Chapter 41: Steven’s Purchase, Stock Running Low

On the other side, at the Azalea Gym, Bugsy was quite nervous as it was his first time meeting Steven. When Steven asked how to find the craftsman who made the Everstone, Bugsy could only scratch his head, feeling somewhat helpless:

"I don't know where he is either. It’s somewhere near a village in Johto, I suppose. The package was sent from Blackthorn City."

Steven was a bit speechless, though he considered that he could be the same way at times. Not long ago, someone had tried to send him a letter and had run all over the map looking for him, while he was busy digging for stones in Granite Cave, completely oblivious to what was happening outside.

Ha, he must have caused quite a bit of trouble for everyone back then... And now, he was experiencing that same feeling of being unable to find someone.

How times change.

"…Craftsmen often collect rare materials in the wild. I can understand that; I used to do the same thing myself." Steven smiled. Although he couldn't get the craftsman's exact address from Bugsy, he at least had a new lead.

Blackthorn City.

If it was a delivery, it must have been sent from a Pokémon Center. As long as he could find the corresponding courier or the Pokémon responsible for the delivery, he could locate the sender's address.

But he was running out of time. He had already spent several days investigating in the Johto region, and he needed to head to the Kanto region immediately to attend the fossil exhibition at the Pewter City Science Museum.

At the same time, Steven didn't offer to buy the Everstone from Bugsy, merely holding it in his hand to examine it for a moment.

"It truly is an incredible stone. Even though I am not a Pokémon, I can feel a strange energy when holding it."

"Oh? Is that so?" Bugsy found it hard to believe, but Steven nodded, smiling in response. "I frequently dig for all sorts of stones in the wild and in caves, and some of my own Pokémon are Rock-types, so I have a very keen sense for stones."

Bugsy thought for a moment. "The craftsman told me that this stone had undergone further polishing by him, which is why it’s better than normal stones of the same type. He meant that it could stimulate a Pokémon's potential more effectively."

"Better than stones of the same type?" Steven keenly noticed the oddity in that statement!

Without a point of comparison, one could not make such a claim; the craftsman's words were precise.

If there was a comparison, it meant that the craftsman must have seen another ordinary, already-used Everstone somewhere else!

"I see! So, these stones might exist in other regions as well. And he used to work in the Sinnoh region... Speaking of famous digging spots in Sinnoh... the Underground!"

Steven let his imagination run wild. He believed that other Everstones must exist in the Sinnoh Underground. This discovery and speculation made him feel both happy and excited. However, considering his position as the Hoenn Champion, if he stayed in Sinnoh for too long, it would look very bad, and he wouldn't be able to respond to urgent matters...

It was a headache. Maybe he should just abdicate the Championship to Wallace.

But that guy kept saying he had no time because he was participating in Pokémon Contests... Right, he mentioned something about hosting the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh. Why not let him help dig for the stones while he was there!

Hm, if a close friend pleaded so sincerely, could he really refuse?

Steven decided that before heading to other regions, he needed to properly arrange his Champion duties. But knowing that the Hoenn Elite Four were all slackers who wandered around, Steven couldn't help but feel a throbbing in his head.

Why didn't their region have anyone who worked seriously? Someone who liked wearing glasses, reading books all day, and working crazy amounts of overtime.

"Thank you, I believe I have gained some useful information!"

Steven thanked Bugsy and returned the Everstone. Bugsy was a bit confused, but suddenly, Steven proposed a battle.

"Eh?! A battle with the Champion!"

Bugsy was quite startled. Although he had become a Gym Leader in the Johto region at the youngest age, he didn't feel he had the strength to battle a Champion. Steven replied:

"This is to witness the power of the Everstone with my own eyes. Please, I must have a Pokémon battle with you!"

At the same time, Steven looked down at the online shop page displayed on his Pokégear screen... After a moment of thought, he placed an order.

Perhaps these sculptures also used some special stones, with some special effects inscribed on them?

Steven purchased the Lairon sculpture, buying out the entire stock in one go.

As for the delivery address...

"Sorry, Bugsy, could you help me receive a package?"

***

Of course, besides Steven, the Professors who had been following the Travel Workshop naturally saw the new updates on the sculptures.

Most of them didn't have any expertise in sculpture, and these stonemasonry and woodcarving crafts weren't their field of study. However, the claim that the carvings possessed special auxiliary effects exceeded common sense, sparking the Professors' skepticism.

Among them, Professor Elm saw the Arceus sculpture and the notes about its effects, with a stock level of 3.

"Makes Pokémon hatched from eggs grow stronger? These sculptures... how could they have such an ability?"

"And I've never seen this Pokémon's design before. Is it from another region? But why is it labeled as an unknown Pokémon?"

"Ah, it must be an original artistic Pokémon design, right?"

Professor Elm pushed up his glasses. At first, he felt the effect was beyond common sense and violated scientific principles.

But soon, he thought of the various ruins scattered across the world. Things that defied common sense and modern scientific theory were often unearthed in these ruins. And after all, so-called common sense was merely the induction and summary of existing phenomena.

Some things wouldn't be believed unless seen with one's own eyes. And this sculpture... the design of this sculpture depicted a Pokémon he had never seen before.

As a Professor specializing in the Egg Group, Professor Elm felt the urge to buy one to see for himself, but the price made him hesitate.

Although he was the lead Professor for research in the Johto region, 100,000... it wasn't that it was expensive, but should this be considered a private purchase or charged to research funds?

Moreover, it didn't feel like it had great value for money, especially since the description said the sculpture was only the size of a palm.

As for the design, Professor Elm figured it was likely a small hobby of the workshop's artisan, creating a self-original Pokémon for artistic purposes; many artists and sculptors did this.

"Hm... Wait! Why did the stock decrease?"

Professor Elm was refreshing the shop page on his computer when he suddenly noticed the total stock had dropped from 3 to 2!

Someone had bought one?

"Tsk... Should I try it out with the mindset of being cheated? If it's truly related to the Pokémon Egg Group, then this would be extremely important research material!"

"Oh, oh! The stock is down to 1! Who on earth is buying these?"

Professor Elm gritted his teeth and finally pressed the order button.

***

"So this is the workshop. They talk about stones related to evolution, but I only see sculptures."

Sinnoh region, Sandgem Town, Rowan's Laboratory.

Professor Rowan was the Professor of the Sinnoh region. He lived there and conducted research on "Pokémon Evolution."

His appearance was even older than Professor Oak's: white hair, a rugged white beard, and he always wore a white or brown overcoat with a blue vest and long-sleeved shirt underneath.

After receiving the message from Professor Oak, Professor Rowan took the matter very seriously. After all, a peculiar stone linked to evolution could potentially be of great help to his research.

However, after following the workshop, he found there were no evolution stones in it. After patiently waiting for several days, the newly listed products were... sculptures?

However... one Pokémon sculpture caught Professor Rowan's attention. Although he didn't recognize the Pokémon, he felt its design was... very "Sinnoh-esque."

He felt he could see shadows of Dialga or Palkia in it.

The label on the stone carving read "Unknown Pokémon."

"The appearance of this product, just looking at the photo, looks like it was just dug out of some ruin. If this is a faux-antique craft, isn't it a bit too well-made? It’s almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Or could it be real?"

"Is the owner of this shop a grave robber?"

Professor Rowan couldn't help but jump to conclusions. However, because of the existence of this special Pokémon, he became interested. The sculpture had a special introduction page claiming it had unique functions, but the claim that it allowed Pokémon to learn moves they would only learn after evolution was a bit strange.

Of course, Professor Rowan had studied the special talents of some Pokémon. Some exceptionally gifted Pokémon could indeed learn moves from their evolved forms before they actually evolved. For example, Riolu; there was a very small chance for this Pokémon to learn "Aura Sphere" before evolution.

Riolu looked like a small blue humanoid puppy and was known as the Emanation Pokémon. Just as its classification suggested, before evolution, it couldn't fully master the power of Aura, only barely sensing the ripples. However, highly gifted special Riolu could master Aura power while still in their Riolu stage.

This was a very magical phenomenon related to Pokémon.

What exactly was the difference between an unevolved and an evolved Pokémon? Were those Pokémon without an evolved form considered a "complete" version?

However, there were Pokémon once thought to have no evolved forms that suddenly gained the ability to evolve after new items appeared, such as Electivire and Magmortar.

This was the real reason Professor Rowan was buying the Arceus sculpture.

If the sculpture's function was true, then it could be considered a special object for researching evolution. Furthermore, items that taught moves had existed since ancient times; they weren't anything particularly rare. Just like the TM technology developed today—isn't that magical in its own right?

"The stock is down to 1? Who on earth is buying these things? Oh well, even though it's a bit expensive, I'll place the order!"

"200,000!"

"I should inform Cynthia after I buy it; she has extensive knowledge about these things."