Chapter 174: The Letter for Steven
The bandana girl found Rio’s carefree manner amusing and introduced herself.
Sapphire? The female protagonist of the Hoenn arc in the special manga? Rio raised an eyebrow, then smiled: "Nice to meet you."
"Your Charizard is amazing! It took care of them so easily—I’ve never seen a Charizard that strong, even on TV!" Sapphire marveled, looking at Charizard with admiration.
Charizard crossed its arms, let out a snort, and a wisp of purple flame flickered past—its expression practically screaming, Of course.
Rio couldn’t help but laugh.
"Sapphire—I’d like you to do me a favor. You’ll be traveling to all the Gyms in Hoenn, won’t you?" President Devon said from the ground, his expression still pained—the Lombre’s punch had done a number on him.
"Of course, Grandpa," Sapphire said.
"On your journey... if you pass through a town called Dewford Town, find a man named Steven and give him this letter." President Devon reached into his pocket, producing a letter with trembling hands.
Rio’s eyes lit up.
"And... tell him what happened today. I trust you... so I’m counting on you. Steven is... my son."
With that, President Devon collapsed from exhaustion. Rio caught him just in time.
"I’ll take care of it, Grandpa," Sapphire said with a smile, taking the letter. She glanced at her watch. "Oh no—I was supposed to take my Gym challenge test today!"
"Goodbye, Grandpa—I’ll get this done."
"Rio, Charizard, see you later! Look after Grandpa for me!"
"And you two reporters too!"
Sapphire dashed off toward the edge of Petalburg Woods. Rio watched her retreating figure.
"Rio—could you take me back to Rustboro City?" President Devon asked.
"Of course, Mr. President," Rio agreed with a smile, but then scratched his head. "I think I’ve got a bit of a stomach ache—could you wait a moment?"
"Of course, go ahead." Though a bit taken aback, the president agreed. After all, nature’s call waits for no one.
"Charizard—stay here and protect President Devon."
"Roaar~"
Rio jogged deeper into the forest. Once he was sure no one was watching, he pulled out the ancient Poké Ball.
A few minutes later, at the edge of Petalburg Woods, Sapphire emerged, panting. Three paths lay before her.
"Which way should I go now?" She pulled out her Pokédex to check her route—but the moment she did, a cloud of black mist engulfed her.
"What’s happening?" Sapphire looked around nervously. The next second, a pair of pitch-black eyes burst from the mist and locked onto hers. Sapphire opened her mouth to scream—but before a sound could escape, she collapsed.
The black mist dissipated. Rio stepped out from the side of the forest.
"Sorry about this, Sapphire." He knelt beside her and removed the letter President Devon had given her. Carefully opening it, he found seven photographs of ancient stone tablets, each engraved with ancient script.
Using what he’d learned from Mr. Fuji, he read each one:
The first tablet read: We dwell in this cave, and live here.
The second: All of this is thanks to that Pokémon.
The third: However, we sealed that Pokémon away.
The fourth: Because it was too terrifying.
The fifth: Brave people, people who look toward the future.
The sixth: Open the door. The eternal Pokémon lies within.
The seventh: Relicanth to begin, Wailord to end. Wailord at the head, Relicanth at the tail. All shall be unlocked.
"The three Regis!" Rio’s face lit up with excitement. "These are the ancient script codes to unlock the three Regis!"
Jackpot. Big win. I knew something entrusted to Steven would be important.
Rio took photos of all seven images with his phone. He also noticed that the back of each photo had a translation—identical to what he’d just deciphered.
After taking the photos, he sealed the letter back with a bit of saliva. But then he hesitated—it didn’t look convincing enough.
He glanced at the unconscious Sapphire. "Sorry again, Sapphire—no hard feelings."
With a flash of light, he released the Red Gyarados and had it spray a Water Gun at the unconscious Sapphire—soaking her and the letter thoroughly. He then placed the letter back on her person.
Looking at the crumpled, wet envelope, Rio nodded with satisfaction. That’ll do the trick.
"Alright—let’s get out of here." He recalled the Red Gyarados and had Gengar use Psychic to move Sapphire aside, then hurried back.
Now that he knew what was in the letter, he needed to find out where the three Regis were sealed. President Devon would definitely know that location.
Two minutes later, Rio was back at President Devon’s side.
"Sorry about that, Mr. President," Rio said with an awkward smile.
"It’s fine—let’s go," President Devon waved.
Rio helped him onto Charizard’s back. To make sure the two reporters didn’t find Sapphire, he released Gengar again to carry them both away as well.
As they flew toward Rustboro City, several trucks appeared on Route 104. The drivers spotted the black Charizard in the sky—and slammed on their brakes.