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"Me? I'm here to complete the task for promotion to an outer member of the League. According to the information given in the task document, this is why I came to this place. Look—this is it."
Hearing Steven's question, Sato didn't try to hide anything. He directly explained his purpose for coming here and took the task document out of his space backpack.
Steven had clearly been here for quite some time already. By telling him the details of the task, Sato might be able to get some useful hints from him and speed up the process.
"So that's how it is. Your reading comprehension is impressive—you actually managed to find this place."
"But what you're looking for isn't here. I've already checked all the stone statues in this area. There's nothing the League left behind. Looks like you'll need to search other parts of the cave that also have stone statues."
"Oh right, do you have a map? I've already checked a few other places with statues. I can mark them for you."
Steven took the task document from Sato, frowned as he thought it over for a moment, then finally understood the hidden meaning behind it. Scratching his head, he smiled at Sato as he spoke.
"That would be amazing. These cave paths are terrible to navigate. Those Whismur, Loudred, and Exploud are no joke—I nearly got buried in the tunnels several times."
Seeing that Steven truly had clues and was even willing to share them, Sato was overjoyed. He quickly took out his map and handed it over, his face full of delight.
After taking the map, Steven carefully examined the routes and markings. Soon, he used a red pen to circle several underground spaces where he had already found stone statues.
This left Sato with only two unexplored areas remaining. If his understanding of the task document was correct, he would soon be able to complete the promotion mission.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Steven."
Sato took back the marked map and immediately bowed in thanks.
Even though he had obtained the clues he needed, Sato wasn't satisfied with leaving just yet. He deliberately changed the subject and continued discussing stones with Steven, hoping to further deepen their friendship.
The moment stones were mentioned, Steven seemed to turn into a completely different person, enthusiastically chatting with Sato. Before they knew it, more than an hour had passed.
During the conversation, Sato intentionally let Steven take the lead, patiently acting as a knowledgeable listener. From time to time, he would offer insights that made Steven genuinely impressed.
As a result, Steven's fondness for Sato steadily increased. In the end, he even took the initiative to add Sato's contact number so they could easily get in touch whenever new stones were discovered and discuss them together.
"Oh no, I got way too absorbed—I almost missed the time. Tyler, let's talk again next time. It's really been a pleasure chatting with you."
Steven casually glanced at the watch on his right wrist, startled, and then said apologetically to Sato.
Clearly, Steven still had tasks to complete, and the time for action—or its deadline—was already close. After saying that, he immediately recalled Aggron and had Claydol use Teleport to take him away.
"So he's gone… what a pity."
Watching Steven leave in such a hurry, Sato couldn't help but feel a bit regretful.
Then, a flash of blue light appeared in his eyes. His entire body was instantly enveloped in a blue glow, and under the effect of telekinesis, he lifted off the ground and flew rapidly toward the ceiling of the underground chamber.
He soon stopped midair, seven or eight meters above the ground, staring excitedly at a strange stone wedged within a crack in the rocky ceiling.
While chatting with Steven earlier, Sato had quietly used his psychic detection to thoroughly scan the entire underground space—and had unexpectedly discovered this peculiar stone hidden in the ceiling.
The stone was fairly large, about half the size of a volleyball. Its shape was irregular, its surface crystal-clear, and inside were spiral patterns resembling strands of DNA. A small portion of it had been exposed due to the surrounding rock breaking away.
"I wasn't mistaken… to think there'd be an unpolished Mega Stone hidden here."
Illuminated by the light at Pikachu's tail, Sato took out a small pickaxe and carefully pried the crystal-clear stone from the rock wall. Holding it in his hands and examining it, his face lit up with excitement.
This unpolished Mega Stone was extremely well hidden. If not for Sato's psychic scan of the entire underground chamber, he would have missed it just like Steven had.
Sato then used the system's appraisal function on it. Unfortunately, the result wasn't the one he had hoped for—it wasn't Swampert's Mega Stone.
Mega Stone Information:
Item: Lopunnite
Effect: Allows Lopunny to Mega Evolve into Mega Lopunny
Description: An unpolished Mega Stone containing the mysterious power to enable a specific Pokémon to undergo Mega Evolution.
"Even though it's not Swampert's Mega Stone… no matter what, this is still a huge gain. Having one more Mega Stone in hand means one more bargaining chip for future trades."
Although there was a trace of disappointment, Sato was still very pleased as he looked at the information displayed for the Mega Stone.
In fact, during his conversation with Steven earlier, Sato had deliberately hinted that he possessed an Aggronite.
However, considering that proposing a Mega Stone trade right after meeting would be too abrupt, he had restrained himself and kept quiet.
After all, in Sato's view, as a League Champion, Steven was certainly aware of Mega Stones.
To be honest, Sato suspected that Steven's visit to mine here might very well have been for the very Mega Stone now in his hands.
If Sato's guess was correct, then the many Pokémon stone statues in this underground space were once victims of the ultimate weapon created by the ancient Kalos king AZ—having their life force drained and turned into stone.
That would also explain why a completely unpolished Mega Evolution Stone appeared here. After all, the birth of Mega Stones is closely tied to the ultimate weapon.
Steven's powerful Aggron currently lacked its Mega Stone. If Sato could present an Aggronite, Aggron would undoubtedly sense the resonance of its corresponding Mega Stone.
If that happened, Sato might be able to use Steven as an intermediary to smoothly trade for Swampert's Mega Stone.
Steven might not currently possess a Swampertite—but that didn't matter. Sato trusted Steven's character and capabilities.
With Steven's means, as long as he was willing, no matter how precious Mega Stones were, he would eventually be able to find one suitable for his Pokémon.
In Sato's memory, Steven had relied on his own ability to obtain the immensely valuable Metagross Mega Stone, allowing his enviable shiny Metagross to complete its Mega Evolution.