"Gaaar~"
Garchomp clutched the tin of Poké Blocks and gave Steven a cheerful wave goodbye as Metagross lifted off with Steven seated on its head.
Come back anytime, dear~
Steven turned the newly acquired Mega Stone over in his palm. It was a deep, dark blue, with swirling orange-red and amber gene helixes running through its core.
The Garchompite. Found by following Garchomp's directions, and dug out personally with his own pickaxe.
For a brief, glorious moment, the geologist's instinct buried deep in him had awakened fully.
"All things considered, mission accomplished."
Steven stared at the Mega Stone he had excavated himself and felt something stir in his chest. He was almost moved.
This was the first one he had ever actually dug out himself.
The Metagrossite had been a gift from his father. The Aggronite was a thank-you from Riley. The Steelixite had been swiped by an Aron before he could even get to it. And then there was that mystery stone Piplup had unearthed in Granite Cave.
When he counted it all up, this Garchompite was the only Mega Stone he had personally excavated from the ground with his own two hands.
He held it a little more carefully after that.
By the time the sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon, Steven made his way back to the island's starting point. Gurkinn was already there waiting, arms folded, a relaxed expression on his face.
"Back already, Steven!" Gurkinn greeted him with a grin. "Did everything go the way you hoped?"
"It did. Thank you for the opportunity, Gurkinn," Steven said.
Gurkinn waved it off. "Don't mention it. Spreading Mega Evolution further is its own reward."
On the boat ride back to the island where the Pokémon Karate School stood, Steven recounted the day's events for Gurkinn. It passed the time and gave the old man something to laugh about — which he did, more than once.
When the boat reached the shore, Steven paused before stepping off.
"Gurkinn, would it be alright if I stayed here for a few days? I'd like to train with Lucario under your guidance."
"Absolutely. Though I'll warn you — I don't go easy." Gurkinn laughed broadly.
"Lucario and I can handle it," Steven said.
Bang —
Lucario burst out of its Poké Ball without being called, landing neatly at Steven's side.
"Lucario!"
It squared its shoulders and nodded firmly.
Gurkinn let out a laugh. "That settles it! I'll show you everything I know in the time you're here. After that, it's just a matter of putting in the work."
There were a few reasons Steven limited the stay to several days. The collected Mega Stones needed to be sent to Professor Birch for identification, and once confirmed, he needed to arrange for a Key Stone accessory to be made for Cynthia.
He had no concerns about the delivery. League courier services were reliable, and Gurkinn had generously offered to provide the Key Stone itself — a reasonable gesture, given that he had been the one to discover the island in the first place. The true origins of Mega Evolution remained unclear, but history recorded Gurkinn's ancestors as the first people to document it. Steven didn't dwell on the mystery. Some questions revealed their answers in their own time.
The days that followed were some of the most grueling Steven had experienced in recent memory.
Every evening he came back to his room and collapsed. Once, he fell asleep mid-sentence during a phone call with Cynthia. She brought it up the next day with considerable displeasure and, Steven suspected, a good deal of lost sleep herself. He felt genuinely guilty about that.
But Gurkinn's instruction was worth every aching muscle.
By the time Professor Birch's results arrived, everything Steven had suspected was confirmed: the stone Piplup had dug up in Granite Cave was a Sablenite. The stone the three Swampert had fought over was the Swampertite. And the stone he had excavated from the volcanic terrain was, without question, the Garchompite.
The morning Steven was due to leave, he stood outside the Pokémon Karate School in the early light.
"Come back whenever you like, Steven," Gurkinn said, arms crossed, a quiet smile on his face.
"I will. And thank you — for everything," Steven said sincerely.
"Korrina's been looking forward to your next visit too, you know," Gurkinn added, with a knowing glint in his eye.
During the training sessions, Korrina had often lingered nearby to watch. In the quieter moments when Steven rested, she had peppered him with questions about his travels — Hoenn, his Pokémon, the places he'd been. By the end of the week, they had gotten along quite well.
"I did not say that!" Korrina's voice came sharp and immediate from somewhere behind her grandfather.
"Right, right, you didn't."
Steven laughed. "Korrina will make a fantastic Gym Leader one day."
"Yes!" Korrina stepped out fully, fist raised with conviction. "I'll work really hard!"
Steven said his goodbyes to Gurkinn and Korrina, then made his way toward the airport.
He had one stop to make before his flight to Shalour City.
Steven stood in a cosmetics shop and stared at a wall of lipstick shades with the careful, measured attention he usually reserved for mineral identification.
The logic had been simple enough in his head.
He wanted to have the Key Stone set into something Cynthia could carry naturally, in a way that wouldn't look out of place. Jewelry had felt like the obvious choice at first, but Cynthia already had more than enough accessories. Adding more risked overwhelming what was already a carefully composed look. Bracelets, in particular, hadn't felt right for her.
So. Lipstick.
The reasoning was sound. The outer casing could hold the setting, and if the colour ever needed replacing, the stone could be transferred easily enough.
The colour itself was the remaining problem.
Anything too bold was out immediately — bright red felt wrong for Cynthia's style. Anything too pink was not even worth considering. He wanted something that worked, something understated.
He settled on a soft, muted red. Elegant. Appropriate.
Steven purchased it and boarded his flight in first class. During the journey, he carefully dismantled the bottom casing and fitted the Key Stone into the base — a clean, discreet installation that sat flush when the cap was on.
He held it up and examined it.
Perfectly done.
The plane touched down in Eterna City, Sinnoh Region.
Steven was well acquainted with Route 211 by now. With Metagross now at Champion level, crossing to Celestic Town took only a few hours rather than the better part of a day. He arrived around midday.
Cynthia is probably still out training. She should be back before long.
He was also aware that the late-night phone calls — or rather, the way they had ended with him going silent mid-sentence — had not been well received. He suspected Cynthia might have slept in to make up for it.
There was only one way to find out.
Steven pressed the doorbell.
Ding dong~~~
After a short wait, the door opened. Cynthia's grandmother, Carolina, looked out at him with a bright, amused expression.
"Oh my. Steven! Back to steal my Cynthia away again?"
"Please, Grandma," Steven said, with a quiet laugh. "Don't tease me like that."
Carolina waved him in, and Steven stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
"Hoenn Champion now, and the very first thing you do is come here." Carolina settled comfortably onto the sofa, watching him with a smile that said she already knew everything worth knowing. "Interesting."
Steven scratched the back of his head. "I made a promise. I'm just keeping it."
"Oh~?" Carolina drew the word out with unmistakable delight. "So my Cynthia's got somewhere else she'd rather be, has she?"
"That's not — I wouldn't put it that way."
"Then are you here specifically to steal her away?"
"No, I—"
"Then she is growing outward."
"That's not it either—"
"Hahahahaha!" Carolina gave up all pretence of restraint and laughed freely.
"I'll stop, I'll stop. You're very patient, Steven."
Steven wore an expression of quiet, dignified suffering.
I was telling the truth the whole time.