"Rainbow Branch?"
The moment Steven Stone heard Silas's words, his eyes lit up.
That was an extremely rare type of stone.
"Come on, let's go back and talk."
He eagerly pulled Silas toward the exit of the venue.
There was no helping it, although there were many stalls selling stones here, very few could actually catch his interest.
In more than two hours, the number of stones Steven had taken a liking to and purchased was only a handful.
Rather than wasting time here, it would be better to go somewhere suitable and properly admire the Rainbow Branch.
At this point, the looks from the surrounding Trainers became even more intense.
Silas couldn't help but shiver.
Fortunately, no one actually came up to cause him trouble.
At a time when Cynthia and Wallace had not yet taken the Champion's throne, the fanbases of Steven and Lance were still not quite as insane.
Considering Steven's identity, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, Silas deliberately recalled Ralts and Blaziken into their Poké Balls before leaving the venue.
Those two were simply too eye-catching and easy to notice.
Even so, the short distance still took them quite a while to walk.
"Please, come in."
Steven opened the door and invited Silas inside.
Silas put on a polite smile, but inside he was screaming.
Is this what rich people's lives are like?
Not staying at a Pokémon Center, not even a hotel, just buying a house?
"Because of the exchange convention, I specifically bought a house here.
It's a bit small, please don't mind it."
Steven said apologetically.
But if a manor-style mansion in the center of Leaf Town counted as "small," then what did Silas's place count as?
After changing shoes and walking inside, the decorations weren't excessively luxurious.
However, the various stones that appeared in Silas's field of view from time to time were all extremely valuable.
Probably only a stone collector like Steven would use such things as decorations.
"So beautiful!"
After the two sat down, Silas immediately took out the Rainbow Branch from his backpack.
Steven stared obsessively at the coral horn that emitted seven colors under the lights.
"This is incredibly rare."
After admiring it for several minutes, Steven finally forced himself to look away.
He sighed to Silas, "I once had specialists at the company try to cultivate Rainbow Branches. Unfortunately, the conditions under which Corsola sheds them are extremely unstable.
Besides water quality, temperature, and seasonal timing, it also depends on Corsola's own potential, strength, and age. Not to mention individual variation."
Silas was secretly amazed.
He had known Rainbow Branches were rare, but he never imagined they were this hard to obtain.
Still, the fact that Devon Corporation could identify so many conditions spoke volumes about their strength.
"This is simply amazing."
Steven praised while handling the Rainbow Branch.
"It's just a pity there's only one, but—"
Before he could finish, Silas interrupted him.
He had been waiting for that line.
"It's fine, it's fine. I still have more."
Silas reached into his backpack.
Under Steven's shocked gaze, a whole row of Rainbow Branches was laid out on the table.
The dazzling colors made the entire room feel vibrant and atmospheric.
Steven fell silent.
Wait, this thing can be bought in bulk?
He picked one up and examined it in disbelief.
With his understanding of stones and Pokémon, it was undeniably real.
He pressed his temple with a headache.
Could it be that the people at his company were completely useless?
A random Trainer could pull out piles of these, yet they couldn't produce even one.
"If possible, could you tell me where you found these Rainbow Branches?"
Steven asked out of pure curiosity.
"They weren't exactly found. I met Suicune last time, talked with it a bit, and asked for some Rainbow Branches."
Silas said casually.
"Suicune, huh~"
Steven finally relaxed, no wonder.
But then again…
He looked at Silas with a strange, complicated expression.
What kind of Trainer sees Suicune and thinks not about capturing it or battling it, but about asking it for items?
And items that only humans cared about, with no use to Pokémon.
Silas remained perfectly calm.
There was no way he could admit that his brain had short-circuited at the time and he just went along with what Suicune said.
"Alright."
Steven sighed helplessly. "I can take all of them, but as for the price—"
"Price isn't a problem. I can give a thirty-percent discount."
Silas said decisively.
He hadn't expected Steven to agree so quickly.
He had even prepared a bunch of persuasion tactics, like arranging seven Rainbow Branches to create seven color patterns through light angles.
As expected of the heir to a major corporation.
So generous.
"Thirty percent off…"
Steven thought for a moment and felt it was reasonable, so he was about to agree.
"One more thing, could you exchange the payment for equivalent Pokémon training materials instead?"
Silas rubbed his hands and made another request.
"Even if the value is slightly lower, that's fine."
He added.
There was no choice, so many Rainbow Branches were extremely hard to sell.
Even if he dragged out the sales, their value would inevitably drop.
Considering practicality, selling them to Steven at a discount was actually a profit for him.
"Yes, of course, no problem."
Steven agreed without hesitation.
For him, the difference was insignificant.
As for the price difference, there was no need to fuss over it, it was just the cost of befriending a rising star Trainer.
"Send me the list of materials you need. I'll have them prepared and shipped to you. If there's anything particularly important, mark it. I'll do my best."
Steven put away several Rainbow Branches, leaving only one outside, and said to Silas.
"Alright, alright."
Silas nodded repeatedly.
If nothing went wrong, this single trade alone would be enough to support him for more than half a year.
He froze.
Then, incredulously, he recalculated.
No mistake, still more than half a year.
More precisely, just under eight months.
The problem lay with Ralts and Alolan Vulpix.
And note, this calculation didn't even include the cost of a high-quality Ice Stone required for Alolan Vulpix's evolution.
That was something Silas had already planned to purchase with his existing funds.
But now, with two additional Pokémon, one of which was Psychic-type, the cost of raising his team had surged by nearly one-third.
The main reason was simple: his Pokémon were improving far too quickly, and training costs rose just as fast.
This, he supposed, was what people called a happy problem.
Compared to himself at this time last year, Silas felt that while his strength had grown significantly, his financial situation hadn't improved at all.
He was still living day to day.
No.
He made up his mind.
He absolutely had to finalize that deal with Bugsy as soon as possible, only then would money stop being such a constant concern.
"Oh, right, Mr. Stone, do you happen to have any high-quality Ice Stones?"
Thinking of Alolan Vulpix and its evolution, and with a stone collector right in front of him, Silas naturally wasn't about to miss this opportunity.
Evolution stones were stones too, Steven surely had plenty of premium-grade ones.
The only question was whether he had an Ice Stone.
"An Ice Stone from Alola?"
Steven, who had been observing the coral branch, immediately looked up when he heard the question.
"Unfortunately, no. I haven't been to Alola yet, so I don't have that kind of Evolution Stone. But you've reminded me, if I get the chance in the future, I'll definitely visit that new region and dig up some stones."
Silas sighed regretfully.
There was nothing to be done.
Who knew why Ice Stones were currently found only in the Alola region?
If Alolan Vulpix didn't absolutely require an Ice Stone to evolve, he'd already be stressing over preparing an Everstone to keep it from evolving too early.
He didn't want Alolan Vulpix to miss any opportunity to further unlock its potential.
"However, if you know the right people, I'd suggest asking Lorelei."
Steven offered an alternative suggestion.
"Elite Four Lorelei?"
Silas raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Yes. She might have Ice Stones."
Steven's wording was deliberately vague.
As the Champion, he was aware of Lorelei's connection to the Legendary Pokémon Articuno, but that information wasn't something he could openly disclose.
Without knowing how much Silas already knew, there was no way he'd spell it out directly.
Silas, however, reacted quickly.
After all, he had once fought alongside Lorelei.
Even if they hadn't encountered Articuno directly, he had at least felt its overwhelming presence.
With Suicune as a precedent, it wasn't hard to imagine why Lorelei might possess Ice Stones.
Put simply, Evolution Stones form when an area's elemental energy density and quality become excessively high.
And in this world, how many places were more suitable than the long-term dwelling grounds of Legendary Pokémon?
"Thank you very much for the tip."
Silas expressed his gratitude excitedly.
This solved a major problem for him.
Steven narrowed his eyes slightly.
It seemed Silas knew far more than he'd initially assumed. that explained why the Kanto League valued him so highly.
They had clearly withheld part of the information from Devon Corporation.
Still, Steven was used to this.
Different regions meant different interests.
He'd just have his intelligence division reassess things later.
It wasn't too late.
"Oh, speaking of Alola, the stone you asked me about earlier is actually related to that region."
Steven suddenly brought up Silas's previous question.
The exchange fair wasn't an appropriate place to discuss regions that hadn't yet been officially revealed, especially when it involved sensitive matters.
Alola still had a long way to go before formally joining the Pokémon League system.
"Oh?"
Silas's curiosity was instantly piqued.
"That's a long story," Steven said, taking a sip of water.
"You know that the Alola region consists mainly of four large, resource-rich islands, right?"
Silas nodded.
Melemele Island, Akala Island, Ula'ula Island, and Poni Island, he was aware of that much.
"But there's information that hasn't been made public yet."
Steven paused.
What he was about to say differed greatly from current public understanding.
"Each of those four islands is home to a Legendary Pokémon, referred to by the locals as Island Guardians and here's the key point—"
His tone grew noticeably firmer.
"These four Island Guardians actively meet humans and select their own Island Kahuna to govern each island."
This was the greatest difference between Alola's four Guardians and the Legendary Pokémon of the six known regions.
You couldn't expect Ho-Oh, Rayquaza, or Lugia to choose human representatives, it was simply impossible.
Since the Bell Tower and Tin Tower incident, Ho-Oh had almost never appeared before humans again.
At most, people encountered members of the Rainbow Wing.
As for Rayquaza, unless you launched something like a satellite into space to provoke it, you'd never even observe it.
The Draconid people's beliefs were largely wishful thinking.
Lugia was no exception.
Whenever it appeared, it usually ended up fighting another Legendary, then being driven back together with Rayquaza.
It had practically become routine.
"We believe it's because Alola's residents, having had little contact with the outside world, hold a deep, heartfelt reverence for their Island Guardians.
Their ritual known as the Island Challenge only strengthens this bond.
That's why the four Guardians are willing to appear before them."
Steven sighed softly.
Human civilization's progress was beneficial—but it came at a cost.
According to his archaeological findings, Legendary Pokémon had once been far more active. they weren't everywhere, but they certainly hadn't vanished like they had now.
Silas, meanwhile, was completely stunned.
He admitted, it was shocking.
Four Legendary Pokémon that could regularly be seen.
Just thinking about it made him envious of the people of Alola.
"But what does this have to do with the stone?" he asked.
"Because that silver-gray stone contains the power of the four Island Guardians."
Steven looked directly at him.
Silas's pupils shrank.
Legendary power?!
"But neither instruments nor Pokémon can detect or sense it," Silas said skeptically.
"That's correct, because it requires a Trainer to activate it," Steven nodded.
This sounded strangely familiar.
Silas blurted out instinctively:
"Mega Evolution?"
"Similar, but different," Steven shook his head, revealing the answer.
"That stone is called a Z-Crystal. It's a necessary component for Alola's Z-Rings, which activate Z-Moves. the only way to obtain them is by receiving them from the four Island Guardians."
"Z-Rings and Z-Moves?"
Silas heard two entirely new terms.
Especially the latter, it sounded tailor-made for Trainers.
"We'll talk about that later. Let's focus on the Z-Crystal first."
Steven waved his hand dismissively, those details could wait. Stones were what mattered.
Silas obediently listened.
"The spot colors on Z-Crystals granted by each Guardian should differ.
From what I know, Z-Crystals from Tapu Koko have white markings.
Those bestowed by Tapu Fini have yellowish markings.
As for the red one we saw today, I'm not certain which of the remaining two Guardians it came from."
Steven explained briefly.
"Tapu Fini…"
Silas fell into thought.
So this was the Guardian whose Z-Crystal had ended up in Kanto?
But something didn't add up.
He frowned.
The mural he'd seen clearly depicted an Electric-type Pokémon.
Tapu Fini, based on Steven's explanation, was a Water-type.
...
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