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Jubilife Breeding Center.
Wayne pondered silently to himself. Based on what he'd just witnessed from the Mega Evolution demonstration, it proved to be an excellent method for dramatically enhancing a Pokémon's strength.
Metagross, originally at the Professional Advanced level, had directly soared to Gym Advanced level with the tremendous boost provided by Mega Evolution.
This represented a complete leap of an entire tier.
Steven's Metagross, in comparison, had jumped from Champion Intermediate to Champion Advanced level.
This progression pattern made complete sense.
The further one advanced in training, the increasingly harder it became to improve a Pokémon's strength.
At the master and Champion levels especially, even a small single-level increase resulted in significantly boosted combat capabilities.
Leon, misinterpreting Wayne's contemplative expression, thought his son felt disappointed about losing the practice match. "Don't feel sad about it, my son. We still have a bright and promising future ahead of us."
Wayne felt exasperated internally.
I absolutely don't want to hear platitudes about "the future" right now.
And I'm not even sad at all in the first place, okay?!
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Metagross's impressive Mega Evolution display had definitely encouraged and inspired Arcanine, Dragapult, and Lucario significantly.
Especially Lucario, who seemed most affected.
His expressive eyes were completely filled with obvious envy and longing.
However, because Lucario had been sensible and considerate since he was young, he deliberately did not ask Wayne directly about obtaining a Lucarionite.
Later that afternoon, Nurse Joy took both Metagross to the medical center for post-battle treatment and recovery, while Wayne and Steven returned to the main house to formally sign their contract agreement.
The commercial sale of Energy Cubes was carefully regulated by the Pokémon League, and all sales destinations needed to be officially documented and known.
Therefore, this particular contract served primarily for the League's records and oversight.
In practice, neither party felt particularly bound by this formal agreement.
Neither Steven nor Wayne were the type of people who would ever breach a contract or agreement.
Wayne had originally planned to wait patiently until he could successfully draw a Lucarionite from his lottery ticket rewards.
However, remembering Lucario's longing, envious gaze from earlier, Wayne gritted his teeth with determination. "Do you happen to still have any Lucarionite available for purchase?"
If Steven possessed one currently, Wayne would buy it immediately without hesitation.
Then, if he fortunately drew another Lucarionite later through the lottery system, he could simply sell the duplicate back to Steven.
Steven shook his head with genuine regret. "I'm sorry, but I don't have one available at the moment. I'm actually actively searching for one myself right now."
Although Steven did not personally train or use Lucario on his team, he had set himself the ambitious goal of collecting a complete set of every Mega Stone in existence.
As if suddenly remembering something important, Steven added helpfully, "There might be one particular place that has it available. You should definitely keep an eye on that location."
"Where would that be?"
"The Battle Chateau in the Kalos region."
"Achieving promotion to the rank of Duke at the Battle Chateau allows you to obtain one Mega Stone of your personal choice as a reward. I believe a Lucarionite should definitely be available there."
Wayne naturally knew about the famous and prestigious Battle Chateau battle facility.
The noble ranks progressed from highest to lowest: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.
Above the Duke rank, there also existed the even more prestigious title of Grand Duke.
Hearing the specific wording of Steven's tone, Wayne asked with genuine confusion, "You haven't challenged the Battle Chateau yourself yet?"
Steven shook his head, revealing a gentle, almost nostalgic smile. "No, I still much prefer to excavate and dig Mega Stones up myself personally. The entire process of excavation and discovery is also a unique kind of enjoyable fun for me."
Considering Lucario's intense desire to become stronger and his obvious longing, Wayne mentally added challenging the Battle Chateau to his list of important future goals.
In the afternoon, after Wayne performed thorough routine maintenance on all of Steven's Pokémon, Steven nodded with visible satisfaction.
After carefully observing and examining both Metagross and Aggron closely, Steven's perceptive eyes flashed briefly with a hint of genuine surprise.
"I feel like Metagross and the others seem much more energetic than usual, and they actually appear to have gotten somewhat stronger as well."
Steven possessed a vague but distinct feeling that both Metagross and Aggron had indeed grown noticeably stronger somehow.
[It must be just an illusion, right?] Steven thought to himself.
Steven did not possess Blue's remarkable natural talent of being able to tell at a single glance that a Pokémon's strength level had increased.
Wayne thought privately to himself: [No, perhaps they really did get genuinely stronger.]
If Wayne remembered the details correctly, both Metagross and Aggron had eaten portions of the Mapo Tofu and Crab Roe Lion's Head dishes he had personally prepared.
Those special dishes would provide a slight but measurable increase to their overall strength.
The improvement might not seem particularly obvious or dramatic, but the Pokémon had definitely grown stronger nonetheless.
It functioned like the scientific principle of quantitative change eventually leading to qualitative change.
A slight increase in speed, stamina, and physical strength individually might not seem particularly impressive.
But what if all three attributes increased even slightly at the same time?
That would definitely result in a meaningful qualitative change overall.
Why had Steven specifically noticed and commented that Wayne's Metagross possessed impressive power, stamina, and speed?
The answer was simple: because Metagross had consistently eaten Wayne's special cooking.
This was all occurring under circumstances where Wayne's special signature dishes had not yet reached their full maturity and maximum potential either.
If Wayne could successfully collect more recipes and fully develop them all to their highest level...
It wasn't completely impossible that he could further improve even Steven's already Champion-level Metagross!
"Meta!" Metagross expressed its contentment happily.
Steven gently stroked Metagross's smooth arm hammer affectionately.
"They seem very satisfied with the results. Pokémon maintenance can be performed once every two weeks on a regular schedule. I'll send you the Poké Balls beforehand."
"No problem at all. That works perfectly."
Steven began preparing to take his leave. "I still need to travel to Oreburgh Coal Mine next, so I'll take my leave now."
"Is this because of the Reflection Cave incident?"
"That's correct. I contacted both Lance and Cynthia yesterday, and we all agreed to travel to Oreburgh Coal Mine together today for a comprehensive on-site investigation."
[Cynthia?] Wayne thought with surprise.
Wayne had just spoken with Cynthia the previous night and hadn't heard anything about this particular mission from her at all.
Wayne asked with concern, "Do you need any help with the investigation?"
Steven shook his head firmly. "It's primarily just an on-site investigation to determine how best to protect the area and prevent anyone from accidentally entering dangerous zones again."
If the Shiny Rayquaza were still present at that location, Steven would perhaps have seriously considered calling Wayne to assist.
Since Rayquaza had already departed, there was no real need to involve Wayne further.
This type of work fell under the Champion's official job responsibilities, not Wayne's.
Steven placed a reassuring hand on Wayne's shoulder. "You're a Breeder, not a League official. Don't take on so much responsibility and burden. It becomes very mentally and physically tiring."
Wayne had already helped tremendously by accompanying Steven into the dangerous Mirror World dimension, and Steven genuinely didn't want to trouble Wayne any further with additional requests.
Wayne's lips curved upward slightly, and he couldn't resist teasing playfully:
"Right, this advice coming from the Champion who worked continuous overtime for thirty-three days straight?"
Steven almost developed a painful crick in his back again because of Wayne's pointed reminder, and he sighed with helpless resignation. "Please don't mention that period. I really don't want to remember it."
"Well then, I'll be departing now."
"Come visit the Breeding Center whenever you have free time."
"I definitely will. If I ever travel to the Hoenn region, please be sure to contact me as well."
Steven elegantly mounted his Metagross and flew smoothly up into the sky.
Wayne had originally wanted to contact Cynthia and ask her about the mission.
However, after thinking it through more carefully, since Cynthia hadn't informed him about it, she probably didn't want him getting directly involved.
From the particular Mirror World entrance they had accessed together, the immediate danger level was not especially great or severe.
However, there might exist more than just one Mirror World entrance in that location.
And not every alternate world dimension was necessarily safe to enter.
That's precisely why Steven, Lance, and Cynthia were taking the situation so seriously, had agreed to investigate it together as a team, and deliberately hadn't informed Wayne.
As Steven had wisely said, Wayne did not hold any important official position within the Pokémon League structure. There was no genuine need for him to get personally involved in every single incident.
Wayne's current strength level also temporarily did not allow for such involvement.
Unless he summoned the Shiny Rayquaza for assistance.
Possible, certainly, but completely unnecessary.
"Could it be that I really should seriously consider becoming an official League Investigator?"
"No, forget it. My current strength level doesn't allow for it yet."
Wayne decided to embrace being a local expert and continue steadily developing his skills and business.
Nurse Joy found Wayne accompanied by the now fully recovered Metagross. "Your Metagross is all better now and completely healthy."
"Meta!" Metagross called out cheerfully.
"Thank you so much, Nurse Joy."
"You're very welcome. I'll head back to work now."
This defeat in battle had not caused Metagross any lasting frustration or disappointment whatsoever. Instead, the experience had ignited his competitive fighting spirit even more intensely.
A temporary failure?
When Metagross was still just a small Beldum, he had experienced countless failures before finally succeeding.
Lucario and Arcanine, who had been diligently training nearby, also gathered around Wayne and Metagross.
Wayne gently stroked Metagross's perfectly smooth metallic body, surveying all the loyal Pokémon surrounding him with affection.
"Let's continue to grow stronger together as a team."
"Meta!" Metagross declared with determination.
(I will definitely defeat Steven's Metagross someday!)
"Shaymin~" the small Mythical Pokémon added cheerfully.
(I'll also work really hard to improve!)