The Horned Desert King displayed what was, for a Pokémon like him, an expression of satisfaction after hearing Alex's response, though it was naturally very difficult for a human to recognize such subtle emotional changes on a Flygon's face.

He then briefly glanced toward the human skulls lying among the pile of collected items before calmly saying, "Although you may not believe me, the truth is that I actually find humans very interesting creatures and do not harbor any particularly negative feelings toward them."

Alex immediately showed a slightly bewildered expression after hearing those words.

The existence of several human skulls within the Flygon's collection made that statement sound extremely contradictory. Even so, Alex still believed that the mutated Flygon was not lying to him.

At the very least, the Flygon himself probably genuinely believed his own words.

The Horned Desert King slowly continued his explanation. "Humans possess emotions toward death that are often far stronger than those of Pokémon, Although we Pokémon also possess survival instincts, those instincts are usually much weaker and simpler compared to the emotions humans display when facing death."

His cold eyes slowly moved toward one of the skulls as he continued speaking. "The fear, despair, hatred, regret, and desperation humans reveal in those final moments are truly fascinating and magnificent emotions. They are simply incomparable to anything most Pokémon display."

Alex immediately understood what kind of individual this Flygon truly was after hearing those words.

In his mind, he instantly classified the mutated Flygon as a completely deranged and crazy Pokemon.

Although it was certainly true that not every Pokémon granted its prey a quick or painless death, genuinely sadistic Pokémon were still extremely rare.

Even among species that humans considered infamous for sadistic behavior—such as Gourgeist, Malamar, Drifloon, and several others—only a small minority of individuals in these Pokemon species actually possessed personalities twisted enough to intentionally enjoy the suffering of others.

Unfortunately, the actions of those abnormal individuals often damaged the reputation of the entire species.

Regardless of the species involved, Pokémon like that could only be described as insane.

Alex himself felt no particular sympathy toward most strangers, whether human or Pokémon, but there was still a massive difference between indifference and actively enjoying another creature's terror and suffering.

After hearing those strangely honest words, Alex remained silent for a few moments before softly replying, "I may not truly understand this fascination of yours, but I'll also be completely honest with you."

He then calmly continued, "As long as you never direct that kind of interest toward my Pokémon—or toward certain humans who are important to me—then your personal hobbies and interests do not particularly bother me."

The Horned Desert King had clearly expected a very different reaction from the human standing before him.

Instead of disgust, anger, fear, or self-righteous outrage, the human had merely drawn a line that protected those close to him while otherwise remaining completely indifferent.

That reaction genuinely surprised the mutated Flygon.

At the same time, he found himself becoming even more impressed by just how different humans could be from one another.

Although Alex himself remained completely unaware of it, the Horned Desert King had already mentally categorized him as an "abnormal human."

The female Flygon quietly looked back and forth between Alex and her mate for several moments.

For a brief instant, she honestly could not decide which of the two was the stranger individual.

Alex quickly stopped dwelling on the uncomfortable subject and instead shifted his focus toward the massive pile of collected items spread across the rocky ground.

He slowly began sorting through the collection while estimating the value of each object he found useful.

All of his Pokémon quietly watched him work while remaining alert to their surroundings.

The process took quite a while because the pile contained countless strange objects gathered over many years.

Eventually, however, Alex separated all the valuable items into a single pile positioned in front of him.

Among the selected items were numerous gemstones whose exact values he could not determine immediately, four fossils—which appeared to resemble Claw Fossils and Root Fossils, though Alex could not be completely certain without proper examination—and several Evolution Stones.

Unfortunately, most of those Evolution Stones turned out to be low Sun Stones.

Although the overall haul might not sound particularly impressive at first glance, Alex knew that each of those objects possessed considerable value. Or at least, he strongly hoped that was the case.

As for the remaining items scattered throughout the collection, most of them were little more than worthless junk from his perspective, so he decided not to waste space taking them with him.

After organizing everything, Alex turned toward the Horned Desert King and spoke honestly once more. he admitted calmly. "I don't know the exact market value of all these things yet. However, regardless of whether this collection turns out to be worth enough or not, I will still bring you the remaining two Dragon Gems within three months."

The Horned Desert King calmly replied, "If these items ultimately prove insufficient in value, then you need only inform me. I will simply help gather more of the things humans consider valuable."

For a brief moment, Alex felt the temptation to take advantage of the situation and exaggerate the value difference later. However, he ultimately suppressed that greed.

He genuinely wanted to establish a relationship built on honesty with these Pokémon so that they would truly be willing to help him in the future when he needed them most.

Because of that, Alex answered truthfully once again.

"I honestly don't know yet, If the value truly ends up being too low, I'll tell you honestly in three months. But based on my current estimation, this should probably already be enough."

The Horned Desert King slowly nodded after hearing that answer.

Alex then stored all the selected items inside his TRH device before preparing to leave.

He looked at the mutated Flygon and said with a relaxed smile, "It's time for me to go now. Despite the rough beginning, this turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant meeting."

After a brief pause, he continued, "It was honestly nice speaking with someone so interesting and honest."

The Horned Desert King looked directly at Alex before calmly replying, "Yes, human. This was a good meeting."

A faint human-like smile appeared on the mutated Flygon's face as he added, "Farewell."

Alex gave a small nod toward Gardevoir.

The moment she understood the signal, Psychic energy immediately began gathering around Alex and all of his Pokémon.

A second later, Gardevoir activated Teleport and instantly transported the entire group away from the mountain range.

*******

if the story total of 100 powerstones in 24 hours, I will upload 1 bonus chapter tomorrow.

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