At that moment...
Pheobe suddenly understood the light in Steven's eyes when he returned from Orre and spoke to them about Baimu.
The man who loved stones more than anything had found an unprecedented gem, and there would never be another like it anywhere in the world.
Just as Pyrite Town would never produce another Baimu.
"I suppose I should take this a little more seriously."
She murmured under her breath as the elevator reached the first level of the Underground City.
Hiss—
Clunk!
The metal floor beneath their feet trembled slightly, and the automatic doors creaked open.
Before them stretched an enormous space, barely lit by countless incandescent bulbs. Prefabricated structures made of sheet metal and plastic stood everywhere, years of grime leaving them shabby and worn. The ceiling, more than thirty meters overhead, struck Pheobe and Hoopa as a curious sight.
When Baimu had first joined the Quicksand Team, he had come down here every day to battle Otsuka in preparation for the Charity Tournament. Even after becoming a Squad Leader, he had kept coming.
He had only visited less often after the Quicksand Team declared war on the Hound Team.
"The Underground City! This is amazing!"
Hoopa flew out ahead of everyone, completely forgetting the danger they had discussed before coming down.
Pheobe looked around as though she were sightseeing. "It really is an underground city! I bet old Wattson would be delighted to see this."
Wattson's original plans for New Mauville had placed it beneath Mauville City as an underground metropolis much like this one. Unfortunately, the cost had been so high that he'd had to abandon it.
"I'm not so sure he'd approve."
Baimu knew that, compared with Wattson's vision for New Mauville, this Underground City was far too crude. Its size was about the