"Phew!"
Steven collapsed against a tree trunk, his clothes caked in dust. He dragged the back of his hand across his forehead and let out a slow breath.
"That was too close for comfort…"
"Lucario…"
Lucario settled cross-legged beside him and sighed quietly.
That had nearly gone very badly. Being almost caught in a Flamethrower was not how he had planned to spend the afternoon.
"Lucario, use your Aura Sense to locate the Mega Stone again."
"Lucario."
Lucario gave a single nod, closed his eyes, and extended his Aura across the surrounding area.
Not far away, a shimmering cross of light pulsed in response to Lucario's Aura.
"Lucario!"
Lucario snapped to his feet. Steven was already moving, and together they sprinted in the direction of the signal.
They pushed through the jungle's dense undergrowth and emerged into a wide clearing bristling with tall grey stone pillars. Steven slowed to a stop, his eyes sweeping over them.
He stepped forward and pressed a hand against the nearest pillar.
"These are all high-grade Iron Ore formations…"
Buzz… buzz…
The Poké Ball at his hip began to rattle against its clip. The lock held firm, but the energy inside was restless.
"I'll chip some pieces off to bring back. Just hold on a moment." Steven patted Aggron's Poké Ball gently, his voice calm.
The rattling stopped immediately.
"Lucario!"
Lucario had moved ahead and was now pointing at the tallest stone pillar at the center of the clearing, calling out with clear urgency.
"The Mega Stone is in there?" Steven rubbed his palms together, his excitement barely contained. "That's not going to be easy to get to."
He glanced at the pillar, then back at his Poké Ball with a small smile.
"Then let's just think of it as a warm-up exercise for Aggron."
His mind made up, Steven turned to Lucario. "Use Aura Sphere."
"Luca…rio!"
Lucario spread both palms forward. A swirling orb of blue energy formed between them, crackling with Aura. He launched it in a straight line at the base of the stone pillar.
Boom!
The Aura Sphere struck dead center.
Crack — crack —
Fractures spiderwebbed upward from the impact point, and a heartbeat later, the entire pillar gave way with a thunderous crash.
Lucario launched himself into the cloud of dust and falling debris before it had even settled.
"Lucario!"
When the dust thinned, Lucario stood at the center of the wreckage, holding a smooth, round stone above his head. It was orange, with a blue and red gene helix visible at its core.
The Lucarionite.
"A Lucarionite. And we didn't even break a sweat." Steven allowed himself a quiet smile.
Setting aside the part where he was nearly roasted alive, of course.
"Stop admiring it. Come help me collect these Iron Ore fragments and load them into the bag."
"Lucario!"
Lucario tucked the Lucarionite securely under one arm and got to work with the other, scooping up chunks of ore and dropping them into Steven's backpack with practiced efficiency.
"Alright. Next on the list are the Scizorite and the Garchompite." Steven swung the backpack onto his shoulders and looked up at the sky.
The sun was still well above the horizon.
Plenty of time before dark.
With the Lucarionite secured, Steven no longer needed to limit his team. Gurkinn's instructions had been specific — find the Lucarionite with Lucario alone. The old man hadn't said anything against Steven pursuing the other two Mega Stones, and when Steven had raised the subject the night before, Gurkinn hadn't objected.
The only uncertainty now was whether Scizor could sense the Scizorite on his own. Unlike Lucario, Scizor had no connection to Aura. He would have to rely entirely on whatever natural bond existed between a Pokémon and its Mega Stone.
"Scizor, come on out."
Bang —
Scizor materialized in a flash of red light. Steven looked at him steadily.
"Scizor, I need you to try and sense whether there's a Mega Stone nearby. Focus."
"Ha-ha."
Scizor shut his eyes and went still, his claws folded at his sides as he concentrated.
Steven turned his attention to the stone pillars surrounding them. This was a terrain dominated by Steel-type minerals — it stood to reason that Mega Stones tied to Steel-type Pokémon would be concentrated in this area. At this range, there was a reasonable chance Scizor could pick up on something.
Smashing every pillar and searching through the rubble one by one, on the other hand, felt like an unnecessary mess.
"Metagross, I need you up here."
Bang —
Metagross appeared with a low metallic hum.
"Metagross!"
"Do an aerial scan of the island. Look for any wild Garchomp in the area. If you spot one, come back and guide me to it." Steven kept his instructions brief and clear.
"Metagross!"
Metagross gave a slow, deliberate nod, crossed its thick arms across its chest, and rose silently into the air.
Tracking down Garchomp's territory was the most direct route to finding a Garchompite. Wild Pokémon tended to make their nests near the Mega Stone attuned to their species.
"Ha-ha…"
A few steps ahead, Scizor had started moving — eyes still closed, shuffling forward in short, careful increments, then pausing.
Steven watched him with mild amusement.
It looked remarkably similar to someone waving a detector wand over the ground.
Beep beep~
A signal here — two steps to the left.
Beep beep~
Another reading — a step or two forward.
It wasn't elegant, but it was progress. Better than wandering blind.
Still, something was nagging at him.
"It's quiet out here. Too quiet."
The steel clearing should have had some wild Pokémon activity. There were none visible anywhere.
Not far away, inside a cave set deep into the rock face, a crowd of Pokémon crouched in the shadows and peered carefully at the intruder.
A large Steelix and an Aggron lay low against the cave floor at the center of the group. A cluster of Aron pressed close around them. Further back in the darkness, a handful of Mawile kept to the deeper shadows.
Steelix and Aggron exchanged a long look.
Once that human leaves, we'll deal with the mess he's made.
Agreed.
Their main concern was simple. The trainer outside had only Steel-type Pokémon with him — Pokémon of their own kind. None of them were eager to abandon this place. The Iron Ore deposits here were among the richest on the island.
"If Scizor is picking up a signal, the Scizorite must be somewhere around here."
Steven frowned, scanning the area. "But there's not a single Scizor in sight."
Scizor had come to a stop in the middle of an open stretch of ground. He was looking downward.
"Underground?" Steven walked over, and something shifted in his expression.
Something deep and ancestral stirred inside him. The instinct of a born geologist, the pull toward what lay buried beneath the surface.
Steven was already reaching for his backpack, digging for his excavation tools—
Rumble —
The ground beneath them began to tremble. Steven's hands went still.
"Wild Pokémon?"
He stood upright, his posture shifting, eyes moving carefully across the terrain. He kept himself ready, watching for the telltale signs of a Sucker Punch.
Boom —
A massive steel tail broke through the surface near Scizor's feet. Steven stared at it.
He recognized that tail.
Steelix.
Scizor did not move. He watched the tail with a calm, steady gaze as it slowly uncurled its tip and extended toward him — deliberately, almost carefully — revealing a smooth, pale grey stone nestled in the coil.
The gene helix inside was red and dark grey.
The Scizorite.
Scizor reached out with his pincers and accepted it without ceremony.
Steven stood very still. His hand, which had found its way around the handle of a pickaxe inside his bag, released it quietly.
The mining instinct that had flared up so brightly moments before seemed to settle back into dormancy, as though Steelix had personally tucked it in for a nap.
He exhaled slowly.
There was an old saying — you couldn't stay angry at someone who bowed their head to you. And Steelix had been surprisingly gracious about all of this.
"…Fine. Consider the damage forgiven."
Steven shook his head once, then carefully stored the Lucarionite and Scizorite together in a secure pocket of his bag.
Though he dearly wished his Pokémon could, just occasionally, act with a little more dignity.
Back in the cave, Aggron watched Steelix lumber back inside. After a moment, he raised one large hand and extended a single claw — a slow, appreciative thumbs-up.
Respect. That actually worked.
Steelix settled himself back onto the cave floor and lifted his head a fraction.
I know.
"Krakle…"
One of the Aron bumped against Aggron's side and nudged its head pointedly toward the clearing.
Aggron looked.
Steelix looked.
Steven had sat down.
He was not preparing to leave. He was simply… sitting.
A shared pause fell over the two large Pokémon.
Is he planning to catch one of us?
Steelix and Aggron turned slowly to look at Mawile, who was tucked into the furthest corner of the cave.
Steelix: She's compact. Reasonably presentable. We could just… nudge her out there.
Aggron: That is an excellent idea and I fully support it.
Mawile's spine went cold.
She turned around.
Two very large Pokémon were staring directly at her.
Mawile: Don't you two even think about it.