Chapter 494:

"Mega Evolution, Mega Stones, Keystones..."

June 4th.

Under the blazing sun, Kaede began to ponder the matter of the ley lines.

After obtaining Zoroark’s memories, he understood that the legendary energy of the ley lines probably wasn’t a falsehood.

Because back when Zoroark and that young man were trying to stop the other party from excavating the earth and stones, there were some stones whose appearance Zoroark remembered.

One of them was a Garchompite.

It was embedded in the rock layer, gleaming brightly. Any normal person would know that this thing was definitely unusual. But knowing was one thing; how to utilize it was another matter entirely.

In the current Eastova Region... no, in the entire Pokémon world, Mega Evolution should still be a concept without any leads.

Ash’s journey hasn’t been long past the Johto region yet, and it’s unclear if the Silver Conference has even been held.

Therefore, in the Kalos region, information about Mega Evolution most likely hasn’t surfaced yet, though research might have already begun.

These aren’t the key points...

The key point is that beneath the northeastern area of the Eastova Region, there are large quantities of Mega Stones.

And these so-called Mega Stones might be connected to the ley lines; the two could be greatly related. For example, the ley line energy nourished the Mega Stone veins, or perhaps they aren’t related at all, simply coexisting in the same place.

But large-scale, unrestricted mining, or destructive extraction, would damage the local ley lines.

These are all possibilities.

And... what’s interesting is...

Back when Zoroark and its Trainer were stopping that organization, the other party was conducting the mining in a formal, legal, and reasonable manner.

Over a decade ago in the Eastova Region, the Champion wasn’t Kazephyr yet, but a man named Logan.

When faced with a conflict between ancient legends and development/economic exploitation, the League’s choice at the time was development and economic growth.

So in that area, although it caused minor disturbances and dissatisfaction, it didn’t create significant public backlash at the time.

However...

The appearance of Mega Stones was seen by quite a few people back then.

Even though most of these people were ordinary citizens, unlikely to take a great interest in such stones.

But... once the information leaks, there will always be someone who becomes curious about them, or develops strange ideas like collecting them.

For example, a certain nobleman in the Hoenn region has an irresistible obsession with such stones.

If it’s just collecting, that’s fine. But what if someone digs deeper!?

Kaede shook his head.

Although it’s far away now, and Kazephyr has clearly enacted policies prioritizing respect for regional legends over development when conflicts arise, making forced requisition or extraction illegal.

If such a disaster were to replay, it would be a tragedy for the entire Eastova Region.

"After Mew returns, I should go take a look too..."

Kaede thought to himself.

Another image came to mind.

That of Celebi.

Celebi would be flying behind him...

Which means, in the future, he would most likely encounter Celebi.

Of course, it could also be Celebi transformed by Mew... that’s also possible.

There’s one question worth pondering here.

Celebi... Possesses the ability to travel through time. It could bring Zoroark from the distant past to the present, which means it could also take it back.

But even if it takes it back... what then?

In the normal timeline, what happened is that Zoroark’s Trainer has already died. Even if it goes back to that era, what it witnesses would still be the deceased Trainer. Unless it travels further back to change history.

But the consequences of that are unpredictable.

From the perspective of temporal integrity, Kaede naturally hoped to avoid tampering.

"Gardevoir..."

Gardevoir’s arrival interrupted Kaede’s train of thought.

"Is Mew back?" Kaede asked instinctively.

He received a head shake from Gardevoir. "Gardevoir..." (It’s not Mew.)

"Gardevoir..." (It’s Dr. Lake. He’s here and seems to have some matters to discuss with you.)

"Oh, I’ll head over right away."

Kaede wasn’t surprised. Every so often, the town’s professor would take one of Pidgeot’s feathers to record its growth data. That was normal.

Leading the now-gigantic Pidgeot—like a divine roc—to the villa’s entrance, sure enough, Dr. Lake stood outside. Beside him, as usual, was his granddaughter, Mona. This purple-haired girl, after failing to challenge him successfully the first time, had followed along every time the professor visited since.

Like a child tagging along with their parents on a visit.

However, this time, there was another person with them.

This made Kaede pause.

Because this person’s image often appeared on television.

He was the renowned Eastova Region professor in the fields of Pokémon strength and evolutionary theory — Dr. Rosen.

"Good morning, Kaede."

"Good morning..."

"Good morning..." The once-haughty Mona, now standing behind her grandfather, greeted him in a crisp voice.

After the greetings, Kaede directly turned his gaze to the newly arrived professor.

If Dr. Lake was around the same age as Professor Oak, then this Dr. Rosen was much younger, probably only in his late twenties, making him a very young professor in the Eastova Region.

"This is Dr. Rosen, the evolutionary studies professor who often appears on the TV programs about Pokémon evolution. Also, he’s my former student."

Dr. Lake introduced Rosen first.

Kaede nodded.

Rosen’s first glance fell on the Pidgeot following behind Kaede. He couldn’t help but adjust his glasses, exclaiming in awe, "My goodness! It’s grown even larger since the competition! No wonder my teacher chose to establish his research outpost here."

Nowadays, no one could see Pidgeot without marveling, because it was simply too big.

It was nearly three times the height of a standard Pidgeot.

Standing outside, it was taller than a single-story house, with a wingspan close to ten meters!

A single dive would scare the soul out of an ordinary Caterpie.

This was also why Pidgeot, as the flock leader, found it inconvenient to go out now—it easily disturbed the wild Pokémon.

Unless it shrank.

After his initial exclamation, the young Professor turned his attention to Kaede and explained his purpose. "My apologies, Kaede. Actually, I often watch the videos on your channel. The reason I’m here is to inquire about... your Eeveelution..."

"Sylveon?"