Xia Hunnao initially thought the winding mountain path meant the Rhydon wouldn't run wild. He hadn't expected that the Rhydon's single-celled brain would be so unpredictable.
Bounced around on the Rhydon's back, Xia Hunnao repeatedly shouted for it to stop, which finally made the running Rhydon brake sharply.
The Rhydon stopped, but the person didn't...
Flying off the Rhydon, Xia Hunnao tumbled into a cave. It was pitch black inside, and if not for the lack of any fishy smell, Xia Hunnao might have thought he'd been swallowed by a gargantuan Pokémon.
He got up and looked around. Before he could find anything, he heard the Rhydon outside calling. The Rhydon was confused; where had this person gone again? He could still hear him just a moment ago.
Xia Hunnao turned his head and saw the Rhydon looking for him outside. He walked out of the cave, patting the Rhydon's horn, "Alright, alright, I'm here, I'm here."
Feeling the familiar touch of its horn, the Rhydon calmed down. It looked at Xia Hunnao with its eyes, seemingly wanting to know where he had gone.
Xia Hunnao pointed to the cave, "Niu Niu, I'm going into the cave next. Will you go back for now?"
Niu Niu nudged Xia Hunnao with its horn, indicating it wouldn't. So, Xia Hunnao took out a Poké Ball, "How about you come with me then?"
Looking at the red and white ball before it, the Rhydon's horn lightly touched the switch in the middle. With a flash of red light, the Rhydon entered the Poké Ball.
"Alright, Rhydon, gotcha!"
...
Having captured the Rhydon, Xia Hunnao looked at the cave. "System, what do you think about going in?"
The System turned its head away. "Am I in charge?"
"Isn't this just a preliminary show of democratic fairness? We have."
Xia Hunnao entered the cave. This cave was truly strange. Logically, when first entering a cave, one should be able to see some of the interior based on the sunlight outside. But it was so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. If Xia Hunnao hadn't been able to see the sun behind him, he would have suspected he had walked from the illuminated part of the cave into its dark zone.
He took out his flashlight and flicked the switch. "Whoa!"
As soon as he turned it on, Xia Hunnao was blinded. Good heavens, after being in the dark, this sudden flash felt like being hit by a flashbang. He squatted down with his eyes squeezed shut, and it took a while before he could open them. "Oh my, that was too bright. What's in the cave?"
Before Xia Hunnao could figure things out, he heard a voice from deep within the cave call out, "Who's there?"
Xia Hunnao froze. What was going on? Someone was in here? But there wasn't any light. Could it be a ghost!
Xia Hunnao boldly retorted, "Who are you?" But his feet consciously retreated, and he was about to exit the cave when a soft firelight flickered before him. Accompanying the gentle glow, Xia Hunnao saw a girl with pink hair appraising him.
Seeing it was a girl, Xia Hunnao relaxed a little. But he quickly realized something was off. A girl appearing in a place like this and startling him felt strange. Moreover, this girl was wearing athletic wear similar to his, which made her even more inscrutable to Xia Hunnao.
"Hello, my name is Hu Xiatian. What's yours?"
"Diamond."
Hearing the name, Xia Hunnao extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you."
The girl took Xia Hunnao's hand. Xia Hunnao felt it was cold, like touching a gem.
It's impolite to hold someone's hand for too long, so Xia Hunnao let go and asked, "Why are you here?"
Diamond countered, "I came to explore. And you? Why did you come to this place?"
"Me too. Want to go together?"
Diamond didn't refuse, and the two proceeded into the cave as partners. In the light of Diamond's fire, Xia Hunnao could finally see the surroundings clearly: the cave walls were covered with diamonds of all sizes. And their quality was high enough to drive anyone mad.
Xia Hunnao gasped at the glittering diamonds. "Hiss, did I just teleport from the Northern Spirit Demon Star to the Southern Spirit Demon Star with one step?"
Saying this, Xia Hunnao nodded with what he thought was great certainty. "Yes, it's possible. Diamond mines usually appear in the tropical climate zones of the central Spirit Demon Star, and the climate nearby is quite hot. But I entered the secret realm from Snow City, so why am I in the tropics?"
The more Xia Hunnao thought, the more something felt wrong, the more he couldn't figure it out. Seeing Xia Hunnao scratching his head, Diamond smiled, "If you can't figure it out, don't think about it. Why think so much? You came to explore anyway, didn't you?"
Xia Hunnao hugged Diamond tightly. "You've truly awakened me from my daze! Yes, why think so much? Let's get to work!"
Diamond looked at Xia Hunnao. "Get to work on what?"
"Of course, these diamonds! Don't you have any desire to act when you see these diamonds?"
Diamond shook her head. "No. Since you like them, you can mine these diamonds as much as you want."
Xia Hunnao scratched his head. "Mine? Mine what?"
"Diamonds, aren't you going to mine diamonds?"
Xia Hunnao took out his phone. "Mine what diamonds? It's thankless work. I only know that Pokémon captured in a secret realm are truly yours. I haven't heard of anything else. Besides, even if I could take them out, what use are diamonds? To inlay Poké Balls?"
Diamond was taken aback. "You're not planning to exchange these diamonds for money? They could fetch a lot of money."
Xia Hunnao shook his head. "No interest. Right now, I just want to take some pictures. These pictures will make her so envious when I show them to her."
Watching Xia Hunnao find various angles to take photos, Diamond smiled. "Need any help?"
Xia Hunnao looked at Diamond's smile and, without a second thought, took a picture of the beautiful girl too. Diamond's eyes blinked slightly from the flash. "Ah, what are you doing?"
Xia Hunnao quickly apologized. "Sorry! But you're just too cute, I couldn't help myself..."
Diamond shook her head. "Next time you do something like this, tell me first."
After taking more photos with Xia Hunnao, the two continued deeper into the cave. The further they went, the more magnificent the scenery became. Not only were there the crystal-clear diamonds they saw at first, but also gemstones emitting blue, pink, and other colored lights.
Xia Hunnao asked, "Are these all diamonds? They're so beautiful."
Diamond picked up a diamond from the ground. "Of course, they're all diamonds. Diamonds aren't just the clear ones you usually see; there are blue and pink ones too."
Xia Hunnao looked as if he understood, accompanying Diamond as they walked forward. He didn't know how deep the cave was, but Xia Hunnao followed Diamond for a long time without seeing the end of the cave. Forget the end, Xia Hunnao couldn't even tell which direction they were going.
Although the advantage of a cave with no forks is that you can't get lost, Xia Hunnao was getting confused by all the twists and turns. He didn't know how long they had been walking when Xia Hunnao suggested, "Diamond, can we rest for a bit? I'm exhausted."
Diamond stuck the torch into the ground. "Sure, let's rest for a while."
Xia Hunnao rubbed his sore legs. "Diamond, your stamina is amazing. I'm tired after walking for so long, and you don't seem bothered at all."
Diamond smiled. "Ah, that's because I exercise often and am used to walking, so I don't get tired."
Xia Hunnao dangled his feet. "Is that so? Then it looks like I need to exercise more in the future, or I'll even be outdone by a girl."
After resting for a while, the two decided to go deeper into the cave. As they ventured further, the sights they saw became increasingly strange and eerie.
Holes appeared on the cave walls. These holes were about the width of Xia Hunnao's shoulders. Xia Hunnao reached his hand in to feel around, but he couldn't touch anything, not even the bottom.
Xia Hunnao was tempted to crawl inside, but Diamond stopped him. "Alright, don't look anymore. What if you crawl in and can't get out?"
Xia Hunnao leaned in and measured. While he could just about squeeze in, if he got stuck as Diamond suggested, it would be quite awkward. He couldn't possibly ask Diamond, a girl, to pull him out like a carrot.
Giving up the idea of crawling in, Xia Hunnao asked, "What are these holes for? Are they for living in? That's quite possible, as there are many Pokémon under forty centimeters. For example, Pikachu is around forty centimeters."
Diamond interrupted Xia Hunnao's speculation. "It's also possible that previous Pokémon used them to store diamonds, given how many diamonds there are here."
Xia Hunnao nodded. That made some sense. Pokémon habits vary greatly; some Pokémon might like collecting shiny things. However, one puzzling point was that it was as dark as pitch inside. It was a wonder they could see at all.
The two continued forward. The caves ahead became larger and larger. Xia Hunnao even saw a hole that reached his waist.
Xia Hunnao looked at the smooth cave wall and blinked. "I'm sure this wasn't for storing diamonds. Such a large opening couldn't hide anything, so it must be for Pokémon to live in."
Diamond shook her head. "I don't think so. Pokémon don't obsess over their living environment. For most Pokémon, just having a place to live is enough."
Xia Hunnao stared at the hole, not lifting his head. "Yes, you're absolutely right. Generally, Pokémon don't care about where they live. However, if this Pokémon has considerable intelligence and a high status, it would be different. Right, Your Highness?"