Cynthia was genuinely curious. What kind of treasure could possibly catch her disciplined partner's attention so completely?
Together with Alex, Victini, and Gold Bar, they gathered every single fragment of the shattered boulder into a neat pile.
Cynthia picked up the chunks one by one, holding each piece out in front of Lucario to gauge its reaction.
First piece—a dull, gray volcanic rock. Lucario didn't even blink. Cynthia tossed it aside.
Second piece—a jagged bit of iron ore with reddish streaks. Still no reaction. Discarded.
Third piece—a cluster of quartz coated in dark soot. Lucario remained completely still.
Finally, on the fourth attempt, Cynthia lifted a thick, fist-sized chunk of rough mineral. As soon as she wiped away the dark crust, a vibrant, deep blue crystal was revealed beneath.
Lucario's eyes instantly snapped wide open, stepping forward with clear excitement.
"This is the one," Cynthia murmured, handing the blue crystal over.
Alex, Victini, Gold Bar, and Cynthia all crowded in close, eager to see what kind of hidden treasure was locked inside.
Lucario took the crystal into its paws. The moment its pads made contact, a soft, pulsating light glowed from deep within its center.
The crystal didn't break or melt; instead, the radiant glow illuminated the inner core of the translucent gem. Right in the heart of the blue stone, nestled perfectly like a preserved relic, a distinct spherical stone came into sharp focus. Inside that smooth sphere swirled a vivid, twisting pattern of bright orange and deep blue, shaped unmistakably like a double helix strand of DNA.
The soft light flared gently for a brief second before settling, leaving the crystal intact with the mysterious spherical gem clearly visible through the glass-like facets.
Cynthia leaned in, staring at the double helix with pure amazement. "I've explored dozens of ruins across the world, but I've never seen anything with a pattern like this embedded inside a crystal. It's completely unique."
Alex looked at the glowing DNA helix, his face an effortless picture of wide-eyed childhood wonder.
Internally, however, he was laughing.
He already had a Key Stone and a few Mega Stones stashed away in his private collection at home. He recognized this right away—it was an authentic Lucarionite, preserved directly inside its raw crystalline matrix. No wonder Cynthia's Lucario had been practically drawn to it by a magnet.
His acting was completely Oscar-worthy. Not a single flicker in his eyes gave away that he knew every nuance of Mega Evolution.
Tipping his head to the side, Alex adopted a curious, thoughtful expression.
"The ribbon inside looks really ancient, Aunt Cynthia," Alex spoke up, tapping his chin like a smart kid putting pieces together. "Since it came from ruins this old, maybe we should show it to Grandma? She's spent her whole life deciphering pre-ancient artifacts and Sinnoh myths. If anyone knows what kind of energy is sealed in that stone, she definitely will."
Cynthia's eyes lit up as she nodded in full agreement. "You're right. Grandma has thousands of reference texts back at the historical archives. She might have run across a record of this exact pattern."
She carefully tucked the crystal into an insulated pouch inside her coat, then clapped her hands together with a sudden sense of urgency.
"Alright, that's enough treasure hunting! Pack everything up right now! If we're even ten minutes late, your mother won't just yell at us—she'll fly into a complete rage and hunt us down by helicopter!"
Alex violently nodded. "Pack! Pack fast!"
The Pokémon sprang into action immediately. With the help of Cynthia's Togekiss and Milotic, every single Moltres feather, high-grade Fire Stone, Sun Stone, and scrap of volcanic ore was swiftly stuffed into the heavy-duty storage bags they had brought along.
Securing everything onto Garchomp and Togekiss, they took to the skies once more, leaving the smoldering crater behind.
After a long half-day of nonstop travel across sea routes and transport lines, they finally arrived at the city terminal.
The moment Alex stepped off the boarding ramp, a whirlwind of familiar perfume swept over him.
Before his feet could even touch the pavement, a pair of slender, trembling arms swooped in, scooping his small body straight into the air.
"ALEX!!"
Elara pulled him tightly against her chest, swinging him around in the air before showering his cheeks, forehead, and hair with frantic, breathless kisses.
Tears spilled freely down his mother's face as the overwhelming terror of the past few days finally melted away. "My baby... my poor baby! Arceus, you're really back! Are you hurt anywhere? Did you eat? Look at you, you're covered in dust!"
It took several minutes of gentle pats, hugs, and endless reassurances for Alex to finally calm her down. Looking around, he realized his mother had rushed to the terminal completely alone to pick them up, unable to wait another second at the research institute.
Once her tears slowed, Elara set Alex down safely, straightened her posture, and turned her gaze toward Cynthia.
Her eyes narrowed, and her tone turned deadly serious: "Cynthia."
The Sinnoh Champion, who had just defeated a Legendary bird an hour ago, instinctively shrank back half an inch.
"I forgive you," Elara said, her voice stern but carrying a faint tremor of relief. "Only because you brought my baby boy back to me completely safe and sound."
Cynthia let out a huge sigh of relief, offering an apologetic, awkward smile. She accepted the scolding without a single complaint, knowing full well she had let her guard down regarding her nephew's flight.
"Alright, let's head home," Cynthia said quickly, trying to change the subject. "I'll drive."
A sly, triumphant grin suddenly spread across Elara's lips. "Oh, you definitely should drive, sister. After all... Grandma is waiting in the living room for you."
Cynthia's face instantly dropped, turning as pale as a sheet as she got behind the wheel.
During the drive toward the research center, the tense atmosphere quickly broke down as Alex began animatedly recounting the entire adventure.
He told his mother everything—the sudden plane explosion, falling through the sky, using the Premier Ball to snatch Gold Bar right out of the volcano, Cynthia's epic showdown with Moltres, and the strange crystal with the glowing spherical stone Lucario had uncovered from the rubble.
Elara listened with her mouth slightly agape, completely speechless.
Catching two Legendary Pokémon and raiding an ancient crater in the span of forty-eight hours?!
"You caught a Shiny Latias and a Moltres?!" Elara gasped, her eyes shining with pure excitement as she glanced back from the passenger seat. "You have to show me the moment we get inside!"
"Deal! We'll show you immediately!" Alex and Cynthia answered in unison, nodding rapidly just to keep her cheerful.
Soon, the car pulled up to the grand gates of the family research center.
As they walked into the main lobby, Alex immediately spotted two familiar figures standing in the center of the spacious hall.
Leaving his bags behind, Alex sprinted across the polished floor toward the older woman with silver hair.
"Grandma!"
It was none other than Professor Carolina, his great-grandmother and the head of the Celestic Town historical society.
"Oh, my little darling!" Professor Carolina beamed, sweeping Alex into a warm, doting hug. She thoroughly pinched his cheeks, inspected his hands, and fussed over every inch of his jacket, pampering her beloved great-grandson just as she always did. Alex simply leaned into the hug with a bright, happy smile.
A few steps away stood Alex's father, Draven.
Draven was frozen in place like a rigid stone statue, completely terrified of his imposing grandmother-in-law. He barely dared to breathe, knowing that even shifting his foot might draw her sharp eyes onto him.
Having finished pampering her precious great-grandson, Professor Carolina slowly turned around.
Her warm, grandmotherly smile vanished in an instant, replaced by a terrifying, sharp glare as her eyes locked dead-center onto her Champion granddaughter.
"Cynthia," Carolina's voice boomed across the marble hall. "Explain yourself! How could you let a four-year-old child take a commercial flight into an uncharted maritime zone without an escort?! Do you think being a Champion exempts you from basic common sense?!"
Cynthia looked like a scolded schoolgirl, instantly dropping her head and bracing herself for the storm.
Seeing the legendary matriarch's full fury directed squarely at Cynthia, Draven finally saw his window.
He quickly shot Alex an assured, conspiratorial wink—giving him a silent "glad you're safe, kiddo" look—before coughing politely into his fist.
"Ahem! Grandmother, honey... since Alex is safe, I just remembered I have an urgent batch of fossil sequencing data waiting in Sub-Level 3! Critical research, can't be delayed!"
Without waiting for anyone to respond, Draven turned on his heel and made a world-class sprint toward the laboratory elevator, vanishing from the blast zone in record time.