Steven's Private Collection Room

Skarmory's wings cut steadily through the air. Lin Mo quickly shook off the nervousness of his first flight, his full attention captured by the view from high above—

The forest below resembled a green ocean. Wind swept over the treetops, stirring up wave after layered wave. In the distance, a river wound toward the horizon like a silver ribbon.

Now and then, a few Pidgey or Wingull swept past them, letting out clear cries.

The inflatable fish tank strapped to Lin Mo's chest swayed gently with the flight. Feebas circled inside, its little head pressed against the tank wall, seemingly greedily taking in the world below as well.

After passing through a thin layer of clouds, the view became even broader.

Looking down, Lin Mo could clearly see trainers cycling or walking along the winding roads. Quite a few Pokémon were playing and frolicking in the grassy areas by the roadside. The entire world brimmed with life.

"Rustboro City is almost here."

Steven pointed ahead. Lin Mo followed his finger and, sure enough, saw the outline of a bustling city appear on the horizon.

As Skarmory drew closer, the city's details became increasingly clear. Compared with the hazy silhouette he had seen from afar, it now looked more like a painting brought to life.

The headquarters building bearing the "Devon" logo stood tall at the city's center like its backbone. This was the headquarters of Devon Corporation.

Surrounding it were orderly clusters of buildings. Towering structures lined the commercial district, while huge electronic screens displayed all manner of Pokémon-related content—Pokémon battles, GG products, and more...

"Rustboro City is the transportation and technology hub of the Hoenn Region, and it's also the first stop for many trainers on their journeys."

Steven's voice carried a trace of pride in his hometown.

As Skarmory descended, the liveliness of the city center became clearer. On the sidewalks beside the main roads, many people walked alongside their Pokémon.

Skarmory began to land. The Devon Building was right before them, and Lin Mo could already see several staff members in Devon Corporation uniforms waiting.

With a sweep of its wings, Skarmory came to a stop atop the Devon Building. Its talons struck the metal surface with a dull thud.

Lin Mo followed Steven off Skarmory's back. The moment his feet touched the ground, he caught the sweet fragrance of Berries drifting through the air from afar.

A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses stepped forward and respectfully bowed to Steven.

"Young Master, you've returned. The chairman is waiting for you in his office. Also, the revival project team members you requested have all been notified and are ready to begin work at any time."

"Got it."

Steven nodded, then turned to Lin Mo. "Come meet my father first, then we'll head to the collection room."

Steven led Lin Mo and Feebas into a nearby elevator. The elevator went all the way down before stopping on the floor marked "3F."

Once inside the building, Lin Mo was immediately stunned by the sight before him.

In the hall, enormous glass curtain walls brought in the setting sun from outside, illuminating the entire space.

Various paintings and mineral descriptions hung on the walls. Employees passing by wore uniform white outfits, and whenever they saw Steven, they greeted him respectfully, their eyes filled with admiration.

Following behind Steven, Lin Mo felt like a visitor who had wandered into a castle, somewhat restrained yet excited.

They walked steadily toward the depths of the floor. Without stopping anywhere, Steven pushed open a heavy wooden door.

Beyond it was an exceptionally spacious hall. An elderly man with graying hair and sharp eyes sat on the genuine leather sofa at its center. He wore a crisp suit, and a spread-out document was still held between his fingers—

He was Stone, the current chairman of Devon Corporation and Steven's father.

"Father, I'm back."

Steven stepped forward and naturally helped Stone straighten the documents scattered at the corner of the table, speaking in a familiar tone.

Stone put down the document in his hand and looked up at Steven. Concern was hidden in his eyes, though his words carried a hint of reproach.

"It took you this long to return. Stay home longer this time. After all, you'll be inheriting the company someday. Stop spending all your time mining. You should also familiarize yourself more with the company's Pokémon mineral research and development work."

Steven scratched his head and answered with a laugh.

"Got it, got it, Father. I also brought back a friend this time. This is Lin Mo. I met him while mining—he's a very interesting trainer!"

"Hello, Chairman."

Lin Mo hurriedly bowed in greeting. Feebas in the inflatable fish tank on his chest also swished its tail, looking well-behaved.

Steven's father nodded. His gaze paused briefly on the Feebas at Lin Mo's chest, and the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch slightly before he said to Steven,

"All right, Steven, take Lin Mo to the collection room first. I've already heard about it from the secretary. Don't keep him waiting too long, hahaha!"

"All right, Father."

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman!"

After leaving the office, Steven led Lin Mo down to the basement level of the building. After passing through several corridors, they arrived before a heavy metal door that required both fingerprint and iris verification.

Once the verification passed, the door slowly slid open. A cool scent unique to minerals, mixed with the faint hum of dustproof equipment, washed over them.

Beyond the door was a vast underground space. The ceiling lights cast a soft glow over rows of neatly arranged display shelves.

On the shelves before them, all kinds of minerals rested within custom transparent protective cases. Beside each case stood an electronic screen, its blue light illuminating the mineral's name, discovery site, and description of its properties.

Most of the minerals here had been excavated by Steven from various ruins, caves, and deserts. Stones of every imaginable shape were displayed one by one within their protective cases.

Lin Mo's attention was first drawn to a stone shaped like a glass marble. It was crimson throughout, with two golden-red streaks running within it.

The electronic screen in front of the stone read:

"Special Flame Mineral—discovered deep within Cinnabar Volcano. Contains dense Fire-type energy!"

Seeing Lin Mo's gaze linger there, Steven quietly explained,

"I happened to find this while mining deep in Cinnabar Volcano last year. It resembles a Fire Stone somewhat, but its shape is different, and it can't evolve Fire-type Pokémon either.

After the laboratory researchers at the company examined it, they found that it contained extremely powerful Fire-type energy. We have no way to activate it and don't yet know what it's for, so I left it in the collection room for now!"

Even without the information panel in his mind, Lin Mo recognized the stone before him at a glance—

It was Charizardite Y, one of Charizard's two Mega Evolution stones. Charizard had been one of the Pokémon he used most often in his team when playing Pokémon in his previous life, so Lin Mo recognized this Mega Stone the instant he saw it.

Although Lin Mo knew what this stone was, Mega Evolution had not yet appeared in this world's timeline, so he could not directly tell Steven about its purpose.

Still, Lin Mo was not someone who accepted kindness without repaying it. He always remembered the favors others had shown him.

After all, Steven had given him an exceedingly rare fossil Pokémon for no reason at all. That gift had made countless trainers envious.

Lin Mo could vaguely guess the reason behind it—most likely, something about him happened to carry a trace of Wallace, inadvertently tugging at Steven's heartstrings and making him so generous.

Yet even knowing that there might be such a factor, Lin Mo did not feel that it diminished the favor in any way. No matter what, Steven's kindness toward him was beyond doubt.

So Lin Mo turned to Steven and said,

"Mr. Steven, this stone looks very special. Besides this one containing Fire-type energy, I think there may be others with different attributes.

Perhaps if we could gather similar stones of different attributes, it might trigger some kind of special effect. Do you think that's possible?"

Steven thought for a moment before replying,

"That possibility isn't out of the question. When I get the chance later, I'll keep an eye out for some to buy and collect, then give it a try."