"With this, I also obtained Slowbro's Mega Stone."
At the embassy, Ethan held a pink and beige-colored gem in his hand, observing it again and again.
"Does this stone have any use?"
In front of Ethan, sitting in a chair, Ambassador Roland asked with great curiosity.
"For now, I also don't know what it's used for. But... this stone is very beautiful, isn't it?"
Ethan put Slowbro's Mega Stone into his backpack.
Clack, clack, clack.
When the Mega Stone fell inside, a series of collisions between stones could be heard.
At that moment, inside that backpack, there were clearly more than ten Mega Stones.
And besides those Mega Stones, there were also many other stones of various types, occupying a large part of the storage space of the spatial backpack.
"Is it only beautiful?"
Hearing Ethan's words, Ambassador Roland was stunned.
This time, after capturing that member of the Dark League, Ethan directly handed him over to the Tavaria League through the embassy.
This backpack full of resources was the reward the Tavaria League had given Ethan!
And Ethan's request was also very strange: he wanted all kinds of stones.
Besides various evolutionary stones, those strange stones were something Ethan had specifically requested.
However, at that time, Ethan clearly could have obtained many other better resources, but he gave them up in that way.
"Yes, it's only beautiful. I'm a fanatical stone lover."
Ethan burst into laughter and, at the same time, took out a membership card. On the card were written the words: Stone Lovers Guild.
That's right. That membership card was precisely the one given to him by the stone lover who sold stones in the free trade zone.
From his tone, he must have even been one of the administrators of that Stone Lovers Guild.
Now, Ethan directly used his identity as a stone lover to begin gathering all kinds of stones from the Tavaria League on a large scale.
And the Mega Stones, which were not yet known by people, were naturally his main target.
"Stone lover."
Ambassador Roland shook his head.
This time, the Tavaria League had exchanged only those stones for a member of the Dark League.
Afterward, the Tavaria League could follow the trail of that Dark League member to find a Dark League base.
In that aspect, it could truly be said that the Tavaria League had obtained an enormous gain.
"This time, thank you very much for intervening, Ambassador Roland. Now I must return to the Daleron League. If one day you return, you are welcome to visit Solaria Town."
After checking the reward sent by the Tavaria League, Ethan stood up to say goodbye.
"Yes, I will. I also look forward very much to your performance in the World Championship."
Ambassador Roland extended his hand and shook Ethan's with a smile.
At the same time, when looking at Ethan, his gaze also held some emotion.
With Ethan's current age and strength, it would not be long before his name resounded throughout the world.
...
After leaving the embassy, Ethan returned directly to the Daleron League through Dragon Valley.
The first thing he did upon returning was head to the headquarters of the Pokémon Researchers Guild.
Currently, after Ethan proposed the relationship between Ultra Beasts, Sparkling Stones, and the Totem aura, the research on the Totem aura had finally achieved a decisive breakthrough.
During that process, Sandslash also obtained enormous benefits. Its Totem aura became more and more powerful.
"Is this also an Ultra Beast?"
President Beckett looked at the Guzzlord in front of him, firmly suppressed by Melmetal, and a sharp light appeared in his eyes.
In the previous research, the results of the study of Naganadel had effectively proven that Ethan's supposition was correct.
But with only one Ultra Beast, the research still seemed somewhat incomplete.
Now that he saw Ethan bring another Ultra Beast, President Beckett also became excited.
Through the study and comparison of two Ultra Beasts, they could discover many more secrets about them.
"President, seeing the value of this Ultra Beast, do you think it can offset the loan I asked for before?" Ethan said with a smile.
The previous loan was not a small figure. This time, it had also allowed him to obtain an enormous amount of resources.
"It counts, of course it counts. If you manage to find more Ultra Beasts, I can even approve another loan for you."
President Beckett immediately accepted. In comparison, it was still the Pokémon Researchers Guild that came out gaining.
Afterward, both conversed about Totem Pokémon, Ultra Beasts, and Sparkling Stones, further clarifying the next direction of the research on the Totem aura.
At the same time, Ethan also assigned the next training plans to Sandslash and Kommo-o, who had stayed at the headquarters of the Pokémon Researchers Guild cooperating with the research.
...
"Was the application for Champion's Road finally approved?"
That day, Ethan received news from Ironvale City Pokémon University.
When he graduated, Ironvale City Pokémon University had applied for him an opportunity to enter Champion's Road.
So much time had passed that he himself had almost forgotten it.
Champion's Road, rather than a road, could be said to be a tower.
In addition, Champion's Road had another name: Tower of Illusions.
After a Trainer entered it, they would be brought into an illusion.
According to the number of floors of the Tower of Illusions, on each floor, an opponent of the corresponding level would appear.
From professional-level Trainers, to Quasi-Elite-level Trainers, then Elite-level Trainers and even Champion-level Trainers, all existed within the illusion.
As long as one could successfully reach the top of the Tower of Illusions, that represented that they already possessed Champion-level strength.
For that reason, the Tower of Illusions was called Champion's Road. At the end of that road was the Champion!
In addition, it was worth mentioning that when entering Champion's Road, one could only bring six Pokémon. And once the challenge began, one could only move forward. After failing the challenge or leaving Champion's Road, one had to start from the beginning.
This, to a certain extent, also tested the Trainer's team configuration. Pokémon with recovery capabilities, for example, could be considered almost a standard piece within the team.
"Champion's Road. But... there's no need to rush. I'll wait until six of my Pokémon reach the Elite level before going to challenge it."
Ethan recalled the challenge rules of Champion's Road and reflected silently.
After all, according to the rules, each challenge of Champion's Road required paying a certain amount of League contribution points.
In addition, during a period of half a year, there was only one challenge opportunity. Therefore, it was best not to waste that valuable opportunity.
It was also worth mentioning that the number of floors reached in Champion's Road could be converted into challenge points for the Elite Tournament.
If one managed to reach the Elite level within Champion's Road, they could also obtain the qualification to challenge an Elite.
As long as they succeeded in the final challenge against an Elite, they could also rise to League Elite.
In the same way, if one managed to walk Champion's Road to the end, they could also challenge the position of League Champion.
In addition, Ethan obtained a piece of information through some materials from the Pokémon Researchers Guild: the shadows of Champion's Road were based on models of real Trainers.
That is to say, when challenging an Elite, the opponent you faced was the illusory shadow of one of the Elites of past generations of the League.
Therefore, after understanding the challenge rules of Champion's Road, an idea arose in Ethan's heart.
That idea was to directly enter the Elite level in his first challenge of Champion's Road, defeat one of the Elite shadows, and directly obtain the qualification to challenge an Elite, thus avoiding the complicated schedule of the Elite Tournament!
(End of chapter)