Chapter 250 - Gary: Nice
Though Steven was currently the Hoenn Champion, as Devon Corporation's sole heir, he naturally had his own office within the company.
Asahi followed Steven into the office.
The first thing that caught his eye was an entire wall filled with a collection of strange and rare stones.
He knew Steven was obsessed with collecting rocks, but seeing a whole wall dedicated to them still felt a bit extreme.
Compared to Asahi—who at least tried to maintain some composure—Gary was much more direct.
"That's… a lot of rocks," he said, visibly stunned.
Having grown up with Professor Oak, Gary had developed a keen eye for valuable items.
Among these stones, those evolution stones that cost millions were actually the cheapest ones.
The truly expensive ones were the bizarrely shaped meteorites that Gary had never even seen before.
So this was the power of money…
Same title, same rich family background—why was the gap between people so vast?
Asahi ignored Gary, who was deep in existential thought, and after ensuring their surroundings were secure, he turned to Steven.
"What's going on? I heard Mr. Stone was attacked?"
Steven sighed at the mention of his father.
"Yeah. Team Aqua attacked him and stole the Abyssal Explorer One's core component."
"My father was injured and is currently hospitalized."
His expression darkened as he spoke.
It was clear that Team Aqua's actions had thoroughly pissed him off.
Previously, they had failed to steal the Abyssal Explorer One's blueprints, so Steven assumed they would lay low for a while.
He hadn't expected them to escalate straight to a full-blown attack.
Not knowing how else to comfort him, Asahi simply said,
"Leave it to me. Anyone who disrespects my friends… well, let's just say I specialize in taking care of them."
This was his area of expertise, after all.
Steven had no doubts about Asahi's capabilities.
"Do you need my support?" he asked.
He figured that since Asahi had come from Kanto with no real base in Hoenn, he would at least need a temporary headquarters, manpower, or intelligence support.
Steven had already made arrangements for all of this before Asahi even arrived.
But Asahi's response was unexpected.
"Not at the moment."
Steven raised an eyebrow. "…You don't need me to set up a base for you?"
"Actually, I already found a place to stay before coming here."
"Where…?"
He's not planning to stay in a hotel, is he…?
As Steven's thoughts wandered, Asahi gave him a small smile.
"I'm going to crash at Team Rocket's base."
Team Rocket…?
Since when did Team Rocket even have a base in Hoenn?
Even after Asahi finished explaining his entire plan, Steven still found it completely ridiculous.
On one hand, he was shocked that Team Rocket had managed to build a base right under his nose.
On the other hand, he was stunned by Asahi's audacity to just "borrow" it.
According to Asahi, the Rocket base was safe, hidden, fully equipped, and most importantly… completely free!
All he had to do was take out a few Rocket grunts, and the entire base was his.
It was too good a deal to pass up!
He's treating Team Rocket's base like a damn hotel…
Did he even ask Giovanni's opinion on this…?
…Oh, right. Giovanni had already been beaten into submission by Asahi.
Never mind, then.
Since Asahi didn't need help securing a base, Steven pulled out a USB drive and handed it to him.
"This contains all the information the Pokémon Association has gathered on Team Aqua and Team Magma so far. I'll update you with new intel as it comes in."
Asahi nodded and passed the USB to Green.
The Kanto Division was no longer the messy, makeshift team it once was. They had a clear division of labor now.
With all that settled, Steven finally relaxed a bit.
"Asahi, would you like a tour of the company headquarters?"
---
Under Steven's guidance, Asahi toured Devon Corporation under the identity of a "researcher working on improved Pokéblock formulas."
Compared to Silph Co., which was riddled with Team Rocket spies, Devon Corporation—originally a mining company—had a much stricter corporate culture.
During work hours, employees rarely carried Pokémon with them.
It was a stark contrast to Silph Co., where nearly everyone had a Magneton or Weezing on hand.
As Steven explained Devon's history, he brought up its former biggest rival—Mauville Energy Corporation.
Gary: "Mauville Energy… You mean that company famous for overworking employees, forcing them to obey orders unconditionally, and demanding total loyalty?"
Everyone turned to look at him, confused.
Gary smirked. "I used to lurk in a forum full of ex-Mauville employees. That company was infamous there."
"Terrible working conditions, constant false promises, and they expected employees to sacrifice everything for the company…"
"In short, the forum's general opinion on Mauville could be summed up in two words: Good riddance."
Hearing this, Green and Sabrina—who hadn't known much about Mauville Energy—fell into thought.
Then, as if on cue, they both turned to look at Asahi.
Asahi: "…?"
Why are you looking at me?
When have I ever exploited you two?
Meanwhile, Gary watched their reaction from the side and felt immensely satisfied.
Nice.
Sensing the slightly tense atmosphere, Steven quickly moved on to another topic.
"This is our company's latest communication device, the PokéNav…"
Just as everyone's attention shifted to the soon-to-be-outdated PokéNav, Asahi suddenly said,
"Gary, what was that forum called? Send me the link."
"I'm kind of interested in checking it out."
Gary froze.
He hadn't expected Asahi to actually take an interest in it.
But there was no way he could let him see it!
His heart raced, but on the surface, he forced a casual laugh.
"Ha… Haha… That forum? I just used to browse it for fun. Haven't been on it in ages."
"Really?" Asahi asked, clearly intrigued.
"R-Really…!" Gary insisted.
Asahi stared at him.
Gary broke into a cold sweat.
Then, just as he was on the verge of breaking, Asahi suddenly grinned.
"Alright, then. Forget it."
He turned back to chat with Steven.
Gary, relieved that Asahi had dropped the subject, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
That was close…
If Asahi ever found out how he had been ranting about him on that forum…
He didn't even need to imagine it—he could already see his miserable future.
What Gary didn't notice was that, with his back turned, Asahi's lips curled into an amused smirk.