Maki had been thinking about the Mega Stone for a long time, and sure enough, it existed. Among all these stones, this was undoubtedly the most valuable one.
Or rather, was there any stone more valuable than a Mega Stone? The only things Maki could think of were items related to Legendary Pokémon, but even for Team Rocket, such things were often nothing more than a distant dream.
Maki was the first to pick up the Mega Stone, carefully examining it under his gaze. However, even for him, identifying the exact type of a Mega Stone was no easy feat. Firstly, Mega Stones were incredibly rare—even he couldn't afford to have one in his hands every day. Even Giovanni wasn't that extravagant!
The second reason was that Mega Stones bore striking resemblances to one another. Many of them had only the slightest variations in color, making it extremely difficult to distinguish between them with the naked eye.
The one in his hand had a soft pink hue, which at a glance ruled out the possibility of it belonging to Charizard.
After all, Charizard's Mega Stones had distinctly recognizable colors. If Maki remembered correctly, one had a bluish tint, while the other leaned toward red—both reflecting Charizard's Mega Evolution forms.
This one, however, was clearly different.
Regardless, Maki decided to pocket the Mega Stone for now. After all, among his Pokémon, there were still two capable of Mega Evolution. He could experiment with it later.
After storing the Mega Stone away, Maki's attention shifted to another stone.
This one was primarily spherical, with several protruding edges along its surface. Its color was a deep, sun-like crimson red.
A Sun Stone! And judging by its quality, it was one of the finest.
Maki weighed the Sun Stone in his hand, feeling an unusual heft to it. There was even a faint warmth radiating from within.
A Sun Stone—an essential item for Cottonee's evolution. And considering this one was of the highest quality, there was no doubt about its rarity.
Although it couldn't compare to Key Stones or Mega Stones in sheer exclusivity, it wasn't too far behind either.
In fact, among the collection that Malamar had gathered, this wasn't the only Sun Stone. There were three of moderate quality, one of high quality, and this one—by far the best of the lot.
Something is definitely off about this secret realm.
First, the bizarre environment. Then, the presence of both a Key Stone and a Mega Stone. Now, a Sun Stone of exceptional quality. It was impossible for Maki not to have suspicions.
And speaking of the sun... A thought flashed through Maki's mind—Solgaleo, the Legendary Pokémon of Alola.
Since ancient times, Solgaleo had been known as either the "Emissary of the Sun" or the "Beast That Devours the Sun." These two seemingly contradictory titles were both closely tied to the sun itself.
Could this secret realm be related to Solgaleo?
Given that he had been transported here via an Ultra Wormhole—just like Professor Mohn—Maki felt that the likelihood was quite high. Perhaps this remote island wasn't as ordinary as it seemed.
Without dwelling on it any further, Maki gathered his Pokémon and left the area, taking stock of their haul along the way.
Reaching a more open clearing, he decided to test whether the Mega Stone belonged to either Mawile or Absol.
Unfortunately, both Pokémon shook their heads the moment they received the stone, showing no signs of resonance.
By all logic, if the Mega Stone were meant for them, they would have sensed something. Maki sighed—seemed his luck wasn't that ridiculous after all.
Still unwilling to give up, he decided to let Charmeleon take a look—just in case he had misremembered the colors of Charizard's Mega Stones.
The result was no different. Even after holding onto the stone for a while, Charmeleon simply shook its head.
At this point, Maki finally gave up.
But he still wasn't finished. Releasing Malamar from its Poké Ball, he held up the Mega Stone with a cold glare.
"Where did you pick this thing up?"
Malamar flinched in fear before quickly answering honestly.
It vaguely remembered this stone, as its appearance was indeed quite distinct.
Malamar had found it deep within the secret realm, inside a volcanic area. And according to its account, there were more of these stones in that location.
"Oh, really~?"
Maki's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. He wasn't about to believe Malamar so easily. Instead, he stared at it with narrowed eyes. Malamar, however, nodded frantically, insisting that it had indeed seen similar stones in that area.
Maki didn't bother with further questioning. Instead, he called over Mawile and Cottonee.
"Cottonee, use Helping Hand. Mawile, you—just beat the living daylights out of him."
Maki spoke bluntly, treating Malamar as if it were a fool. Did it really think he'd fall for such a convenient story? If it had truly seen these stones before, why hadn't it grabbed more?
If Malamar was telling the truth, then fine—he didn't care. After all, this Pokémon wasn't exactly a saint. A beating wouldn't hurt.
"If this thing dares to fight back, all of you join in," Maki added, turning to the Florges standing nearby.
After all, Malamar was fairly strong. If it resisted, Mawile might not be able to handle it alone.
Besides, with the Florges around, if Mawile got tired, they could just heal it up with Floral Healing and let it continue. It was a flawless plan.
Malamar wanted to cry. It had finally seen what true ruthlessness looked like. No hesitation—just straight to the beating.
Under the watchful eyes of the Florges, Malamar had no choice but to suppress its urge to fight back and let Mawile and Cottonee pin it down and pummel it.
"Graaah!"
After taking a severe beating, Malamar finally spilled the truth.
It had indeed found the Mega Stone in the volcano. There was even another similar one there. However, that stone was being guarded by a powerful Magmar, and Malamar hadn't dared to approach—let alone steal it.
Seeing how fiercely the Magmar had protected that stone, Malamar had assumed it was a valuable treasure. But after putting in all the effort to bring one back, it turned out to be useless—just a glowing rock. So, it had tossed it into its collection of random items.
"A strong Magmar, huh…?"
Maki fell into deep thought. Malamar let out a sigh of relief. Now that it had told the truth, surely it would be spared, right?
"Mawile, keep going. Don't stop."
Malamar's eyes widened in disbelief. It had already confessed—why wasn't it being let off the hook?
"This bastard just tried to trick me earlier," Maki said coldly. "Beat it to a pulp."
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