Steven looked at his Mega Metagross, and for a brief moment, he felt a deep, almost overwhelming connection with it.

It was different from anything he had ever experienced. As if he could truly feel Metagross's power flowing through him.

After a few seconds, the connection faded slightly, and Steven turned to Alex.

he said quietly. "Alex…, You're really a good friend."

Alex just smiled lightly. "Don't get so emotional, It would feel wrong not to show you this after you helped me collect so many Key Stones and Mega Stones."

Steven looked at Alex. "Oh, now that you mention it, take the four stones I collected for you. I'll find a suitable one for Metagross myself."

Alex gave him a sarcastic look. "You really are a sucker through and through. Keep the stones you bought yourself. I already have more than enough Mega Stones and Key Stones."

Steven paused for a moment. From Alex's tone alone, he knew there was no point insisting. Still, something about that answer made him feel that Alex was truly a real friend—and that his trust in him hadn't been misplaced.

Alex, who knew Steven well enough, snorted. "Don't start crying just because I turned down your stupid offer."

After a short pause, his expression became a little more serious. "But there is something important. Only use Mega Evolution if your life is in danger—and don't tell anyone about it. I want to keep it a secret at least until I reach Champion level myself."

Steven's expression turned serious as well. "I understand. I won't use it without your permission."

Alex nodded, then added casually, "I mean it, Steven. Really use it if you or your Pokémon are in real danger… unless you want to lose a Pokémon like I did."

Steven froze.

His gaze instinctively moved over Alex's team—and when he noticed that Bastiodon wasn't there, he immediately understood.

Shock spread across his face. He had never imagined something like that could happen to Alex.

Most Pokémon deaths happened below the elite level. For mid- and late-elite trainers, losing a Pokémon was extremely rare case. It is more likely that the trainer himself dies or that the trainer and all his Pokemon die at the same time than that a single Pokemon dies.

"Alex…" he said quietly, "how did this happen?"

Alex only glanced at him before looking away. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. It's been months, and how it happened isn't important."

He paused briefly, then added in a calmer tone, "I only mentioned it because I don't want you to make the same mistake. Don't underestimate how easily a Pokémon can die… even at a very high level."

Steven looked into Alex's slightly vacant eyes and, for a moment, didn't know what to say.

After a few seconds, Steven let out a small breath and said, "Want to grab a drink together?"

Alex glanced at him, then gave a slight nod. "Sounds good."

…

One week later, Petalburg City.

Alex stood in front of the Petalburg Gym, his gaze resting on the large building in front of him. Today, he would challenge it for an S-rank badge.

The Petalburg Gym was one of the eight Main Gyms and specialized in Normal-type Pokémon. Its leader, Norman, was one of the few Gym Leaders whose strength matched Alex's current level.

Most of the others were either too strong or too weak.

Alex had no interest in an easy victory. If he was going to challenge a Main Gym at S-rank, he wanted a real fight. That was why he had chosen Norman, even though Norman's Pokémon were slightly higher leveled on average.

He only looked at the levels of Norman's Pokémon from his last S-rank badge match. There he saw that Norman's highest-level Pokémon was only level 59. That was good enough.

The match had already been arranged—and, like most S-rank battles, it would be broadcast. S-rank matches are less frequent than A or B-rank badge matches, so they are almost always broadcast.

And because Alex had gained quite a bit of attention recently, this battle would even be aired on one of the biggest TV channels in Hoenn.

Alex had deliberately avoided gathering too much detailed information about Norman's team. He wanted the challenge to feel real, not be a easy win for him.

Still, he knew a few things.

Norman was in his late thirties and had been training Pokémon for over twenty years. He was widely considered a solid but unremarkable trainer.

Strong—yes.

Talented—debatable.

He had reached the late-elite level, but no one believed he would ever step into the ranks of the Elite Four. His potential was already considered maxed out.

This was likely his peak. For many trainers, that made him relatable.

Norman—and to some extent Wattson as well—represented a level of strength that felt attainable.

Especially Norman. He was known for something rather unusual: none of his Pokémon had been born with S-rank potential.

Not a single one. That fact always stood out.

As a Gym Leader, he definitely had the resources to obtain at least one born S-rank Pokémon if he truly wanted to. But for whatever reason, he had never done so.

Instead, his entire team consisted of Pokémon with born A-rank potential Pokemon.

That made him… grounded. Real.

For most normal trainers—who never even came close to owning an born or normal S-rank Pokémon—Norman was someone they could relate to.

Someone they could realistically imagine becoming and maybe that was exactly why he had chosen that path.

So even though most trainers don't even have Pokémon with born A-rank potential, Norman was still the Gym Leader who felt the most attainable to them.

Alex didn't agree with Norman's approach—but he could probably understand why Norman did it. He had seen something similar himself.

Crobat, Scizor, Gardevoir—and especially Ditto—had all felt the pressure when they realized they were falling behind in leveling speed because of their potential.

That quiet frustration… it wasn't something most trainers noticed, but Alex had.

He had only managed to solve it by raising their potential to SS-rank, allowing them to keep up with the rest of his team.

But that solution had come at a ridiculous cost. An amount of money that only someone like him—or someone like Steven—could realistically afford.

For most trainers, that simply wasn't an option.

So maybe Norman had made a different choice. Instead of chasing higher potential and he built his team around Pokémon that would grow steadily together.

No gaps or inferiority. No silent competition.

Or maybe… there was another reason for Norman's action. Alex wasn't sure if that was really the reason.

*******

if the story gets 100 powerstones in 24 hours, I will upload 1 bonus chapter tomorrow.

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