Steven had no intention of challenging the Rustboro City Gym immediately.
Although collecting Gym Badges to qualify for the Ever Grande Conference was his primary goal, Steven was far more interested in discovering rare stones during his journey.
Besides, with Metang's current strength, the first Gym would pose little challenge.
Steven decided to train Skarmory more thoroughly before attempting the Rustboro City Gym challenge.
Each Gym's difficulty varied depending on the challenger. Gym Leaders adjusted the strength of their Pokémon based on how many Badges the challenger already possessed.
The Sootopolis Gym, however, operated differently—it explicitly required challengers to hold four Badges before attempting it.
"Meta..."
"What's wrong, Metang?" Steven paused mid-step and turned toward his partner, who had made a small sound.
"Meta..." Metang lowered its head slightly. Although ordinary people would find it difficult to read Metang's emotions from its metallic features, Steven had spent enough time with his Pokémon to understand its needs instinctively.
"Hold on a moment." Steven swung his single-strap bag from his back to his chest and began searching through its contents.
The Pokémon world's most impressive technological advancement was undoubtedly spatial storage technology.
Beyond the miniaturization technology used in Poké Balls, even everyday bags could hold items as large as a table inside them.
Despite its modest size, Steven's bag contained numerous supplies.
"Here you go!" Steven retrieved several Magnets from his bag and placed them on Metang's metallic body.
"Meta~" Metang's mood immediately brightened.
Metang lacked a visible mouth and sustained itself by absorbing magnetic energy from ores. Interestingly, when Metang evolved into Metagross, it would gain a mouth located on the underside of its body.
"Still as simple-minded as when you were a Beldum," Steven said fondly, stroking Metang's head with an affectionate smile.
Though his hand felt only the cold metal surface, Steven sensed his partner's warmth beneath.
"Meta~"
Steven left Rustboro City and approached a cave on the outskirts.
This cave was partially artificial. The original plan had been to excavate a tunnel straight through to Verdanturf Town on the opposite side. However, the construction would have disturbed the wild Pokémon living nearby and within the cave itself, so Joseph had halted the Rusturf Tunnel project.
Steven removed his jacket and changed into an orange work suit. He donned a yellow hard hat, switched on its mounted flashlight, and ventured forward with Metang.
The interior of Rusturf Tunnel was spacious, having been significantly expanded from its original natural state.
Thud! Thud!
The Magnets that had been attached to Metang lost their magnetic charge completely, falling off and clattering against the stone floor.
Steven bent down and collected the depleted Magnets. These ordinary manufactured Magnets gradually lost their magnetism over time, and after Metang absorbed their energy, they became useless even more quickly.
However, natural magnetic stones existed that maintained their charge indefinitely. Under normal circumstances, such stones wouldn't lose their magnetism, though external factors could occasionally deplete them.
The sound of the falling Magnets echoed through the tunnel, and faint rustling noises emerged from behind the various rocks scattered throughout the cave.
Steven turned his head, sweeping the flashlight beam across the area. The light caught a round, light purple Pokémon.
It had two large ears, short limbs, and eyes that resembled stitching on a stuffed toy. Upon closer inspection, both eyes consisted of cross-shaped patterns formed by four small black ovals.
"A Whismur?" Steven's expression changed instantly, and he quickly covered his ears.
"WHISMURRRR!"
Loud cries erupted from all directions. Whismur's cry was sharp and piercing, possessing extraordinary penetrating power.
When Whismur felt threatened, it emitted high-pitched screams exceeding one hundred decibels to frighten away potential dangers.
"WHISMURRRR~"
Multiple screams rang out from every corner as several Whismur fled deeper into the cave while crying out.
Steven endured considerable discomfort from the continuous ultra-high decibel screaming.
"Thank goodness Whismur get scared by their own cries, or I'd be suffering until they exhausted themselves completely," Steven muttered gratefully once the Whismur had run far enough that their cries diminished and finally ceased.
"Meta?" Metang, largely unaffected by the noise, lowered itself closer to Steven, its eyes showing concern.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Steven gave a rueful smile. At least he'd covered his ears in time, sparing himself the worst of it.
Steven stood and prepared to venture deeper, but for safety's sake—and to avoid disturbing any more Whismur—he reduced the flashlight's intensity.
The tunnel project's abandonment was most likely due to the Whismur population.
Glint!
"Hmm?" Steven stopped abruptly. He thought he'd seen something reflecting light when his flashlight beam passed over the wall.
Approaching the spot, he noticed a section of smooth red surface exposed behind fallen dirt on the tunnel wall.
The glowing object must be embedded there.
Steven knelt down, pulled a small pickaxe from his bag, and began carefully chipping away the surrounding hardened earth.
The red, lustrous stone wasn't particularly large, so it didn't take long to reveal its complete form.
Steven pried out the beautiful, irregularly shaped red stone and examined it in the dim flashlight glow.
This was a Star Piece—a rare mineral fragment that could be crafted into expensive luxury items.
Unfortunately, this particular Star Piece had an irregular shape. His family's collection included a nearly perfect rhombus-shaped specimen.
Nevertheless, even an irregularly shaped Star Piece like this would fetch a high price.
"What incredible luck..." Steven admired the Star Piece, speaking quietly to himself.
Star Pieces were exceptionally rare, and Steven hadn't expected to find one within thirty minutes of entering the tunnel.
And it had been so easy to extract.
"If there's a Star Piece here, there should be plenty of other valuable stones nearby." Steven carefully stored the Star Piece, gripped his pickaxe firmly, and declared, "Let's get to work!"
"Metang! Time to dig!"
"Meta!"
Metang had accompanied Steven on stone-hunting expeditions since its days as a Beldum, making it quite experienced at this task.
...
"Phew..." Steven exhaled heavily, sweat beading on his face. He wiped his forehead and gazed with satisfaction at his findings.
"Two Hard Stones, three Everstones, and one Rock Gem. I didn't find any Mega Stones, but this is still an excellent haul."
Steven packed all his discoveries into his backpack. Behind him, a sizeable pit had been excavated into the rock wall, with piles of rubble and loose earth on either side.
"Whis, mur?"
Hearing the sound, Steven looked up toward the deeper section of the cave.
His light illuminated a single Whismur standing against one side of the tunnel wall.
"A Whismur?" Steven was surprised. Shouldn't these Pokémon have fled in fear earlier? Perhaps this one was braver than the rest?
Then, one by one, more Whismur appeared within Steven's line of sight.
"They're... lining up?" Steven stared in astonishment. He'd never witnessed such behavior before.
He'd encountered Whismur previously, but never seen them form such an orderly queue.
"ROAAAAAR!"