Skarmory's wings sliced smoothly through the air currents. Lionel quickly overcame the nervousness of his first flight, his attention completely captured by the scenery from such a high altitude—
The forest below was like a green ocean. As the wind blew through the treetops, it kicked up layer upon layer of waves. In the distance, the river looked like a silver ribbon, winding its way toward the horizon.
Occasionally, a few Pidgey or Wingull could be seen flitting past, letting out crisp cries.
The inflatable fish tank on Lionel's chest swayed gently with the flight. Inside, Feebas was swimming in circles, its small head pressed against the tank wall, seemingly looking down at the world below with greed.
After passing through a thin layer of clouds, the view became even more expansive.
Lionel looked down and could clearly see the figures of Trainers riding bicycles or walking on the winding roads, along with many Pokémon playing on the grassy roadsides. The entire world was full of life.
"Rustboro City is almost here."
Steven said while pointing ahead. Lionel looked in the direction he indicated and indeed saw the silhouette of a bustling city appearing on the horizon.
As Skarmory drew closer, the details of the city became clearer and clearer. Compared to the blurry outline from afar, the city now looked like a scroll of painting that had been injected with a soul.
The headquarters building bearing the "Devon" logo stood straight in the center like the city's spine; this was the headquarters of the Devon Corporation.
The building was surrounded by well-arranged clusters of architecture, with skyscrapers in the commercial district standing in close succession. Huge electronic screens played everything related to Pokémon—Pokémon battles, commercial products, and so on... "Rustboro City is the transportation and technology center of the Hoenn region, and it's also the first stop for many Trainers on their journeys."
Steven's voice carried a hint of pride for his hometown.
As Skarmory's altitude gradually decreased, the bustle of the city center became increasingly clear. On the sidewalks beside the main roads, many people were walking accompanied by Pokémon.
Skarmory began its descent. The Devon Building was close at hand, and Lionel could already see several staff members in Devon Corporation uniforms waiting.
With a flap of its wings, Skarmory landed on the roof of the Devon Building, its feet making a dull thud as they hit the metal floor.
Lionel followed Steven and jumped off the bird's back. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he smelled the sweet fragrance of Berries drifting from afar in the air.
A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Steven:
"Young Master, you've returned. The Chairman is waiting for you in his office. Additionally, the team members for the resurrection project you requested earlier have been notified and are ready to start work at any time."
"I see."
Steven nodded and turned to Lionel, saying, "Come with me to see my father first, then we'll go to the collection room."
Steven led Lionel and Feebas into a nearby elevator. The elevator went all the way down and stopped at the floor marked "3F."
Once inside the building, Lionel was immediately shocked by the sight before him.
In the lobby, huge glass curtain walls brought in the sunset from outside, illuminating the entire space.
Various paintings and mineral descriptions hung on the walls. Employees passing by wore uniform white outfits and greeted Steven respectfully, their eyes filled with admiration.
Lionel followed behind Steven, feeling like a visitor who had accidentally wandered into a castle, somewhat constrained yet excited.
Walking steadily toward the depths of the floor, Steven didn't stop at all and directly pushed open a heavy wooden door.
Behind the door was an exceptionally spacious hall. Sitting on a leather sofa in the center was an elderly man with graying hair and sharp eyes. He was dressed in a sharp suit, and an open document was held between his fingers—
This was the current Chairman of the Devon Corporation, Stone, who was also Steven's father.
"Father, I'm back."
Steven stepped forward and naturally helped Stone organize the scattered documents on the corner of the desk, speaking in a close tone.
Stone put down the document in his hand and looked up at Steven. His eyes hid concern, but his words carried a bit of a scolding tone:
"You've finally come back after so long. Stay home for a while this time. After all, you'll have to inherit the company in the future. Don't just spend all your time digging for rocks; you should also get more familiar with the company's Pokémon mineral research and development business."
Steven scratched his head and laughed it off:
"I know, I know, Father. I brought a friend back this time. This is Lionel, someone I met while mining. He's a very interesting Trainer!"
"Hello, Chairman."
Lionel quickly bowed in greeting. Feebas in the inflatable fish tank on his chest also wagged its tail, looking quite well-behaved.
Steven's father nodded. His gaze lingered on the Feebas on Lionel's chest for a moment, and the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch slightly before he said to Steven:
"Alright, Steven, you take Lionel to the collection room first. I've already heard from my secretary. Don't make him wait too long, hahaha!"
"Okay, Father."
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman!"
Leaving the office, Steven led Lionel to the first basement level of the building. After passing through several corridors, they arrived at a heavy metal door that required both fingerprint and iris verification.
After the verification passed, the door slid open slowly. A gust of air, a mix of the unique cold scent of minerals and the faint sound of dust-proof equipment running, rushed toward them.
Behind the door was a massive underground space. The lights on the ceiling emitted a soft glow, illuminating rows of neat display shelves.
On the shelves in front of them, all sorts of minerals were placed within custom transparent protective covers. Next to each cover stood an electronic screen, its blue light illuminating the mineral's name, discovery location, and characteristic descriptions.
Most of the minerals here were excavated by Steven from various ruins, caves, and deserts. Minerals of various shapes were displayed one by one within the protective covers.
Lionel's gaze was first drawn to a Stone shaped like a glass bead. The Stone was red and translucent throughout, with two gold and red veins inside.
The electronic screen in front of the Stone displayed:
"Special Flame Mineral—discovered deep within Cinnabar Volcano, contains rich Fire-type energy!"
Seeing Lionel's gaze linger, Steven softly explained to him:
"I found this by chance while mining deep in Cinnabar Volcano last year. It looks a bit like a Fire Stone, but the shape is different, and it can't make Fire-type Pokémon evolve;"
"After being tested by the company's laboratory researchers, it was found to contain very strong Fire-type energy that cannot be channeled. Since we don't know what it's used for yet, I just kept it in the collection room!"
Even without the information prompts from the panel in his mind, Lionel could recognize the Stone in front of him at a glance—
This was exactly one of Charizard's two Mega Stones, the Y Stone. Charizard was one of the Pokémon he used most frequently in his team when playing Pokémon in his past life, so he recognized this Mega Stone immediately.
Although Lionel was clear about the information regarding this Stone, Mega Evolution had not yet appeared in the current timeline, so it wasn't appropriate for him to directly explain the Stone's use to Steven.
However, Lionel wasn't the type of person to be ungrateful. He always kept kindness in his heart.
One must know that Steven had given him an extremely rare Fossil Pokémon for no reason. This gift was something many Trainers would envy.
Lionel could also faintly guess the reason behind it—it was likely because there happened to be a trace of Wallace's shadow on him, which inadvertently touched a chord in Steven's heart, making Steven so generous.
But even knowing there might be this factor, Lionel didn't feel that the favor was any less significant. No matter what, Steven's kindness toward him was beyond doubt.
Therefore, Lionel turned and said to Steven:
"Mr. Steven, this Stone looks very special. Besides this one containing the Fire attribute, I suspect there might be others with different attributes;"
"Perhaps if one could collect all the similar Stones of different attributes, it might trigger a special effect. Do you think that's possible?"
Hearing this, Steven thought for a moment and replied:
"The possibility you mentioned isn't non-existent. When I have the chance later, I'll keep an eye out to purchase or collect some to try out."