Hoenn Region, Rustboro City.
Steven returned to the company building after traveling outside, looking dusty from the journey, yet no matter how he tried, he simply could not hide the smile on his face.
During this trip, he had discovered an energy infused stone near Meteor Falls.
After discussing it with Professor Cozmo, they confirmed that it was an extremely rare meteorite from outer space.
For a stone enthusiast, this was undoubtedly a priceless treasure.
Steven had already decided to place this meteorite right in the center of his private collection room and give it its own dedicated display.
He took the elevator up to the president's office at the top floor of the Devon Corporation. The middle aged man sitting behind the desk directly across from him hurriedly swept the stone on his desk into a drawer.
He had finally managed to find that stone after much effort. There was no way he would let his son take it away.
"Ahem." Joseph Stone, the president of Devon, cleared his throat twice before breaking into a broad and radiant smile. "Son, you're back."
"Did you find any rare stones this time?"
Steven sat down on the sofa opposite him. He had not planned to respond, but the excitement in his heart was impossible to suppress.
Both father and son were stone enthusiasts, and they had even competed before over whose collection was rarer.
Discovering an ultra rare stone and not showing it off was like striking it rich outside and sneaking home in the middle of the night without telling anyone.
Leaning forward slightly, unable to conceal the pride in his voice, Steven said, "Dad, I really found something amazing this time."
As he spoke, he took out the meteorite. "Professor Cozmo has appraised it. This stone comes from outer space."
"Gulp."
At some point, Joseph had leaned in close, and the sound of him swallowing was clearly audible. His face was filled with envy.
Just as he reached out to touch it, Steven smoothly avoided him and shook his head. "You can't touch this one. I'm going to treasure it properly."
Joseph's hand froze in midair. The envy on his face shifted into a pleading expression. He rubbed his hands together. "Son, just let your old man touch it once. I promise I'll give it back this time."
Steven remained firm. No matter what his father said, he refused to let him touch it.
Seeing that force would not work, Joseph's eyes darted cleverly. He stepped back a couple of paces and slowly pulled out an unopened letter from his drawer.
"Son, here's a hint. This letter is from Kalos. The sender's name is Silas."
"You can only touch it," Steven said at once.
Compared to the meteorite, the Pokémon belonging to his good friend Silas was far more attractive to him.
"Here you go." Snatching the meteorite, Joseph slapped the letter down on the desk and began eagerly examining the stone in his hands.
The craters on its surface, its irregular shape, and its unique material all made him click his tongue in admiration.
"Son, how about we make a deal?" Joseph's tone softened as he negotiated.
"You can keep the meteorite." Steven lifted his head and carefully put the letter away. Under his father's astonished gaze, he stated his condition. "I'm going to leave again for a while. You'll have to take over the company affairs here."
As fellow stone enthusiasts, the father and son always made sure one of them stayed behind to handle Devon Corporation's various matters, while the other went out searching for stones.
They had agreed to take turns. But what Silas mentioned in the letter made Steven willing to give up the meteorite he had just acquired and head out once more.
Joseph shot him a suspicious look. "What's written in that letter? Don't tell me you've found an even rarer stone."
"Something like that," Steven replied vaguely, afraid that if his father learned the real reason, he would dump the company responsibilities on him and rush off to Kalos himself.
The father and son stared at each other for quite some time.
Finally, Joseph spoke. "Son, I can agree to it. But when you come back, can you bring your old man a stone?"
"Not much. Just a small piece will do."
Joseph gestured with his hand to indicate the size.
"We'll see. It should be possible."
Steven answered vaguely again, unwilling to make any firm promises.
"Fine, fine. The meteorite is mine. You go ahead."
Seeing that he could not extract any more information, Joseph decided to quit while he was ahead.
He called in his secretary to take the meteorite away and have a custom glass case made for it so it could be displayed right there in his office where he could see it every day.
With his father's verbal agreement secured, Steven turned and left without lingering.
He could hardly wait to fly to Kalos and meet his friend.
At the same time, thousands of miles away at Silas' Ranch.
Feeling completely at ease, Silas was busy exploiting Morpeko.
"Morpeko, the amount you shelled in half a day isn't even enough for one mouthful. Can you go a little faster?"
Grabbing the sunflower kernels Morpeko had just shelled, Silas poured them into his mouth in one go.
It was far too little. Not nearly enough.
The most troublesome part of eating sunflower seeds was cracking the shells. Now that Morpeko was responsible for shelling and he was responsible for eating, it was simply too satisfying.
Morpeko froze mid motion. Its eyes widened into perfect circles, and its little head was filled with nothing but grievance.
If it had known things would turn out like this, it would never have agreed to Silas's proposal. It had clearly fallen into his trap. Morpeko muttered softly, "Morpe…"
"Objection overruled. I gave you a whole pound of sunflower seeds for free."
Silas shook his head and rejected the protest, lightly patting Morpeko on its little backside to urge it to keep working.
"Morpeko…"
Morpeko raised both paws to show that its hands were sore.
At the same time, it bared its front teeth for Silas to see.
"Fine. Just shell one more plate."
You could not exploit a working mouse too harshly, or it might throw down the job and quit.
Enjoying Morpeko's feeding service, Silas continued watching television.
The weather was nice today, and the Pokémon were all playing outside. For once, none of the little ones were making noise around him.
As soon as one episode ended, Morpeko hurriedly shelled the last seed and piled it onto the plate.
"Morpe!"
After announcing it was done, Morpeko ran away as if fleeing for its life.
Shaking his head with a smile, Silas beckoned toward the window.
The little white cat looked left and right to make sure no one was around before leaping into Silas's arms.
Petting the cat while watching television and eating sunflower kernels at the same time was pure bliss.
Litten purred contentedly in his arms, its tail swaying slightly to show its happiness.
Suddenly, the door to the cabin was slammed open violently as Cyclizar rushed in in a great hurry.
The loud commotion startled Litten so badly that its fur stood on end.
It sprang out of Silas's arms, arching its back and staring warily at Cyclizar. Its tail was stretched straight, and the Flame Orb hanging around its neck flashed with a red glint.
"It's fine, it's fine. It's just Cyclizar. Don't be angry." Silas stroked Litten's back to soothe it while glaring at Cyclizar.
Cyclizar knew it was in the wrong. It tossed the letter in its hand toward Silas and ran off without looking back.
Catching the letter delivered by Cyclizar, Silas saw that the sender was Steven.
Just as he was about to open it, he noticed from the corner of his eye that Litten was still huffing angrily. Silas pulled it back into his arms and gently kneaded its cheeks with both hands.
"Cyclizar has always been that rash and careless. Don't be angry, Litten. Being angry isn't good for you."
"Meow…"
Its ears twitched. Its barbed tongue brushed against Silas's palm as it rolled slightly to the side, exposing half of its soft little belly in invitation.
"Alright, you've forgiven him. I'll make grilled fish for you tomorrow."
Scratching Litten's soft belly, Silas opened the letter Steven had sent.
There was not much written inside. It mentioned only one thing.
Steven was heading over right away.
As expected, using Diancie as bait to tempt Steven had been the correct decision. The biggest sponsor of the ranch band was about to arrive.
(End of Chapter)