"Does this count as completing a trade with Giratina…?" Edward stared at the stone in his hand with a rather subtle expression.
He truly hadn't expected that the first Legendary Pokémon he would ever come into direct contact with would actually be Giratina. What's more, he had seen the Pokémon with his very own eyes. That overwhelming aura and sense of pressure truly gave a suffocating sensation.
Picking up his phone, he saw his older brother had already responded quickly—this time with a call.
"Edward, where exactly did you find that stone?" His older brother's voice was filled with excitement. Edward had no choice but to use the excuse that he had stumbled upon it while out filming today.
There was absolutely no way he could say that he got it from some kind of transaction with Giratina. His brother definitely wouldn't believe him even if he said so.
"Wait for me!" That was all his brother said before hanging up, leaving Edward momentarily dazed.
"…Don't tell me he's planning to catch a straight flight over here?" Edward stared at the phone with a complicated expression. But after giving it some thought, this was very much in character for Steven. After all, this was a man who once gave up being a Champion just to go dig up rocks.
Just that alone already made Steven an especially eccentric figure in the entire Pokémon League.
Not long after that, Edward's father also called. He was also highly interested in the stone. But after learning that Steven was already heading over to check it out, he merely laughed and reminded Edward to bring it back to Hoenn when he returned.
So basically, if Steven wasn't going over, his dad might've flown over himself right now? Edward rubbed his face—was it possible that both his father and brother were just way too obsessed with rocks?
"Don't tell me that in the future I'll also be forcibly traded by Giratina?" Edward muttered while looking at his two Pokémon, Q and Fortune, who were staring up at him eagerly.
He sighed and then used some fear points to create two fear candies and fed them to his Pokémon.
As for Giratina, Edward thought that maybe doing a few more drug deals with it in the future might not actually be a bad idea. After all, that Pokémon was incredibly powerful and could even give him strange stones like this. Who knows, maybe over time they could even form a good relationship.
Edward wasn't thinking about capturing Giratina, but having such a powerful entity as an ally—especially when Hoenn faced a potential crisis in the future—would definitely allow him to prepare some contingency plans.
The next day, Edward was already sitting inside a restaurant, facing none other than Steven, who had flown in overnight.
Edward rested his chin on his hand, watching Steven carefully study the strange stone with a focused expression. Bored, Edward let out a yawn.
"This thing… without a doubt, it should be a Dusk Stone," Steven finally set the stone down and placed his analyzing equipment to the side.
"A Dusk Stone? Then its value…" Edward rubbed his sleepy eyes and glanced at the large stone again.
It was a large chunk, but if it was indeed just a Dusk Stone, then its value wasn't really all that high. After all, in their family, Dusk Stones weren't particularly rare or considered much of a treasure.
"This is actually quite special," Steven began, his expression becoming more animated. "Normally, Dusk Stones don't come in this form at all. The fact that this one grew naturally like this is already a rare occurrence."
As he spoke, Steven pulled out a small transparent box from his pocket. Inside was a perfect cube of pyrite.
"See this? It's like how some pyrite naturally forms into cubes. But to find a Dusk Stone that naturally formed into a sixty-four-faceted polyhedron? This is the first time I've ever seen anything like it." Steven's excitement was clearly overflowing.
Watching Steven behave like that, Edward silently stared at the stone for a moment… and then decisively handed it over to Steven.
Steven accepted it with a huge grin, even calling for someone to bring a custom-designed container to store this unique Dusk Stone.
"…By the way, bro, is Dad really already done with his business trip and back so quickly?" Having settled the stone issue, Edward took a sip of tea and glanced at Steven as he asked.
Originally, he was supposed to be filming today. But since Steven flew into Levincia City overnight, Edward had decided to postpone filming for now.
"Yeah, I heard something about that earlier. This time, Dad…" Steven's expression grew a bit hesitant. Edward blinked. Something was obviously off.
Clearly, Steven was hesitating—unsure whether or not to let him in on whatever he was thinking.
"You probably already know a few things by now, Edward," Steven finally said. Edward instinctively sat up straighter in his seat.
"Father was invited to take part in a secret project a while back. I only learned about it after becoming Champion." Steven's tone was serious. Edward glanced around the private room they were sitting in.
No wonder Steven had insisted they speak in a private booth and even forbade him from bringing Zoroark in.
"Back then, our father used the Infinity Energy developed by our company to assist the League in capturing Rayquaza."
Hearing that, Edward mentally typed out a big question mark.
…What now? Captured what?
Rayquaza? You sure it wasn't a Caterpie or something?
"…And then recently there was an incident in the Johto region, so Father took the research team over there. Now that it's been dealt with, he's come back," Steven explained. These were the kinds of details he never would've known if he hadn't become Champion.
Although Steven had previously worked with their father to create two contingency plans to suppress the ambitions of Team Magma and Team Aqua, years had passed and those groups remained as stubborn as ever.
"…So, this Infinity Energy thing… it was used to capture Rayquaza?" Edward rubbed his temples. His old man had somehow quietly gotten involved in something huge without telling anyone.
This was Rayquaza, for crying out loud! Not only that, but the future Hoenn region could face an incoming meteor crisis. At that point, Rayquaza's help would be essential. Yet here he was, just now learning that his father had already helped the League capture it several years ago?
What the hell?!
"Yes." Steven nodded calmly.
"…And I'm allowed to know about this?" Edward pointed to his own nose. He wasn't a Champion or anything. Was it really okay for him to know such sensitive information?
"Technically, no. But as long as you don't tell anyone, it's fine." Steven smiled. Edward rubbed his face—yep, this was definitely something his brother would say.
Suddenly, Edward remembered something.
Back when he was in Hoenn, he had once rescued a Pokémon thief. That girl's name had been Zinnia. If he remembered correctly, she had appeared in the games as well—and had some kind of connection with Rayquaza. She was apparently part of some "Draconid Tribe."
But in the game, she wasn't able to achieve a Mega Evolution with Rayquaza. So, the player character ended up stealing—er, NTR-ing—Rayquaza right from under her nose.
Because of that bit of storyline, Edward actually remembered her quite well.
(End of Chapter)