The primary function of the Fire Spar is to increase the potency of fire-element energy, making fire-type moves more powerful and their temperatures more extreme.
Additionally, it can enhance the aptitude of a Pokémon. Any Pokémon below cyan aptitude will directly ascend to cyan aptitude after consuming the Fire Spar.
Fire-type Pokémon can fully maximize the benefits of the Fire Spar, while Pokémon of other types can only enhance the power of their fire-type moves.
The Fire Spar is unquestionably one of the top three fire-element treasures in existence.
Ashborn hadn't expected to find such a valuable crystal hidden within the magma. Although he didn't have a fire-type Pokémon at the moment, he knew that eventually, he would.
This treasure alone made it worth capturing a fire-type Pokémon in the future. It was unfortunate that none of the Magmortars had the innate potential that his Steelix did—none of them had a blue aptitude.
After storing the Fire Spar in his system space, Ashborn noticed the Dowsing Machine still indicated there were more valuable items below the magma.
The red dot of the Fire Spar had previously obscured this information.
"There's more down there," Ashborn said, "Keep digging."
Magmortar was about to mention the Magmarizer it had already given Ashborn, but hearing Ashborn's command, it reluctantly jumped back into the lava with the Dowsing Machine in hand.
Despite the resentment in its eyes, Magmortar knew it had no choice but to obey.
This time, Magmortar resurfaced after only ten minutes, holding a massive stone weighing dozens of pounds.
It threw the stone next to Ashborn, which radiated intense heat and was a deep, dark red.
"Fire Ore," Ashborn mused, smiling. "Aron will be blessed."
Magmortar, however, wasn't amused. Ashborn, aware of its displeasure, added, "Don't try to fool me. There's more ore down there.
Have your subordinates help. Once you've brought up all the fire ore, I'll give you this."
He pulled out a box of high-grade fire energy cubes, popping one into Magmortar's hand. The alluring scent captured Magmortar's attention immediately.
After a moment, it barked orders to its clan. The Magmars joined their leader, jumping into the lava and becoming miners for Ashborn.
Fire Ore is a rare and valuable resource, from which many Fire Stones are extracted.
Though useful to the Magmortar family, the magma itself was of far greater importance, which explained why Magmortar hadn't objected to Ashborn mining the ore.
The magma below was rich with Fire Ore, and every time a Magmar resurfaced, it carried a piece weighing dozens, sometimes hundreds, of kilograms.
To incentivize them, Ashborn rewarded each Magmar that brought up ore with a primary fire energy cube.
For these Pokémon, who had never tasted energy cubes before, the experience was divine.
Not only did the cubes taste delicious, but they also rapidly restored their strength, making them eager to continue working.
The excavation continued until nightfall, with nearly seventy or eighty tons of Fire Ore gathered by the time the work ceased.
The Dowsing Machine finally indicated there were no more treasures to be found in the magma.
As per their agreement, Ashborn handed over the advanced fire energy blocks and the Magmarizer to Magmortar.
Magmortar then called out to one of its subordinates—a scarred, sturdy Magmar.
The Magmar approached its leader, its eyes filled with longing as it stared at the Magmarizer. It knew instinctively how important the item was.
The other Magmars looked on enviously, but none dared to speak up under the leader's authority.
Magmortar seemed uncertain about how to use the Magmarizer until Ashborn said, "Just place it on Magmar."
With a flash of white light, Magmar evolved into a powerful Magmortar.
"Good luck," Ashborn smiled, watching the newly evolved Magmortar. Its aptitude had shifted from green to cyan during the evolution, which was a significant transformation.
This Magmar had accumulated enough strength, and with a little luck, its evolution had pushed it to new heights.
A shift from green to cyan was a fundamental transformation, almost at the level of a lifeform evolution.
With this change, the new Magmortar had the potential to become an Elite-level fire-type Pokémon in the future.
However, despite its newfound power, Ashborn had no interest in capturing it. This Magmortar was destined to take over as the leader of the Magmortar clan once its father retired.
Moreover, as the clan grew older, they would face increasing pressure from the Magcargo clan, who could either chase them away or kill them.
Ashborn preferred raising Pokémon from a young age, ensuring a deep bond and unlocking their full potential. Steelix was a perfect example—its growth relied heavily on Ashborn's guidance.
The newly evolved Magmortar roared, feeling the surge of power coursing through its body.
It released a stream of flames into the sky, and the other Magmars, including the elder Magmortar, followed suit.
For a brief moment, the sky above the volcano turned crimson, filled with the fiery celebration of the Magmortar clan.
Once the celebration ended, both the elder Magmortar and the newly evolved Magmortar approached Ashborn, their expressions filled with gratitude.
"Don't thank me," Ashborn said, shaking his head. "This was what you deserved."
In reality, Ashborn had given them very little—a box of advanced fire energy cubes, a Magmarizer, and a few basic energy cubes. In exchange, he had obtained one of the most valuable fire-type treasures, the Fire Spar, and over seventy tons of Fire Ore.
The value of what he had received far outweighed the cost.
The Magmortar clan had no idea what kind of treasure they had lost, but they looked at Ashborn with gratitude nonetheless.
Their sincere expressions made Ashborn feel slightly guilty.
"As long as employees work hard enough, the boss will always upgrade to a bigger house,"
Ashborn thought to himself, grinning. He was, after all, a cunning boss who had managed to extract the best of both worlds.
Bidding farewell to the Magmortar clan, Ashborn was ready to leave the volcanic area.
Normally, he would set up camp for the night, but with temperatures reaching as high as 50 degrees Celsius in this volcanic region, sleep was impossible.
"Let's head back to the Rock area," Ashborn said, climbing onto Metagross.
There was a treasure in the Rock area he hadn't been able to obtain earlier because someone else had arrived first.
Now, it was time to see if that treasure was still there—and if not, it would soon belong to him.
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Adios