"Wow~ what a pretty flower. Can you give it to me?"
A clear and pleasant voice suddenly spoke in everyone's ears. This made everyone there stop moving.
It was a very cute and somewhat childish voice.
Lillie and the others immediately looked around, but they did not see anyone.
"Telepathy?"
A moment later, Caitlin and Lillie understood what the voice was.
There was no doubt that this was telepathy. Telepathy is communication between minds. It matched how the voice seemed to come from inside their hearts.
"Could it be..."
Damian raised an eyebrow. He immediately took the purple crystal out of his backpack. However, the surface of the stone still looked normal.
"Is that you? Jirachi?"
Damian thought of Jirachi immediately because the telepathic voice was so cute.
"That's right~ I really like it, this pretty little flower."
The clear telepathic voice spoke again. At the same time, a very thin layer of light glowed on the purple crystal.
"Incredible. The time of the Millennium Comet hasn't arrived yet, and Jirachi is already conscious?"
Butler was very surprised. This was different from what he knew about Jirachi.
Caitlin and Lillie also had strange expressions, but they were happy. Were they going to see Jirachi?
"If you wake up now, I'll give the flower to you, okay?" Damian said to Jirachi immediately.
"..."
But Jirachi did not answer again. The crystal stopped glowing completely. It seemed that Jirachi had gone back to a deep sleep.
Damian waited for one minute and confirmed that Jirachi was silent. Then he started thinking.
"Why did it wake up a little bit?"
Damian found it strange. Jirachi's sleep should be very deep. It should not be weaker than the sleeping Kyogre.
Before the Millennium Comet arrives, Jirachi should not react at all, even if you move it.
In the movie, Butler did exactly that. He took the sleeping Jirachi a few days before the comet. He packed it away, and Jirachi did not react. Jirachi only used telepathy to talk to Max when the Millennium Comet began. It told Max that it liked him.
"Is it because of the Viridian Power?"
Damian thought about it. The only unusual thing was that he had put some Viridian Power into Jirachi.
However, Damian was not sure if the Viridian Power was the reason.
"I'll try again after we get back."
Damian put the crystal back into his backpack. He planned to test it again later.
And then...
"Well, I'll keep this rose for now. I'll save it for this little guy."
Damian put the rose away and looked at Butler.
Butler noticed Damian's gaze. He immediately started sweating because he was nervous.
He was worried. He tried to be nice but said something that bothered Damian. He hoped the boss would not give him trouble later.
After they found Jirachi's Cocoon of Resurrection, Damian went for a tour around Forina with Caitlin and Lillie.
The scenery of Forina was very beautiful. Damian took many nice photos of the two of them.
Caitlin looked graceful. Lillie was still very shy. However, her blushing face made the photos look even better.
The three of them played in Forina all afternoon. Then they arrived in Lavaridge Town. They planned to relax in the hot springs.
"Maxi~"
On the battlefield, the large giant bat wrapped its wings around Damian. It affectionately rubbed its face against Damian's head.
"You child, you're so big now, yet you still love to act spoiled like this."
Damian didn't know how to react. He gently patted Lunala's wings, but he felt very happy.
This was the legendary "Beast that Calls the Moon" from Alola.
"But I am very happy to see you again," Damian's voice became soft.
"Maxi~"
Lunala closed its eyes slightly. It was clearly very happy too.
Lillie saw the human and the Pokémon together. She smiled happily and recorded the moment with her phone.
Nebby and Damian looked like a good match.
Ever Grande City, Pokémon League headquarters.
Steven walked into his office. He looked tired. He found Wallace sitting on the sofa.
"How is your father?"
Wallace stood up and asked with concern when he saw Steven.
"He has to go to prison for five years."
"Five years?"
Wallace was very surprised. Joseph Stone built the Devon Corporation into one of the best companies in the world. Now he had to spend five years in prison. This news would be a huge shock for Hoenn.
The Devon Corporation was a very famous name in the Hoenn region.
"That's only because of my father's contributions to Hoenn over the years, and the fact that he voluntarily surrendered and showed a good attitude in admitting his guilt."
Steven rubbed his forehead. He looked very tired and his voice was weak. His eyes were red because he stayed up all night.
Yesterday, after the meeting ended, Officer Jenny told him the news. Joseph Stone had surrendered to the police.
Steven was very shocked. He knew what kind of person his father was.
He even wondered if this was Damian's plan. Joseph Stone surrendered right after Team Rocket kidnapped him. It was easy to think they were connected.
But Steven talked with Joseph Stone. Then he finally understood everything.
This was a very big shock to Steven. He never imagined that his respected father had really done those things in the past.
"This... why?"
Wallace was very confused. Steven stayed silent for a while. Then he told the story of Joseph Stone's confession with a heavy heart.
After Wallace listened, he felt that Joseph Stone deserved to go to prison.
"He caused the death of an innocent girl and even tried to use machines to catch Rayquaza by force..."
Wallace had nothing else to say. Those were all serious crimes.
The Pokémon League is an organization that cares about people and Pokémon. They made rules a long time ago. No one can use machines to catch Pokémon by force. If someone is caught, the punishment is very hard.
Also, Joseph Stone caused the death of Rayquaza's trainer. This was a very evil act.
"The Rayquaza trainer who died back then was Zinnia's older sister."
Steven held his hair. His voice was very low.
This explained why Zinnia was a Dragon-type Champion but joined Team Rocket instead of the Hoenn League.
"Huh?" Wallace was shocked. He did not know that.
"Then what do we do next..."
"No matter what, Team Rocket must be driven out!"
Steven spoke with a heavy voice. His family had a tragedy, but work and family are separate.
Also, Joseph Stone was his father, but Steven knew his father made mistakes. He should accept the punishment.
Steven was a very honest person. However, because it was his father, he felt a lot of pain. He felt bad about the sins his father committed and about him being in prison.
"Mmh! That's the Steven I know!" Wallace gave Steven a thumbs up.
"Regarding the Mega Stones, Professor Sycamore from Kalos has already responded. Although he is still researching, he has basically confirmed the existence of Mega Evolution."
"Mega Evolution requires the Pokémon to hold a corresponding Mega Stone, and the trainer needs to carry a Key Stone to resonate with it."
"This matches the scenes of Damian and the others using Mega Evolution. I don't think it's a mistake."
Wallace said to Steven.
"Professor Sycamore can provide us with some Mega Stones and Key Stones, but we need to identify which Pokémon each Mega Stone belongs to ourselves."
"Fine. Since they are corresponding Mega Stones, the Pokémon themselves should be able to sense something."
Steven thought for a moment and replied. They could not tell the types of Mega Stones apart, but the Pokémon might know which one they needed.
"Yes, Professor Sycamore also recommended we try it that way," Wallace nodded.
"Then let's try it. When the Mega Stones and Key Stones arrive, ask Champion Cynthia and the others to come over."
Steven rubbed his head.
"As long as our main Pokémon can Mega Evolve, we can organize another operation. Champion Cynthia and the others can't stay for long, so we must hurry."
Cynthia and the others were only helping for a short time. Cynthia and Leon were Champions. Giovanni was a Gym Leader. Nemona was still traveling for her challenge in the Paldea League. They could not stay in Hoenn for a long time.
"Okay, Steven, you should rest first. Your mental state is too poor right now."
Wallace tried to tell Steven to rest. He had never seen Steven look this bad before.
"I'll sleep for a bit later. What about Champion Cynthia and the others now?"
"Champion Cynthia and Nemona left Ever Grande City to relax. Gym Leader Giovanni also said he'd go for a walk. If anything happens, we can contact them at any time. Champion Leon is training at the back training grounds."
Leon had originally planned to look around Ever Grande City because it was his first time in Hoenn. But because of what happened in Rustboro City, Leon thought it was better not to walk around for now.
"Arrange a guide for Champion Leon to take him around the area," Steven said.
They could not let Leon stay in Hoenn just to train every day, right? That would make the Hoenn League look rude.
LaRousse City is a high-tech city near Lilycove City.
The technology here is very advanced. There are moving walkways and robots. The most famous thing in LaRousse City is the Battle Tower.
Damian and his two friends rested in Lavaridge Town for one night. Then they arrived in this high-tech city.
"This city is so developed."
Lillie saw a city like this for the first time. She was very excited. She carried her backpack and looked at the tall buildings.
"LaRousse City is one of the models for modern cities. However, because it is so full of technology, it lacks a lot of warm feeling," Damian said with a smile.
This city looked like the future, but it was not very famous in Hoenn or the world.
Most people in this world care about nature and Pokémon. People who go to LaRousse City are usually just curious about the technology or the Battle Tower. Very few people want to live there.
"But it's definitely worth a visit."
Damian looked at the map. He knew where he wanted to go.
"Mmhmm~"
Lillie looked at the robots. She still thought they were very new and interesting.
The three of them walked around LaRousse City for a short time. Finally, they arrived at a research institute.
"Who are you?" A young researcher with dark brown hair opened the door. She looked at them and was confused.
"Hello, we'd like to visit Professor Lund."
Damian smiled. He was handsome and friendly, so people felt safe around him.
Professor Lund was the leader of this research facility. He brought back a meteorite four years ago.
Professor Lund saw Deoxys come out of the meteorite. He also saw the battle between Deoxys and Rayquaza. Because of that, he wanted to know more about Deoxys. He had been trying to wake up the Deoxys in the meteorite, but he never succeeded.
"Please come in."
The young woman invited Damian's group inside.
In this world, it was normal for researchers and travelers to visit famous professors.
"My name is Yuko. I assist Professor Lund with his research. Are you three trainers?"
Yuko walked ahead of them and asked because she was curious.
"Yes. This is the first time any of us have been to the Hoenn region," Damian replied with a smile.
They talked while they went inside. In a laboratory, a researcher with blue hair was looking at a report. He looked serious.
"Professor Lund, some guests would like to visit you." Yuko knocked on the door and walked in.
The institute was not small. There was a large tube in the center of the lab. There was a meteorite inside the tube. In the middle of the meteorite, there was a green crystal.
"This is it! Deoxys!"
Damian's eyes moved slightly as he looked at the green crystal.
This was the core of Deoxys.
It was the most important part. As long as the crystal was not destroyed, Deoxys could grow back even if its body was broken into pieces.
This Deoxys with the green crystal was not awake yet.
There was another Deoxys with a purple crystal called Individual 1. Four years ago, it was looking for Individual 2. It fought Rayquaza because Rayquaza thought it was an enemy. In that battle, Rayquaza used Hyper Beam and destroyed Individual 1. Only the crystal fell into the sea.
However, if Individual 1 had not been careless, Rayquaza might not have won the battle.
Yes, this Rayquaza was the weakest one, without a doubt.