Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game.

Xia Chen was observing Zivqi, and Zivqi was also sizing up Xia Chen.

Xia Chen's long-term meditation practice has given him a unique mysterious temperament. His disciplined routine and exercise have given him a youthful and outstanding physique, in addition to a handsome face that no one can find fault with.

All things considered, even the seasoned Zvoich couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, "He has about 30% of my youthful charm!"

"Mr. Xia Chen is a young talent, and meeting you today confirms his well-deserved reputation!"

"Mr. Zvoich, you flatter me. Your deeds are truly legendary. I often wrote about you when I was writing essays in high school!"

"Haha, young friend Xia Chen is so humorous. You and Da Wu are acquainted. If you don't mind, we can address each other as uncle and nephew."

"It is an honor, Uncle Zvoich."

"Not at all, nephew Xia Chen."

The adult world is that simple; with just a few words, the two of them were calling each other "uncle" and "nephew."

After some mutual flattery and pleasantries, the atmosphere gradually relaxed and became more harmonious.

Zvuch laughed and said, "Daigo has gone off to the Carlos region to dig for stones again, so I'll be the one to entertain you. Please don't look down on this old man, my dear nephew."

Taking a sip of the black tea Miss Gothic offered, Xia Chen replied, "How could that be? I'm too busy learning from you to know how to do this."

Changing the subject, Xia Chen asked, "The Carlos region? I've traveled there before; the scenery is beautiful. Are there any particularly unique stones?"

The deliberate shift of the topic to the Kalos region was naturally intended to subtly allude to the Mega Stone, as the Kalos region is the birthplace of Mega Evolution.

…………

There is a theory from the past that when the ultimate weapon created by AZ three thousand years ago was launched, the life energy of Xerneas or Yveltal spread throughout the Carlos region, thus leading to the formation of the Super Stone.

However, there are also rumors that the Mega Stone originated in the Hoenn region and was born from a meteorite from outer space. Rayquaza, which wanted to intercept the meteorite and protect the Hoenn region, became the first Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution after coming into contact with the meteorite.

Xia Chen didn't know what was going on in this world; in any case, he had never heard of the concept of super evolution since ancient times.

It is not impossible for a third scenario to occur.

So now he's trying to get information from what is probably the world's richest stone enthusiast, hoping to get even the slightest clue.

Zvoich didn't think much of it, assuming Xia Chen was just chatting. After thinking for a couple of seconds, he replied, "As for special stones, apart from the precious pink diamond from that legendary diamond kingdom, there's nothing special. It's just that my family used to live in Carlos for a while, and Daigo has a strong attachment to that place."

Xia Chen was somewhat surprised, "Did you ever live in Carlos?"

Zvoich nodded and introduced with a touch of nostalgia: "That was also a turning point in the rise of our Devon Group. My father dedicated his life to making the life energy that was scattered throughout Carlos when the ultimate weapon was launched three thousand years ago available for civilian use, and he finally succeeded."

"He developed a method to convert life energy into a special energy that is controllable, storable, and has extremely high energy density. He named it [living energy] or [∞ energy]. It is precisely because of the research and development of this energy that our Devon Group has flourished and reached where it is today."

Perhaps his throat was dry from talking, Zvoich took a sip of tea, then gave a self-deprecating laugh, “Everyone calls me a business genius, but I’ve only done some insignificant things based on my father’s great research.”

Xia Chen nodded slightly; Zivucci's words had awakened long-forgotten memories from his past life.

I remember when I played Ruby & Sapphire Remastered a long time ago, this kind of energy was indeed mentioned in the story.

The story of that game takes place in the Hoenn region, but it features Mega Evolution, and Flygon and Squirtle also gain the cool and powerful Primal form.

This is also strong evidence for the rumors that Mega Evolution originated in the Hoenn region.

However, the Devon Group is closely associated with life energy, and life energy is inextricably linked to super evolution.

To round it up, Devon Corporation and Super Evolution are closely related, and this relationship must be carefully maintained.

Xia Chen thought to himself.

…………

After chatting for a while, President Zvoich took Xia Chen on a tour of his prized collection of stones.

Although Xia Chen only pretended to be a stone enthusiast to find out about Mega Stones, he still put in some effort to learn about them, to an amateur level.

However, this circle is niche, and Zvocchi rarely meets like-minded people. This time, he finally managed to catch one and had a great chat.

After chatting about stones for several hours, he now calls him "my dear nephew" with remarkable ease.

“Nephew, this is only a small part of my collection. Downstairs there are all sorts of rare stones that Daigo and I have dug up over the years. After dinner, I’ll take you for a walk around there.”

Zivchi extended a warm invitation, seemingly still wanting more.

Xia Chen subconsciously took a half step back and forced a smile, saying, "Uncle Zvoich, maybe next time. I just got off the plane today and I'm a little tired."

After an afternoon of looking at stones, I haven't reached the point where I feel like throwing up just looking at them, but I reckon if I looked at them all night, I really would be.

Zvocchi was a sensible man; how could he not understand the meaning behind Xia Chen's words?

He chuckled and said, "I was being presumptuous. If you don't mind, my dear nephew, please stay at one of our group's hotels for the next few days. I'm not bragging, but it's one of the best hotels in Kanaz City."

Xia Chen replied politely, "Thank you for your hospitality, that would be wonderful."

Zvoc laughed and said, "It's no big deal. Let's go eat first. We have three whole floors dedicated to the staff canteen. Let's see if it meets your standards, Chef Zvoc."

Secretary Kuroda appeared at the opportune moment and led Zvoich and Xia Chen to a meal.

Afterwards, both host and guests enjoyed themselves immensely, which goes without saying.

…………

As dusk settled, the vibrant night view of Kanaz City unfolded before Xia Chen's eyes.

After dinner, Zvoich had Kuroda escort him to the hotel, where Xia Chen was treated like a guest.

At this moment, he and the Pokémon were enjoying the night view in front of the glass curtain wall of the luxurious Pokémon suite at the Zvuch Hotel, easing the fatigue of their first visit to the Hoenn region.

Kanazon City is the largest city in the Hoenn region, holding a position similar to that of Lunare City in the Kalos region.

Besides technological level and resident population, another important reason is geographical location.

Located between Meteor Falls to the north and Petalburg Woods to the south, Rustboro City sits between two of the most important Pokémon habitats in the Hoenn region.

Speaking of Meteor Falls, it is also a place closely related to Mega Evolution.

In the game's storyline, the Meteor People who live there made a pact with the legendary dragon god Rayquaza a thousand years ago, successfully Mega Evolving him and preventing a meteorite from falling that could have destroyed the Hoenn region.

However, no Mega Evolution has been discovered in this world yet, and it's unknown whether a meteorite fell a thousand years ago, or whether Rayquaza underwent Mega Evolution.

In any case, this is an important location that may contain clues about super evolution, so it's worth exploring.

Anyway, there are still many days until the Grand Contest begins, so I'm just killing time these days.

Xia Chen slapped his forehead and immediately made a decision: they would set off for Meteor Falls tomorrow!

Chapter 309 The ability to train non-dragons into dragon-type Pokémon—that's the real deal.

A true dragon tamer! (1)

Compared to Longyue Waterfall and Daguo Lake Waterfall, which Xia Chen had visited, Meteor Waterfall was hardly a magnificent sight.

Because its formation was not caused by natural factors such as river erosion or rock faulting, but by an accident, a beautiful accident from the starry sky.

It's unclear whether there's something special about the Hoenn region, but meteorites seem to always seem to fall there. Rumor has it that Meteor Falls was formed by the first meteorite to fall in the Hoenn region.

Legend has it that that was also the first time that Liekongzuo appeared before the world.

From then on, it was worshipped by a group of people who called themselves the "People of Meteors" and revered as the Dragon God.

Over thousands of years, the meteorite has long since blended into the environment and is no different from the ordinary rocks around it.

However, the Meteor People have lived in the "Meteor Village" beneath Meteor Falls for generations, becoming a group of mysterious and powerful dragon tamers.

"Times have changed. Those Meteor People can no longer live a secluded paradise. In recent years, some young people have begun to become active in the outside world."

In the president's office at the Devon Financial Center, Zvoich explained the current situation of the Meteor Clan.

Before setting off, Xia Chen paid another visit to this local tyrant who had been entrenched in Kanaz City for many years, in order to learn about the Meteor Village and the Meteor People of this world.

He pressed further, "Would the Meteor People reject outsiders from entering Meteor Village?"

Zvoich pondered for a moment before replying, "They are very xenophobic, but if you can gain their approval, that's a different story."

"Recognition? Gain recognition through Pokémon battles?"

This was Xia Chen's first reaction, and it is also the most common context for the so-called "recognition" in most cases in this world.

"I guess so, but there's one limitation: the strength of the Dragon-type Pokémon."

Xia Chen nodded in realization. It's perfectly normal for a dragon tamer to have such requests.

However, Xia Chen, a dragon-type spirit, smiled smugly to himself.

When Guleton appears, won't he be worshipped as a new god by that group of people?

…………

After bidding farewell to Zifuqi, Xia Chen boarded a private car from the Devon Group and headed to the outskirts of Kanaz.

These mega-cities usually have no-fly zones; trainers can only ride their Pokémon and fly freely outside the city limits.

The Devon Financial Centre is in the city center, and it's still rush hour in Kanaz, so it's a bit of a drive to the suburbs.

Fortunately, the luxury car had a lot of space, so Xia Chen let out smaller Pokémon like Sylveon and Gardevoir to get some fresh air.

As for Minas and Guleton, they'll just have to put up with it for a little longer.

While in the car, Xia Chen asked Rotom to help him search for some information about Meteor Falls, just in case.

Sinbu listened attentively, secretly comparing Rotom's words with the information he knew in his previous life to see if there were any discrepancies.

Fortunately, the butterfly's wings did not flap to the Hoenn region for the time being, and she did not find anything unusual as she listened along the way.

It is now August 22, 2024, one year before the [Legendary Megalith] from the previous life was unearthed from the ruins.

At first, people did not realize the special nature of this boulder, and simply regarded it as a relatively large meteorite.

It wasn't until six months later that the legendary megalith began to reveal its immense influence on the world.

This even sparked a revolutionary wave in Pokémon battles!

Under the radiation of the energy waves emitted by the giant rock, stones with strange lights and different patterns began to appear throughout the Hoenn region.

Later research revealed that these stones were transformed from extremely high-quality evolution stones, and after transformation, they became [Mega Evolution Stones] that could allow certain Pokémon to evolve again!

The Key Stone, another important item for completing Mega Evolution, comes from another meteorite that hit the Hoenn region thousands of years ago—the meteorite that created Meteor Falls!

So the reality is that the Key Stone has existed in this world for a long time, but without the help of the Mega Stone, it is just an ordinary stone with a special pattern.

After going through the memories of his past life in his mind, Xianbu stared blankly out the car window.

During this trip to Meteor Falls, I can use this information to help Xia Chen collect some keystones.