"My apologies, I seem to have misremembered something." The butler's expression shifted to something apologetic. "Master Steven contacted me not long ago. He should be returning shortly. I think Master Steven would very much like to meet you."
"In that case, I'll leave it in your hands." Naoki smiled without any change in expression.
"Would you kindly leave your contact information? Once Master Steven returns, we'll be in touch."
Naoki nodded, wrote his communication device number on a piece of paper, and handed it over.
With that done, he left the stone exhibition hall and took his Pokémon to explore the streets of Mossdeep City.
Steven's side did not keep them waiting long.
Later that afternoon, Naoki received a call.
A low, resonant male voice came through the other end of the communication device.
"Hello, this is Steven Stone."
"Hello, Mr. Stone. This is Naoki."
The moment the introductions ended, both of them fell into silence.
Steven on the other end seemed unsure how to open the conversation.
Naoki let out a quiet, helpful sigh and spoke first. "Mr. Stone, I've heard that you have a particular passion for rare stones. I happen to have a few especially valuable pieces on hand that I thought would interest you."
A stone dealer.
On the other end of the line, Steven formed his first impression of the person he was speaking to.
He truly could not resist rare stones. And it was not as though he was short on money either. If this person had something worth having, he would simply buy the entire lot.
"I look forward to seeing them." Steven's voice was refined. "Four o'clock. My exhibition hall."
The two settled on a time and place and ended the call.
At four in the afternoon, Naoki set out for the exhibition hall.
The butler saw him coming and immediately stepped forward to greet him. "Master Steven is already waiting for you in the reception room."
Naoki gave a small nod and followed the butler through the exhibition hall's main gallery. The butler pushed open a door, and a tastefully appointed reception room came into view.
Along both walls of the room stood glass display cases filled with various rare stones. At the center sat a single sofa.
At that moment, a silver-haired young man with striking, elegantly composed features was seated on the sofa. His posture was upright, his whole bearing quietly refined.
Beside him sat a Metagross that clearly carried significant strength, though at the moment it was letting out a bored yawn.
Hearing the door open, the young man's gaze lifted immediately.
Steven Stone looked at the person walking in and understood. The stone dealer had arrived.
"Please, sit." Steven gestured politely.
Naoki took the seat across from him.
The butler withdrew from the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the two of them their privacy.
Naoki did not waste any words. Before Steven could open the conversation, he simply upended the contents of his bag onto the low table between them.
In a matter of seconds, a small mountain of stones had formed on the tabletop.
Of course, these were only a fraction of the stones Naoki had accumulated during his earlier travels.
The majority were meteorite fragments, Evolution Stones, and fossils. Rare pieces, all of them.
Naoki had no use for them. But to Steven, every single stone on that table was something he wanted.
As expected, the moment the stones appeared, Steven's gaze locked on immediately.
In that instant, Naoki could practically see two beams of light shooting from Steven's eyes.
Written across those beams were four clear characters: Steven wants. Steven takes.
Naoki smiled. "May I ask what Mr. Stone has in mind?"
At the question, Steven pulled himself back to the present. He drew his eyes away from the stones and looked at the man across from him, his voice returning to its composed clarity. "Name your price."
Naoki gave a small shake of his head.
Steven paused. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'd like to use these stones to make a trade with you."
"A trade?" Steven's expression shifted to something curious. He had understood the implication immediately. This was not about money. "What is it you want?"
"Not long from now, I'll be traveling to a certain place to participate in a tournament. There's a possibility I may encounter people at that tournament who wish me harm. So I'd like to ask Mr. Stone to accompany me to the competition."
"In return for your time, all of these stones would be yours to keep." Naoki said, quietly and without pressure.
He had not forgotten. Mewtwo was still searching for his trail.
His identity as the NPC Naoki provided a layer of cover, but there was an old saying that fit this situation well. It was not the ten thousand chances of nothing happening that concerned him. It was the one chance in ten thousand that something would.
It was only a matter of time before some player let their imagination run wild and, like 'Dream' had done earlier, connected "Larry" the anonymous poster with the person Mewtwo was hunting.
After that, a mob of desperate players would band together and drag him off to New Island.
Naoki figured that since he was already planning to enter the World Tournament, he needed to make his preparations absolutely airtight in advance.
Having a Champion-level Trainer as protection was the only way this trip to the Tournament could feel genuinely safe.
Hearing Naoki's request, Steven froze in place for a moment.
This stone dealer wanted to hire him as a bodyguard?
Steven's first reaction was not distaste. It was closer to disbelief.
From childhood through his rise to Hoenn Champion, he had never once encountered a situation like this.
Someone hiring a Champion to serve as a bodyguard.
"Are you certain?" Steven asked, genuinely thrown.
Naoki assumed Steven was dissatisfied with the amount of stones on offer.
He thought for a moment and spoke again. "In addition to these stones, I can also offer you a piece of intelligence concerning the future safety of the Hoenn region. I can guarantee that this information will allow Hoenn to avoid a genuinely terrible disaster."
Steven paused, and his expression sharpened into something serious.
"Is this true?" His eyes shifted as he looked at the young man across from him.
Was this person really just an ordinary stone dealer?
"Of course," Naoki said with a nod. "If you feel the intelligence isn't worth it, you can decline at any time."
Steven fell into thought.
Naoki waited patiently for his answer.
After a long stretch, Steven finally spoke. "If your information is genuine, I'll accompany you to that tournament."
Good.
Naoki smiled. "Has Mr. Stone heard, in recent months, of two organizations called Team Magma and Team Aqua?"
"Team Magma? Team Aqua?" Steven vaguely remembered hearing those names somewhere before.
He recalled that they were two environmental organizations, one focused on protecting the oceans, the other on protecting the land.
"I see you've heard of them." Naoki continued quietly. Team Magma and Team Aqua had not yet begun their operations openly.
Maxie and Archie were still building up their strength and researching the legends of Groudon and Kyogre. When their research was complete, that would be the moment the true faces of both organizations would be revealed to the world.
Steven's eyes met Naoki's, waiting for a definitive answer.
"Based on the intelligence my information network has gathered, the true objectives of Team Magma and Team Aqua are to awaken the two ancient Legendary Pokémon recorded in Hoenn's ancient legends. Groudon and Kyogre."
"Team Magma intends to use Groudon to expand landmass, believing this will benefit humans and Pokémon living on the surface. Team Aqua intends to control Kyogre and transform the entire world into a single vast ocean."
Steven's expression grew steadily more serious.
As Hoenn Champion, he was intimately familiar with the legends of Groudon and Kyogre.
The stories said that thousands of years ago, these two Legendary Pokémon had waged a cataclysmic battle over natural energy, a war that had nearly destroyed the entire world.
If this information was true, it meant Groudon and Kyogre could very well be awakened in the near future by Team Aqua and Team Magma.
When that happened, the entire Hoenn region would face a disaster on the scale of an extinction event.
But if they could act early to stop it, they could crush the catastrophe before it ever had a chance to unfold.
This piece of intelligence was beyond value.
Watching the shifts in Steven's expression, Naoki asked with a small smile, "So, what does Mr. Stone think?"
"..." Steven's eyes were complicated as he looked at Naoki. "Who exactly are you?"
This man was absolutely not just an ordinary stone dealer, Steven thought.
"Rest assured. I'm simply an ordinary person who wants peace for the world," Naoki said lightly.
Steven: "..."
An ordinary person who could gather intelligence at this level? Steven did not believe it for a second.
But seeing that Naoki was not willing to elaborate, he did not press further.
Steven drew in a slow breath, his expression settling into serious resolve as he looked at the young man across from him.
"I understand. I accept. I'll go with you to that tournament."