Chapter 200
The vehicle eventually stopped outside a mine entrance.
Roark, already wearing a mining helmet, was waiting for them.
Mike stepped out and shook his hand.
"Long time no see, Mike."
"Long time no see."
"The thing that resembles Black Augurite is over here."
Roark knew exactly why Mike had come and immediately led him toward a crate beside the tunnel entrance.
When he opened it, a pitch-black stone lay inside, its edges so sharp and glossy that it looked more like broken black glass than ordinary rock.
"Honestly, rather than calling it a stone, I’d say it looks like some unusual kind of glass. That’s why I didn’t want to immediately conclude that it was the Black Augurite you described."
"Black Augurite is supposed to be a sharp black stone that resembles glass."
Mike reached inside and carefully lifted it.
"Careful. It’s extremely sharp. I cut myself when I first handled it."
Roark warned him.
Mike nodded and examined the stone from several angles until a familiar description appeared before him.
{Black Augurite: A black mineral resembling glass. Its broken edges are exceptionally sharp. A certain Pokémon seems particularly fond of it.}
{Compatible Pokémon: Scyther}
{Effect: Allows Scyther to evolve into Kleavor.}
Mike smiled.
"This is it. This really is Black Augurite, which means Kleavor can finally reappear in the modern world."
"Yeahhhh!"
Roark clenched one fist in excitement.
As someone obsessed with minerals and excavation, discovering a stone capable of restoring a vanished Pokémon evolutionary form was something he could be genuinely proud of.
At the very least, the next time he met a certain person, he would finally be able to boast that his mining ability had surpassed theirs.
Mike carefully returned the Black Augurite to the crate before looking toward Roark.
"Gym Leader Roark, there’s something else you should know. When Scyther evolves with Black Augurite, Kleavor is Bug/Rock."
Roark’s eyes immediately lit up.
"You mean..."
"If you’re interested, I can suggest to Professor Rowan and the others that the first successfully evolved Kleavor be entrusted to you."
Roark broke into a huge grin.
"Then it’s a deal!"
Mike nodded, and Lucian had no objections.
Roark had personally led the excavation that uncovered the first confirmed piece of Black Augurite, so letting him raise the first restored Kleavor was perfectly reasonable.
Lucian himself had, after all, become the Trainer of the first modern Wyrdeer.
Mike glanced back into the crate.
"Is this the only piece?"
"No. We actually found several more, but because we weren’t certain whether this was really Black Augurite, we didn’t want to keep excavating recklessly."
"Can I see the site?"
"Of course."
Roark called over several workers to bring the necessary safety equipment.
Gengar immediately produced his own headlamp, strapped it across his forehead, put on a safety helmet, and pulled out a pickaxe.
Miner Gengar had returned.
Roark laughed.
"Gengar still carries a full mining kit?"
Mike glanced at him.
"All the gear, none of the qualifications."
Gengar: (o·_·o)
Roark burst out laughing.
"Come on, don’t say that. Let’s head inside."
Roark led the way into the tunnel, with Mike and the others following close behind.
As they walked, Lucian moved alongside Mike.
"Once we’re done here, are we heading straight to Celestic Town?"
"That should work, but... does Roark have time to come too?"
Mike glanced toward the Gym Leader ahead.
"It’ll be fine. He only needs to witness the evolution and then come back."
Lucian answered casually.
Mike gave him a strange look.
"Isn’t that pushing him a little hard?"
Lucian stared back as though Mike had just asked something absurd.
"Pushing him? That’s called having a job. Sometimes work means traveling back and forth between different places. Gym Leaders aren’t given their positions so they can relax all day; if you accept the role, you accept the responsibilities that come with it. The Elite Four and Champion are no different."
He adjusted his glasses.
"Besides, if the first Kleavor is eventually going to Roark, wouldn’t it be best for him to witness the evolution himself?"
Mike couldn’t argue with that.
"Did you already tell Professor Rowan about the Black Augurite?"
"Yeah. They said to let you inspect it first."
"Got it."
They walked for quite some time before Roark finally stopped and turned around.
"We’re here."
Mike looked back and realized the tunnel behind them stretched so far that the entrance was no longer visible.
"You’ve excavated this far already?"
"Well, this is Oreburgh Tunnel. It was already an established mining tunnel, and plenty of miners worked here in the past. Everyone assumed there was nothing particularly important left inside, but after you suggested that Black Augurite and Peat Blocks might still exist here, we started investigating the deeper sections again."
Roark scratched his head.
"The strange part is that I thought Peat Blocks would be easier to find. Coal is common enough around mining areas, after all, yet we’ve been digging for all this time without finding even ordinary coal in this section, never mind a Peat Block. Somehow, Black Augurite appeared first."
"That actually makes sense."
Mike looked toward the tunnel wall.
"Peat Blocks can be dried and burned as fuel. If miners found them in the past, there’s a good chance they simply assumed they were an unusual kind of coal and burned them."
Roark’s eyes widened.
"Peat Blocks can be used as fuel?!"
Mike nodded.
"But don’t worry. The world has existed for a very long time. I doubt every Peat Block on the planet has already been dug up and burned."
"That’s true."
Roark nodded.
Mike approached the exposed Black Augurite and lightly tapped it with the pickaxe, producing a clear, glasslike sound.
When he struck slightly harder, a section immediately broke loose and fell.
Mike stared at it in surprise.
"It’s that brittle?"
"Exactly. That’s why I kept saying it feels more like glass than stone."
Mike nodded toward the deposit.
"Could you have your people carefully excavate the rest?"
"Sure."
Roark called several miners over and began directing them.
Gengar immediately walked up beside Roark carrying his pickaxe and looked at him with sparkling, hopeful eyes.
Roark laughed and nodded, which was all the permission Gengar needed before happily marching toward another section of rock and beginning to swing away.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Beedrill flew over and joined him.
Mike and Lucian sat down on nearby rocks, while Hatenna wandered over to watch Gengar and Beedrill work.
Snivy remained nearby, quietly keeping watch over the tunnel, and Glameow had already curled up on Mike’s lap, yawning comfortably.
Before long, all of the exposed Black Augurite had been excavated. Roark cleaned each piece and carefully placed them into a crate.
Lucian examined the collection.
"Is there anything unusual we need to know about using Black Augurite? Does Scyther need to use it at a specific time like Ursaring needs the full moon?"
Mike shook his head.
"No. This one is much simpler. It works more like an ordinary Evolution Stone. Give Black Augurite to the right Scyther and it should evolve."
"Then I’ll report back to Professor Rowan and tell them to prepare several Scyther."
"Better to locate a few wild Scyther colonies too."
Mike added, "As far as I know, wild Scyther may be necessary for this evolution, but since we’re conducting research, there’s no harm in bringing Scyther from the lab as well. Better to prepare for both possibilities."
"That makes sense."
Lucian took out his phone and stepped aside to call Professor Rowan.
A little while later, Rotom’s voice came from nearby.
"Scanning, Roto... unable to identify, Roto."
Mike turned and saw Gengar, Beedrill, and Hatenna gathered around something in the wall, with Gengar leaning against his pickaxe.
Mike picked up Glameow and walked over.
"What did you find?"
"Gar—"
Gengar pointed toward the newly exposed material.
[Black.]
Mike followed his finger and found a small lump of dark, coal-like material embedded beneath the rock.
A system window immediately appeared.
{Peat Block — Medium: A consolidated mass formed from several sections of peat. It can be broken apart for individual use, although the entire mass may also be used at once.}
Mike fell silent.
Then he slowly turned toward Roark.
Roark had noticed the commotion and walked over, only to become equally speechless when he saw what had been uncovered.
"This is...?"
Mike nodded.
Roark stared at Gengar.
For the first time, he genuinely wondered whether Gengar had been born for mining and whether traveling around with Mike was actually preventing the Pokémon from fulfilling its true calling.
𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
Mike, meanwhile, didn’t need to think hard about how they had found the Peat Block so conveniently.
The luck-enhancing effect of Enamorus’s scale was almost certainly responsible.
It really did keep producing absurd coincidences.
"Roark, could you arrange for someone to excavate this too? It doesn’t look like the deposit is very large."
"Understood."
Roark immediately called workers over.
Lucian returned after finishing his phone call and looked toward the gathering.
"What happened?"
"Gengar and the others found a Peat Block."
Lucian was silent for a moment before nodding.
"That’s actually good. Having multiple Peat Blocks will let us repeat the experiment several times."
Then he added, "Cynthia has already left to search for a wild Scyther colony. We should hear back soon."
"Good."
As the miners carefully removed the Peat Block, a faint sprinkling of dust suddenly fell from the surrounding tunnel walls.
Roark’s expression immediately changed.
He ordered everyone out.
Once they had safely exited Oreburgh Tunnel, Mike looked toward him.
"What happened?"
"We’ve excavated too deeply in that section, so we can’t continue for now. We need to reinforce that part of the tunnel properly before anyone goes deeper."
Roark removed his helmet and looked back toward the entrance.
"The people who originally mined these sections didn’t leave adequate structural support behind. We’ve been reinforcing the tunnel as we excavate, but I felt some movement in the rock just now, so I pulled everyone out immediately."
"That’s fine."
Lucian’s tone became serious.
"We already have both Black Augurite and Peat Blocks. The research is important, but safety comes first. Make sure the workers are protected before anyone resumes excavation."
Roark grinned.
"I know."
Mike checked the time.
"It’s getting late. Let’s get something to eat, then we can head for Celestic Town."
Roark blinked and pointed at himself.
"I’m going too?"
"Of course. You were the first person to uncover Black Augurite, so logically, you should be there to witness the first modern Kleavor evolve. If you genuinely don’t have time, that’s fine; we can always have someone bring Kleavor back to you afterward."
Mike had barely finished speaking before Roark began vigorously shaking his head.
"No way. I’m absolutely seeing it happen myself!"