Steven cleared his throat quietly and caught Diancie's eye with a subtle glance.
"The quality of this stone is decent enough," he began, his tone measured, "but the shape leaves a lot to be desired."
He leaned forward slightly, tapping a finger against the glass of the display case.
"See here — there's a scratch along this face. And this edge has a small chip. It would need quite a bit of work before it could be used for anything."
"Exactly, exactly," Diancie agreed, nodding along with the gravity of someone delivering a professional verdict.
"It could probably be cut into a pendant or some small piece of jewelry," Steven said, pressing his chin thoughtfully. "But the question is, what shape would even suit it? After cutting away all the damaged portions, there wouldn't be much left to work with."
Diancie tilted her head, considering. "I'm not sure there's any shape that would really suit it, honestly."
The shop owner watched them both, trying to find an opening. He was still deciding how best to approach this. Just yesterday, the young woman standing quietly to the side had purchased a Dusk Stone without so much as glancing at the price tag — she had simply set her League Card on the counter and walked away with it. No questions asked.
These two were clearly a different matter.
"This stone isn't marked with a price," Steven said, straightening up and crossing his arms. "What are you asking for it?"
The shop owner thought for a moment, then raised his hand and held up three fingers.
Steven let out a slow, pained sigh.
"That's quite steep. The quality is there, yes, but there are too many surface flaws. Once it's cut and polished, the usable portion will be significantly smaller." He paused. "Unless it has some special property I'm not aware of?"
"Ah…"
The shop owner hesitated. In truth, he had no good answer. This stone had simply appeared among his stock one day — he couldn't explain how or where it had come from. The quality was excellent, certainly, but not exceptionally rare. And as the customer had pointed out, the external flaws were real. After polishing, much of the stone would be lost.
What made things more difficult was that after years in the gem trade, the shop owner still couldn't identify exactly what kind of stone it was or what effects it might have. It could, at best, be shaped into a small ornament. A pendant, perhaps.
"Why don't you make me an offer?" the shop owner said at last, feeling slightly defeated. It was clear this man knew what he was looking at. And that Pokémon beside him — covered head to toe in exquisite pink diamonds — was not helping the shop owner feel any more confident.
Steven let a small smile cross his face and held up one finger.
"One million."
The shop owner winced, looking down at the stone with something close to grief.
"One million five hundred thousand," he countered. "That's about what the usable portion is worth, realistically."
Steven fell quiet. He frowned slightly, appearing to weigh it.
The shop owner watched his expression carefully. Was this genuine hesitation, or a performance?
After a long pause, Steven gave a small nod.
"All right."
The shop owner still couldn't tell. But at the end of the day, this stone had cost him nothing. It had appeared in his stock without explanation. Even at one million five hundred thousand, he was walking away with pure profit.
Whether the stone turned out to be a fine ornament or something far more remarkable — he would never know. And since he wouldn't know, he wouldn't spend any time regretting it.
One and a half million for a stone that had cost him nothing. He could live with that.
He smiled, gestured toward the counter, and said cheerfully, "Right this way, sir~"
Out on the street, Steven turned the stone over in his palm as they walked. In the open light, it caught the sun — small, white, with that faint blue shimmer running through its core.
"Is there something special about it?" Cynthia asked, studying the stone curiously. It had cost noticeably more than the Dusk Stone from the day before. "I couldn't quite follow what you two were saying in there."
"Cynthia will find out when we get back!" Diancie answered before Steven could open his mouth.
Cynthia blinked, mildly bewildered. Steven took her hand and the three of them made their way back to the hotel at a brisk pace.
The two of them sat on either side of the bed with Diancie perched between them, the stone placed in the center of the blanket like something being put on trial.
"Leave the expert work to the expert Pokémon," Steven said, looking at Diancie with a grin.
"You can count on me!" Diancie giggled. She raised both hands, closed her eyes, and took a slow, focused breath.
Cynthia sat to the side, watching with no clear idea of what was about to happen. She glanced at Steven. Then at Diancie. Then at the stone.
A soft pink energy extended from Diancie's palms, curling through the air like a ribbon before wrapping itself around the stone and lifting it gently off the bed. The energy moved slowly across the stone's surface, and as it did, the outer layer began to peel away — not chipping or breaking, but dissolving cleanly, like a husk being shed.
What had been a dull white stone with a faint blue tint was now something else entirely. The outer layer was gone, and in its place was a gem of deep, clear blue — perfectly transparent, catching light in every direction. Its shape hadn't changed, but it was now no larger than a small whistle.
Diancie lowered it gently into Steven's waiting palm.
"That's its true form," Steven said quietly, turning it in the light. "I had a feeling when Diancie first called me over. There was something underneath."
Diancie put her hands on her hips and hummed proudly. "I can tell a good gem from a bad one at a single glance!"
"Diancie is amazing," Cynthia said warmly, reaching over to stroke Diancie's cheek. Then she looked at the gem again. "So in this form, it's at its most valuable?"
"Exactly," Steven said.
He was about to explain further, but Diancie cut in.
"A gem like this — even I don't see quality like this very often! It was hidden under all that rough exterior, but I spotted it straight away!"
Cynthia nodded slowly, processing this. Then she raised her hand.
"Please, go ahead," Steven said.
"So… what does it actually do?"
Diancie opened her mouth. Then closed it. She rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish expression. "I… don't know yet."
Cynthia turned to Steven.
Steven shrugged. "I don't know either." He held the gem up, watching the light pass through it. "But a gem of this quality could sell for tens of millions at the right collectors' auction. Whatever it is, we definitely didn't lose anything by buying it."
"And and and!" Diancie suddenly straightened, pointing at the gem. "There's a mysterious power inside it! I can feel it! Getting it was absolutely the right call!"
Cynthia nodded gently.
So, in summary: these two had seen a very pretty stone, sensed something promising about it, and bought it without knowing what it was for. That was essentially the whole story.
She wasn't entirely sure she understood the logic. But listening to them describe it, paying one and a half million for it did somehow sound reasonable. And truthfully, one and a half million wasn't exactly a painful sum for either of them.
"Oh, one more thing," Steven added. "We need to store this somewhere safe. Aggron and Larvitar can't get near it."
Cynthia tilted her head. "I assumed you'd bought it for them to eat, honestly."
"The collection value alone makes it worth keeping," Steven said, looking back down at the stone with a satisfied expression. He had won the exhibition match against Alder today. And now he had picked up a top-quality gem at a fraction of what it was worth. It was, by any measure, a good day.
Cynthia watched him standing there with that quietly pleased look on his face.
"Steven."
"Hmm? What is it, Cynthia?"
"There's still one piece of clothing you haven't washed for me."
The satisfied look vanished.
"…I'll go take care of it now."