Pokémon Breeder's Story

Chapter 42: Mega Evolution!

A Dragonite Mega Stone...?

Kenji stared at the stone in Steven's hand, his face filled with astonishment. As far as he knew, Dragonite didn't have a Mega Evolution, did it? But the stone in front of him didn't look like a fake.

Kenji was a bit flustered. He turned his gaze to Steven and asked, "This is..."

Steven replied politely, "This is a rather precious queer stone that I collected some years ago."

According to his research, these stones were extremely rare and non-renewable, and no one knew their origin. At first, Steven had thought it was some kind of evolution stone, similar to a Fire Stone or a Thunder Stone. To that end, he had even specially invited some researchers to study it. Unfortunately, after a long period of research, they found nothing, and the stone couldn't make Pokémon evolve.

Even if it was useless, the fact that it was a non-renewable resource was enough to prove the stone's value. After all, you never knew when they might be gone for good. Moreover, there was energy within these stones. They must have some use; it just hadn't been discovered yet. So, during that period, Steven had collected many such stones. The only difference was that the patterns inside each stone varied slightly.

Hearing Steven's words, Kenji's heart was filled with complex feelings. It was indeed quite precious... because this was a Mega Stone, capable of allowing a Pokémon to break through its species' limits and transcend its own evolution!

But judging by Steven's expression and considering the current timeline, "Mega Evolution" had probably not yet been discovered.

"Are you sure you want to give it to me?" This gift was so precious that for a moment, Kenji didn't know if he should accept it.

Steven, however, nodded seriously, a graceful smile on his face. "Thank you for your trust. Please consider this gift my thanks for helping me and Metang develop the move 'Gravity'."

Kenji was indeed tempted by this evolution stone. Moreover, he was very fond of the Pokémon Dragonite. If he had the chance in the future, he would definitely catch a charmingly simple, round, cute, and powerful Dragonite.

"In that case, I won't be polite. I like this stone very much." Kenji ultimately accepted the gift. As a transmigrator, he was familiar with all the conditions for Mega Evolution. The least he could do was help Steven and his Metagross achieve Mega Evolution ahead of schedule, let him know about it early, and let him take off.

Seeing Kenji accept it, Steven was very happy. However, in the next second, he saw Kenji turn around, go into a room, and then bring out the other five glittering meteorites.

Steven: "!!!"

"These things aren't of much use to me. Since you like them, you can have them all!" Kenji said.

Steven, who had been overjoyed, suddenly calmed down upon hearing this. One does not accept a reward without having earned it. His upbringing from a young age made it impossible for him to accept someone's gift for no reason.

"I can't accept this gift for nothing," Steven said, shaking his head. "If you don't mind, we can continue to trade." He said this because he had keenly noticed that Kenji seemed to really like the kind of round stone he had just given him.

"Trade?" Kenji was taken aback.

"That's right. Whether it's Moon Stones or the stone I just gave you, anything is fine," Steven nodded. If Kenji refused to trade, then he wouldn't accept these meteorites.

Kenji understood Steven's meaning, his heart feeling a little complicated. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Do you have more of these stones?"

Steven thought of the wall full of stones at his home and nodded. "Yes. Do you like this kind of stone?"

Kenji began to spout nonsense with a perfectly straight face. "To be honest, this stone reminds me of some things, related to some dreams I've had. But it's just a guess. If I had more stones, I could verify it."

"Dreams?"

Kenji nodded and casually fabricated a story. "For the past three years, I've been dreaming frequently. In my dreams, it's like I've become another person. Pokémon exist there too, and in that place, the Pokémon can use a certain kind of item to surpass themselves and evolve even further."

Hearing this, Steven was stunned. At only ten years old, he couldn't fully comprehend the meaning behind these words, but being well-read, some speculations inevitably arose in his mind. A parallel universe? A dream projection? He knew that some Pokémon possessed the ability to weave dreams.

But a Pokémon surpassing itself and evolving further... The image of his Metang evolving into Metagross and then evolving again appeared in his mind. How could that be... This sounded a bit too mind-boggling.

Steven looked up at Kenji.

"It's just a dream, I don't know if it's real or not. When I saw this stone today, it felt a little familiar, which is why I suddenly remembered it," Kenji paused, then added, "If you don't believe me, then forget it."

Steven opened his mouth and subconsciously shook his head. "No... it's not that." It wasn't that he didn't believe him. It was just that this matter was too incredible. He had never heard of such a thing. But, there was no reason for Kenji to lie to him.

"What should I do?" Steven asked.

"I need more of these stones," Kenji replied.

Steven didn't doubt him. He nodded and agreed without hesitation. "I'll go back right now and bring all those stones over." With that, Steven was about to turn and leave.

"Wait a minute!" Kenji quickly stopped him.

Steven turned back, puzzled.

"This stone alone is not enough," Kenji said, feigning recollection. "It needs another kind of stone to work with it."

Steven's family had plenty of stones, all kinds. "Can you describe what it looks like?" he asked.

Kenji took out a pen and paper and drew the pattern on a Key Stone. "The color is like a rainbow. Do you have one?"

Steven thought carefully for a moment and shook his head. "Not one that small... but I do have a very large, colorful stone."

Could it be a raw Key Stone? Kenji pressed, "What about the pattern?"

"It doesn't have this pattern."

Kenji was thoughtful. The pattern on the Key Stone... could it be something that is carved onto it? Or perhaps the insignia representing Mega Evolution only appears when a trainer's Key Stone resonates with the Mega Stone on their Pokémon?

"If it's possible, could you bring that stone over for me to see as well?" Kenji asked.

"I can," Steven agreed without hesitation. "I'll be back soon."

After saying that, Steven turned and left the breeding center, completely forgetting to take the five meteorites with him.

Kenji: "..."