C065 - Revealing a plotline or two to Hoenn's champion

"Yes, let's start with the most believable one. Your Unova division recently figured out how to make TM-CDs reusable, right?"

Steven nodded with a serious expression. He was already greatly disliking where this was going.

"A few weeks ago during that heavy storm that ravaged Kanto and Johto, I woke up on a beach among containers from a shipment coming out of Unova. I found five of these inside," Pete started, doing as little as possible to explain his circumstances without outright lying.

Metagross was sure to find out if he did. Maybe even Steven himself could do that. Pete wouldn't be surprised if the champion's psychic affinity was trained as much as Leona's. Well, if he had one.

He took out one of the TMs he had salvaged and a note with the serial numbers that were inscribed on the other TMs. He hoped Steven wouldn't make too much of a fuss about the implied information that he kept four others. And if he did, well, that was just one of the reasons he gifted him the mega stone.

"So someone managed to sneak out five machines under everyone's noses with serial numbers I can assure you are... fake. It could only be worse if they somehow smuggled Hyper Beam, Eruption, Hydro Cannon, or Arceus forbid Draco Meteor out. Oh no, that look... don't tell me," Steven spoke and then visibly paled.

"Uh, I do have the Hyper Beam TM-CD, Eruption was among the CDs that did not survive the storm," Pete sheepishly answered, scratching the back of his head.

"BAST..iodon. Our technology getting stolen is one thing, but whoever that lunatic is wanted a criminal organization to have unending access to Hyper Beam!? Metagross, we'll leave for Unova right after this meeting is over!"

Pete's cold sweat ran down his back. Steven would really teleport across half the giant continent to reach Unova in one go, wouldn't he? Pete had a feeling he might be underestimating Metagross still.

"Uh, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, haha... Uhm, okay. The two shipping containers I found had also contained around 70 eggs, most of which broke. I have since hatched all of those that were left, sooo they are not refundable, haha. There were many royal Unova starters among these as well. Should give you a hint on who might be in cahoots with whoever stole the tech. Here's the manifest I took from both containers," Pete offered with an awkward smile. He was starting to think he maybe should not have met with Steven since he profited a little too much from the wreckage, and lying was not an option.

"Thanks, I'll see what this brings to light. And don't worry about the pokemon. From what I can see, they are in good hands now."

"Good! To the less believable things, I guess. You're aware of Team Aqua and Team Magma that have recently started acting out since Team Rocket started taking hits in Kanto and Johto? Their goals are likely the mythical Hoenn pokemon Kyogre and Groudon respectively, but you're better suited asking the guardians at Mt Pyre about that," Pete offered as information before taking out yet another piece of paper.

"What you likely did not know is that Team Magma's leader is Maxie Grant, Lavaridge City's last mayor. Team Aqua's leader is Archie Howard. He should still be a city council member in Evergrande City. They have several so-called admins, like Matt Gregors, who is active in Rustboro City... I have compiled a list of every personell I know of, but I am deeply sorry. I have no evidence, and I can not tell you how I know," Pete apologized with a wry smile.

"Hmm, I don't like that very much, but since I don't believe you're asking me or the league to get rid of your competition, I'll allow it. I'll be checking everyone first anyway before we move in. You don't want us to get rid of your competition, right?" Steven asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"Nope, I want to live on my farm and die of old age. Finding new exciting evolutions, helping people understand their pokemon better, and experimenting with berries and food, that's my jam. Not planning any apocalyptic end of the world event that reshapes reality or this planet," Pete answered in full honesty and a little pompously so that Metagross could reassure Steven of the assistant professor's motives.

"Fine goals," Steven relented with a forlorn expression. "I hope that in a few years someone with enough drive, tenacity and heart can become champion in my stead and allow me to travel the world at my leisure."

"You could take an apprentice, no? Just choose a promising newcomer or even a student, and give them a few challenges in exchange for some of the resources your father surely made available to you as a child. You have the means to get a few of those, so you could be sure someone replaces you that you will have full confidence in," Pete suggested with a warm smile.

Steven never made it a secret that he wanted to travel the world instead of staying 'cooped up' as the Hoenn champion, so Pete always wondered why he didn't pump some random kid full of resources that they could become champion in his stead. Sure, some would cry foul because of favoritism, but all Steven had to do was stand his ground and tell everyone the kid has potential rivaling his own.

"Haaa, you're not wrong. But the kid I choose is going to feel a lot of pressure," Steven pondered out loud.

"Just ask Professor Birch for tips. Isn't he sending promising graduates out into the world with his own bred pokemon as starters once every one or two months? Surely, the professor would even have a few people in mind for your sponsoring in the first place."

"Brilliant! Metagross, we'll hop to Birch before going to Unova! Now, what about the other shady dealings that you can magically tell me about inside Devon Corp?"

"Uh, I already did. Two admins on my list, one from each organization, have infiltrated senior positions in the company and are using them to slowly fill up your company's roster with Aqua and Magma grunts, I would imagine. They might have been there already, and Aqua and Magma got to them somehow, I'm not sure," Pete awkwardly offered while scratching the back of his head.

"...Metagross, I hope you're ready to finish our business in Unova as fast as possible," Steven said with a stony expression a few moments later.

"And, well... that would be all. No more bad news from me at this time, I promise," Pete promised with a thumbs up to lighten the mood.

"You will have done me, my father, maybe even all of Hoenn, a tremendous favor if all of this turns out to be the truth, which I fear is sadly the case. Maybe one day you will tell me how you found all of this out," Steven countered with a tired smile.

"On toward more positive topics, compensation. What's your favorite color, Pete?" Steven asked, once more gaining a confident aura.

Pete thought about the HeartGold and SoulSilver games where Steven asked a similar question to the player after beating Red and gave you a Hoenn starter based on your answer since you could only choose between three stones colored in red, blue, and green.

"I'd love to answer purple, a tie between red and blue. But the true answer is a warm, earthen brown. Feels like home to me," Pete answered while shaking his head a little.

"Why would you want to answer purple?" Steven asked with a raised brow.

"It's an inside joke with a family member I no longer get to see," Pete answered slowly. Good thing he remembered about an evening where he colored a picture book with his eldest niece so he didn't get caught in his first actual lie.

"Ah, sorry about that... hmm, then let's just take purple as the answer. Metagross, can I ask you to get them?" Steven asked while giving Metagross a meaningful smile, likely telling him something more via a psychic bond.

"Okay, that's the first part done. Now you said you were sure about all this information, right? If everything turns out to be wrong, I'll come and take the next goodies back from you~"

"Uh, yeah. I'm sure?"

"Good! Ah, it's been a while since I opened this so I'm not too sure what's inside but you may take three of them," Steven offered as he stood up from his chair and walked over to a tall but slim painting of a sunset in Hoenn. He tapped the wall next to it, and the painting slowly moved forward as the headpiece of a hidden shelf.

"These are some of my personal TMs I had my pokemon record ever since I became champion. Go nuts and consider full coverage with your advantage," Steven jovially commented with a wink.

'Looks like he's not asking for the machines back,' Pete thought with a relieved smile.

Pete walked over and was astonished to find over fifty different TMs on the shelf with some of the CDs even available multiple times in small stacks. Pete was still missing flying, steel, and bug typing energy coverage as well as ghost, ice, and fighting.

For flying, Pete found Aerial Ace, which quickly came on his mental must-have-list. It would do wonders for Arcanine's coverage and likely increase her speed some more if the little fluffy genius figured out how to use Extreme Speed with the move like she did with Flame Wheel. She might even get much quicker in learning moves like Air Cutter from the Farfetch'd and add another ranged attack to her repertoire.

Next Pete once more wanted to go thank Whitney for giving him something as precious as the Dragon Claw TM because even Steven only had this single dragon type move which would have surely become his second pick if he hadn't gotten the TM before.

He found Flash Cannon next, which he was sure the Solosis line could learn and was an amazing steel move that would also likely help Jasmine's pokemon. So that move became his second choice.

The third choice came a little harder. He narrowed it down to X-Scissor, a bug type move likely recorded by Steven's Armaldo, Shadow Ball, a ghost type move that either Metagross or Cradily recorded, and Ancient Power.

Sadly, Steven did not have any ice move TMs. Additionally, the available fighting TMs Pete could likely find in a lot of stores and Ancient Power, while a rock type move which he already had Sandstorm for was simply screaming his name.

As a researcher, having free access to the move was simply too enticing. Three pokemon were known to evolve once they knew the move: Tangela to Tangrowth, Piloswine to Mamoswine, and Yanma to Yanmega. The first and last were especially important because these two species lived near his home.

With one last reluctant look to Shadow Ball and X-Scissor, Pete picked Ancient Power together with Aerial Ace and Flash Cannon.

"You sure? You eyed that Shadow Ball TM pretty hard," Steven quipped with a cheeky smile.

"Yep, these benefit my pokemon and my job the most."

"Oh? Your job?"

What followed was two minutes of Pete explaining evolutions by aid of certain moves and his belief that Ancient Power was the key to help evolve three species before Steven's shiny Metagross came back and interrupted their discussion.

Pete kept in his mind that they might also be the key to unlocking Hisuian forms. Regional forms of ancient Sinnoh that had different typing. Maybe he will find even other evolutions and forms with the help of Ancient Power.

Three luxury balls were floating in front of the metal/psychic pokemon as it teleported back to the room, and Pete thought he was going to have to choose one, which made him a little giddy. The parallels to the games were too exciting for his inner pokenerd despite living in this world already for such a long time.

Metagross floated the balls over to Pete, and Steven gave him an encouraging smile, "Come on. Open them! They are all for you. I hope you get along with all three."