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"So it's actually him…"
When Sato heard the words spoken by the mysterious miner ahead, he paused slightly. Then, after using his psychic perception to clearly see the miner's face, he couldn't help but feel genuinely surprised.
The mysterious miner, who looked to be in his early twenties, was none other than Steven, the current Champion of the Hoenn League—and also the only son of the president of Devon Corporation, the largest manufacturing company in the Hoenn region.
"Hello, Mr. Steven. My name is Tyler. Why are you here?"
After confirming the miner's identity, Sato immediately bowed respectfully to Steven. Putting on a surprised expression, he asked in a puzzled tone.
"Oh? You recognized me already. Well, as you can see, I'm mining."
"I'd heard long ago that there are some special ores here. I happened to be on a mission nearby recently, so I decided to drop by and take a look."
"My luck's been pretty good—I've found quite a few rare minerals and rocks here. Want to have a look?"
Steven was an extremely easygoing person with no airs about him. Hearing Sato's question, he openly explained himself, completely unfazed by the odd look that appeared on Sato's face afterward.
"I knew it… that explanation is flawless and powerful. Truly Steven's style."
Listening to Steven's completely straight-faced explanation, Sato couldn't help but complain wildly in his mind. Right—mining on the side while carrying out a mission.
It seemed the Champion of the Hoenn League really was exactly as rumored: a stone fanatic to the core. In order to excavate rare minerals and rocks, he often appeared in obscure caves all across Hoenn—and even around the world.
This time, he had actually run over here on a whim during an official mission just to mine. It was honestly hard to put into words.
But because of this, Sato was now completely certain of Steven's identity. In his memory, Steven really was this kind of person.
As far as Sato knew, before long, the Hoenn League Champion would voluntarily resign from his post and hand over the Champion's throne—something countless League Trainers would strive for their entire lives—to his good friend Wallace.
And the reason he gave for stepping down was absurdly simple: being Champion left him with too little time to mine and collect stones and rocks. One could only say that Steven's love for rocks had reached an almost unbelievable level.
That said, although he was unreliable when it came to Champion duties, his strength was absolutely genuine—without the slightest hint of exaggeration.
Even now, Sato had already detected two terrifyingly powerful Pokémon beside Steven through the system's scan. Claydol was level 88, while Aggron was even more frightening at level 91.
Steven truly deserved his reputation as a once-in-a-century genius Trainer of Hoenn. Even while spending his days mining everywhere, he still had his own unique methods when it came to training Pokémon. His growth speed was downright frightening.
Sato had once seen Drake, the Dragon-type Elite, whose ace Salamence was level 92. Yet at this moment, Steven's Aggron gave Sato the impression that it was in no way inferior to Drake's Salamence.
Of course, Steven's rapid progress wasn't just due to his outstanding talent—it was inseparably linked to his status as a super-rich second-generation heir.
As the son of Devon Corporation's president, he truly had money to burn. With ease, he could command massive resources that countless Trainers could never accumulate in a lifetime. In this regard, even elite heirs like Wallace and Cynthia couldn't compare.
The two powerful Pokémon at his side both possessed gold-tier aptitude. Their physical development clearly surpassed that of their species, their life force was exceptionally strong, and they were obviously still young. The sheer number of moves listed in their TM slots was staggering.
It went without saying—Steven had poured an astronomical amount of resources into them to allow them to reach such heights in such a short time.
So, even if he seemed a bit unreliable, being able to befriend such a monstrously strong super-rich heir was undoubtedly something to feel extremely fortunate about.
That said, truly befriending someone like Steven was no easy task. Though he was easygoing and pleasant to talk to, the pride deep in his bones was undeniable. With his strength and background, he had more than enough reason to look down on most people.
Unless one's own strength was great enough to earn his recognition—or one's background was equally formidable—he might forget you the very next moment.
After all, in his eyes, your importance might not even compare to that of one of his stone collectibles.
At present, Sato's strength under the identity of Tyler was naturally insignificant in Steven's eyes. Yet Sato was confident that he could successfully make Steven's acquaintance—precisely because of Steven's obsessive love for stones.
In fact, when Sato had just begun his journey as a Trainer, he had once been fortunate enough to see Steven in person. That was at an auction house in Larousse City operated by one of Steven's companies. Unfortunately, Steven had left in a hurry due to other matters, and Sato hadn't been able to speak with him.
Although he failed to befriend Steven then, Sato had instead met Kade, an auctioneer who was also a passionate stone enthusiast. Through the system's appraisal ability, Sato had received Kade's gifts and inheritance.
Notably, the mutated Supreme Sky Splitting Stone Sato possessed had come from Kade's hands.
Sato often took out the book Encyclopedia of Stones that he'd obtained from Kade to read during his free time. With the powerful memory granted by his psychic abilities, he could practically recite the book's contents verbatim by now.
As a result, Sato could now be considered a highly professional stone appraiser. Even without relying on the system, as long as a stone was recorded in Encyclopedia of Stones, he could recognize it immediately and speak about it at length.
Generally speaking, most people simply couldn't understand the passion that stone enthusiasts poured into stones. As such, stone lovers like Steven were undoubtedly lacking kindred spirits.
Sato firmly believed that if he could demonstrate sufficient understanding of various stones, he would leave a deep impression on Steven. He might even become a frequent guest at Steven's table on the spot.
"Sure. I've read quite a few books about stones in the Goldenrod Academy library, but I never had the time to see real specimens in person. Now I finally have the chance."
Thinking of the opportunity to befriend Steven, Sato immediately followed up enthusiastically, putting on an expression of genuine interest.