Metagross Mega Stone

Steven quickly tugged Chen Shi aside and whispered.

"What are you playing at? What kind of power is this? You can actually teach it?"

"Don't ask. I'll tell you later!"

"I can't talk about it yet."

Hearing his friend's answer, Steven had no choice but to stop asking, though he still wanted to persuade him.

If disaster really struck, at least Chen Shi could summon that divine dragon to stop it, couldn't he?

But just then, the Grandmother-in-Chief spoke. She seemed to have noticed the young man's reluctance.

"If you can teach him, that would be ideal. One more person means one more source of hope."

"Of course, we won't ask you to help for nothing."

"You may enter our treasury and each choose two things to take with you."

Rather than asking how to master that power, the old woman brought up choosing items from the treasury.

Chen Shi's eyes lit up. Now that sounded good!

Picking out treasure was his favorite thing to do!

Steven looked much calmer. As the heir to the Stone family, what treasure hadn't he seen?

He had even seen legendary-grade resources.

But then Zinnia stood up, opened another door in the wooden house, and led them down into the cellar.

Steven lost his composure. Rather than looking at the resources, he stared at several large crates filled to the brim with stones.

The Draconids had collected all of them, either because they had unusual, attractive shapes or because they contained special energy.

That was why the Draconids had stored them in the cellar.

Chen Shi, meanwhile, was dazzled by the selection. Precious medicinal herbs, top-grade Evolution stones, Type Gems-they were everywhere.

He even spotted several Outrage scales left behind by Champion Level Dragon-type Pokémon.

Unfortunately, most of these resources were meant for Dragon-type Pokémon, so Chen Shi only gave those Outrage scales a glance.

Then, like Steven, he began rummaging through the stones.

Zinnia stood beside them, speechless.

In the village, only those who had made major contributions were allowed in here. She hadn't expected these two to show no interest in those resources.

Instead, they were interested in these stones.

Were all outsiders like this?

What she didn't know was that both of them came from extraordinary backgrounds outside the village. One was the heir to the Stone family, while the other's grandparents were both Top-level Breeders.

They truly weren't short on resources, unless those resources were legendary-grade.

Something like an Outrage scale from Giratina.

Clearly, there were no resources of that caliber here.

That made those resources less appealing to them than the stones.

One simply liked stones, while the other was searching for Mega Stones.

And sure enough, the Draconids' collection, accumulated over all these years, was no joke.

There were more than twenty Mega Stones and eight Key Stones.

Most were for Dragon-type Pokémon, such as Salamence, Garchomp, and Altaria.

Those Pokémon had probably found them and had them stored here.

But there were also quite a few Mega Stones for other Pokémon.

For example, the Metagross Mega Stone Chen Shi had been longing for was now in his hand.

Excitement surged through Chen Shi. He had found it without any effort at all. He hadn't expected to find a Metagross Mega Stone here.

Now he had collected Mega Stones for every Pokémon he owned that could Mega Evolve.

He wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

Next, Chen Shi chose an Outrage scale from a Champion Peak Salamence.

He planned to take it home for his grandfather's Salamence to try, to see whether it could use the scale to break through to Champion Level.

Once Salamence broke through, the family farm would be even safer. Probably no one would dare covet Chen Shi's farm anymore.

When the two emerged from the cellar, the Grandmother-in-Chief fell silent for a moment upon seeing what they had chosen.

The Outrage scale was understandable. Since she had let them in, she naturally wasn't afraid of them choosing something valuable.

But she hadn't expected their other three choices to be three useless stones.

That left the old woman rather puzzled.

What she didn't know, however, was that the power she longed for lay in those very stones.

Then the old woman asked softly, "Are you sure these are what you want? Wouldn't you like to choose something else?"

"No." ×2

The two answered in unison.

The old woman nodded slightly. Everyone had their own preferences. Since they liked the stones, she stopped trying to persuade them.

Then she said solemnly, "If the disaster from a thousand years ago strikes again, I ask that you both return here."

"You will be well rewarded!"

She placed heavy emphasis on those last two words, and both of them understood what she meant.

Today's gifts were only an appetizer-or rather, a deposit.

If disaster struck in the future and they came to help, she would give them the truly good things.

"No problem." Both Chen Shi and Steven agreed.

Having thought it through, Chen Shi no longer felt resistant. As long as there were good things on offer, he could brave even the deadliest dangers.

Besides, Steven would be with him. No need to panic.

"Then we'll take our leave, ma'am. Sorry for all the trouble."

A smile spread across the old woman's deeply wrinkled face. "You're welcome to visit anytime!"

The two nodded, then followed Ada, who was waiting by the door, out.

"Grandmother-in-Chief, do you really think those two are the people from the prophecy?"

"They don't seem like it to me!"

"And why didn't you ask them how to master that power similar to the Dragon God's?"

"If we could learn it, we might not need help from outsiders."

Once they were gone, Zinnia hurriedly questioned the old woman in a low voice.

She truly didn't understand. Of those two, only the silver-haired young man looked at all respectable.

The other one looked completely unreliable.

The Grandmother-in-Chief gave Zinnia a calm glance.

"Child, don't judge people by appearances. Sometimes the way people present themselves can be deceiving."

"Perhaps the one you think is unreliable is actually the most reliable of all."

Recalling what Chen Shi had been like, Zinnia couldn't help questioning it inwardly.

Was he really the way she said he was?

Then the old woman continued, "You also asked why I didn't ask that young man how to master that power."

"But have you considered why he should hand over something so important to you?"

"Some questions shouldn't be asked. They would only sour an otherwise friendly relationship."

Zinnia opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

The Grandmother-in-Chief was right. He had no reason to hand something so important over to us.

Bringing it up would only make things awkward for both sides.

As for taking it by force, Zinnia hadn't even considered it. They had helped the village recover the five dragon hatchlings and were its benefactors.

The Draconids' Dragon Tamers had always acted honorably. They would never repay kindness with treachery.

"Girl, you still have much to learn."

"Make your preparations and head out into the world too. Don't stay in the village forever."

Zinnia's heart jolted, and then she nodded firmly.

"I understand, Grandmother-in-Chief."

Torkoal