Life had settled into a comfortable rhythm for Steven.
The days were full without being overwhelming. Most of his time went toward training with his Pokémon, though he made sure to break things up — taking Diancie and Victini out around town, accompanying Wallace to Pokémon Contests and stepping in as a special guest when needed. Whenever Steven brought up a certain unresolved matter, Wallace would smile easily and say they'd cross that bridge when they came to it. Steven had stopped pushing.
He also accepted the occasional mission from the League when he ventured out. Staying home too long made him restless; he didn't want his edge to go dull from too much quiet.
One thing worth noting: Metagross's Telepathy had shown genuine improvement.
There was, however, a caveat.
What now echoed in Steven's mind when Metagross tried to communicate was, unmistakably, the word "Metagross."
Just that. Perfectly articulated. Completely itself.
Steven had decided to count this as progress.
Winter faded. Spring arrived.
During his free time, Steven would travel to Sinnoh to visit Cynthia, and the two of them would share meals with Carolina at her home in Celestic Town. He also made regular trips to Rustboro City to see his father, Joseph — a walk around the city, a conversation over tea, nothing in particular. Every week, without fail, he would locate a mine somewhere and spend a few hours digging for stones. He had also made a trip to Kanto to personally deliver game consoles and copies of Pokémon: Gem to Mew and Lucario at the World Tree.
These quiet, ordinary days were what Steven had always wanted most.
There was still one person missing from the picture. But he held onto that quietly.
His Pokémon hadn't undergone any dramatic leaps in strength during this stretch, but the progress was real and steady. Aggron and Skarmory were both edging toward Champion Level — the signs were there. Metagross and Scizor, for their part, still had a long road ahead before reaching the tier of Battle Legend, but neither of them had any intention of stopping. Honedge had evolved into Doublade, a development that had come with a noticeably sharper attitude during training sessions.
And Pupitar was waiting. Counting down. The moment it evolved into Tyranitar, it had already decided: there would be a feast. An enormous, unrestrained feast. Every bit of food it had watched Aggron eat while unable to join in — it would make up for all of it.
"Hello? Cynthia?"
Steven stood at the stove in Carolina's kitchen in Celestic Town, an apron tied around his waist, phone balanced between his ear and shoulder while he worked on the ingredients.
"Just got off work? Good timing — I'm getting started on dinner now."
He glanced sideways. Victini was hovering nearby, holding the phone at the correct angle with careful concentration.
Steven tilted his head toward the living room. That's enough — go on.
"Tili!"
Victini handed the phone back and zipped off to rejoin Diancie, who was waiting on the sofa with both game consoles already out.
The two of them had been on a competitive streak lately. In Pokémon: Gem's PvP rankings, they had climbed into the top fifty — an impressive feat, considering the leaderboard was populated by Champions, Elite Four members, and Gym Leaders from across every region, alongside a small number of civilian Trainers with genuinely exceptional battle sense.
Mew, it should be noted, was playing around the clock and had secured a spot in the top twenty.
This had caused no small amount of frustration in the player community. A thread on the official forums had racked up thousands of replies: Why are Mythical Pokémon allowed on the ranked leaderboard? This is completely unfair.
Devon Corporation's official response had been brief: This is a special gift extended to these particular players.
Steven had gone one step further and simply stated, publicly, that those players were the Mythical Pokémon themselves.
The thread went quiet after that. There wasn't much left to say. If you couldn't beat a Pokémon in its own game, complaining about it seemed unproductive. At least players still got to encounter Mythical Pokémon in the story mode.
Though those same Mythical Pokémon were also their opponents in ranked matches, which was arguably worse.
"I'm home!"
The front door swung open. Cynthia stepped inside, already smiling.
"Hey there — Diancie, Little V!"
She called out to the two Mythical Pokémon in the living room before slipping past the doorway and into the kitchen. Her arms wrapped around Steven from behind.
"Welcome home," Steven said, a warm smile in his voice.
Cynthia rested her chin on his shoulder. "Grandma mentioned she picked up two interesting things today. Something about stones."
"Stones?" Steven paused mid-stir and turned his head.
They were standing close enough that the movement brought his nose to her cheek. Warm. Smooth.
"She wouldn't say what they are. Apparently it's a surprise." Cynthia tilted her head slightly and kissed him. "She said she won't be long."
"Alright. Food's almost done — go sit down."
"Okay~"
Cynthia drifted back to the living room, settled into the cushions, and picked up her game console — her own special custom edition of Pokémon: Gem, distinct from the standard model.
Steven finished the last of the cooking and began setting the dishes out on the dining table.
Click.
The door opened and Carolina came in, a wooden box tucked under one arm.
"I could smell it from the path outside," she said, already looking pleased.
"Grandma!"
Cynthia set her console down and crossed the room to hug her.
"You're the Sinnoh Champion, dear," Carolina said, amused, hugging her back. "Still rushing to hang off your grandmother's arm?"
"I'm your granddaughter. Who else am I supposed to hang off of?" Cynthia pulled back with a pout.
Carolina gave her a dry look. "Or perhaps you're just not brave enough to be that affectionate with a certain someone while I'm watching."
Cynthia's cheeks went pink immediately. "That's — Grandma, that's not — I don't know what you're talking about."
"So you're saying you would be?"
"No!"
"Alright, alright." Steven stepped in from the kitchen. "Dinner's on the table."
"Yes, let's eat!" Cynthia grabbed Carolina's arm and steered her toward the dining room with perhaps more enthusiasm than strictly necessary.
"Let me put this down and wash my hands first, child." Carolina laughed and set the box on the coffee table, pausing to greet Diancie and Victini on her way past.
Cynthia, meanwhile, had already gone to wash her own hands, and Steven was ladling rice into bowls.
"Little V, Diancie — game's over for now, it's time to eat."
"Coming, coming!"
Dinner was warm and easy, the conversation drifting between topics without any particular urgency. The table felt full.
After the meal, Steven headed out to the backyard to sort out food for the Pokémon. Inside, Carolina settled on the sofa and opened the wooden box she had brought home.
Two Orbs rested inside, nestled in cloth. One was a perfect sphere. The other was faceted at irregular angles, catching the light differently depending on how you looked at it.
Cynthia leaned closer. "Grandma, why didn't you wait for Steven before opening it?"
"They're Orbs, not a soufflé. They'll keep." Carolina tapped Cynthia lightly on the forehead with one finger.
Cynthia stuck her tongue out.
Diancie and Victini, curiosity winning over the abandoned game consoles, gathered on either side of the box and peered in.
"Steven! Come in here!"
"One moment."
Steven came back through the door, wiping his hands on a cloth, and sat down beside Cynthia. He looked into the box.
He went still.
"Is this…" He leaned forward slightly. "The Lustrous Orb and the Adamant Orb?"
"That's right." Carolina nodded. "Team Galactic has been active on Mt. Coronet recently, and the current intelligence suggests these two Orbs may be among their targets. The League decided it would be safest to transfer them to the Sinnoh Champion's custody for the time being." She glanced sidelong at Cynthia. "However, a certain Champion left work early and had her phone occupied, so the League had to ask me to pass the message along in person."
"…I'm sorry." Cynthia's expression was the picture of someone who knew they were caught.
Carolina patted her hand.
Steven said nothing. His eyes hadn't left the Orbs.
Something was happening. His left hand had begun to tremble — barely, just at the fingertips — without him meaning for it to.
The pillar-shaped stone he had picked up in Kalos was reacting. He could feel it, faint but unmistakable, as though the two Orbs were pulling at something in it from across the room.
What does this mean…