Outrageously rich!
After all, across the entire Pokémon world, there were fewer than fifty species known to be capable of Mega Evolution.
Yet here Steven was, with Mega Stones for nearly half of them!
Even if there were duplicates among them, the number alone was staggering.
Kawaki was stunned.
Steven, however, remained composed. He glanced at the pile of stones, then turned to Kawaki and asked:
"Will this be enough? Do you need anything else?"
"N-No, this is more than enough," Kawaki finally snapped out of it and shook his head. "I wasn't expecting this much."
He paused, then added, "This is just a theory. I don't know if it'll even work. I'll need to study these stones first."
Steven nodded. "Take your time. I'll leave all of them here with you. Feel free to experiment however you like."
Kawaki stared at him. "You trust me that much? Not afraid I'll just run off with everything?"
They'd barely met a handful of times.
Steven fixed his gaze on him and asked plainly, "Would you?"
Kawaki: "…"
Fair. He really wouldn't.
He rubbed his forehead and said, "Still, just having the stones isn't enough. I'll also need the right Pokémon and Trainer pair for testing."
As was common knowledge, achieving Mega Evolution required precise conditions:
The Trainer had to have a Key Stone.
The Pokémon had to hold the correct Mega Stone.
And, most importantly, the bond between the two had to be incredibly strong—deep enough to unite their hearts and synchronize their will.
At the moment, Kawaki didn't have any suitable Pokémon.
Growlithe, Bewear, Clefairy, Oddish, and Chingling were all great in their own way—but not for Mega Evolution.
Steven, on the other hand, was the perfect candidate.
Though Kawaki knew all the requirements by heart, he still needed someone to publicly assist with the first experiment.
Steven pondered for a moment. "Would I work?"
"Metang and Aron aren't bad," Kawaki said, "but neither has evolved yet. For now, keep traveling, and when your Metang becomes Metagross and Aron becomes Aggron, come back."
Very NPC quest-giver energy.
Steven nodded. He had indeed spent a lot of time at the daycare—he needed to resume his Gym challenge journey.
He bid Kawaki farewell and turned to leave.
But just as he reached the door, he paused and looked back.
"What's your phone number?"
"…Phone number?"
Kawaki blinked, then realized—right. "I haven't installed a phone here yet."
This world's tech tree was bizarre. They had mastered spatial technology like storage systems, but communication tech lagged behind.
There were only two real-time communication options:
Videophones and landlines at Pokémon Centers.
Outdated devices similar to ancient Nokias.
Steven quickly understood.
He didn't say anything—just turned and left.
Kawaki watched him go, thinking he really should get a videophone installed.
But before he could even start planning it, that very afternoon Steven returned—with a team of installers and a state-of-the-art videophone, which they set up right there in the daycare lobby.
Kawaki: ???
"For easier communication," Steven said simply.
Now Steven could call from anywhere on his journey.
Kawaki: This man is something else.
He tried to pay Steven back for the installation, but Steven waved it off without hesitation.
With no other choice, Kawaki silently noted this favor.
As he watched Steven disappear down the path, he thought to himself:
"All right then—if anyone's going to be the first Mega Evolution Trainer in this world… it's gotta be you."
Knowing about Mega Evolution nearly a decade in advance, Steven was destined to soar. No one in Hoenn would be able to match him.
Back inside the daycare, Kawaki looked at the pile of Mega Stones on the table.
Regret flooded his heart.
Not a single one was usable for him right now.
And that Dragoniteite? Even more impossible.
As a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Dragonite was incredibly rare and valuable—its difficulty to obtain rivaled that of Latias and Latios.
At least Kawaki had leads on the Eon siblings. He knew they were active in Hoenn and had some idea where to find them.
But Dragonite? He had absolutely nothing.
The chances of catching Latias or Latios were maybe 0.001%.
Dragonite? Probably not even that.
Because Dragonite didn't even live in Hoenn.
He'd have to go to another region to look for one—and even then, it'd be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Maybe steal a Dratini from the Dragon Clan in Johto?
Yeah, right. He probably wouldn't even get past the front gate.
"…Forget it. I'll leave it to fate."
Although he'd said he needed to research Mega Evolution, Kawaki honestly didn't need to do much.
With all other daycare matters temporarily settled, his attention turned to the biggest issue of all: security.
While the Pokémon world was generally a utopia, this was still early in the timeline—nowhere near the safe era when Ash began his journey.
Evil organizations were still quietly building their strength. Pokémon thefts still made regular headlines.
If someone targeted his daycare's Pokémon, it would be disastrous.
His backyard was huge. If someone snuck in and used something like Sleep Powder, they could easily steal a few Clefairy in silence.
So what was the simplest, most effective solution?
Train his own Pokémon. Make them strong enough to defend the daycare.
Oddish, Chingling, and the Clefairy weren't built for combat. Even if Kawaki pushed them into training, they probably couldn't stick with it.
So, that responsibility would fall squarely on Growlithe and Bewear.
The day after Steven left, Kawaki turned his attention to Growlithe, who wore the [EXP Share].
It was time to figure out how to maximize its potential.