On the road to Jubilife City, Haruki absently toyed with the high-grade Grass-type Energy Crystal in his hand, clicking his tongue in mild disbelief.
This tiny thing had a market price starting at over a million Pokédollars, but in reality, it was essentially priceless.
The Team Rocket platform technically had them available, but they were clearly marked as requiring "special contributions" to exchange.
In other words, practically unobtainable.
Thanks to Weston's advice, Haruki also learned that high-grade Energy Crystals are typically reserved for Gym Leader-level Pokémon, helping them boost their types.
But at the same time, if this crystal could solve Skiploom's current problem, its type strength would instantly reach Gym Leader level.
In that light, it didn't seem like a bad deal at all.
As for the dark purple crystal Haruki had obtained from Mismagius earlier, Weston identified it as a mid-grade Ghost-type Energy Crystal, suitable for Elite-level Pokémon.
It was quite valuable, but since Haruki had no immediate use for it, he decided to hold onto it for now.
Sandgem Town wasn't far from Jubilife City, and both towns were major hubs within the Sinnoh Region, with well-developed transportation networks connecting them.
So, Haruki simply followed the main road, making steady progress toward his destination.
Floating beside him were three Skiploom, though two of them were actually just well-crafted Substitutes.
If Skiploom could maintain two Substitutes throughout an entire battle, its stalling potential would increase dramatically.
Unfortunately, it could only pull off this trick outside of combat for now, and it took a considerable amount of time to set up.
A promising strategy, but one that still needed practice.
Bzzz~ Bzzz~
Haruki's communicator suddenly started vibrating. He opened it, his heart lifting at the sight of the caller ID.
'A sponsor- no, wait, Steven was calling!'
"Moshi moshi, who's this~?"
"You seem to be in a good mood," came Steven's teasing voice from the other end.
"Shouldn't you be in a good mood too?" Haruki shot back.
"Actually, yes. I've completed the survey of Grampa Canyon, and the value of the site is beyond estimation."
Steven's tone shifted, growing more serious.
"As for the training manuals you requested, I've already had them sent over. Make sure to pick them up at the Pokémon Center when you reach Jubilife City."
"Nice! Are they the highest grade?"
"One tier down. The absolute highest-grade ones are not allowed to be shared."
Haruki clicked his tongue in mild disappointment but didn't push the matter. After all, this was a pure profit deal for him.
Realistically, there was no way he could have developed the canyon himself before the original events unfolded anyway.
With Beldum training manuals up to the Elite Four level already secured, Haruki had nothing to complain about.
Haruki fell silent for a moment, lost in his thoughts.
On the other end, Steven seemed to misinterpret the silence as disappointment and quickly added, "Oh, by the way, I bought Grampa Canyon. In the future, I can send you a few Fossil Pokémon if you're interested."
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"I said, I can send you a few Fossil Pokémon if you want…"
"No, no, the part before that!" Haruki interrupted.
"I bought Grampa Canyon."
"…"
Haruki fell silent, struggling to process what he'd just heard.
'You just… bought an entire canyon? Just like that?'
Alright, alright, you're the Devon heir. Of course, you can just casually buy a canyon.
"Uh, thanks, but no thanks on the Fossil Pokémon. I'd rather not have Pokémon Hunters chasing me down… Instead, how about a few more high-grade Energy Crystals? Ground-, Grass-, Flying, Psychic-, Steel-type… all good."
"…"
This time, it was Steven's turn to fall silent.
"I'll… see what I can find."
Haruki's eyes lit up. If Steven was taking this seriously, then he definitely wasn't going to hold back.
"Take your time. It's not like I need them right away anyway."
After hanging up, Haruki's mood improved significantly.
He reached over and playfully ruffled one of the nearby Skiploom.
Pop!
The Substitute shattered, spraying him in the face with a burst of compressed air.
"Skipskipskip~"
The real Skiploom burst out laughing, then happily created another Substitute, offering it to Haruki as a peace offering.
Haruki smirked and shook his head in mock disapproval, then lunged forward while Skiploom was still distracted.
"Come here, you little troublemaker!"
After another round of playfully roughing up Skiploom, Haruki felt his mood improve even further.
He had to admit, the chubby, round body of a Skiploom had a surprisingly satisfying texture. He still couldn't quite get enough of it.
'Well, one more time won't hurt!'
---
Two days later, Haruki finally arrived in Jubilife City.
As the bustling metropolis of the Sinnoh Region, Jubilife City was as vibrant and energetic as he had imagined.
But Haruki had only one thing on his mind: the "Beldum Training Manual" waiting for him at the Pokémon Center.
Finally, he could stop fumbling around without a clear plan for training his Beldum.
After confirming his identity at the reception desk, Haruki received a small package and quickly headed to his room to open it.
Inside the package were a plain, unmarked manual, two small boxes of neatly packed Pokéblocks, and a clearly organized mineral sample case.
Haruki grabbed the manual first, flipping to the back to confirm its contents.
[Elite Four level]
Seeing the crucial keywords, Haruki let out a long breath. Even though Steven had mentioned this in their last call, the joy of actually holding it in his hands was a different feeling altogether.
Poof!
A flash of red light suddenly filled the room as Beldum spontaneously released itself from its Poké Ball for the first time without Haruki's command.
"Beeee~"
The little Steel-type's single eye locked onto the two boxes of Pokéblocks, practically sparkling with hunger.
If Haruki weren't standing right there, Beldum probably would've dived straight in.
"Alright, calm down. It's all yours, but let me check the manual first to see how much you should eat at a time."
Haruki said, gently patting Beldum to settle it down. He quickly flipped to the beginning of the manual, scanning the sections on nutrition.
Before long, he found the relevant passage.
[Basic Purified Energy Pokéblocks]
These blocks served a single, critical purpose: purifying the chaotic metal energy inside Steel-type Pokémon and removing steel impurities from their systems.
At that moment, Haruki couldn't help but appreciate Steven's thoughtfulness.
Clearly, Steven had taken into account the fact that Haruki didn't have a systematic approach to training Beldum and had prepared the Pokéblocks accordingly.
This would help clear out any lingering impurities in Beldum's body, significantly boosting its long-term potential.
"…Two Pokéblocks per serving, twice a day, for ten days."
Haruki read the instructions aloud before immediately popping open one of the boxes and selecting two small blocks for Beldum.
Beldum devoured them without hesitation, then slowly sank to the table, falling into a deep, restorative sleep.
Haruki carefully observed Beldum's condition, cross-referencing the manual to make sure everything was normal.
Only after confirming that the little Steel-type was fully stable did he let out a sigh of relief.
Next, Haruki picked up the mineral sample case.
Each piece of ore inside was clearly labeled, and as he compared them to the entries in the manual, he quickly realized their significance.
Some stones/rocks would enhance Beldum's physical durability, others would boost its tensile strength, some were meant for its current form, while others were reserved for its future stages as Metang and Metagross.
The sheer variety was staggering.
The manual even included the known locations for each type of mineral, along with detailed feeding and training plans for Beldum at every stage of its evolution.
The level of detail left Haruki both deeply impressed and a bit overwhelmed.
On one hand, he was excited by the meticulous guidance.
On the other hand, he felt a growing sense of dread as he realized just how expensive most of these minerals would be.
Some of them were so rare that even the Devon Corporation itself didn't have them in stock.
Then, it hit him.
Steven's supposed obsession with collecting rare stones…
What if it wasn't just a hobby?
What if his entire global mining operation was just a way to keep his Metagross properly fed and in peak condition?
Haruki suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the Devon heir.
'Wait… does that mean I'll have to do the same thing someday?'
At that thought, Haruki felt his confidence waver.