"A Mega Stone for Dragonite...?"
Kawaki stared in disbelief at the stone in Steven's hand.
As far as he knew, Dragonite wasn't capable of Mega Evolution.
But the stone in front of him didn't look fake in the slightest.
Kawaki was thrown off. He looked toward Steven and asked, "This is…?"
Steven replied politely, "It's one of the rarer stones I collected over the past few years."
According to his research, these stones were extremely scarce and non-renewable. No one knew their origin.
At first, Steven assumed they were like Fire Stones or Thunder Stones—just another kind of evolution stone.
He even invited some researchers to study them.
Unfortunately, after a long time, the research yielded no results. The stones didn't trigger evolution.
Even so, their scarcity alone made them valuable. After all, once they're gone, they're gone.
And these stones did contain energy. They clearly served some purpose—it just hadn't been discovered yet.
So during that period, Steven collected many of them. The only difference between them lay in the patterns inside the stones.
Hearing Steven's explanation, Kawaki had complicated feelings.
They really were rare…
Because this was a Mega Stone—an item that allowed Pokémon to transcend their species limits and reach new heights through Mega Evolution!
But judging by Steven's demeanor, and considering the current timeline, "Mega Evolution" likely hadn't been discovered yet.
"You really want to give this to me?" Kawaki asked. The gift was so valuable that he didn't know whether to accept it.
Steven nodded sincerely, a graceful smile on his face. "Consider it my thanks for helping me and Metang develop the move Gravity."
Kawaki was indeed tempted by the Mega Stone.
And as for Dragonite… he loved it. If he ever got the chance, he'd definitely catch one—adorably round, derpy, and incredibly strong.
"In that case, I'll gratefully accept. I really like this stone," Kawaki finally said, accepting the gift.
As a transmigrator, he knew everything about how Mega Evolution worked.
Worst case, he could help Steven and Metagross unlock Mega Evolution early and let Steven take off ahead of the curve.
Seeing Kawaki accept the gift, Steven felt genuinely happy.
But the next second, Kawaki turned around and entered a room—then came out carrying five shimmering meteorites.
Steven: "!!!"
"These don't really serve any purpose sitting around here. If you like them, I'll give them all to you," Kawaki said.
Steven had been delighted at first, but upon hearing that, he suddenly calmed down.
He couldn't accept something for nothing. His upbringing wouldn't allow it.
"I can't accept such a gift without giving something in return," Steven shook his head. "But if you don't mind, maybe we can make a trade."
The reason he said this was because he noticed how much Kawaki seemed to like the round stone he had just given him.
"Trade?" Kawaki blinked.
"Yes. Whether it's a Moon Stone, or the stone I gave you—any of them. I'd like to offer something in return," Steven said.
If Kawaki refused, he wouldn't take the meteorites.
Kawaki could tell what Steven meant and felt a bit conflicted.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Do you have more of that kind of stone?"
Steven thought of the stone-covered wall back home and nodded. "I do. You really like them?"
Kawaki began spinning a tale. "To be honest, these stones remind me of something—something I saw in my dreams. But it's just a hunch. If I had more of them, I might be able to figure it out."
"Dreams?" Steven asked.
Kawaki nodded and continued weaving. "Over the past three years, I've had this recurring dream. In the dream, I'm someone else, living in a different world. There are Pokémon there, too, and in that world, Pokémon can use certain items to go beyond their limits and evolve further."
Steven was stunned.
He was only ten years old and couldn't fully understand the implications, but with his knowledge and experience, it sparked some wild ideas.
Parallel worlds? Dream reflections?
Some Pokémon were known to manipulate dreams, after all.
But Pokémon evolving even further…
Steven suddenly imagined his Metagross evolving again—beyond even its current form.
It sounded utterly fantastical.
He looked at Kawaki.
"It was just a dream, so I don't know if it's real," Kawaki added. "I only remembered it because I saw that stone."
"If you don't believe me, forget it."
Steven opened his mouth, then shook his head. "No… I believe you."
It was just… a lot to take in.
But Kawaki had no reason to lie.
"What should I do?" Steven asked.
"I need more of those stones," Kawaki replied.
Steven didn't hesitate. He nodded. "I'll bring them all to you."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Wait!" Kawaki quickly called after him.
Steven looked back, puzzled.
"That stone alone isn't enough," Kawaki said, as if recalling something. "It needs to be paired with another stone."
Steven had plenty of stones—his house was full of them.
"Can you describe it?" he asked.
Kawaki grabbed a pen and paper and sketched the pattern on a Key Stone.
"It looks rainbow-colored. Do you have anything like that?"
Steven thought for a while, then shook his head. "Not that small… but I do have a large, colorful stone."
Could that be a raw Key Stone?
Kawaki followed up. "Does it have this kind of pattern?"
"No," Steven replied. "No patterns."
Kawaki was deep in thought.
So the patterns on a Key Stone… were they carved later?
Or did they only appear when a trainer's Key Stone resonated with a Pokémon's Mega Stone—signifying the bond of Mega Evolution?
"If possible, could you bring that stone here too?" Kawaki asked.
"Of course," Steven said without hesitation. "I'll be back soon."
With that, he turned and left the daycare—completely forgetting about the five meteorites.
Kawaki: "…"