Steven was watching with intense focus.
Even through a screen, he had picked up a monocular magnifying glass. It was only when he realized that the magnification made it harder to see the finer details that he sheepishly tucked it away.
After a long silence, he spoke.
"Hmm... Kashiwagi, if you don't mind me asking." He paused. "Do you have any intention of selling this entire rock?"
"By 'entire,' do you mean including the outer rocky shell?" Kashiwagi asked cautiously.
"Yes." Steven nodded. "Personally, I rarely buy stones from others because I enjoy the process of the hunt. However, this piece of yours has truly captured my interest, so I'm willing to purchase it from you at a fair price."
"...Alright."
Kashiwagi agreed. Seeing how much Steven liked it, he had half a mind to just give it to him for free, but hearing the heavy emphasis Steven placed on the word purchase, he immediately understood that the man was dead set on paying.
"Then, how should I get it to you?" Kashiwagi asked.
"As much as I'd love to receive this stone in person, unfortunately, I have other matters to attend to right now. I'll need you to help me deliver it to the Devon Corporation headquarters in Rustboro City."
Steven gave him a phone number. "Once you arrive, please contact this number. A professional will be there to handle the valuation. Oh, and if possible, please don't let my father see it."
"Uh... why?"
"My father is just like me—a fanatic stone collector. I'm worried that if he sees it, he'll try to swoop in and take it for himself." Steven said it like a joke.
Yet, for some reason, Kashiwagi felt he was being perfectly serious.
What is the deal with this father-son duo? They actually fight over rocks?
Stone collectors were a mystery.
"I understand," Kashiwagi nodded.
Steven hesitated for a moment, then added, "By the way, I told you before that I'd have a gift for you the next time we met."
"Right!"
Kashiwagi perked up instantly. Was Steven about to mail him a Key Stone?
The latter, however, looked a bit helpless. "But it seems this gift has run into a conflict with the Draconid people's arrangements for you... I only found out about this recently."
"Arrangements?" Kashiwagi was stunned. "What did they arrange?"
"Huh? You don't know yet?" Steven seemed surprised, then looked embarrassed. "It seems I've let it slip—said something I shouldn't have. Anyway, considering the situation with the Draconid people, I've swapped your gift and left it at the Rustboro City Pokémon Center.
"Once you get there, Nurse Joy will hand it over to you... Well then, that's all for now."
With that, the video call cut to black.
I feel like I just heard something huge...
Kashiwagi rubbed his chin. Based on the info Steven dropped, it seemed his identity as a descendant of Dragon Tamers had really been verified—even the Draconid people were making plans for him.
What kind of plans? A challenge to become a Successor? Like the one Korrina had to do?
But if there were arrangements, why hadn't anyone called him? He remembered having the phone numbers for those Dragon Tamers.
It was all getting very complicated.
And the fact that he really was a descendant of Dragon Tamers... he didn't even know what to say. He had originally just made a fake badge to bluff his way through, yet through a series of coincidences, he was actually "returning to his roots."
"Let's put that aside for now. This is more important."
Kashiwagi turned to Aggron and Mawile, grinning. "Looks like we're about to strike it rich. It's just going to be a bit of hard work."
He had originally planned to break the rock down to avoid hauling such a heavy load, but now he had to transport the whole thing.
The two Pokémon chirped in response, then began pondering how to move the two massive boulders. A single piece was already hard to carry; now that it was split in two, it was even trickier.
He tried stuffing them into his bag, but unfortunately, even split in half, the pieces were too big. The opening of his spatial backpack wasn't wide enough... and whether he could even lift it was another question.
"Agg-rron~"
Aggron tried to press the two split halves together and hoist them onto its shoulder, but it was still clumsy.
Ultimately, Kashiwagi pulled out some nylon rope and followed an online tutorial to weave a net. Only after the rocks were securely bundled did it become much easier for Aggron to carry.
"We'll head to Littleroot Town and catch a bus to Rustboro City. We should be there before dark."
He checked the map and confirmed their direction.
But just as they were about to leave, an eerie, shrill cry echoed from deep within the dense forest, approaching at high speed.
"...Shiftry?"
Kashiwagi had once fought a life-and-death battle with one of these Pokémon, and its voice had left a deep impression on him.
In the next instant, a white, shaggy figure appeared on a nearby tree. It stood on wooden geta-like clogs, its hands were three-lobed leaves, and it sported a long, pointed nose. With its triangular eyes and large white teeth, it looked quite menacing.
And standing beside the Shiftry was the Nuzleaf that Mawile had nearly punched earlier.
"Well, well. I let you go, and you go and bring a parent back to get beaten?" Kashiwagi, in high spirits from his impending windfall, decided that if they attacked, he'd just give them a quick thrashing and be done with it.
If they refused to let it go and kept causing trouble, he'd consider sending them to Pyrite Town for "rehabilitation" to keep that Gyarados—the one that almost drowned Max, to keep company.
"Shift-ree!"
The Shiftry glanced at Aggron and Mawile, then at Kashiwagi. Surprisingly, it didn't attack. Instead, it let out a loud shout.
"What's it saying?"
Kashiwagi turned to ask, only to see Mawile suddenly activate Magnet Rise and float up. She leaned in close to the Shiftry, did something he couldn't quite see, and then flew back down.
"Maw-maw!"
She held something out to him.
"...What's going on?" Kashiwagi looked at the sun-shaped, orange-red rock, his expression a bit numb. "Is Petalburg Woods just a gold mine for Evolution Stones?"
After handing over the item, the Shiftry led the Nuzleaf away.
Mawile gestured with her hands, telling her trainer that the Shiftry had come to "apologize." Since the Nuzleaf had dropped the honey, it had brought an Evolution Stone as a replacement.
Now that was a good trade.
"Is that thing really a Dark-type Pokémon?"
Kashiwagi couldn't help but wonder.
He figured it might be an older individual; such Pokémon often grew wiser and more rational with age. It had likely dealt with many trainers in Petalburg Woods before.
Still...
"My luck is way too good today," he muttered to himself. First a sudden windfall, then some insider info, and now a brand-new Evolution Stone.
It would surely come in handy sooner or later.
"Are your effects really this overpowered?" Kashiwagi pulled out the Prism Scale, inevitably attributing all his good fortune to the item.
But if it was really this effective, why couldn't it help Toshiki solve his empty Gym problem?
...Who knows.