Chapter 27: The Symbolic Stone Tablet Within the Ruins

The Pokémon I have encountered are not particularly impressive in terms of nature or ability.

Honedge’s "Careful" nature is actually not very good, and there is no choice when it comes to abilities, as it only possesses one. Petilil is in a similar situation; while a "Stubborn" nature would be decent if she could evolve into the Hisuian form of Lilligant, she currently has no way to evolve, and her "Own Tempo" ability is far less effective than her primary ability, Chlorophyll.

I do not possess any "Mints" that can alter nature stats, and among all plantable items, Mints are notoriously difficult to obtain. They do not grow in the Kanto or Johto regions, meaning even a trip to a department store in a major city would not guarantee finding one. While the Battle Frontier does offer them as prizes in exchange for Battle Points, the cost-to-benefit ratio is too low for me, and I currently lack the strength to win matches at the Battle Frontier.

I vaguely recall that she should be able to learn Sunny Day and Encore, as well as Helping Hand and Pollen Puff. Back in the Unova region during the fifth generation, she could even learn Toxic. Both Toxic and Pollen Puff are effective moves for dealing with Grass-type Pokémon.

"If she could evolve into a Hisuian Lilligant, it would be much more convenient. Victory Dance, Triple Axel, and even Swords Dance or Close Combat; with Sunny Day, Weather Ball could also unleash Fire-type attacks."

"It would require a Sun Stone, and the evolution would have to occur within a Hisuian environment."

"Ancient texts mention that the lands of Hisui share similarities with the lands of Sinjoh. That is likely why Hisuian-form Pokémon appear in this forest."

After finishing my observation of Petilil, she became quite fatigued. I prepared some Pokémon food for her and began working on processing the ruin slabs. If Petilil helps with the gardening, I won’t have to worry too much about the planting.

I placed a piece of ruin stone on the workbench, and knowledge regarding the "Ancient Stone Carving Craft" gradually surfaced in my mind. The stone itself carried the baptism of time, imbued with an ancient, mysterious aura. Following the teachings of the craft and the relief styles of the Sinjoh Ruins etched in my memory, I began to cut and process the three stones.

Honedge drifted over, and Petilil curiously hopped onto the workbench to gaze at the ancient stones.

"Do you want to help, too? That’s perfect. Why don't you show Petilil your skills?"

I laughed, picked up a piece of ordinary stone, and used chalk to draw a grid on it. "Go ahead, cut it exactly as you intend... start with this ordinary stone to practice."

Honedge touched its hilt with its blue ribbon, its focus gradually sharpening.

"Yoo..."

That’s right, I must make our new companion realize what an amazing team we are!

Invisible threads of mental energy appeared under Honedge's gaze, marking the stone for even division. Honedge snapped out of its focused state, realizing that the sensation was exactly like using "Psycho Cut." The mental threads aligned with the chalk lines on the stone, and Honedge drew its blade!

Psycho Cut!

A physical manifestation of a blade of spirit, slicing through the opponent!

However, this time, Honedge did not swing the Psycho Cut outward. Instead, it maintained the concentrated energy of the move, using it to carve into the stone. The tip of the blade glided along the chalk marks with such precision that I couldn't help but praise it.

"Remarkable precision!"

There was almost no deviation; it followed the chalk lines perfectly. The stone fell apart into a pile of neat, square blocks. The power of the Psycho Cut had even penetrated deep into the stone, separating the unyielding rock and leaving behind perfectly smooth surfaces. In a sense, could this be considered... "Rock Smash"?

No, for processing purposes, this is far more useful than Rock Smash. Now I won't need a cutting machine to process large stones!

"Excellent work, Honedge!"

"Yoo!"

Honedge let out a sigh of relief. Although it lacks a mouth, its demeanor clearly relaxed. It was evident that while fully focused, its entire will had been concentrated on the task of cutting. Now that the tension had faded, it was suddenly struck by the weight of its own performance.

"It’s always like this the first time you process stone. You won't be afraid once you practice more; that’s the beauty of practice making perfect!"

I cheered and encouraged Honedge, and the lingering hesitation in its mind quickly dissipated. Its single eye locked onto the remaining four ruin stones.

Petilil, watching from the side, was already brimming with excitement! The three leaves on her head swayed back and forth.

"Wawa!"

Her cry made it clear how she felt. It was evident that Honedge's "brief demonstration" had given Petilil hope for becoming stronger!

"Pet-wawa!" Petilil asked Honedge curiously how it managed such precise cutting, and Honedge closed its eye, wearing an expression that said, "Pretty impressive, right?"

"Yoo! Yoop!"

That’s because I helped you with your work and learned a new move, "Psycho Cut," which is why I can cut these stones so accurately! If you work hard too, you’ll definitely be able to learn even more powerful moves!

"Pet!" Petilil curled her little skirt-like petals, pumping herself up!

That’s right, she would get stronger soon!

While the two Pokémon were communicating, I had already returned to my work with full concentration. I used three of the five ruin stones, carving different patterns into them. My mind was gradually guided by the craft knowledge toward the carving of "Symbolic Slabs."

My movements paused for a moment, and my expression shifted slightly, but I quickly regained my composure.

The content I was carving was related to Unown.

This was to be expected. "Unown are classified as Symbol Pokémon, and the slabs found in various ruins that record ancient writing are all written in the shapes of Unown. These 'Symbolic Slabs' are essentially small tablets that record the shapes of Unown and can be pieced together to form ancient words."

The carving process took a long time. To my delight, because the craft style was "Sinjoh Ruins," it had the effect of slightly enhancing the mental strength of both humans and Pokémon, dispelling accumulated fatigue. Even though I was working with intense focus, I felt increasingly relaxed, and the weariness in my mind and body began to dissipate.

I don't know how long I carved. The three stones weren't large, but carving the shapes of the Unown and the unique surrounding patterns required a significant amount of mental energy.

"The appearance looks a bit like the slabs from the Ruins of Alph... is this due to the influence of the ancient Johto people?"

Five hours had passed before I knew it. I ate some quick snacks and continued working. Honedge and Petilil watched intently. They also felt their mental states were at their peak—it was quite incredible—and they began to murmur to each other again.

"Finished. The Symbolic Slabs. Let's start the cutting..."

*Zzzzt!*

Following my call, Honedge stopped its whispering and applied Psycho Cut to the stone slabs. It was in excellent form, and every cut was incredibly precise. As for elegance, a stone carver doesn't worry about aesthetics; the work itself is the only way to define elegance!

The three ruin stones were not only cut on the surface but also divided into thin sheets in the middle. Since they were meant to be letters, a single set wouldn't suffice. By splitting the three stones almost entirely, we created at least five sets of character combinations, enough to spell out normal short sentences.

*Clatter...*

The cut slabs separated automatically, with proportional spacing between them. This miraculous sight kept me staring, unwilling to miss a single moment. At the same time, the form of these slabs brought a certain scene to the surface of my memory.

Right, this style is...

It incorporates the style of the Alph slabs and looks very much like the wooden tablets carried by Dr. Spencer Hale in the movie *Spell of the Unown*! Those were wooden, not stone, but in terms of style, they were somewhat similar to Sinjoh. Ancient ruin cultures from different regions had once blended, giving birth to various similar yet distinct Unown tablets. All of these tablets could essentially be called "Symbolic Slabs"!

I picked up a slab from the workbench. After cutting, it had become quite small—I could hold it easily between my thumb and forefinger. It was like a puzzle piece.

At the same time, various thoughts converged in my mind:

『A task has been completed, and you have obtained "Symbolic Slabs"!』

『Description: Symbolic characters created in ancient ruins based on Unown. When these characters are engraved on slabs, they become Symbolic Slabs. It is said that these characters can give birth to all things in the universe.』

『Craft Effect: Increases the creator's mental strength. Additionally, when characters are combined to form words, they create a special connection with the Pokémon the word represents, allowing the user to borrow that Pokémon's power. The slabs can also foresee special events related to certain Pokémon.』

『Knowledge Gained: 1』

『Ancient Inscriptions: This is knowledge and inscriptions from ancient times. Your understanding of all ruin-related knowledge increases by 25%.』

『Honedge helped you complete a craft, gaining experience and growth!』

『Learned move: Brick Break!』

『Honedge gained Knowledge: 1.』

『Precision Cutting: Can accurately cut stone/wood with minimal risk of error.』

"Yoo~?"

Honedge felt it had learned a new move and couldn't help but feel happy! It immediately hopped out and swung at the air!

An invisible aura surged from its blade!

"Hey! Don't damage the floor!"

My shout made Honedge quickly stop its downward strike. It squinted its eye in embarrassment and clutched its hilt with its blue ribbon.

"Yoo... Σ(⊙)!"

Got a little excited, just a little excited!

"Pet!" Petilil widened her little eyes. She had witnessed the entire process of Honedge becoming stronger—obtaining a new move through precise cutting work... that meant she could do it too!

She wanted to go out and tend to those herbs and crops right now!

Petilil acted on her thought, curling her little skirt at me to show she wanted to go out to the field immediately!

"Going now? It’s still raining outside..." I mentioned, but then I slapped my forehead. Petilil is a Grass-type; the rain is good for her.

Petilil explained that as a Grass-type Pokémon inseparable from the soil, she felt more comfortable in the fields than inside the house.

With that, she hopped off the workbench, bouncing happily as she opened the door and headed out!