Chapter 52

Hikaru let out a satisfied sigh.

There was nothing else to do while the charcoal was being processed, so he returned to the cabin and put all the available items up for sale. As for the wood carvings, the choice of Pokémon to sculpt didn't matter much. Unlike stone carvings, which required testing for effectiveness, wood carvings were more flexible and faster to complete.

"Speaking of which, what would happen if I carved a human figure?"

This thought surfaced in Hikaru's mind and refused to leave. In fact, he had considered making human sculptures before just to see the results. However, he had been too busy recently to carry out the idea.

Without further hesitation, Hikaru began carving. As for the choice of subject, if he were to sculpt a "well-known person" he had recently encountered, it would undoubtedly be Volo.

"Carving Volo, huh… Would that attract Giratina? Never mind, I should pick someone else."

"Hm… How about Cynthia?"

Speaking of Volo, one would naturally think of Cynthia—right?

Come to think of it, Volo, Cogita, and Cynthia all shared the same face. Were the ancient Sinnoh people's genes really that strong?

Hikaru quickly got to work. His knife continuously chipped away at the wood, occasionally using a chisel to refine areas he found unsatisfactory. Before long, he completed a wooden sculpture of Cynthia.

[Artifact: Small "Ancient Wooden Sculpture" – Style of the Sinnoh Ruins]

[Description: A wooden statue carved in an ancient style, depicting Sinnoh Champion Cynthia.]

[Effect: Archaeology – Allows the discovery of one lost piece of knowledge from a ruin.]

"Huh? This time, there's no mention of 'some collectors would buy it at a high price'… Does that mean it won't sell?"

"The effect is archaeology—retrieving lost knowledge from ruins. That's Cynthia's profession! So, if I carve a person's image, the resulting effect is linked to their profession. Then what about someone without an extra profession, like a Gym Leader?"

Hikaru decided to carve another person, this time selecting a Gym Leader with no known secondary occupation.

"Norman."

He was the father of the protagonist in the Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald games. Depending on the chosen player character, he would be either Brendan or May's father. In the anime, he was May's father, while in the manga, he was Ruby's.

Norman was simply someone who pursued strength. Though in the Pokémon Adventures manga, he appeared to have previously worked as a League official, in the games and anime, he had no known side job or League position—just the title of Gym Leader.

[Artifact: Small "Ancient Wooden Sculpture" – Style of the Sinnoh Ruins]

[Description: A wooden statue carved in an ancient style, depicting Norman of the Petalburg Gym.]

[Effect: Normal Power – Increases the strength of Normal-type Pokémon training near the sculpture over time.]

"Oh, so it boosts the corresponding Pokémon type's strength!"

"Then what about someone with no job or associated Pokémon type?"

For his third sculpture, Hikaru chose Red.

Once the Champion, he had since retired, with no official profession. He spent his days training in solitude on Mt. Silver, where he was practically a legend. Many considered him the strongest Trainer in the Pokémon world.

[Artifact: Small "Ancient Wooden Sculpture" – Style of the Sinnoh Ruins]

[Description: A wooden statue carved in an ancient style, depicting Kanto Champion Red.]

[Effect: Fighting Spirit – When one of your Pokémon gains Effort Values (EVs), all of your Pokémon will also receive an equal amount.]

"…So Red's statue is for EV training?"

Hikaru spent almost an entire day absorbed in wood carving. His craftsmanship improved significantly, and his later sculptures became increasingly lifelike, shedding the slightly rough look of his earlier works.

Finally, after some deliberation, Hikaru decided to carve Volo as well.

Surprisingly, the effect of Volo's sculpture was increased friendship with Pokémon.

"Is this effect mocking his relationship with his Togekiss?"

Despite treating Pokémon as mere tools and calling himself a "Pokémon tamer," Volo had raised a Togepi that required high friendship to evolve into Togekiss.

"He talks tough, but deep down, he cares about his Pokémon."

Looking at his completed sculptures, Hikaru muttered, "This setup looks like a figurine shop."

Observing his own hands, he noticed that his carving skills had visibly improved through repeated practice.

In contrast, his progress with stone carving was slower, which made sense since stone was much harder to work with than wood.

"Even basic craftsmanship, when honed over years of repetition, can develop into a unique and outstanding skill."

[Due to repetitive completion of tasks, knowledge has increased.]

[Wood Carving Specialist: +25% efficiency and skill in wood carving; sculptures will appear more ancient and refined.]

...

June 27 – Cloudy

As the month neared its end, Sinnoh's climate became noticeably warmer.

Yesterday had been eventful, with charcoal production and wood carving.

Today, Hikaru planned to focus on crafting stone sculptures and a batch of charms.

Additionally, he would work on making the King's Rock and Pure Pendant.

At the workshop, Hikaru and his Pokémon began making charms, a relatively quick task.

Doublade swiftly sliced through fabric, but Hikaru noticed something new—it was no longer using its blades directly. Instead, it had started using Psycho Cut.

The tangible psychic blades moved like fine threads, demonstrating that Doublade's psychic power had significantly improved!

"If it keeps training like this, could it eventually learn Spacial Rend?"

Dimensional Slash?

Unfortunately, Ghost-types didn't have any true cutting moves. Among the Ghost-type moves Doublade could use, only Shadow Sneak and Shadow Claw were actual Ghost-type attacks—though it hadn't even learned Shadow Claw yet.

For now, it had to rely on Psychic-type cutting moves. But if it mastered Psycho Cut, it could become quite formidable!

Hikaru didn't disturb Doublade and instead prepared the Ancient Rock and Ancient Crystal for crafting the Pure Pendant and King's Rock.

While his unique polishing technique was useful, handling crystals required extra care. Thinking of Petilil's leaves, he got an idea.

He went to the herb field, where Petilil immediately ran up to him excitedly.

"Waaah!"

Hikaru picked up Petilil, who let out a melodious sound, humming a little tune. After explaining the task, she became eager to help!

She had been waiting for this moment—finally, she could contribute to crafting!

Petilil plucked one of her leaves and assisted as Hikaru finished shaping the Pure Pendant and King's Rock.

Naturally occurring King's Rocks were stones that had naturally formed into a crown shape, making their surface rough and uneven. In contrast, handmade King's Rocks had sharp edges and a polished gleam—just like the ones in certain spin-off games.

Meanwhile, Hikaru continued carving the stone casing for the Pure Pendant, made from Ancient Rock.

By the time Petilil had finished polishing, Hikaru had also completed his work.

[Petilil has completed a crafting task! Gained experience and growth!]

[Learned move: Encore!]

[Gained Knowledge: Grass Polishing – +15% precision in polishing rocks and crystals.]

"Huh? Encore?"

Hikaru paused for a moment before realizing this was the missing piece in his battle strategy.

"This move is crucial to victory!"

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he carefully embedded the polished Ancient Crystal into the stone casing.

Crafted Items:

[Pure Pendant (Sinnoh Ruins Style)]

Effect: A luminous, crystal-clear pendant. Holding it prevents stat reductions from opponents' moves or abilities.

Additional Effect: Pure Mind – Slightly purifies the hearts of Pokémon and humans. Due to its Sinnoh Ruins-style carving, it also mildly strengthens mental power and alleviates fatigue.

[King's Rock]

Effect: When the holder attacks, there is a chance to make the opponent flinch.

Additional Effect: Regal Presence – Pokémon's recognition of the holder increases by 20%.

Hikaru took a deep breath.

The two most important evolution stones!

Hikaru exhaled deeply.

Among the three acquisition methods, obtaining one from Volo was the simplest. However, if he only had one stone, Hikaru would still need to find another.

Encountering Regirock was far from easy.

It made sense for the evolution stones to be found on Regirock—after all, this Pokémon roamed in search of rare stones to repair its body, and evolution stones were among the rarest.

Hikaru calmed his thoughts and went to check on the charcoal he had made the previous day.

He headed down the hillside to retrieve it.

These charcoal pieces had been made from oak wood, and although the kiln was somewhat crude, the craftsmanship and materials made up for the lack of advanced equipment.

(End of Chapter)

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