kingdom Ruins," Zack replied.

Realizing Julian wasn't asking for a refund, Zack finally let out a breath of relief. But a thought crept into his mind;

'Could this actually be something valuable?'

Even though Julian's face was obscured by a mask, his demeanor didn't give the impression of someone foolishly throwing money around.

The Ancient Kingdom Ruins were discovered decades ago, but Drakoria's government had never disclosed what was found there.

That wasn't unusual. Most nations rarely revealed what they uncovered in ruins unless they had fully mastered the use of such discoveries.

For example, technologies like Pokémon Potential Detectors, Poké Ball transfer systems, and Energy Cube production methods were only made public after being fully understood and developed.

These technologies were all discovered within ruins. After their discovery, researchers studied them gradually, only announcing them to the public once they were fully understood.

Every trainer who entered ruins underwent rigorous screening.

'Zack's grandfather must have had a remarkable status at the time.'

To even qualify for entry into ruins, a trainer needed to be at least at the Elite level. However, even Elite trainers faced life-threatening dangers within ruins.

Ruins inevitably harbored Elite-level Pokémon, and some even housed Champion-level ones.

If luck took a "fortunate" turn, one might even encounter a Legendary Pokémon.

"Hey, is this thing really valuable?" Zack asked.

He was beginning to regret naming the price at one million—maybe he should've said ten million instead.

"For me, it's useful. For others, not so much"

Without his 'Probing Eyes', Julian wouldn't have recognized that the stone sphere was actually a dormant Magearna. Its death-like state rendered it indistinguishable from an ordinary rock.

Even professional machines would fail to detect it.

The only way to confirm its true nature would be to break the stone apart, revealing Magearna within. But without its Soul-Heart, Magearna was essentially lifeless.

Most would mistake it for a doll crafted from unknown materials.

In truth, Magearna was indeed an artificial Pokémon, much like Mewtwo.

"I'll take this back to the hotel first," Julian said to the two women.

He then released Lucario to lift the stone sphere.

Since there were many people around, using his system space was out of the question, leaving this as the only option.

Taylor, still fuming, ignored Julian entirely.

"I'll come with you," Chase offered.

Taylor opened her mouth, ready to insist on going too.

But before she could, Julian said, "No need. I'll be back shortly after dropping it off at the hotel."