Chapter 52: Pendant of Serenity

Kuangtai let out a satisfied sigh.

With no other tasks required during the charcoal-burning process, he returned to the cabin and placed all the finished items onto the shelves. As for the wood carvings, the choice of Pokémon subjects did not matter much; this process was much more relaxed than stone carving, requiring no trial and error for individual effects and allowing for a much faster carving speed.

"I wonder, what would happen if I carved a human?"

Once this thought popped into Kuangtai's mind, he could no longer shake it off. Actually, Kuangtai had thought about making some human sculptures from the very beginning to see what would happen, but he had been busy every day lately and thus never found the spare time to realize this idea.

No sooner said than done, Kuangtai began carving a piece of wood. As for the subject... speaking of "well-known figures" he had seen recently, it definitely had to be Volo.

"Carving Volo? Won't that summon Giratina? Oh well, let's pick someone else first."

"Hmm, how about Cynthia!"

Speaking of Volo, one naturally thinks of Cynthia, doesn't it make sense?

Come to think of it, Volo, Cogita, and Cynthia all share the exact same face. Are the genes of ancient Sinnoh people really this powerful?

Kuangtai quickly got to work. The carving knife continuously sliced through the wood, occasionally chipping away at unfavorable spots, and soon a wooden sculpture of Cynthia was completed.

"Artifact: Small [Ancient Wood Carving] — Style of the Celestic Ruins."
"Description: A stone statue carved in an ancient style, shaped in the likeness of Sinnoh Champion Cynthia."
"Artifact Effect: Archaeology — Grants one lost piece of knowledge exclusively from a single ruin."

"Eh, why doesn't this one have the description 'some enthusiasts will purchase at a high price'? Does this mean this item cannot be sold?"

"The effect is Archaeology, acquiring corresponding lost knowledge from ruins. This is Cynthia's profession. I see! After carving the likeness of a character, the resulting effects are tied to their occupation. Then, what would happen if they have no extra profession and are simply a Gym Leader?"

Kuangtai immediately set to work and selected another Gym Leader who "should not have a side hustle."

"Norman."

He is the protagonist's father in the Hoenn series. Depending on the chosen protagonist, he serves as Brendan/May's corresponding father. In the anime, he is May's father, while in the manga, he is Ruby's father.

Norman is simply a person pursuing formidable power in a straightforward way. Although in the Special manga chapter, Norman seems to have had a previous job as a League official, in the games and anime he apparently has no side hustle and holds no position as a League official, with his only identity being a Gym Leader.

"Artifact: Small [Ancient Wood Carving] — Style of the Celestic Ruins."
"Description: A stone statue carved in an ancient style, shaped in the likeness of Petalburg Gym's Norman."
"Artifact Effect: Normal Power — Affects surrounding Normal-type Pokémon. Training near the sculpture for extended periods will slightly strengthen the power of Normal-type Pokémon."

"Oh, so it increases the corresponding attribute's power!"

"Then what about someone who has neither a job nor a corresponding attribute?"

Kuangtai quickly carved a third character.

Red!

A guy who once became a Champion but stepped down, has no side hustle whatsoever, and trains every single day on Mount Silver until he loses contact with the outside world. Known by people as the God of Mount Silver, and theoretically one of the strongest individuals in the Pokémon universe... or is he?

"Artifact: Small [Ancient Wood Carving] — Style of the Celestic Ruins."
"Description: A stone statue carved in an ancient style, shaped in the likeness of Kanto Champion Red."
"Artifact Effect: Fighting Spirit — When a Pokémon gains Effort Values (EVs), the Effort Values of all the Pokémon you own will increase synchronously."

"Red's wood carving is used for farming Effort Values?"

For almost the entire day, Kuangtai was absorbed in wood carving. Without him noticing, his wood-carving craftsmanship had also made significant progress. The later figures began to look lifelike, shaking off that slightly stiff feeling from the beginning.

Finally, after giving it some thought, Kuangtai decided to carve Volo after all.

However, unexpectedly, the effect of Volo's carving turned out to be... increasing friendship with Pokémon?

I wonder if this effect is a parody of him and his Togekiss. Even though he verbally treated Pokémon as mere tools and emphasized that he was a Pokémon trainer, the Togepi he raised earliest, which required friendship to evolve, had long since evolved into a Togekiss.

He certainly says harsh things, but deep down he cares immensely for his Pokémon.

"Putting these together makes it look like selling anime figures."

Kuangtai muttered a silent complaint internally while looking at his own hands. Through a large amount of repetitive carving, his wood-carving skill had indeed improved visibly to the naked eye.

As for his stone-carving standard, it progressed much slower. This was precisely because stone is much harder to process compared to wood.

"Even basic craftsmanship, as long as it is repeatedly tempered over the years, can become a unique and excellent skill."

"Due to completing certain work repeatedly, you have gained knowledge."
"Wood Carving Expert: Wood carving efficiency and technique +25%, carved works appear more ancient and aesthetically pleasing."

...

June 27th, cloudy.

This month is coming to an end, and the climate in Celestic has also become a bit warmer.

A lot happened yesterday: burning charcoal and carving wood.

Today, Kuangtai did not plan to carve wood. Instead, he focused on custom stone carving and making a large number of spell tags.

Also, crafting the King's Rock and Cleanse Tag.

First, Kuangtai worked together with his Pokémon in the workshop to process spell tags, which did not take much time.

Doublade was slicing fabric with rapid swishes. However, Kuangtai noticed that when cutting the fabric now, Doublade was not using the blades directly to cut, but had started using Psycho Cut instead.

The materialized Psycho Cut was manipulated as finely as a thread, marking a clear improvement in Doublade's mastery over psychic power!

"A Psycho Cut drawn out into thread-like strands still retains the formidable power of the move. Doesn't this feel almost like a brand new move?"

If it continues practicing this way, will it one day be able to master Spacial Rend?

A... Spacial Rend?

What a pity, Ghost-type moves do not include a single slashing move, and the Ghost-type STAB moves Doublade can use are merely Shadow Sneak and Shadow Claw—and Shadow Claw... it doesn't know how to use it yet.

Therefore, it can only practice Psychic-type slashing moves. Still, if Psycho Cut is mastered well, it seems it will turn out quite powerful!

Kuangtai did not disturb Doublade, but instead began preparing ancient rocks and ancient crystals to craft the Cleanse Tag and King's Rock.

Although he possessed unique grinding techniques, crystal polishing had to be done with care. Thinking of Petilil's leaves, Kuangtai came up with an idea.

Thus, Kuangtai went to the medicinal herb field, and Petilil immediately trotted over to welcome him happily!

"Wawa!"

Kuangtai picked up Petilil, who let out a pleasant sound as if humming a little tune. Entering the workshop, Kuangtai informed Petilil of the upcoming task, and Petilil was full of enthusiasm!

She had been waiting for this day for so long! Finally, she could participate in the carving work!

She plucked the leaf from her head. After Kuangtai carved out the rough shapes of the Cleanse Tag and King's Rock, the rest was her job.

A natural King's Rock is actually just a stone that naturally took the shape of a crown, leaving its surface uneven. However, an artificially crafted King's Rock has sharp angles and emits a luster, resembling the King's Rock seen in spin-off games with clear traces of human processing.

As for Kuangtai, he continued making the stone casing for the Cleanse Tag; this part was also made from ancient rock and required carving.

After a good while, by the time Petilil had finished polishing her side, Kuangtai finally completed his work as well.

"Petilil has completed the craftwork! Gained experience and growth!"
"Comprehended the move: Encore!"
"Petilil gained knowledge: Grass Polishing — Precision of polishing stones and crystals +15%."

"Eh? Encore!"

Kuangtai was stunned for a moment, looking at the somewhat excited Petilil, and thought to himself that the move he had been waiting for had finally appeared.

This move was the most crucial puzzle piece to achieving victory!

"Whew—I need to work hard too!"

Kuangtai wiped the sweat from his brow and embedded the polished ancient crystal core into the rock casing.

"Crafted Item: Cleanse Tag (Celestic Ruins style)."
"Effect: A crystal-clear pendant. When held, holder's stats cannot be lowered by the opponent's moves or abilities!"
"Craft Effect: Pure Spirit — Slightly purifies the minds of humans and Pokémon. Because it was carved using the Celestic Ruins style, it possesses the effects of slightly strengthening psychic power and eliminating fatigue."
"Knowledge Gained: 1"
"Heart of Purity: Others find it difficult to see through your inner thoughts, Defense against Psychic-type +20%."

...

"Crafted Item: King's Rock."
"Effect: Attacks performed while holding this item may cause the opponent to flinch when dealing damage!"
"Craft Effect: King's Demeanor — Pokémon's recognition of the holder +20%."
"Knowledge Gained: 1"
"King's Asset: Your charm +25%"

...

Clues for new materials:
[Sun Stone / Dusk Stone.]
[Acquisition Location: Regirock, Ancient Sacred Peak / Traveling Merchant.]
[Corresponding Craft: Environmental Carving Craft / Soul Forging Craft.]

...

"Due to completing certain work repeatedly, gained Knowledge 2."
"Charm Expert: Efficiency and technique of making spell tags +25%, spiritual power infused in spell tags appears to have increased."
"Medium: Your spiritual power increases by 25%, and your manipulation of spiritual power becomes more proficient."

"The two most crucial evolutionary stones!"

Kuangtai let out a deep breath.

Among the three acquisition methods, getting it from Volo is the simplest. However, if he only has one stone, he will have to figure something out for the remaining one.

Regirock... how could a legendary giant be encountered so easily?

And having the stone on Regirock makes total sense, considering that this Pokémon wanders around searching for rare stones to repair its own body, and evolutionary stones are a type of rare stone.

Kuangtai's mind gradually calmed down. He then went to check the charcoal made yesterday, walking out to the hillside below to retrieve it. These were charcoals burned using wood from the oak forest; although the earthen kiln was somewhat crude, craftsmanship and materials could make up for the equipment's shortcomings.