Steven didn't dwell too long on the fact that an Aggron could use Surf. In this world, anything was possible. Who was to say a water-starved desert dweller couldn't master the waves?
The priority was escaping the immediate danger.
Fortunately, they weren't deep—perhaps a hundred meters at most. With the combined powers of Mawile and Claydol, exiting was a breeze. Though the water surged rapidly, no one except Aggron actually got wet.
Moments later, Kashiwagi and Steven stood on a high ridge. Beside them, Mawile patted dust off her dress, while Aron and Aggron looked on with wonder. Claydol simply floated there, its expression as inscrutable as ever.
They looked down at the dark hole where water was gurgling out. Kashiwagi expected a flood, but the flow soon dwindled to a trickle, as if the local pocket of groundwater had already spent itself. Some of the water soaked into the parched earth; the rest evaporated instantly under the brutal sun.
This weather... Kashiwagi frowned. If they wanted to green the southern half of Orre, the climate was as big an enemy as the soil. The sun here was a death sentence for fragile plants.
Steven walked to the edge of the pit. "You likely breached a small tributary or a shallow aquifer."
"Well," Kashiwagi sighed, looking at Aggron. "Water is checked off. Condition one is met. What about the ore?"
"Oh, I think he's already felt it", Steven interjected with a smile. "You might not have noticed, but at our depth, the soil was already rich with metallic particulates. Deep excavation will almost certainly reveal a viable vein."
Aggron nodded vigorously, its head moving like a jackhammer.
"I take it you're satisfied, then..." Kashiwagi could tell Aggron had fallen in love with this range at first sight. Even if it hadn't found water or ore, it probably would have invented an excuse to stay.
But a whole mountain range? Kashiwagi felt a headache coming on, hoping Ryuka wouldn't freak out when he saw the "claim."
Seeing his Trainer's resigned expression, Aggron knew it had permission. It immediately began moving cheerfully across the foothills like a puppy in a field. Mawile, who had acted indifferent until now, felt a sudden twinge of envy seeing Aggron so ecstatic.
"Maw-wile!"
"Planting trees is a lot of work, and tilling soil is even worse," Kashiwagi said, quickly squatting down to talk Mawile out of any impulsive ideas. "Wouldn't you rather sit in a nice chair and have afternoon tea than work under this sun?"
Mawile imagined Aggron sweating and watering plants in the heat, and her envy vanished instantly. "Maw-wile." She held up two fingers to Kashiwagi.
He folded one down. "One piece of cake. You can't have that much sugar."
"Maw-wile!" Mawile puffed out her cheeks but eventually compromised. One cake was better than no cake.
On the slope, the excited Aggron vanished over a ridge, clearly intending to patrol its new kingdom. To prevent it from expanding its claim by another few miles, and to set actual boundaries, Kashiwagi released Steelix.
"ROAR!" Steelix landed with a thud, its eyes gleaming as it looked at its Trainer. Need me to dig a hole?
"Actually, I need you to give me a lift," Kashiwagi said, gesturing for it to lower its head.
Fine. Flying is fun too. Steelix lowered its massive head, letting Kashiwagi step on. He turned to invite Steven, but the Champion had already swapped Claydol for his Shiny Metagross.
"Shall we take a tour?" Kashiwagi asked.
"Let's," Steven replied, looking like he had nothing but time.
The two spent the entire afternoon shadowing Aggron, flying between peaks to mark the boundaries of the new territory. Kashiwagi had to argue quite a bit to keep Aggron from claiming the entire horizon.
"Sigh, I have no idea how I'm going to explain this to Ryuka," Kashiwagi muttered, looking at the massive circle he'd drawn on his digital map.
"Just buy it later when you have the chance. Then there's nothing to explain," Steven said, his "rich guy" aura on full display.
Buy it... Kashiwagi, whose total net worth was barely over 30 million, hesitated. But the seed of the idea was planted.
-----
When Ryuka heard about Aggron's choice, he wasn't angry. Instead, he said quite generously:
"Then that mountain range is your responsibility from now on."
"Huh?" Kashiwagi blinked. "My responsibility?"
"Exactly. Any environmental issues or management in that sector is on you. I'll handle the paperwork with Phenac City; don't worry about it." Ryuka smiled.
Kashiwagi: "...Isn't that a bit casual?"
"Casual? Not at all. Figuring out how to restore Orre's environment is a massive headache for us. If you're willing to take a chunk of it off our hands, we're thrilled."
Ryuka clearly wasn't in the loop regarding Yamamino's secret plans, but his "here, take it, please" attitude was bizarre. It only went to show that in a region as broken as Orre, everything was handled with a certain level of administrative "brute force."
Since its dream had come true, Aggron had gone a bit mad with joy. It begged Kashiwagi to visit the range every day. If the local shops hadn't been closed for the reconstruction, it likely would have bought out every sapling in the region to plant them immediately.
Unfortunately, it was a hard task. No seeds, no fertile soil, and a sun that would wither anything in minutes. Aggron looked at its vast, barren kingdom and realized, for the first time, the burden of leadership.
"Roar..."
"Roaring won't help. We don't have the money," Kashiwagi spread his hands. "With enough money, we could ship in plants from other regions. Add N's Grass-types, and we'd have a forest in no time. But right now? We're broke."
Actually, 30 million could buy a lot of drought-resistant shrubs, but Aggron clearly had specific tastes in flora.
"The mountain isn't going anywhere. We'll take it slow—even if it takes seventy or eighty years!" Kashiwagi managed to talk Aggron out of transplanting the two trees from their backyard. They would have died in days. Aggron eventually relented, returning to its optimistic self.
Soon after, Steven Stone prepared to leave. The Champion, who had done so much for Pyrite Town, departed as quietly as he had arrived, leaving Kashiwagi with a final parting thought.
"I believe it won't be long before you leave Orre. This visit was a bit rushed, so I'll give you a gift the next time we meet. But don't get your hopes up too high—by the time we cross paths again, you might not even need it."
What does that mean? Is he planning to give me a Key Stone?
Kashiwagi chased after him. "Where should I look for you? Devon Corporation?"
"No need for that," Steven laughed. "We'll meet again if fate allows. I enjoy traveling to find rare stones and see the world; you'll likely find me on the road."
With that, the Hoenn Champion drove away.
"Goodbye," Kashiwagi waved, his mind slowly processing the conversation. He felt like Steven had just promised him a very large, very shiny "pie in the sky."
Key Stones... In the anime, random NPCs occasionally had them, but they weren't exactly common. Even if he didn't get one from Steven, Kashiwagi was confident he could find one eventually.
"Travel, huh... it really is time to get ready."
He turned back toward Pyrite Town. He felt a trace of sadness at the thought of leaving, but it was far outweighed by his yearning for the world beyond the desert.