Other than for necessary meals and restroom breaks, Steven remained in his cabin without budging.
After a restless night, Steven woke up feeling considerably more refreshed.
"Looks like my guess was correct. When I stayed quietly in my room, that strange feeling never appeared."
Steven looked through the round porthole in his cabin and saw the city in the distance.
"The ship is about to arrive at Slateport City port. All passengers, please gather your belongings and disembark in an orderly manner. The ship is about to..."
Listening to the announcement, Steven pushed yesterday's events to the back of his mind.
It seemed he wasn't actually being targeted after all.
After disembarking, Steven used the city map on his PokéNav to locate the Pokémon Evaluation Center.
He approached the receptionist and explained his situation.
"Hello, here's your application form. Please fill it out over there." The receptionist smiled, handing him a pen and a blank form.
Steven filled in his personal information and his Pokémon's details, then handed both the Pokémon and the completed form to the receptionist.
"Alright, please follow me."
Steven followed the receptionist into the interior of the Evaluation Center.
Steven was familiar with this process, having evaluated Metang's strength in Mauville City previously.
The receptionist took the Pokémon into an evaluation room while Steven stood outside, observing the activity inside through the viewing window.
Aron, Skarmory, and Metagross were released.
Seeing the room full of metal equipment, Aron appeared to have entered paradise, opening its mouth as if ready to feast.
Fortunately, Metagross caught Aron just in time.
"Truly reliable," Steven smiled slightly.
"When Aron comes out, I'll need to give it some rare metals to eat."
Then, with Metagross's assistance, the evaluation staff secured Aron and Skarmory, attaching numerous sensors to various parts of their bodies.
Finally, they attached sensors to Metagross as well.
As the sensors emitted a faint glow, various data appeared on the monitoring equipment. The evaluation staff observed the readings, and once they stabilized, they began recording on the form.
Initially, the data would fluctuate, but after a period, it would stabilize—only then would the measurements be accurate.
The unstable portion represented the power hidden deep within the Pokémon.
That's why Pokémon sometimes "break their limits" under their Trainer's encouragement or through other means—this is a manifestation of that instability.
It could also be described as a phenomenon triggered by the bond between humans and Pokémon.
After waiting for half an hour, the evaluation staff finally emerged from the evaluation room with the data sheet and Poké Balls.
"Hello, here are your Pokémon and the evaluation results."
"Thank you."
With a simple expression of gratitude, Steven returned the Poké Balls one by one to the slots on his belt, and the evaluation results came into view.
Metagross, Evaluation Result: 51.0%.
Skarmory, Evaluation Result: 25.0%.
Aron, Evaluation Result: 22.0%.
Metagross's evaluation result was roughly as Steven had anticipated, but he hadn't expected Skarmory and Aron to already possess Advanced-level strength.
As explained previously, a Pokémon's strength depends on the proportion of energy contained within its body.
This evaluation result represents that proportion.
Novice-level Pokémon range from 0.1%-10%, Common-level from 10.1%-20%, Advanced-level from 20.1%-30%, Elite-level from 30.1%-40%, Alpha-level from 40.1%-50%, Overlord-level from 50.1%-65%,
Quasi-Champion-level from 65.1%-70%, Champion-level from 70.1%-85%, Master-level from 85.1%-99%, and Legendary-level from 99.1%-100%.
The reason the Legendary-level rating is so narrow is mainly because among all previously evaluated Pokémon, the highest recorded data was 99%!
Even the strongest Trainer at that time, whose Pokémon reached an evaluation of 99%, still couldn't match the legendary Pokémon revered as deities.
It was only 0.1% away from Legendary-level, yet that 0.1% was like an insurmountable chasm.
However, this data and its associated stories are from long ago, and the evaluation machines at that time weren't highly accurate, so whether that 99% was truly precise remains unknown.
Nevertheless, the evaluation standards from that era are still used today.
Due to technological advancements, the machines' accuracy has increased, and an additional decimal place has been added to the evaluation standards.
After leaving the Pokémon Evaluation Center, Steven prepared to head directly to Mauville City to challenge the Electric-type Gym.
Slateport City's maritime industry was highly developed, and it even had a Contest Hall. However, Steven currently had no plans to participate in Contests.
Aron and Skarmory were out of the question—their control over their abilities wasn't yet sufficient.
As for Metagross...
He couldn't possibly go on stage and perform a Flash Cannon, could he?
Steven was quite interested in Contests and would participate once he caught a Pokémon suitable for them.
Pokémon inside Poké Balls could carry certain items, but it wasn't as versatile as a backpack where anything could be stored.
As long as the Pokémon was holding it, the item could be brought inside.
Aron's physical body would gradually strengthen by consuming ores, so physical training was easiest for it.
Others would train intensively all day, but Aron could achieve the same results by eating a few pieces of ore.
At this stage, they were to carry gems and ores containing concentrated energy inside their Poké Balls and gradually absorb them.
Steven always felt this period had been too peaceful—either training or challenging Gyms.
Previously, Trainers would often approach him for friendly battles, but after the Pokémon Hunter incident, such encounters became increasingly rare.
"It's so peaceful—it can't be that something major is brewing for me to stumble into, can it?"
Beep beep beep—
Just as Steven was thinking this, his PokéNav rang.
The only person who had his PokéNav number was his father, Joseph.
"Hello? Is something wrong, Father?"
"Are you available right now?"
"Huh?" Steven was surprised and replied, "I believe so. Why?"
"Although I really hate to interrupt your journey, something urgent has come up, and I'd like you to travel to Saffron City in the Kanto region."
"Alright." Steven agreed without asking questions.
The line suddenly fell silent. Steven wasn't in a hurry and quietly waited for Joseph to continue speaking.
Since childhood, Steven had often been alone, and he had frequently refused Joseph's requests.
One could say Steven's rebellious phase began early in his childhood.
As a result, Joseph rarely asked Steven to do anything afterward.
Steven also understood that Joseph wanted him to achieve success and naturally inherit Devon Corporation in the future.
"Devon Corporation recently developed a specialized Poké Ball, but there was an error in the technology. We just finalized a collaboration a few days ago."
"That Poké Ball was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but we haven't been able to contact anyone from Silph Co. until now, so I'd like you to go and check on the situation."
Joseph paused briefly, then added, "A new mineral deposit was recently discovered, and all the Trainers in the company have gone to ensure the mining team's safety."
"Alright, I understand." Steven readily agreed. "I'm very close to Slateport City right now, so I can head to the Kanto region immediately."
"No need—I'll send a helicopter to pick you up."
After all, traveling by ship would be far too slow.
"Then I'll wait here, and I'll send you my location via PokéNav shortly."
"Okay. If you encounter danger, prioritize your own safety first."
Upon hearing this, Steven's lips curved into a slight smile.
"Of course."