A Dragonite Mega Stone...?
Carver stared at the stone in Steven's hand with complete bewilderment.
As far as he knew, Dragonite didn't have a Mega Evolution, right?
But the stone in front of him didn't look fake either.
Feeling confused, Carver looked toward Steven and asked: "This is..."
Steven replied politely: "This is a rather precious rare stone I collected some years ago."
According to his research, these stones were extremely scarce and non-renewable, with no one knowing their origins.
Initially, Steven had thought this was some kind of evolution stone similar to Fire Stones or Thunder Stones.
He had even specially invited researchers to study it.
Unfortunately, after extensive research, they found nothing, and the stone couldn't make Pokémon evolve either.
Even though it seemed useless, the fact that it was a non-renewable resource was enough to prove the stone's value.
After all, who knew when they might run out entirely.
Moreover, these stones contained energy within them—they must have some purpose that simply hadn't been discovered yet.
During that period, Steven had collected many such stones. The only difference was that the patterns inside each stone varied slightly.
Hearing Steven's explanation, Carver felt conflicted.
It really was quite precious...
Because this was a Mega Stone that could allow Pokémon to break through their species limitations and evolve beyond themselves!
But looking at Steven's expression, combined with the current time period, "Mega Evolution" probably hadn't been discovered yet.
"You really want to give this to me?" The gift was too precious, leaving Carver uncertain whether he should accept it.
Steven nodded seriously, an elegant smile appearing on his face: "Thank you for your trust. Consider this gift my thanks for helping me and Metang develop the Gravity move."
Carver was indeed tempted by this evolution stone.
Moreover, he really loved Dragonite—if he ever had the chance, he definitely wanted to catch one of these adorable, rotund, yet powerful Pokémon.
"In that case, I won't be polite. I really like this stone." Carver finally accepted the gift.
As someone who had traveled between worlds, he knew all the conditions for Mega Evolution.
At worst, he could help Steven and Metagross achieve Mega Evolution early, letting him discover mega evolution ahead of schedule and take off from there.
Seeing Carver accept it, Steven felt very happy.
However, the next second, he watched Carver turn around, go into a room, and return carrying five more iridescent meteorites.
Steven: "!!!"
"These things aren't much use to me here. Since you like them, you can have them all!" Carver said.
Steven had been overjoyed, but hearing this, he suddenly calmed down.
His upbringing prevented him from accepting gifts from others without reason.
"I can't accept this gift for nothing." Steven shook his head. "If you don't mind, we could continue exchanging."
He said this because Steven had keenly noticed that Carver seemed to really like the type of round stone he'd just given him.
"Exchange?" Carver was slightly stunned.
"That's right. Whether it's Moon Stones or the stone I just gave you—anything is fine." Steven nodded.
If Carver refused to exchange, he wouldn't accept these meteorites either.
Carver understood Steven's meaning and felt somewhat conflicted.
After a moment's thought, he asked: "Do you have more stones like this?"
Thinking of the wall of stones at his home, Steven nodded: "Yes. Do you like this type of stone?"
Carver began spinning a tale with a straight face: "To be honest, this stone reminds me of certain things—related to dreams I've had before. It's just speculation, but if I had more stones, I could verify it."
"Dreams?"
Carver nodded and casually fabricated: "I've been having frequent dreams these past three years. In them, I seem to become another person. Pokémon exist there too, and in that place, Pokémon can use certain items to transcend themselves and continue evolving upward."
Hearing this, Steven was stunned.
At only ten years old, he couldn't fully grasp the meaning of these words, but his extensive knowledge inevitably led to some speculation.
Parallel dimensions? Dream projections?
He knew some Pokémon possessed the ability to weave dreams.
But Pokémon transcending themselves to continue evolving upward...
Steven's mind conjured images of his Metang evolving into Metagross, then continuing to evolve beyond that.
How could that be possible...
Such a thing sounded far too incredible.
Steven looked up at Carver in front of him.
"It's just a dream. I don't know if it's real or fake. Seeing this stone today felt familiar, so I suddenly remembered this." Carver paused, then added: "If you don't believe it, forget it."
Steven opened his mouth, instinctively shaking his head: "No... it's not that." Not that he didn't believe it.
It was just that such a thing was truly too incredible.
He'd never heard of anything like this.
But Carver had no reason to lie to him either.
"What should I do?" Steven asked.
"I need more stones like this," Carver answered.
Steven didn't doubt him. He nodded and agreed without hesitation.
"I'll go back right now and bring all those stones."
With that, Steven was about to turn and leave.
"Wait!" Carver quickly called out to him.
Steven turned back in confusion.
"Just that stone alone isn't enough." Carver acted as if recalling something. "It needs another type of stone to work with it."
Steven's family had plenty of stones—all kinds, everything imaginable.
"Can you describe what it looks like?" he asked.
Carver took out paper and pen, drawing the pattern from a Key Stone.
"The color is like a rainbow. Do you have any?"
Steven thought carefully and shook his head: "Nothing that small... but there is one very large colorful stone."
Could it be Key Stone ore? Carver pressed: "What about the pattern?"
"No pattern like this."
Carver looked thoughtful.
Could the pattern on Key Stones be painted on?
Or perhaps the mark representing Mega Evolution only appeared when a trainer's Key Stone resonated with the Mega Stone on their Pokémon?
"If possible, could you bring that stone for me to see as well?" Carver asked.
"Of course." Steven agreed without hesitation: "I'll be back soon."
With that, Steven turned and left the breeding house, even forgetting to take the five meteorites.
Carver: "..."