"Meow!"
The fleeing Meowth let out a sharp cry as a sudden burst of flames erupted from its body, leaving it singed and covered in soot.
Terrified, Meowth hastily tossed away the Flame Orb and bolted deeper into the burrow without looking back.
Relying on its incredible speed and its innocent, harmless appearance, Meowth had always enjoyed stealing items from other Pokémon.
Not only did this allow it to eat well effortlessly, but it also greatly satisfied its obsession with collecting shiny objects.
Meowth initially thought today's haul was exceptional. Both the shimmering Silver Powder and the fiery red orb had made it ecstatic.
But it had never expected that the fire-red orb would automatically release flames. Completely caught off guard, Meowth was burned, jolted in fright, and reflexively threw the orb away.
----
Seven or eight minutes later, Houndoom, following the lingering scent of Meowth, arrived at the spot where the Flame Orb had been discarded.
"Awooo!"
Houndoom excitedly reclaimed the Flame Orb. The joy of recovering what was lost made it wag its tail enthusiastically.
Seeing the Flame Orb simply lying on the ground, Sato quickly pieced together what had happened.
Flame Orbs weren't something just any Pokémon could held. Aside from Fire-type Pokémon and those with the Water Veil ability, any other Pokémon that held a Flame Orb would suffer from a burn!
Now that the Flame Orb had been recovered, Sato didn't want his Pokémon to continue searching in vain, so he mounted Houndoom and prepared to head back immediately.
"Wait!"
"Hmm?" Houndoom stopped and turned to look at its trainer. For some reason, it had a feeling that something big was about to happen!
"Houndoom, can you still track Meowth's scent?"
Houndoom nodded. Not only had Meowth not tried to mask its scent, but the Flame Orb itself was still tainted with the smell of burnt fur.
It was absolutely awful! Hmm… I'll definitely have to clean the Flame Orb thoroughly when we get back, Houndoom thought to itself as its mind wandered.
"Let's go! We're tracking down Meowth!"
Houndoom's ears perked up, and it let out an excited howl. It knew Sato wanted to return quickly, so it hadn't protested.
But now that Sato was taking the initiative to go after Meowth, it was more than happy to oblige!
Houndoom's tracking speed increased, its direction becoming more precise. A few minutes later, trainer and Pokémon stopped at the base of a large, sturdy tree.
"Awooo!"
Houndoom howled loudly at the tree, startling a large group of Pidgey that had already settled in for the night.
---
Inside the tree hollow, Meowth had just finished eating a Rawst Berry to heal its burn. It was happily admiring the day's haul: a pouch of glistening Silver Powder.
But suddenly, a deafening howl echoed from below, scaring it so badly that it nearly dropped the Silver Powder.
Meowth cautiously poked its head out of the hollow and immediately spotted Houndoom standing below!
"Meowth!"
Meowth yowled angrily. The reason it got burned in the first place was because of this troublesome Pokémon's item!
I wasn't even going to look for you, and yet you came after me?! Meowth was so furious that it leaped straight down from the tree.
But mid-air, a thought suddenly struck it.
Wait… I… probably… can't win against this bad guy!
"Meow!"
Panicking, Meowth flailed its limbs wildly, trying to grab onto something to stop its descent. It had already seen the amused glint in Houndoom's eyes... this was terrifying!
Boom!
The dark night was suddenly illuminated by a blazing inferno, and Meowth's wide, frightened eyes reflected the glow of the flames!
Flames roared as Houndoom's Fire Blast struck mid-air, hitting Meowth directly!
A one-hit knockout!
Fueled by its burning anger, Houndoom's Fire Blast naturally activated the boost from the Flame Orb, making it even more powerful!
And Meowth… simply wasn't that strong.
"Awooo!"
With a night full of emotional highs and lows, Houndoom let out a long, satisfied howl, once again startling a flock of skittish Pidgey.
Meanwhile, Sato had already climbed the tree on his own, finding Meowth's hidden hollow.
"As I expected!"
With a pleased expression, Sato reached in and began rummaging through the contents of the hollow.
"Silver Powder? Not bad!"
The first thing he found was placed right at the entrance of the hollow, easy to grab.
Silver Powder could boost the power of Bug-type moves. If Ariados didn't want it, Sato could use it to compensate Pupitar for its Mimicry Training expenses.
Time to dig deeper!
"Gold Nugget!"
"Water Stone!"
"Oran Berry!"
"Light Clay!"
"Pearl!"
"Star Piece!"
"Wait… this is… a Mega Stone!"
Sato stared at the mysterious, glass-like marble in his hand, both shocked and thrilled.
From what he knew, it would take more than a decade before Mega Evolution would gradually spread from the Kalos region. But once it did, it caused a massive sensation!
Allowing certain Pokémon to break through their limits and gain immense power, even if only for a short duration, was enough to drive countless trainers, who had been stuck in their progress for years, into a frenzy.
And now, he had just found a Mega Stone… in a wild Meowth's hoard!
Excitement? No... this was pure euphoria!
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Sato felt his Dark Aura surge restlessly within him, as an intense feeling of excitement pulsed from deep inside, directly linked to the Mega Stone in his hand!
"This means… this Mega Stone is most likely meant for a Dark-type Pokémon!"
In his past life, Sato had known about Mega Stones, but due to their extreme rarity, he had never had the chance to properly understand them.
If he had, perhaps he would already know which Pokémon this Mega Stone belonged to.
If it was compatible with one of his current partners, that would be ideal. If not… Sato would go to any lengths to capture the right Pokémon for it!
Sell it? Not a chance. Not in this lifetime!
"Let's go back!"
After thoroughly searching every inch of the tree hollow and finding nothing else, Sato jumped down, mounted Houndoom, and rushed back to camp at full speed.
Half an hour later, all of his Pokémon had been called back to camp, except for Sharpedo and Houndoom, who remained with him.
"I want you both to try sensing the energy within this stone."
Houndoom and Sharpedo exchanged glances, uncertain about Sato's intentions. Still, they obediently focused their eyes on the Mega Stone.
A long moment passed.
Nothing happened.
Neither the Pokémon nor the Mega Stone showed any reaction.
Unwilling to give up, Sato pressed the Mega Stone against Sharpedo's body.
"Do you feel anything strange?"
Sharpedo quietly concentrated for a while, then shook its head.
"What about you?" Sato moved the Mega Stone to Houndoom.
"Woof…"
Houndoom also shook its head. Even as intelligent as it was, it had no idea what Sato was trying to do.
"I really hope… this belongs to Tyranitar."
Sato clenched the Mega Stone tightly, his voice filled with anticipation and nervousness.