Steven returned to Mossdeep City that night.
He glanced at the delivery confirmation on his Pokénav and allowed himself a small smile. He hadn't just ordered for Sidney — he had made sure all four Elite Four members were included. A good meal was a simple thing, but it went a long way toward keeping the mood at headquarters warm. Whether everyone managed to eat together wasn't really the point. The point was that they'd know he'd thought of them, and that he wasn't simply absent without reason.
That evening, he took Diancie out to wander through Mossdeep City's night market. Diancie had been cooped up enough — it wanted to explore, and so wherever it pointed, Steven followed. They drifted from stall to stall until Diancie had seen everything it wanted to see, and then they headed home.
Back at the villa, Steven settled in front of his computer for a video call with Cynthia. They talked for a while — nothing pressing, just the comfortable back-and-forth of two people catching up at the end of a long day.
The next morning, Steven and Diancie made their way to Rustboro City.
He had Scizor escort Diancie to Petalburg Woods for a visit while he headed to Devon Corporation on his own. He'd been hoping to catch his father before the day got away from them.
As it turned out, he just barely managed it.
Steven pushed open the door to find Joseph already on his way out — coat on, bag in hand. The older man stopped short, clearly startled.
"Steven? I wasn't expecting you back so soon."
He recovered quickly, clasping his hands behind his back. A faint smile crossed his face — something Steven had been noticing more often lately. In years past, their meetings had been sparse, a handful of times annually at most. Something had shifted in Joseph recently. He smiled more easily now.
"I came to check on the progress of Pokémon: Gem," Steven said.
"It's nearly finished. You should start preparing for the press conference." Joseph stepped forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, an earnest look on his face.
"Understood."
Steven reached into his bag and held out Skarmory's Poké Ball.
"Could you see that Skarmory gets a chance to visit its mother while I'm here?"
Joseph paused. He took the Poké Ball, but for a moment he didn't move. He wasn't entirely sure, in that instant, whether Steven was only talking about Skarmory.
Was he simply asking Skarmory's mother to see how her child had grown?
Or was there something else in it — something Steven wasn't quite saying aloud?
Steven caught the flicker of thought crossing his father's face. He answered it before Joseph could ask.
"Skarmory has grown a great deal. Its mother should know."
He left it at that. Joseph nodded slowly, closing his fingers around the Poké Ball.
"I understand."
"Then I'll go check on the game. I'll see you later, Father."
"Go on."
Joseph stood in the doorway for a long moment after Steven had gone, watching the space where he'd been. He frowned quietly, turning something over in his mind.
Steven made his way to the R&D department and immediately noticed a cluster of researchers gathered near one of the larger monitors. He moved closer, craning his neck to see over the group.
On the screen, a Blaziken launched itself forward with a Blaze Kick — flames roaring up its leg as it drove a powerful strike into a Shiny Metagross. The HP bar drained completely. The match ended.
Player wins.
"NICE!"
The entire room erupted.
Steven pressed a hand to his face.
It was just a battle against him. Was it really that exciting?
On screen, the in-game Steven recalled his Shiny Metagross with a composed expression, then turned to the player character and spoke:
"Congratulations! The feelings you have for your partner Pokémon... and the feelings of your Pokémon, who gave everything to answer your expectations..."
"When those two things become one, a greater power is born between you."
"That is precisely why you were able to win this victory together!"
"You are truly the future star of the Hoenn region!"
Steven read the dialogue in silence.
"That's well written," he said.
The room went completely quiet.
Every head turned. The celebration died instantly.
When had the Vice President walked in?
Steven paid the surrounding looks no particular attention. His gaze stayed on the monitor as the ending sequence played out, settling on the familiar backdrop of Mossdeep City.
He hadn't originally planned to include himself. His intent had been to remove the Champion role from the main story entirely — the original design had the player become Champion simply by defeating the Elite Four. He was only supposed to appear briefly as an NPC, someone who handed the protagonist a useful item.
The development team had added the full battle sequence on their own.
And judging by the reaction he'd just witnessed, it seemed defeating him was the highlight of the experience.
"Vice President..." The researcher holding the controller started to speak — an explanation ready, by the look of it.
Steven raised a hand.
"What difficulty was that set to?"
A pause. "...Super Hell difficulty."
Steven nodded, and the tension in the room eased slightly.
No wonder they'd cheered. That was a worthy challenge.
"How long did the hidden boss take?"
The researcher hesitated. "Just the Vice President's section... about five or six days."
"Well done," Steven said with a quiet smile. "That's exactly where it should be."
The difficulty was appropriate. He was satisfied.
"Vice President — the game has completed testing. We're ready for release."
"Good. I'll schedule a press conference within the next couple of days. Make any final adjustments and prepare to launch."
Steven gave a short nod. Finally. After all the work that had gone into it, Pokémon: Gem was nearly out the door. And this was only the beginning — the simplest part of a longer plan.
"Once the game releases and we have solid feedback," he continued, "I'd like you to begin early planning for an open-world Pokémon game. Something where players from anywhere in the world can be online at the same time — travelling, battling, exploring together." He paused. "I also want you to look into developing a voice-command battle system. Something that brings the experience closer to what real Pokémon training feels like. And make sure it's accessible — children who can't travel should be able to experience the journey too."
"Understood, Vice President!"
Steven glanced at the now-idle monitor and felt an unexpected pull of nostalgia.
"One more thing — give me a copy of the game. I'll take it home."
"Of course, Vice President!"
Buzz buzz —
His Pokénav hummed in his pocket. Steven gave the team a parting nod, stepped out into the hallway, and answered.
"Steven!"
He recognized the voice immediately and smiled. "Professor Oak. Has the new Pokédex research hit any snags?"
"No, no — quite the opposite, actually! Everything is coming along wonderfully."
Professor Oak's voice was bright and energetic. Steven could hear the faint sounds of equipment in the background — the professor was clearly in the middle of testing something as they spoke.
The project had been ambitious from the start. The new device was designed to combine the functions of a Pokédex and a modern communicator into one compact unit. Small enough to carry in a pocket, but packed with research data. Point it at an unfamiliar Pokémon, take a picture, and it would identify the species and analyze its approximate stats through real-time data measurement — all in seconds.
"I wanted to reach you to ask where I should send the first batch," Professor Oak continued. "I'd like you to have one to try out."
"That's very kind of you, Professor. Please send them to my address in Mossdeep City." Steven gave the details, and Professor Oak repeated them back carefully.
They exchanged a few more words before the professor signed off, cheerful as ever.
Steven pocketed his Pokénav and leaned back slightly, looking up at the corridor ceiling.
A quiet laugh.
"Everything is moving along just as planned."