Chapter 183: Mega Stone
Half an hour later, the Red Gyarados returned to Rio’s side. The area around Sea Mauville for miles had become a no-go zone—neither humans nor Pokémon dared approach under the Gyarados’s intimidation.
"Good work, Gyarados." Rio sat on the platform’s deck and patted the Gyarados’s head.
"ROAR!" The Gyarados blinked, looking at him expectantly.
Rio sighed and reluctantly released the "reward mechanism"—Annihilape.
"Maximum reward time: ten minutes. We still have work to do today. Oh, and try to hit the deck—make it look like there was a fight."
"Annih~"
"ROAR!"
Annihilape and the Red Gyarados began their usual routine—like the Hulk tossing Loki around.
While the Gyarados was getting pummeled, Munchlax returned with a pile of items, followed by Aerodactyl. Munchlax dropped its haul in front of Rio, and Aerodactyl shook off the items it had been carrying.
"Ka~"
"Munchlax—did you run into anyone inside?" Rio asked before inspecting the loot.
Munchlax shook its head.
"Any Pokémon?"
Munchlax nodded, then pointed at Aerodactyl.
"Wraaah!!!" Aerodactyl puffed out its chest proudly.
Rio nodded, satisfied—Aerodactyl had scared off the wild Pokémon inside Sea Mauville. "Alright, let’s see what treasures you’ve found."
He began sorting through the pile. The first thing he saw was eight gleaming gold nuggets—not the thumb-sized ones, but fist-sized. Rio’s mouth dropped open. As expected of a former world-class company’s headquarters—of course they left things behind. Jackpot!
Each large nugget was worth between 25,000 and 30,000 League coins. Eight of them meant at least 200,000. He rummaged further and found four smaller nuggets worth 5,000 each. He could treat Munchlax to a feast and still have plenty left over. This is the kind of haul that only the luckiest—Munchlax—can pull off.
Continuing through the pile, he found some standard sprays and Revival Herbs, plus a Luxury Ball and a Dive Ball. He pressed the buttons—both were empty.
"Hm?"
Pushing aside a piece of paper, he spotted something unusual: a stone glowing with a deep blue light. "A Dawn Stone?" Rio recognized it—used to evolve male Kirlia into Gallade, or female Snorunt into Froslass.
"Not bad—I’ll keep it as a collectible, or sell it at an auction." He pocketed it.
All that remained were a few sheets of paper and a document pouch. He picked up one of the papers—and frowned within seconds.
It was a list of ten workplace rules for Sea Mauville. The first two were normal enough—say a loud "good morning" and no Pokémon in the workplace. But from the third onward, they grew absurd:
No lateness, encourage overtime.
Safety checks: raise your arms.
No thinking, work tirelessly.
Teamwork: joint liability.
Absolute obedience to superiors.
Protect quality, abandon reason.
No vacation until retirement.
Daily praise of the founder.
"No wonder they went bankrupt. You’d go out of business with rules like this—even 996 work culture isn’t this toxic," Rio thought, tossing the poster aside in disgust.
He picked up another sheet—the Sea Mauille company anthem. It read: Building the future of Hoenn, working holidays is top-tier, self-sacrifice always remembered, labor unions are unacceptable, drive out competing companies, overtime pay unnecessary.
Reading line after line, Rio’s face scrunched up like a chrysanthemum. He couldn’t imagine how miserable it must have been to work there. Then he noticed the back of the anthem sheet, where someone had scrawled three large characters: GO TO HELL!
Rio nodded approvingly. At least the workers had some sense left.
He set the anthem aside and picked up the document pouch. Inside were two reports and a thick notebook.
The first report seemed highly confidential—it was labeled: Devon Corporation Secret Investigation Progress Report.
[Confirmed: Devon Corporation is researching a new energy source. The company is using the life energy of Pokémon to generate infinite energy.]
The second report was a surveillance log on Wattson, the Mauville City Gym Leader:
[Confirmed: This employee is linked to the series of events that led to the cancellation of the New Mauville Project. As a traitor to the organization, immediate action is recommended.]
Rio set the reports aside without comment and picked up the worn notebook. Flipping through, it seemed to be a diary—a child’s longing for their father, written over the years. Two pages made him stop and read again.
One page described how the child’s Shelgon had evolved into a Salamence—but because it no longer resembled a meteorite, the child traded it for a friend’s Solrock. The entry ended: I hope Dad won’t be mad. I’ll keep watching the stars and thinking of you. I hope you’ll think of me too, wherever you are.
Rio took a deep breath and let out two words: "What a legend." He desperately wanted to know how the father had reacted to that news—was he moved? Infuriated? Both? He certainly couldn’t have been happy.
The second page that caught his attention was from when the child had grown up. It described being sent to the Kalos region on company orders. There, he found a strange stone. He brought it back and noticed it reacted to a friend’s Beedrill—glowing when near it, but not near other Pokémon. He couldn’t figure it out and wrote that if his father had found it, he’d have solved the mystery.
Rio’s mind instantly flashed: Beedrill’s Mega Stone. Any other region, any other stone, and he might not have guessed—but Kalos? The only thing that came to mind was a Mega Stone.
"Thank goodness this diary didn’t fall into Giovanni’s hands—he’d have turned the region upside down to find the owner."
Rio flipped through the remaining pages. When he reached the last one, he froze. Tucked into the final page was a small, glittering stone—identical in size to Charizard’s X and Y Mega Stones. But its leaf pattern was yellow and black, matching Beedrill’s colors.
The sudden fortune caught Rio off guard. He stared at it, mouth agape, for nearly a dozen seconds before reacting.
"The Key Stone is easy to find, but the Mega Stone isn’t. I’ll keep this safe—maybe use it to strike a deal with Giovanni."
He carefully pried the Mega Stone free, placed it in a small pouch, and tucked it into his inner pocket.
"Alright—time to get to work. Any longer and someone from Slateport might come to investigate."