Auron Vale stared at the Mega Stones inside the box, excitement rushing through him.
"One, two, three, four… sixteen, seventeen."
His eyes widened.
"Seventeen? Damn, Jace must've raided an entire Mega Stone nest!"
He plopped straight down on the floor, unable to contain himself, and began picking them up one by one.
"Charizardite X."
"Charizardite X again."
"Cameruptite."
"Scizorite."
"Kangaskhanite."
"Pinsirite."
"Medichamite."
"Charizardite Y."
"Mawilite."
"Gengarite."
"Houndoominite."
"…Keystone."
"Steelixite—wait, huh?"
He froze.
"Hold on. Keystone?"
Auron lifted one of the stones. Unlike the others, it had a green, leaf-like core, its surface shimmering in pink, blue, and green hues.
His mind instantly recalled the information he'd read online about Dazzling Stones, as well as the explanations given by his father Ashen and Grandpa Flint, and the experimental cases Flint Jonas had told him.
A faint smile crept across Auron's lips.
"No wonder all those experiments never worked… they were missing the Evolution Keystone."
That's right. Whether from the online data or from the knowledge passed down by his father and Flint, not a single mention had been made of this unique stone—different from the other Mega Stones—the Keystone.
Auron searched through the box again, but his face fell.
"Only one Keystone? That's it?"
He sighed.
"Forget it. Better give Dad a call."
He pulled out his phone and dialed Ashen Vale.
Outside the Secret Realm
"Wuhu! Mission complete!"
Dax Jonas had barely stepped out before he threw both arms into the air with a cheer.
Annoyed, Ashen shoved him forward.
"Move. Don't block the way."
Dax pouted.
"Tch, why so grumpy?"
Jace's father smacked him on the shoulder from behind.
"Can't even keep track of two kids. You deserve it."
Dax spun around, shouting defensively at the two men walking ahead.
"Hey, the Secret Realm scrambled everyone randomly! What was I supposed to do? You didn't find your kids either!"
That stopped Ashen and Jace's father in their tracks. They turned to glare at him.
Dax shrank instantly.
"…Okay, okay, my bad. My fault."
A new voice cut in, smooth and smiling.
"Well, you three seem to be having a good time."
They turned to see Yuming Da strolling up with a faint grin.
"Eh? Mingda, why are you here?" Dax asked curiously.
Still smiling, Yuming Da replied,
"Because some Elite decided to charge straight into the Secret Realm the moment it opened. What else could they do but call me in?"
Dax scratched his neck awkwardly. He had indeed rushed inside immediately, eager to complete his mission. Originally, he was supposed to help calm the crowd outside first—too many excited people could easily spark trouble. But with him gone, the temporary staff had no choice but to summon the City Guardians.
"Say, you've been here the whole time. Did you see my son or his son?" Ashen asked.
The smile wavered on Yuming Da's face.
"Uh… I wasn't paying close attention."
Dax burst out laughing.
"So you've been slacking too, huh? And you had the nerve to call me out."
"Cut it out. Mission's done, get back to your post already—I'm busy here!" Yuming snapped, losing his temper.
Dax suddenly straightened, took two quick steps forward, and pulled out a Poké Ball. He turned back with mock gravity.
"Oh, I just remembered—I need to go report in. Gentlemen, farewell."
He gave an exaggerated bow, released his Corviknight, and before anyone could react, leapt onto its back.
"Bye-bye now!"
As the bird carried him away, Dax grinned smugly. The others could only watch in silence.
Ashen sighed, patting Yuming Da on the shoulder.
"That's just how he is. You're used to it."
Grinding his teeth, Yuming muttered,
"Should've seen that coming."
How could he not? Back in the early days, he had even been teammates with Dax. But when Dax got promoted to Elite ahead of him, their paths split—their missions were no longer the same. Yuming had remained stuck at quasi-Elite for years, eventually taking up a long-term assignment as City Guardian in Vantora.
Through Dax, he'd met Ashen and Jace's father, and the three had grown close. After years of training, Yuming had nearly reached the Elite threshold himself—he was confident he would soon pass the trial.
"Anyway, forget him," Yuming said at last. "Both your sons entered the Secret Realm too? You're really okay with that?"
Ashen and Jace's father sighed in unison.
"What choice did we have? Auron insisted on going. I could only let him, though I did give him my Gengar and Lucario for protection."
"And that brat Jace has been trailing after Auron since they were kids. Of course he'd follow him in."
Yuming chuckled.
"Looks like from now on, not just Jace—my son will be following Auron around too."
The two men blinked.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Yuming's smile widened.
"You've heard of the Vantora Baby Cup, right? The finals were my son against your boy."
Ashen clapped Jace's father on the thigh.
"So that was your kid? No wonder his Haunter was so well-trained. I thought he looked familiar."
Jace's father endured the blow stone-faced. Then he caught the real implication.
"Wait. Baby Cup? When was this?"
Ashen blinked.
"Huh? Didn't Jace tell you?"
"No."
"Ah… maybe he didn't want to admit it. He lost in the round of sixteen to Zhang Lei's daughter."
"So Auron took first, Simon second, and Jace only made top sixteen?"
Jace's father's face didn't change, but his heart erupted with curses.
You little brat, Jace… just you wait till I get home.
Somewhere in the city, Jace sneezed. Then he smiled, convinced.
"Hah. Auron must be thinking fondly of me. I'm the best."
Ashen patted Jace's father's shoulder.
"Hey, don't sweat it. I've seen Jace's Pokémon—they're well-raised. His Growlithe's ready to evolve with a Fire Stone, so his training's solid."
Yuming slung an arm around him too.
"Exactly. Sons not telling their dads everything? Totally normal. Look at me—I didn't even know my boy had gotten so close with yours until Lena told me."
He leaned closer with a grin.
"You should get your son a girlfriend too. Zhang Lei's daughter isn't bad. Pretty girl. She's the one who beat him, by the way."
Expressionless, Jace's father pushed Yuming's arm off and walked on without a word.
Ashen and Yuming exchanged glances, shrugged in sync, and followed after him.
As they went, Ashen asked quietly,
"By the way, how'd your son get close to mine? I thought he was the type who hardly shows his face. Haven't seen him in ages."
Yuming sighed.
"Long story. Lena told me after his ten-win streak in the Baby Cup qualifiers, he bumped into your son in the rest area. Your boy also had a ten-win streak. And just like that, they hit it off."
Ashen frowned.
"Doesn't sound like him. Auron's not the type to start chatting with strangers. You're leaving something out, aren't you?"
Yuming spread his hands.
"I don't know. That's just what Lena said. If you want the details, ask your son."
(End of Chapter)
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