Friends

While the three of them were considering how to deal with the Aggron herd.

An Officer Jenny walked over and said, "Mayor Nakajima, we've received word."

"The Pokémon hunters were caught in Rustboro City. The Aron are being rushed here now."

Nakajima was delighted. "Really?"

"That's wonderful! Once we return the Aron to them, I'm sure they'll leave soon."

"Then we won't have to worry about how to handle this anymore."

Chen Shi scratched his head, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

So those people had run off in the opposite direction. Verdanturf Town really had suffered for nothing.

Steven, however, was furious. "Those people are far too brazen."

"After causing such a huge incident, they still dared to run to Rustboro City."

Chen Shi stayed silent. They had probably gone there to sell their stolen goods.

Rustboro City had a fairly sizable black market. The Pokémon hunters had probably wanted to get the Aron off their hands as quickly as possible.

Mayor Nakajima spoke up then. "Chen Shi, Mr. Steven."

"Sorry for the trouble, but could you watch over the Aggron herd for now, so they don't cause trouble when they wake up?"

"I need to deal with the aftermath, too."

"No problem!" ×2

Chen Shi and Steven answered in unison.

"Thank you both." Mayor Nakajima bowed slightly, then hurried away.

Chen Shi finally had time to take a look at Steven's Metagross.

Pokémon: Metagross (shiny)

Level: 58 (late Gym stage)

Potential: (quasi-Legendary)

Ability: Clear Body

Gender: None

Moves: Tackle, Confusion, Metal Claw, Bullet Punch, Zen Headbutt, Hammer Arm, Take Down, Psychic, Magnet Rise, Flash Cannon, Meteor Mash, Iron Defense, Agility, Hone Claws, Protect, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Earthquake, Bulldoze, Reflect, Light Screen, Rock Slide.

"So strong!" Chen Shi couldn't help exclaiming.

Its quasi-Legendary potential was the highest Chen Shi had ever seen, aside from Dreepy's.

No wonder Steven's Metagross had been able to exchange a few blows with Kyogre in the anime from his previous life.

It really was a beast.

Steven smiled. "Your Drakloak is no slouch, either!"

Chen Shi was a little surprised. The Galar region had only just been incorporated into League territory, and news about the Dreepy line of pseudo-Legendary Pokémon hadn't spread yet. He hadn't expected Steven to recognize Dreepy at a glance.

"But... your Drakloak looks a little different from the one I saw in my reference material."

Chen Shi explained, "My Drakloak is shiny."

"But at the Drakloak stage, he doesn't look much different from an ordinary Drakloak."

"Only the markings on his head and belly are slightly different."

"So that's it." Steven immediately understood, and a fighting spirit rose in his eyes.

"Want to have a battle? My Metagross against your Drakloak."

"Chia~"

Drakloak looked expectantly at Chen Shi. His meaning was obvious.

"Let's wait a little."

"Once we've dealt with the Aggron herd, we'll find somewhere to battle."

Chen Shi gave it some thought before answering. He actually wanted to see how large the gap was between him and a top-tier talent like Steven.

"No problem." Steven agreed at once.

Suddenly, a rattling noise rang out.

The two hurriedly looked over, only to find that the Aggron leader had already woken up and was struggling to climb out of the ground.

Chen Shi was dumbfounded. Was this Aggron really that tough?

It had already woken up?

Garchomp was annoyed. This guy wasn't showing me any respect. Fighting-type energy gathered around Garchomp's claws, ready to go up and give the Aggron another hit.

Chen Shi hurriedly stopped Garchomp. "Wait, Garchomp. Let me talk to it."

Only then did Garchomp relent, following Chen Shi over to the Aggron.

Aggron braced itself, casting a wary glance at Garchomp. This was the powerful Pokémon that had defeated it in just two moves.

It had no idea what they wanted.

"Aggron, your children and the members of your herd were taken by Pokémon hunters. They're all on their way back now."

"Please stop destroying things. We'll bring them back safely."

Aggron froze, looking as though it wanted to ask whether he was lying.

Chen Shi explained, "With things the way they are, why would I need to lie to you?"

"If your children and your herd don't come back, you can keep destroying things. I won't stop you."

Aggron mulled it over with its enormous head. That did make sense.

It was already their prisoner. They had no reason to lie to it.

"Hey-oh~"

(Then when will my children and my herd come back?)

"Soon. They'll definitely be back today. I'll wait here with you."

Only then did Aggron settle down, closing its eyes to recover its strength.

"Steven, do you have any Potion Spray with you?"

"I want to treat these big guys."

Steven looked a little embarrassed. "I came here to make a trade with you today, so I didn't bring any of that."

Hearing that, Chen Shi said to Drakloak, "Sorry for the trouble, but could you go back and fetch some Potion Spray and some general-purpose Pokéblocks?"

"Oh, and bring Florges over, too."

With that, Chen Shi took out Florges's Luxury Ball and handed it to Drakloak.

"Chia~"

Dreepy took the Luxury Ball and immediately flew home.

After that, Chen Shi and Steven chatted on and off.

"When you competed in the Ever Grande Conference, did you run into any opponents worth watching out for?"

Steven thought for a moment before answering. "It was all right. There were a few decent opponents, but none of them put much pressure on me."

"Actually, a lot of talented trainers don't enter the Ever Grande Conference, because they have nothing to prove."

"Like you, or Wallace from Sootopolis City."

"I only entered because my old man told me to."

Chen Shi shook his head. "I just got back from traveling in Sinnoh. I didn't have a chance to enter."

"Sinnoh?" Steven's eyes lit up.

"I've heard Sinnoh has lots of ancient ruins. There must be plenty of rare stones there, right?"

Chen Shi was a little speechless. He really was Steven, the stone fanatic.

The first thing he thought of when Sinnoh came up was stones.

Still, he answered, "There are quite a few ruins. I have a friend who's really interested in them, so I've learned a little about them, too."

"A friend?" Something seemed to cross Steven's mind, and his eyes dimmed.

Then he asked hesitantly, "Do we count as friends, too?"

Chen Shi raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were already friends."

Steven froze, then smiled in relief.

"You're right. We were already friends."

From the moment Chen Shi had reached out and pulled him onto Salamence.

Pichu