"Piplup!"
Piplup gazed at the stone. Its smooth surface was partially exposed in the pit it had just dug. Excited, the penguin Pokémon tossed aside its small pickaxe and began digging with both of its tiny flippers.
Soon, the stone buried beneath the soil revealed its complete form.
"Piplup?"
Piplup held the round stone in its flippers and examined it closely.
The stone was yellow in color, and inside it was a red and blue-purple leaf pattern.
It looked quite similar to the stone that Metagross wore on its body, didn't it?
"Piplup!!"
"Hmm? What is it, Piplup?"
Steven stopped his mining work and turned to look at Piplup, who was running toward him with the stone held high.
At the same time, he noticed the stone the little Piplup was holding proudly in its flippers.
"Ah?!"
Steven froze in place, staring in disbelief as Piplup handed the stone to him.
"Piplup! (￣▽￣)╭"
Look, I dug this out myself!
Steven's outstretched hand trembled slightly as he carefully examined the stone.
This was indeed a genuine Mega Stone.
He just didn't know which Pokémon it belonged to yet.
But judging by its appearance, it probably wasn't meant for any Pokémon on his current team.
Steven's gaze fell on the expectant little Piplup standing before him.
This little one was truly amazing.
He never expected it to have such incredible luck!
Steven glanced at the ordinary ores piled nearby, then looked back at the Mega Stone in his hand.
He never imagined there would come a day when he'd be outdone by a little Piplup.
"Piplup..."
"Piplup!"
Piplup's eyes sparkled brightly as it eagerly awaited Steven's praise.
Steven's words caught in his throat. Then he changed his tune and said, "You really have an excellent talent for mining! Do you have some kind of protagonist's blessing?"
"Piplup! (＾∀＾)ﾉｼ"
Although it didn't understand what a "protagonist's blessing" meant, it must be a compliment for little Piplup!
Piplup seemed very pleased with itself.
"Piplup?"
Is this the Mega Stone for my best friend?
Metagross moved a couple of steps closer and used Psychic to write Piplup's question on the ground.
"Unfortunately, even though this is a Mega Stone, it doesn't appear to be Aggronite," Steven said with a helpless smile.
"Piplup!"
Then I'll keep working hard!
Everything is for my best friend!
Watching the little Piplup scurry back to pick up its small pickaxe, ready to continue its big mining project, Steven looked at the Mega Stone in his hand with a wry smile.
Of the two Mega Stones he had encountered so far, one had been accidentally eaten by Aron when he first met it.
The second one was now dug up by Piplup.
If Steven ventured into the depths of Granite Cave next time with both Aggron and Piplup working together, wouldn't they have a very high chance of actually finding Aggronite?
What would you even call that strategy?
Double Piplup Power!
"Metagross?"
Metagross wiped the writing on the ground clean with Psychic, then suddenly looked suspiciously toward a certain direction.
"What's wrong, Metagross?" Steven looked curiously at Metagross's unusual behavior.
Metagross didn't answer right away. Instead, it closed its eyes to sense the area more carefully.
Then it opened its eyes and wrote a new message on the ground.
"There are two people deeper inside the cave?"
"Maybe they're fellow ore enthusiasts?"
Metagross gently shook its head side to side.
It quickly drew two small figures on the ground with Psychic.
But one figure was drawn above, and the other was drawn below.
"Did someone fall down?"
Metagross nodded in confirmation.
"They must have encountered a ground collapse, right?"
"Let's go take a look."
"Metagross!"
Metagross nodded again. Steven climbed onto Metagross's back.
He called out to Piplup, who was still diligently digging for ore not far away:
"Piplup, stop digging for now! Come with me!"
"Piplup? (⊙ｏ⊙)"
An invisible Psychic force lifted Piplup and pulled it over directly.
Metagross quickly moved toward the cave entrance ahead.
Before long, in the light of Steven's headlamp, he spotted a woman kneeling on the ground.
When the woman saw the light, she quickly spun her head around and noticed Steven sitting on Metagross.
"Wait... she looks a little familiar."
Steven studied the woman, feeling more and more certain that he knew her.
It seemed to be... Wally's older sister, Wanda?
"Excuse me, could I ask you for help?" Wanda didn't have time to think about who this person was. She quickly made her request.
"Did someone accidentally fall down there?"
"Yes! My boyfriend Riley was here to inspect the situation in Rusturf Tunnel. But this section of ground suddenly collapsed, and the falling rocks from above blocked the opening!"
Although Wanda was clearly anxious, she managed to explain the situation simply and clearly.
Steven nodded gently in understanding.
If someone was hit by falling rocks and buried under a pile of stones, they indeed wouldn't be able to release a Pokémon to escape the situation.
Steven didn't ask why Riley had brought Wanda along for the inspection. The immediate priority was to rescue Riley from the collapsed tunnel.
Although the Rusturf Tunnel construction project had been stopped a few years ago, the project's ownership had always belonged to his family's Devon Corporation.
That meant Riley was a construction team member working under Devon Corporation.
"Metagross, please move the rocks aside."
Steven patted Metagross beneath him.
Metagross understood the request. Its eyes glowed with a faint blue light as it used Psychic.
The rocks blocking the collapsed opening were lifted away one by one.
Soon, all the rocks had been moved. A very large and muscular man was carefully lifted out by Metagross using Psychic.
The man was gently placed flat on the ground. He slowly opened his dazed eyes.
The first person who came into view was Wanda.
"Am I seeing things?" Riley muttered to himself, his voice tinged with confusion.
"No! This kind person rescued you," Wanda said. She cast a grateful look toward Steven.
"It was nothing," Steven said with a slight smile.
Piplup, still perched on Metagross's head, looked around curiously as if searching for another good spot to dig out its best friend's Mega Stone.
"You are... the Vice President of Devon Corporation?"
Steven nodded gently, not denying his identity.
"Thank you so much for saving me," Riley said gratefully as Wanda helped him sit up carefully.
"Just be more careful during your next inspection."
Steven suddenly thought of something and asked, "Didn't the Rusturf Tunnel project get stopped? Why does it still need regular inspections?"
"We discovered another possible route. Although it doesn't go directly to Verdanturf Town, it can reach the waterfall area on the side of Mt. Chimney."
"It's not too far from Verdanturf Town, so we can dig the tunnel through that way and avoid disturbing the Whismur colony that lives here."
Listening to Riley's explanation, Steven finally understood the situation.
"Oh, by the way, Vice President, I found this stone in Granite Cave some time ago."
Riley pulled out a perfectly round gray stone from his pocket. It had a silver-white and dark gray leaf pattern in the middle!
Another... another Mega Stone?!
"I thought this stone was very beautiful. I was originally planning to give it to my girlfriend as a gift..." Riley said, looking apologetically at Wanda.
"But now I want to give it to you, Vice President, as a thank-you gift for saving my life."
However, Wanda showed no concern about this. She shook her head and said, "I'm just glad you're safe. There are plenty of other stones out there."
"Vice President, please accept it!"
Steven stared intently at the Mega Stone in Riley's hand. Based on its gray color and the pattern, this stone was most likely a Mega Stone for a Steel-type Pokémon.
Combined with the silver-white and dark gray leaf pattern, Steven had a very strong feeling this was Aggronite—the Mega Stone for Aggron.
"I'm also looking for this type of stone, but these Mega Stones are extremely valuable..."
"It's nothing compared to the life-saving grace you showed me, Vice President," Riley said with a sincere smile.
"Then... then I'll gratefully accept it." Steven carefully took the Mega Stone that Riley offered, still somewhat in disbelief at his fortune.
Could this really be called...
Finding treasure without any effort?