After chatting with Cynthia on the phone for a long time, all the way until the horizon was dyed with a layer of dusk and Tyrantrum and the others were already so hungry that their stomachs were rumbling nonstop, Theo finally ended the call with a sense of reluctance.
He led his group of Pokémon to the open space behind the treehouse, preparing to have their meal.
Just as he finished laying out all kinds of delicious food, a steady and powerful sound of wings cutting through the air suddenly came from the sky, forcefully breaking the tranquility of the evening.
Theo looked up and saw a Skarmory spreading its steel wings that gleamed with a cold sheen as it descended gracefully.
On its broad back sat a figure that could not have been more familiar.
It was Steven.
Steven lightly leaped down from Skarmory's back and landed steadily on the ground. Beside him, his shiny Metagross hovered quietly in the air.
It was precisely with the help of its psychic sensing ability that Steven had been able to locate Theo directly within the vast city of Fortree without any prior contact.
The moment Theo's own shiny Metagross saw its "father" arrive, it did not even bother with food anymore and immediately rushed forward excitedly.
The two silver-white Metagross gathered together in an instant, communicating through telepathy while emitting faint humming sounds.
Tyrantrum, filled with curiosity, trotted over as well, wanting to join in the fun. However, the moment it got close, Steven's shiny Metagross casually used a gentle burst of psychic power to push it aside, leaving it standing there awkwardly with a stunned expression.
Fortunately, Skarmory stepped forward, lightly nudging Tyrantrum with its beak as if indicating it wanted to try some food, signaling for Tyrantrum to lead it over to eat. Only then was the awkwardness eased.
"Mr. Steven, why did you suddenly come to Fortree City? Didn't you say a few days ago that you had discovered traces of Regirock in the desert? Were you successful in capturing it?"
Theo asked with a puzzled expression.
He clearly remembered that just a few days ago, during their conversation, Steven had been enthusiastically talking about discovering signs of Regirock in the desert and planning to search carefully to capture it.
After that, Steven had not been heard from for several days. Theo had assumed he was focused on exploring, yet today he had suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"Don't even mention it."
Steven waved his hand, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
"I did find Regirock, and I even battled it, but unfortunately I couldn't capture it."
"How is that possible?"
Theo was even more surprised.
"Even if it could break free from a Poké Ball, with your strength, it shouldn't have been able to escape, right?"
The basic logic of capturing wild Pokémon is to first subdue them or weaken them until they lose the ability to resist, and then use a Poké Ball to capture them.
Theo knew that the Poké Balls manufactured by the Devon Corporation were not like the ultimate product made by the Silph Company, the Master Ball, which possessed the ability to forcibly bind Pokémon.
Devon's Poké Balls focused more on comfort, gently enhancing the bond between trainer and Pokémon, making Pokémon more willing to trust and obey.
Aside from the Master Ball, all other Poké Balls on the market, whether made by Devon or Silph, could be broken out of by a Pokémon if it was strong enough.
Moreover, the small hole at the center of the Poké Ball functioned like a peephole in a door, allowing the Pokémon inside to observe the outside world when they were not resting.
Whether it was Tyrantrum, Zweilous, or the two Vulpix, they all actually had the ability to come out of their Poké Balls on their own, and this was the underlying principle.
Even so, when capturing Pokémon in the wild, if one attempt failed, one could simply suppress them again. If they were truly beaten to the point of being severely injured and powerless, even the strongest Pokémon would find it difficult to resist.
Theo simply could not understand how Regirock could have escaped from Steven's hands.
Steven saw through his confusion at a glance, smiled faintly, and slowly revealed the truth.
"That's because that Regirock already had a trainer."
"!"
Theo was stunned on the spot.
"That was Brandon's Pokémon, that troublesome guy, the Pyramid King, the legendary Pokémon trainer Brandon. You should have heard of him, right?"
Theo nodded lightly. Of course he knew very well about Brandon, the legendary Pokémon trainer.
Between the Hoenn and Kanto regions, there exists a very special area known as the Battle Frontier.
It was a top-tier battling platform jointly constructed by the Pokémon League and the ultra-wealthy Scott, who personally invested a massive amount of money.
Scott himself was extremely obsessed with Pokémon battles and was determined to create a sacred ground where powerful trainers could challenge themselves without being bound by traditional rules.
After he presented this idea to Chairman Charles Goodshow, the chairman immediately expressed his approval, believing that it could greatly improve the overall level of trainers within the League.
Thus, the two hit it off instantly, and with joint funding from Scott and the League, they built this Battle Frontier that symbolized the pinnacle of battling.
The original purpose of establishing the Battle Frontier was to expand the possibilities of battles, enhance the battle techniques of trainers across the League, and create a truly top-level stage for combat.
Because of this, its appeal even surpassed that of the regional League Conferences.
Each Frontier Brain in the Battle Frontier was personally sought out and invited with great expense by Scott.
Most of them were retired members of the Elite Four or former Champions who had stepped down, and their strength generally rivaled that of the current Elite Four.
Among them were even individuals who possessed Champion-level combat power.
And Brandon was among the very top of these experts.
In his possession were two teams composed entirely of legendary Pokémon, known respectively as the Silver Symbol and the Gold Symbol.
The Silver Symbol consisted of Regirock, Regice, and Registeel, the three Regi titans.
The Gold Symbol consisted of Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno, the three legendary birds.
Although these Pokémon were referred to as legendary Pokémon, not all of them were truly unique existences in the world. Many legendary Pokémon actually had populations and could reproduce and continue their lineage.
For example, Rayquaza in Hoenn was not a solitary individual but existed as a species. The space station's spacecraft had once captured footage of two Rayquaza soaring together in outer space.
Of course, legendary Pokémon with populations were rare. Most of them existed as a single, unique individual.
For instance, Kyogre and Groudon were truly one of a kind.
While Theo was still thinking about this, Steven continued speaking.
"Didn't you tell me before that when your Tyrantrum evolved, you encountered a traveler in the desert?
He said he was drawn by some unusual roaring sounds and came across a mother and child Tyranitar.
When you told me about that, I guessed that there might also be a Regirock deep in the desert.
Brandon's Regirock was originally captured in that desert, so this time when I went there, besides trying to capture a Tyranitar, I also wanted to see if I could encounter a Regirock myself.
I also wanted to try capturing a legendary Pokémon, just to see what it feels like.
But as it turns out, the one I ran into just happened to be the one Brandon had left there.
Brandon left Regirock in the desert with the purpose of searching for traces of the legendary Pokémon, the king of the Regis, Regigigas."
(End of Chapter)