After reading the letter left by Steven, Sam finally understood the situation.
Charizard's Mega Stone had indeed been found—but it wasn't in Steven's possession. Instead, it would appear at an auction in half a month.
Originally, Steven had planned to wait at the Devon Corporation for Sam, and then travel together to the auction location.
However, news suddenly surfaced about rare stones appearing in Granite Cave near Dewford Town.
There was no way Steven could ignore that.
He left behind a letter and rushed off immediately, asking Sam to explore Hoenn on his own for the time being. They would meet again at the auction venue in half a month.
Sam placed the letter and the auction ticket into his backpack and shook his head helplessly.
He had rushed all the way here—
Only for Steven to disappear.
"Whatever…"
---
"Millie, do you know where the Rustboro Gym is?"
After wandering around the city with the little tour guide, Sam realized he wasn't interested in sightseeing.
Compared to attractions—
Gyms interested him far more.
The girl holding Eevee looked at him in surprise.
"Big Brother Sam, are you a Trainer too?"
"That's right."
"Are you strong?" she asked expectantly.
Sam gave a casual shrug. "I guess so."
"Great!"
Millie jumped up excitedly, grabbed his hand, and started pulling him along.
"Come with me!"
Before Sam could react, she was already dragging him through the streets.
After running for quite a while, Millie finally slowed down, her face flushed, as they reached their destination.
It was—
A tavern.
Located on the edge of Rustboro City, it was already lively as night approached.
The moment they entered, a wave of noise and heat hit them.
Trainers and Pokémon filled the place.
Under Millie's lead, Sam was brought to a table.
Four people sat there—two men and one woman—roughly his age.
Since they were under drinking age, the table was filled with various soft drinks instead of alcohol.
Millie seemed very familiar with them. She plopped into a seat, grabbed a cold drink, and chugged it down.
Only after finishing did she remember Sam.
She quickly introduced everyone.
"The long-haired one is Asu, the one with glasses is Xiaohui, and this is Sister Keiko."
"And this is Sam."
Despite it being their first meeting, the group was friendly. They offered him a seat and handed him a drink.
Sam took it—always a fan of something refreshing.
Then Millie got straight to the point.
"Sister Keiko, I found a strong Trainer! Can you take me to the desert with you now?"
The group exchanged helpless looks.
"We already told you—it's too dangerous," Keiko said.
"Yeah, Millie, kids should stay home," Xiaohui added.
"I don't care!" Millie shouted, shaking her head.
"You promised! As long as I found a strong Trainer, you'd take me with you!"
Listening to their argument, Sam quickly pieced everything together.
Keiko and her group had discovered ancient ruins and were planning to explore them soon.
But somehow—
Millie found out.
And ever since, she had been insisting on going along.
Left with no choice, Keiko had made a condition:
Find a strong Trainer to protect her—and she could come.
They never expected her to actually succeed.
Sam couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
He had been played by a kid.
And quite skillfully, too.
He looked at Millie curiously.
"How did you know I was strong?"
Millie scratched her head awkwardly and pointed at her Eevee.
"Eevee told me! It said you're really strong!"
Sam raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
"Being strong isn't something Eevee alone can decide," Keiko said, standing up.
"If you want to come, you'll have to prove it."
She looked directly at Sam.
"Follow me."
Then she added firmly:
"If you fail, I won't take Millie with us."
Millie nodded quickly, then looked at Sam with pleading eyes.
"Please, Big Brother Sam…"
Sam smiled slightly.
He was actually interested in these so-called ruins.
And right now—
He had nothing better to do.
"Alright."
---
The battle arena was just behind the tavern.
By the time Sam arrived, Keiko was already waiting.
From the sidelines, Asu and Xiaohui whispered to each other.
"Do you think he can win? Keiko is strong."
"I don't know… but Millie's Eevee has incredible intuition. If it says he's strong, it's probably true."
"Stronger than Keiko? That's hard to believe…"
"Just watch."
On the field, Keiko's expression was serious.
She knew better than anyone how accurate Millie's Eevee could be.
But as a Trainer—
She wouldn't back down without a fight.
She wanted to see for herself.
Just how strong Sam really was.
She threw her Poké Ball.
"Come out—Flygon."
---------------Author---------------
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