Naoki: "…"

  Historical research? Really?

  Naoki’s gaze drifted toward the bag of s. The s shimmered with a golden hue, exuding the unmistakable allure of wealth.

  "You’ve ‘researched’ right into taking people’s burial treasures, haven’t you?' he thought to himself, but before he could say anything, Raifort seemed to notice his expression.

  With a posed smile, Raifort expined, "In professional terms, what I do is archaeology. To be ho, I have a deep fasation with the legends and histories passed down through time."

  "And," she tinued, gesturing to the s, "the reason I took these s was to study the moary system of the a Paldea Kingdom from thousands of years ago. After all, I am a history teacher."

  Naoki felt a pang of exhaustion just listening. While her expnation sounded logical, something about it didn’t sit quite right.

  "So… what are you doing with them now?" Naoki asked.

  Raifort shrugged with nonce. "I’ve pleted my research. These s no longer hold any academic value to me, so I figured I’d pass them on to someone who hem."

  She smiled, adding, "Like you."

  "Alright, fair enough." Naoki decided not to press further. He did, after all, hose s. ging the topic, he asked, "How many s do you have here?"

  Raifort thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I’m irely sure. I didn’t gather these all at ohey came from over a dozen tombs and ruins."

  Naoki: "…"

  He hesitated before asking, "How much are you pnning to sell them for?"

  Raifave it some thought and then smiled. "Based oique market value, one gold typically sells for 50,000 Pokédolrs. But since you’re buying in bulk, I give you a dist—on one dition."

  "What dition?"

  Raifort leaned forward slightly. "You have to tell me what these s are for."

  Naoki paused, sidering her request. Finally, he asked, "Have you heard of a Pokémon called Gholdengo?"

  Raifort raised an eyebrow in reition. "Gholdengo? You mean the Pokémon that evolves from Gimmighoul?"

  "That’s right," Naoki firmed. "I was told that to evolve Gimmighoul into Gholdengo, you o collect a rge number of s."

  Raifort's curiosity deepened. "So, you’re pnning to test that theory?"

  "Exactly," Naoki replied.

  Raifort sat ba her chair, folding her arms thoughtfully. "I see… The legend of Gholdengo. It’s said to be born from the collective greed for treasure, taking form as an embodiment of wealth and adventure."

  As a history teacher with a passion for a lore, Raifort was well-acquainted with such myths. She nodded, as if to herself. "Alright, in that case, I’ll give you a 30% dist. But on one dition: if yimmighoul evolves, you must bring it to me so I see it for myself."

  "Deal." Naoki agreed immediately, feeling somewhat assured of Raifort's siy.

  Her willio dist the s showed she wasn’t simply out for money. Judging by her background as portrayed in the game, Raifort's primary drive seemed to be her love of history and legends, even if her methods were… unventional.

  'If it weren’t for Principal keeping an eye on her, she’d probably be out chasing legendary mysteries non-stop,' Naoki thought with mild amusement.

  Raifort seemed to catch his train of thought. With a smirk, she asked, "Now do you believe I’m not a tomb raider just for profit?"

  "I believe you," Naoki replied.

  Raifort chuckled softly. "And for the record, I wasn’t lying on the forum. I’m quite well-known in the field of… historical exploration."

  She straightened up with a bit of pride. "I once made it to the deepest part of the uer ruins in the Union. "Although I am now semi-retired, that aplishment alone earned me a reputation in the exploration unity."

  Naoki: "…"

  '‘Semi-retired’? So, she still goes tomb raiding sometimes,' he thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

  As Naoki processed this, his gaze wao Raifort's attire. Something about it caught his attention.

  The emblem on Raifort's chest resembled the majestic Artio, one of the legendary bird Pokémon. The headdress she wore looked strikingly simir to Marshadow, while her bracelet clearly dispyed elements inspired by Tapu Koko.

  "e o’s t them together!" Raifort cheerfully poured the s from her bag onto the table.

  In an instant, a small golden mountain formed in front of Naoki.

  His first thought was how delighted Gimmighoul would be to see such a treasure trove of s.

  The two of them began ting the s together, the soft king eg in the cozy room.

  Minutes passed as they ted diligently. Finally, Naoki announced a total: of 142 s.

  Including the 31 s already stored in Gimmighoul's treasure chest, Naoki now had a total of 173 s.

  "It's still not enough," Naoki murmured, frowning as he calcuted how far he was from the target of 1,000 s.

  He wondered if there were any other aveo acquire more s quickly.

  Raifort, meanwhile, had been tallying the cost with a small calcutor she carried. "At market value, these 142 s would cost 7.1 million Pokédolrs. With the dist, the total es to 4.97 million."

  Naoki let out a low whistle at the generous dist. He nodded, reizing the deal as more than fair.

  "Alright," he said. "I don’t have that much cash on me right now. Let’s head to the bank, and I’ll trahe payment."

  Thankfully, Naoki had prepared for this moment. After selling goat milk, and crops, and dipping into his family savings, he barely had enough to cover the cost.

  "Sure," Raifreed with a smile.

  The two of them left the café and headed to the bank. There, Naoki pleted the transa, transferring the moo Raifort.

  Raifort handed over the bag of s with a slight grin. "You keep the bag too," she said.

  Naoki looked at the mountaineering bag. It was simple and sturdy, nothing remarkable. He nodded appreciatively. "Thanks."

  Raifort yawned, c her mouth. She looked tired, likely from staying up te the night before, reading aexts in the Paldea Academy library.

  "Alright," she said, stretg slightly. "I’m going to head bad catch up on some sleep. If you have any questions, just message me on the forum."

  "Got it." Naoki gave a polite nod.

  As Raifort walked away, Naoki stared down at the bag of s in his hands.

  "At 50,000 Pokédolrs per , 1,000 s would e 50 million…" he thought, his stomach sinking. "If I had to rely solely on money, it’d take years to earn that much."

  But the image of Gholdengo—Gimmighoul’s evolved form—danced in his mind. A rare and unique Pokémon like that made all the effort worthwhile.

  Especially knowing that once Gimmighoul evolved into Gholdengo, it could gee s on its own using the move Make It Rain. The thought of eventually rec his iment through clever sales brought a faint smile to Naoki’s face.

  "Make It Rain, huh?" Naoki muttered to himself. The move was simir to Meowth’s Pay Day, a teique that geed money in battle. Both abilities reflected the Pokémon’s affinity for wealth.

  After bidding farewell to Raifort, Naoki realized it was already 1 PM. her he nor Koraidon had eaten lunch yet, so they stopped at a roadside stall to grab sandwiches.

  With their hunger sated, they began the journey back to the ranch.

  Naoki pushed open the wooden door of the Pokémon Tavern, a hiking bag slung over his shoulder. He unzipped it and tipped the bag upside down.

  k, k, k!

  A cascade of gold s rained onto the bar.

  Hearing the unmistakable sound of s, the Gimmighoul immediately poked its head out from its treasure chest.

  Whetle Pokémon saw the sheer number of s Naoki had brought, its eyes widened in shock. A moment ter, excitement repced the surprise, and it practically trembled with joy.

  “Gimmm!” Gimmighoul chimed ecstatically.

  “Here you go!” Naoki said with a grin.

  The tiny treasure-loving Pokémon was so overwhelmed with emotion that it fot its usual timidity. With a burst of excitement, it leaped out of the chest, transformed into its roaming form, and hopped onto Naoki’s shoulder. Before Naoki could react, Gimmighoul pnted ahusiastic kiss on his cheek.

  “Hmm? Ah!” Naoki excimed, startled, but the grin on his face grew wider. Gimmighoul’s happiness was tagious.

  “Are you excited?” he asked, ughing.

  “Gimm!” Gimmighoul's chimes were practically musical with joy.

  “Alright, alright, let’s put these s into your treasure chest,” Naoki said, his voice full of warmth.

  Naoki grabbed Gimmighoul’s usual treasure chest from its spot a on the bar. Then, he began carefully transferring the mound of s into the chest, one handful at a time.

  Gimmighoul hopped down beside him, watg ily. Its eyes sparkled as each ked into pce.

  Once all the s were stowed inside, Gimmighoul dove into the chest with an audible “plop!”, burying itself in the glittering gold. Only its head poked out, a delighted expression on its face as it pyfully swam in its treasure hoard.

  Naoki stood back, watg with a soft smile. “It’s like you’re swimming in a sea of gold s.”

  Gimmighoul beamed at him. “Giimm!”

  “Well, I’m a bit tired. I’m going to rest for a while. Enjoy yourself!” Naoki said, patting the treasure chest fondly.

  Gimmighoul turs head to look at him, its chime ringing happily in farewell. Naoki carefully returhe chest to its usual spot iavern before heading back to the house.

  After p himself a gss of water, he climbed to the sed floor, powered on his puter, and checked the status of his acquisition post. Despite colleg a signifit haul today, only about oh of the necessary s had been gathered. Naoki po keep the post active, hoping other treasure hunters or tomb raiders might tact him.

  As he scrolled through the forum, his thoughts wandered. He clicked on the private chat interfad stared at the messages exged with [A Explorer].

  Raifort... the treasures of ruin...

  Naoki leaned ba his chair, recalling the lore surrounding the four treasures of ruin.

  The Legend of the Treasures of Ruin

  In the distant past, during the reign of the Kingdom of Paldea, a mert from a faraway nd brought four exotic treasures to the royal court: a broablet, a ceremonial sword, a jade vessel, and an a bowl.

  The mert sold these items to the king, g they were priceless artifacts imbued with the blessings of fortune and power.

  However, that very night, the treasures transformed into fearsome Pokémon, wreaking havoc across the royal city. Their awakening unleashed a devastating curse that ultimately led to the downfall of the kingdom.

  The four Pokémon—Wo-, -Pao, Ting-Lu, and Chi-Yu—were maions of accumuted malice, greed, and despair absorbed over turies. The mert had unwittingly brought disaster to the kingdom, as these treasures were no ordinary artifacts; they were vessels for dark, cursed energies.

  Survivors of the camity sought to tain the Pokémon, enlisting the help of a skilled Pokémon tamer. After a fierce battle, the four Pokémon were subdued and sealed within a shrines located across Paldea, with inscriptions warning future geions of their destructive nature.

  It is said that only those with pure iions uhese Pokémon, a testament to their votile power.

  Naoki tapped his fihoughtfully on the desk.

  In the game, Raifort, the history teacher at the Naranja/Uva Academy in Paldea, passionately iigates the legend of the Treasures of Ruin.

  She sulted numerous aexts, disaster records, and personal diaries before firming the authenticity of the legend of the Treasures of Ruin. In the game, the pyer is entrusted with the locations of the shrines ahods to uhem, helping release the fendary Pokémon.

  Naoki, however, had long since dismissed the idea of capturing these Pokémon. They were known t camity wherever they went, and he feared their presence would wreak havo his peaceful ranch.

  But now, with the mystical water from Giratina’s Realm, Naoki had devised a way to alter the essence of the Treasures of Ruin. By using this water to prepare reversal dishes, he aimed to transform their destructive nature into something beneficial:

  Wo-, which drained life from pnts and caused crops to wither, could bee a Pokémon of Fertility, enrig forests and ensuring abundant harvests. Ting-Lu, whose seismips fractured the earth, could evolve into a Pokémon of Farming, softening, and cultivating nd for pnting.

  Chi-Yu, whose bzi melted stone and created seas of va, might be reimagined as a Fire Pokémon providing warmth and assisting in cooking for the ranch’s Pokémon. -Pao, known for its icy avanches, could transform into a guardian Pokémon, slig through threats and proteg the ranch from harm.

  To achieve this, Naoki knew he would need Raifort’s help. Only she possessed the knowledge of the exact locations of the shrines and the methods to unlock their seals. However, these four treasures had long been her obsession. Her dream was to uheir secrets, and she would likely seek to cim them for herself.

  Naoki struggled with the moral dilemma. He wasn’t willing to manipute or deceive Raifort to achieve his goal. It felt wrong, and the thought of betrayirust filled him with guilt. After some ption, he sighed and muttered, “Fet it. Let’s just leave it for now.”

  Determio let fate take its course, Naoki was about to turn off his puter when the chat window suddenly blinked. Surprised, he clicked it open and found several messages from Raifort:

  [A Explorer]: !!!

  [A Explorer]: I just checked some texts in the library and found an a notebook about the legend of the Winged King. The descriptions match many characteristics of the Pokémon you had with you today!

  [A Explorer]: Where did you find it?!

  Naoki blinked in fusion. He quickly posed a reply:

  [Gold King ]: It wandered into my ranjured. I treated it, and it’s stayed with me ever since.

  Raifort’s response came almost instantly:

  [A Explorer]: …What do you mean?

  Naoki hesitated. Sharing the true ins of Koraidon—knowledge tied to the experiments of Professor Sada and Professor Turo—was out of the question. After a pause, he replied servatively:

  [Gold King]: I’m sorry, but this involves fidential matters. I ’t disclose the details.

  ...

  Paldea Academy, Raifort’s Dormitory,

  Raifort sat in her dimly lit room, her eyes narrowing at the reply on her s. She murmured to herself:

  “fidential? What does that mean?”

  The text tio occupy her thoughts.

  [Gold King ]: But I tell you this much—Koraidon is not a Pokémon of this era. It es from the distant past, as you suspected.

  Raifort’s heart skipped a beat as she reread the message. She whispered, “Not of this era? What does that imply?”

  Her mind raced with possibilities. Had Koraidon traversed through time and space? Was it an a Pokémon resurrected from fossils? Or had it been lying dormant in some fotten ruin until retly awakened?

  Adding to her shock was the realization that an old, sed-hand notebook might actually tain credible information. She stared at the glowing s, her curiosity aement mounting with each passing sed.

  But what truly astonished her was the realization that the information recorded in the a notebook—something she had stumbled upon in the sed-hand market—was, in fact, accurate!

  ...

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