Absolutely insane wealth!
You had to understand—in the entire Pokémon world, there were no more than fifty Pokémon species that could Mega Evolve using Mega Stones.
And now, Steven's collection of Mega Stones had reached half that number!
While there were some duplicate Mega Stones among them, this was still an incredibly staggering amount.
Carver was truly shocked.
Steven showed no particular reaction. He looked at these stones he'd collected, then at Carver, asking:
"Is this enough? Do you need anything else?"
"No, no need." Carver finally snapped back to reality, shaking his head. "This is more than enough."
He paused, then added:
"It's just an attempt. So far, I don't know if it'll work either. I need to study these stones first."
Steven nodded: "That's fine. Take your time with it. I'll leave these stones with you—you can experiment at your own pace."
Carver looked amazed: "You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid I'll take the money and run?"
They'd only met a few times!
Steven looked at him steadily and asked: "Would you?"
Carver: "..."
Well, he certainly wouldn't.
He put on a thoughtful expression, then said: "Just having these stones isn't enough. I still need suitable trainers and Pokémon for experiments."
As everyone knew, the conditions for achieving Mega Evolution were extremely strict.
Not only did the trainer need to wear a Key Stone and the Pokémon need to carry the corresponding Mega Stone, but there also had to be a very deep bond between them—trainer and Pokémon needed to be united in heart and mind, reaching a level where "you are in me, and I am in you."
Carver currently didn't have any suitable Pokémon for Mega Evolution.
Growlithe, Bewear, Clefairy, Oddish, and Chingling wouldn't work.
The only suitable candidate right now was Steven.
Although Carver clearly knew all the conditions for completing Mega Evolution, he needed someone to help for the sake of appearances.
Steven thought for a moment, then asked: "Would I work?"
"Metang, Skarmory, Lairon..." Carver shook his head. "I'm not sure which specific Pokémon can undergo that kind of evolution, and Metang and Lairon haven't evolved to their final stages yet."
After a moment's thought, Carver said: "Continue your journey. I need to keep researching. Come back here after your Metang and Lairon evolve into Metagross and Aggron."
Steven nodded, showing he understood.
He had spent too much time here—he really should continue his gym badge journey.
Steven said goodbye to Carver and was about to turn and leave.
But when he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and turned back to ask:
"What's your phone number?"
Phone number?
Carver was slightly stunned, then realized what he meant and shook his head: "The breeding house doesn't have a phone installed yet."
This world's technology tree was quite skewed—they'd developed spatial storage technology, but communication development was extremely slow.
As far as Carver knew, there were currently two types of instant communication in this world.
One was the visual phones and landlines like those at Pokémon Centers, and the other was old-style communication devices similar to Nokia phones.
Seeing Carver's expression, Steven understood.
He didn't say much more and simply turned to leave the breeding house.
Carver watched Steven go, thinking he really should install a video phone.
But before he could take action, that very afternoon, Steven returned with several technicians carrying a video phone to the breeding house, installing it in the main hall right in front of Carver.
Carver had three question marks floating above his head.
"For convenient contact," Steven said concisely.
This way, he could reach Carver anytime while traveling.
Carver: "..."
Steven really was a good person!
Carver actually needed this video phone, so he didn't refuse, only wanting to pay Steven for the costs.
But Steven unhesitatingly rejected his offer.
Having no choice, Carver could only keep this favor in mind.
Watching Steven's departing figure, Carver thought to himself:
"In that case, I'll definitely make you the first person in this world to achieve Mega Evolution!"
Knowing about Mega Evolution seven or eight years early, Steven would absolutely take off—no one in the entire Hoenn region would be able to match him.
After seeing Steven off, Carver returned to the breeding house and looked at the pile of Mega Stones on the table, feeling incredibly regretful.
What a shame! Not a single one of these Mega Stones was something he could use.
As for that Dragonite Mega Stone... even less worth mentioning.
As a late-blooming pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Dragonite's rarity and preciousness were well known.
For Carver now, obtaining a Dragonite would be nearly harder than getting Latias and Latios.
At least he'd gotten some information about Latias and Latios from Taillow—he knew they were active throughout the Hoenn region and where they might appear.
But information about Dragonite? He knew absolutely nothing.
In summary, Carver's current chances of catching Latias and Latios were at least 0.001%.
If it were Dragonite instead, there probably wouldn't even be a 0.001% chance.
Because Dragonite simply didn't inhabit the Hoenn region.
Unless he left here and went to other regions to search for Dragonite, but that would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Go to the Dragon's Den of the Dragon-type family in Johto to steal a Dratini hatchling?
He probably couldn't even get through their front gate.
"Sigh, forget it. I'll leave it to fate!" Carver sighed.
While he said he needed to research, Carver didn't actually need to do much.
With the breeding house's other problems temporarily solved, Carver turned his attention to the most crucial issue—security.
Although the Pokémon world was like a utopia, the current time period was still early, far from reaching the level of safety when Ash went on his journey.
Evil organizations hiding in the shadows were slowly building their strength, and news of Pokémon hunters stealing others' Pokémon often appeared on television broadcasts.
If someone targeted the Pokémon raised in the breeding house, that would be bad.
The breeding house's backyard was quite large. If someone snuck in quietly and used moves like Sleep Powder, they could easily and silently kidnap a few Clefairy.
To properly protect the breeding house, the simplest, most direct, and most effective method was to let the breeding house's Pokémon grow stronger and improve their abilities.
Oddish, Chingling, and the Clefairy weren't battle-oriented Pokémon. Even if Carver made them train, they might not be able to keep it up.
In that case, this important responsibility could only fall to Growlithe and Bewear.
The day after Steven left, Carver focused his attention on Growlithe, who was wearing the Exp. Share.
He began researching exactly how to maximize this item's effectiveness.