Late at night, the plane Ace was on landed at the Mauville City airport.
Stepping off the plane, Ace bid farewell to Hughes.
He raised his hand to check his watch; it was already 11:30 PM.
"I should find a place to stay for the night first."
After a six-hour flight, Ace felt a bit tired. Tomorrow morning, from the coastal area outside Mauville City, Ace could head north directly to the Meteor Falls.
According to Zinnia's narration, the Meteor Village was located within the Meteor Falls.
The ideal was beautiful, but reality was cruel.
When Ace prepared to use his Pokédex to find a Pokémon Center, he found its doors tightly shut due to the late hour. It seemed unlikely he'd be able to stay there overnight.
As for finding a hotel, Ace looked around and found that the cheaper ones were basically full. As for those with rooms available, the prices were too expensive, far beyond what Ace could afford.
After running around in circles, Ace sat on a park bench, sighing helplessly. He raised his watch to check the time; it was already past 1 AM.
"Forget it, I'll just rough it."
Already exhausted, Ace didn't care much anymore. He pulled a blanket from his fanny pack, wrapped himself in it, and lay down on the park bench, falling asleep.
The next morning, Ace was still asleep when he suddenly felt something hit his face. Instinctively, Ace rolled over and stood up.
When he saw clearly, he found a small gray creature looking at him apologetically.
"Castform?"
Ace was momentarily stunned, then he saw the Castform quickly fly towards a middle-aged man who was somewhat portly.
"My apologies for disturbing you."
The somewhat portly middle-aged man smiled at Ace and said, "Castform, apologize to him now."
Castform quickly bowed to Ace as well, to show its apology.
"It's fine."
Ace yawned, saying with a hint of drowsiness, "I was on a plane last night, so I didn't sleep well anyway. Consider it an early start."
With that, Ace raised his hand and glanced at his watch.
6:08 AM. Not too late.
He tidied his blanket, ignored the middle-aged man in front of him, and went to the park's faucet to wash up.
The cold water chased away Ace's lingering drowsiness. Refreshed, Ace patted his face, then returned to the bench, picked up his blanket, and walked out of the park.
"Hey, wait."
But just then, the middle-aged man called out to Ace.
Ace stopped, turned around, and looked at the middle-aged man. "Is something wrong?"
"Forgive my abruptness, but I'd like to see your watch, if that's alright?"
The middle-aged man looked at the watch on Ace's wrist, his eyes gleaming.
Ace covered his wrist, obscuring the watch, then told the man, "No, this was designed by a friend of mine. It's very precious."
"I know, I'm not trying to snatch it."
The middle-aged man said softly, "I just want to see its functions."
In his experienced eyes, the watch on this young boy's wrist was definitely not just a simple timepiece; it clearly held hidden secrets.
"No."
Ace flatly refused, then quickly walked away.
"I'll offer ten thousand League Yen."
The middle-aged man quickly called out to Ace, "Just one look, ten thousand League Yen for one look!"
Ace stopped, then turned and walked towards the middle-aged man, his face full of hesitation. "Give me the money first. If I weren't short on cash, I would definitely not let you see it."
"Heh heh, I know."
The middle-aged man said with a laugh, making a phone call nonchalantly. Soon, a bespectacled man in a suit came over with ten thousand League Yen.
It was a cash-for-goods exchange. Ace pocketed the ten thousand League Yen, then raised his hand and presented it to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man immediately began to study the watch's functions. Seeing that it could not only tell time but also display a map and navigation, he was pleasantly surprised. "What a truly ingenious fellow. To load these functions onto a watch, it's indeed much more convenient."
"Are you done now?"
Ace quickly withdrew his arm and said to the middle-aged man, "I have things to do. I need to replenish supplies and Poké Balls. I'm very busy."
"Haha, little friend, I can just give you those things directly."
The middle-aged man laughed heartily and said, "However, could I borrow your watch for a while? Not too long, just one day. As a rental fee, I'll pay one hundred thousand League Yen, how about it?"
"Five hundred thousand."
Ace immediately said, "My friend told me it's not easy traveling. If I ever met someone who wanted to borrow this watch, they should tell them the rental fee must be at least five hundred thousand."
The middle-aged man looked at the seemingly innocent Ace and couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, five hundred thousand it is. Five hundred thousand to borrow your watch for one day."
Ace frowned slightly, then said, "But I need to watch over the watch. What if you borrow it and don't return it?"
"No problem. Come with us."
The middle-aged man didn't refuse; instead, he enthusiastically led the way.
Ace hesitated for a moment, then followed the middle-aged man and the suited man.
The two quickly led Ace to a tall building. Ace looked up at the building's facade and read out each word: "Devon Corporation... It's Devon Corporation?!"
Ace's face showed a shocked expression, while the middle-aged man in front of him, or rather, President Stone, Steven Stone's father and the technical support for the Rayquaza capture project, smiled.
"Haha, sorry for keeping it from you."
President Stone laughed heartily. "I am President Stone of the Devon Corporation."
Ace's face showed reverence, but inwardly, he sneered: Infiltration successful!
After acting alongside President Stone for so long, Ace felt a bit mentally exhausted.
Using the watch functions he had exchanged from the system, he successfully attracted President Stone's attention. Then, President Stone's so-called "borrowing" was merely an attempt to acquire the map and navigation functions.
The previously mentioned one hundred thousand League Yen was just a trick to fool a child. And Ace's mention of five hundred thousand was merely using his "friend's" words to tell President Stone that if he wanted the copyright for the map function, it would cost at least five hundred thousand, and then he could have the copyright without any further trouble from Ace.
President Stone, who single-handedly founded the Devon Corporation, was no ordinary person.
Or rather, anyone who could reach his position was generally a meticulous individual, commonly known as an "old schemer."
If Ace hadn't been familiar with the plot and thus applied the right "medicine," he probably wouldn't have been able to deceive President Stone, that old schemer.
Originally, Ace had planned to head to Meteor Falls first thing in the morning, but encountering President Stone early on, Ace immediately changed his temporary goal. Before going to Meteor Village, he decided to spend a day with President Stone.
His purpose was also to see if the Devon Corporation had any remaining information about the Rayquaza capture five years ago.
If he could obtain some useful information, it would greatly assist Ace in his future actions!
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