Whether it was an ordinary stone, a Mega Stone, or even a Key Stone, in essence, they were all a kind of mineral.
That was why Miner Ash in the group could naturally sense both Mega Stones and Key Stones.
As for Steven Stone, Hoenn's Champion, whether or not he possessed the ability to sense such ores, his position alone meant he had access to a vast collection of minerals.
So, it wasn't impossible that Steven already had a few Mega Stones among his specimens.
Although it felt a little unfair to Steven, Ash still wanted to see if he could get his hands on a few stones from him before the public discovery of Mega Evolution.
He entrusted this matter to Professor Oak.
After arranging the exchange of Aerodactyl and Pidgeot, Ash ended the call, returned to his room at the Pokémon Center, woke up Misty and Brock, and after breakfast, they continued their journey.
Seven days later.
Ash and his friends were already near the pier that led to Cinnabar Island.
During this time, the three had been tirelessly searching for information about the Mysterious Garden.
Unfortunately, neither Professor Oak nor any Trainers they met along the way knew anything concrete about it.
Just when Ash was about to give up, they stopped by a roadside Pokémon Center. There, Nurse Joy immediately brought up a grand annual event that took place near Route 118.
"Every year around this time," Nurse Joy explained, "a garden quietly blooms. Because it appears intermittently and its exact location is unknown, we only learn of it through Pokémon like Bulbasaur. That's why we call it the Mysterious Garden."
"No one knows where it truly is, or what exactly happens inside."
"What's certain is that this garden blooms exclusively for the Bulbasaur line.
Every Bulbasaur that visits it evolves into Ivysaur, and sometimes, their overall potential even improves!"
"So every year, many Trainers bring their Bulbasaur here, waiting for the Mysterious Garden to bloom."
Hearing her explanation, Ash couldn't hide his astonishment.
He wasn't shocked by the story's wonder, but by how suddenly the Mysterious Garden had appeared in front of him, almost as if fate itself had arranged it.
He had been traveling for nearly a month since leaving Fuchsia City, searching everywhere without a single clue.
And now, completely by coincidence, someone had just told him exactly what he'd been chasing for weeks.
It was almost unbelievable. As the saying went, "when the road ends, a new village appears."
What he couldn't find no matter how hard he searched had appeared right before him as if guided by destiny.
Even though they still didn't know the garden's exact location, Nurse Joy's words were clear enough.
If they simply released Bulbasaur and waited here long enough, the Mysterious Garden would eventually reveal itself.
"No wonder there are so many Trainers around," Misty remarked, glancing at the packed Pokémon Center.
"They're all waiting for the garden to appear."
Indeed, the place was overflowing with people. And many were casting curious looks at the trio, because all three of them were wearing masks.
Anyone who wasn't already familiar with them wouldn't be able to recognize who they were at first glance.
But even so, their presence drew whispers. Some Trainers sitting nearby began to murmur among themselves, wondering if this masked boy could be that rising star, Ash from Pallet Town, the rookie Trainer who'd recently taken the Pokémon world by storm.
Still, since no one could be completely sure, they only watched from a distance.
After all, it'd be embarrassing to approach the wrong person.
And even if it was him, what then? At most, they'd ask for a battle, a photo, or maybe an autograph.
Ash's earlier fame had been overwhelming mostly because people wanted to know how he trained his Pokémon.
Defeating an Champion-level opponent had shocked the world, but seasoned Trainers knew it wasn't raw strength alone.
It was clear his Pokémon's power had been boosted by some unknown method.
So, while many admired his results, even more people coveted his methods.
After all, even without those temporary boosts, Ash's Pokémon were all sitting comfortably at the higher level.
To have raised them to that point in just two months, unprecedented in living memory, was beyond extraordinary.
It was, frankly, monstrous.
Thus, Ash's training techniques had become the hottest topic across regions.
But after Ash publicly stated that he would not disclose his methods, and that the temporary power-boosting technique was non-replicable, the frenzy eventually died down.
Recently, some people who recognized Ash despite his mask only wanted to battle him to gain some experience, or ask for an autograph or a photo.
Presumably, after a while, Ash and his friends would be able to take off their masks and move around normally again.
"It seems the Mysterious Garden is pretty famous around here," Brock said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We asked so many people before, and no one knew anything. That must mean everyone who knows about it has already come here early to wait for it to open."
It made sense. A place this well-known shouldn't have been unknown to so many Trainers. The only logical explanation was that the ones in the know had already gathered ahead of time, so, naturally, the group couldn't get any information earlier.
"Anyway," Ash said, "let's stay here for a while. I'll release Bulbasaur and have him keep sensing for it. When the Mysterious Garden calls him, we'll know."
According to Nurse Joy, the Garden would summon nearby Bulbasaurs or Ivysaurs within a week at most.
The only problem was that the Pokémon Center was completely full, leaving them no choice but to camp outside. At least they could still use the Center's restroom to wash up.
But for three people used to roughing it under the open sky, this was hardly a hardship.
After pitching their tent, Misty and Brock finally asked the question that had been nagging them.
"Hey, Ash, how did you even hear about the Mysterious Garden?"
"And you only knew the name, right? If you'd known the details, we wouldn't have been wandering around asking people all month," Brock added.
Ash, unfazed, brought out his ultimate excuse: Professor Oak.
"Don't ask me, Professor Oak told me about it," Ash said with a straight face.
According to him, Professor Oak had once mentioned a place called the Mysterious Garden, a site that supposedly contained power capable of granting Bulbasaur a perfect evolution. The Professor had only heard rumors, didn't know the exact location, and only knew it was somewhere in Kanto.
That was reason enough for Ash to set out on a full-scale search.
And, as always, invoking the name of Professor Oak worked like a charm.
The moment Ash mentioned the Professor, Misty and Brock stopped questioning him entirely. It suddenly all felt perfectly reasonable.
That evening, after washing up, the three crawled into their tent. Ash had already released Bulbasaur, telling him to stay alert and wake him if he felt any special call or signal.
No one knew exactly when the Mysterious Garden would open, it could be days away. So Ash and his friends prepared for a long, patient wait.
But fate had other plans.
In the middle of the night, while the trio were fast asleep in their sleeping bags, the Bulbasaur lying outside suddenly snapped awake.
"Bulba! Bulba Bulba!!"
Bulbasaur lashed out a Vine Whip, poking at the tent flap and tugging Ash urgently.
"Wha...Bulbasaur?" Ash mumbled groggily, sitting up.
"Bulba!"
"You found something?"
"Bulba!"
Ash grinned, instantly wide awake. "Heh, guess it's better to be lucky than early. Looks like it's tonight!"
By now, Ash was used to his unbelievable good fortune. There was a reason everyone in the group half-jokingly called him 'the King of Luck.'
Whether it was rare draws, chance encounters, or unexpected miracles, his luck always bordered on absurd.
And once again, the timing was perfect: the Mysterious Garden had chosen to appear the very night they arrived.
The three hurriedly packed up their gear, collapsing the tent and stowing their bags, ready to follow Bulbasaur's lead.
As they stepped out into the night, they immediately noticed something strange, the surrounding plants had changed.
The small saplings that had only been waist-high before were now towering trees with trunks as thick as a person's arms.
The faint trail that had once been barely visible was now completely swallowed by the rampant overgrowth of the surrounding forest.
Led by Bulbasaur, Ash and his friends stepped into the jungle.
After countless twists and turns, Misty and Brock were nearly dizzy.Every direction looked the same, every tree familiar; no matter where they walked, it felt as if they were retracing their own steps, like being trapped in a living maze.
No wonder the Mysterious Garden had remained undiscovered for so many years. Even though it was widely known to be somewhere in this area, not a single person had ever truly found it.
With these winding paths and disorienting scenery, even following one's own Pokémon could easily lead to getting lost.
The only reason they could still keep up with Bulbasaur now was because Ash had locked onto him using Aura, ensuring they wouldn't lose sight of him no matter what.
At first, it seemed manageable. But after a while, both Misty and Brock began to feel… heavy.
Their eyelids drooped. Their footsteps slowed. It was as if something unseen was pulling their minds down into a gentle, irresistible slumber.
"Misty! Brock! Wake up!"
Ash's sharp cry sliced through the still night air, jolting them awake.The two blinked in confusion, looking around blankly before glancing at each other, then, after several seconds, finally remembered who they were and where they were.
Misty's face paled. "What… what was that? I could've sworn I just fell asleep standing up! Even if it's the middle of the night, I shouldn't be that tired!"
Brock frowned, scanning the dense foliage. "These plants… they're not just growing wildly. They're releasing some kind of fragrance, something that slowly lulls you to sleep."
Ash nodded grimly. "Brock's right. It's like a natural Sleep Powder, a hypnotic pollen that seeps into your lungs. Once inhaled, you fall into a deep trance. Even the loudest noise won't wake you, you'd only come to when the effect fades."
That explained everything.
The Mysterious Garden hadn't remained hidden just because of dense trees and maze-like terrain, this hypnotic pollen was its true guardian.
If reaching it were as simple as following one's Bulbasaur, it would've been discovered centuries ago.
In truth, the Mysterious Garden existed only as a name. No one, human or Pokémon, had ever seen its true form.
If Ash hadn't noticed the growing drowsiness in time, he, Misty, and Brock would have fallen victim to the same enchantment, never reaching the real garden.
Bulbasaur might still have been able to find his way there, perhaps even receive Xerneas's blessing on his own, but doing so without Ash's guidance would've been extremely dangerous.
After making sure Misty and Brock were fully awake, Ash led them onward. But soon, he noticed something even more unsettling, Bulbasaur himself was beginning to stumble.
That shouldn't have been possible.
As a Grass- and Poison-type, Bulbasaur should have been completely immune to powder-based moves.
Yet this was no ordinary powder. The hypnotic energy here was far stronger than any standard status effect.
Bulbasaur's steps grew sluggish, his gaze unfocused, his consciousness slowly fading, walking on as if in a dream.
Seeing this, a chill ran down Ash's spine.
Even his was powerless against this influence. The Mysterious Garden truly lived up to its reputation, mysterious and foreboding.
Then again, this was a place tied to Xerneas, the God of Life itself.If entry were easy, that would be the true abnormality.
"Even Bulbasaur's been hypnotized," Ash muttered. "But look, he's still walking forward on instinct. The hypnosis must affect humans and Pokémon differently."
Brock nodded. "Right. Hypnotizing even the Pokémon who come here… it's the perfect way to keep intruders out. No wonder this place has stayed hidden all this time."
Ash agreed silently. The security measures here were beyond excessive.
If not for his unique sensitivity and Aura control, the real Mysterious Garden might have remained unseen for centuries more.
But he wasn't here to expose its existence to the world.
His goal was simple, to let Bulbasaur receive a fragment of Xerneas's power.
The Garden's existence was not something to be publicized.
Even if the League tried to protect it, once exposed, people with greed in their hearts would inevitably come.
It was better this way, for the Mysterious Garden to stay hidden forever.
...
Stones PLzzz
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