Trainer's Anecdote
The Perfect Diamond Cut
To give some background, this took place before and after I had left Sinnoh to see the rest of the world. Beginning with before I left Sinnoh, I had once visited Oreburgh City to meet Roark for a bit of hard labor experience. My dad suggested the idea to me, believing that working up a little elbow grease will help toughen up both me and my Pokémon. Roark happily invited me into the mines just outside the city, and he even introduced me to the people on the job, some of who were so energetic they challenged me to battle. But then afterward it was time to do some actual work.
With a vest, hard hat and a pick ready, my Lucario, Claire and my Prinplup, Scalder, as well as I, got to work digging out minerals and ore, as well as coal to fuel the city. We were in there for a good four hours, and it only felt like just an hour passed! It definitely gave us the workout we all needed to harden up and hit harder in battle. During our mining session I made the rare discovery of a good chunk of diamond ore, one of two kinds of gems that Sinnoh jewelers are all about! After the day had nearly been done, we finally left the mines to get some fresh air. I was gonna give the diamonds over to Roark to add to his collection of ore samples, but he said that I should keep hold of them and see if I can find someone who can make something pretty out of it. I kind of wasn't sure since I didn't know what I really would have made with the diamond, but never the less I kept it as a sentiment and a souvenir from my homeland.
Fast-forward to sometime after I'd left Sinnoh after my close defeat at the League, crossed Kalos and half explored half of Alola, I went to Konikoni City, which is like a marketplace district full of different interesting shops and stalls. Not only did you have the salon, Pokémon Center, and clothing store, but you also got to see the incense and massaging stalls, and even a TM and herbs shop! It seemed like this place had everything! But above everything else, the one store that had the most buzz was the jewelry shop, owned by Konikoni's own Olivia! Olivia is a big figure in the city, as she is the Island Kahuna of Akala.
Poking my head into the store, I got to see all kinds of pretty stones and accessories that use genuine ores unearthed from every part of the world! Not to mention they carried the stones necessary for evolving Pokémon like Eevee, Pansear, Nuzleaf, and so on. To my surprise they even had a fossil section where you can just buy them as if they were anything else you could get at a special store, which I didn't think was possible!
It all made me think back to the time I once got myself those uncut diamonds from Oreburgh's mining facility, and on top of that it also made me think of the Mega Ring and Keystone I acquired from Korrina in Kalos's Shalour City, at the Tower of Mastery. And putting those two thoughts together finally gave me an idea of what I wanted to do with the diamonds I had sitting in my bag for so long.
I met with Olivia at the counter and made a big request to her, I wanted to see if I could have one of my diamonds cut and attached to my Mega Ring. I had specifically wanted it fixed to the opposite side from the Keystone insert, where the gem would be visible on the palm side of my forearm.
I presented to her the diamonds that came straight from Sinnoh, and she became quite easily enamored by the rough gemstones! Apparently Olivia loved them so much that she said she could make the diamond modification to my Mega Ring free of charge if I let her keep the rest, as the other few or so diamonds would more than cover the cost of cutting and modifying a gem to an accessory, given their regional value and rarity.
I was more than happy to hand them over to her so I could see the job done. Olivia even said she would showcase the other diamonds in her glass encased collection at the front of the store!
Anyhow, Olivia told me that it would take about half a day to get it finished, so I decided to hang around the city until then, passing the time by going to the pier and casting my line out to try and catch some fish. Some of the other fishermen decided to have a little friendly competition with me to see who can catch the biggest fish in under 2 hours. I ended up just shy of a couple inches to first place, but I was still kind of a winner! The first place fisherman decided to reward my second placing with one of Alola's bottle caps, which many people in the region say will bring happiness if you keep one.
Soon enough it was time to go pick up my Mega Ring with the new diamond fixture, and I have to say I was really happy with the result! It made the already snazzy bracelet look 3 times more stylish! I gave Olivia my most heartfelt thanks for the service and went on my way, wait till Roark sees this when I come home!
Extra note: ...I forgot to elaborate on what the diamond means to me! The thought came well after I had made this entry when I was just admiring my bracelet.
The thing is, whenever I look at the diamond, the first thing I think of besides Sinnoh is the legendary Pokémon that gave birth to the flow of time, Dialga. Dialga is depicted with having a massive diamond crested into the chest plating. When I think of it in the sense that I inherit a mere fraction of Dialga's power, I'm washed over with a strong feeling of determination and familiarity. No matter where I am, this diamond will take me back to my original place, mentally that is. And I really have my dad to thank for making this all happen. I'll always treasure this single tiny gemstone!
