"Stay safe."
Red's message was still on the screen. Lin Hao locked his phone and followed Steven toward the city center.
Lilycove City was smaller than he had imagined. Its main district stretched along the coastline, its buildings low but brightly colored, with broad swaths of greenery among the red roofs and white walls. The Trainers on the streets were much younger than those in Johto. A few were clearly rookies who had just received their starter Pokémon, their Poké Balls still sporting pristine red-and-white finishes.
Steven led them along for twenty minutes before stopping in front of an unassuming stone building.
"The Hoenn Mineral Museum." Steven pushed open the door. "This is a private visit. The museum isn't open to the public today."
May followed behind him and glanced up at the sign. "You booked the whole place?"
"I funded its construction in the first place." Steven smiled and walked inside. May and Lin Hao exchanged a glance, then followed him in.
The lighting inside was soft. A row of glass display cases stretched toward the back, filled with minerals of every color. Some were crystal clear, others black as ink, and a few gave off a faint glow.
Steven stopped in front of a blue mineral and pointed at it through the glass. "This is deep-sea scale stone. The underwater caves in Slateport City are the only place in Hoenn where it's found."
"Pretty." May leaned closer for a look.
"Looks are secondary." Steven turned to face Lin Hao. "The core components of deep-sea scale stone match the casing material of that shipment of High-Density Energy Storage Modules stolen from Team Galactic."
Lin Hao narrowed his eyes. "You didn't bring me here for a tour."
"The tour is real too." Steven walked toward the next row of cases.