Once Grovyle evolves into Sceptile, Kalia plans to visit the meteor crater to search for those vibrant Meteorite Shards. Upon finding them, she can send samples to Professor Evergreen, contributing to his research.
Early in the morning, Kalia wakes up promptly, freshens up, and after breakfast, heads towards Rockcliff City's meteor crater.
Lian follows closely behind Kalia. With his increased Stamina, his size has grown again, but fortunately, it seems Kalia hasn't noticed—or perhaps she has, but simply takes it in stride.
The streets of Rockcliff City are wide, allowing Lian to walk comfortably even with his wings folded, without causing any congestion.
Swishing his tail, Lian observes the bustling streets where numerous people stroll with their Pokemon, showcasing harmonious human-Pokemon interactions.
"Chik!"
Torchic wriggles free from Kalia's arms, jumping down onto the ground. Despite two days passing, Torchic still hasn't evolved, likely due to a lack of battles against equally matched opponents.
However, most Pokemon near Rockcliff City are significantly stronger than Torchic, making suitable matches hard to find. If the opponent is too powerful, Torchic might be defeated before it could effectively engage, potentially demoralizing it.
This Torchic had immense potential; with its Acceleration Ability, it was destined to become an exceptional high-speed physical attacker.
As Torchic walked ahead, it suddenly glanced back at Lian. It could sense the terrifying aura of flames emanating from him, an overwhelming power that it couldn't currently challenge.
Torchic's gaze towards Lian held both fear and determination, as if setting defeating him as its ultimate goal.
"Torchic, you're still far from being a match for Charizard. You need to evolve quickly," Kalia said with a smile, hoping to motivate Torchic for faster evolution.
"Chii-chik!" Torchic seemed filled with determination.
The meteor crater was located near a canyon in Rockcliff City, which has been the most frequent site of meteor falls over the past decade. Fortunately, the fallen meteors have all been relatively small; otherwise, Rockcliff City might have turned into ruins by now.
There is a legend suggesting that Pokemon originated from outer space, although this theory remains unproven. Given that Pokemon have existed since ancient times, the vast span of history makes it difficult to verify such claims.
Rockcliff City predominantly features mountainous terrain. After walking for some time, Lian decided to take Kalia airborne, swiftly heading towards the meteor crater.
Rockcliff City had multiple meteor craters, varying in size. Currently, Kalia was heading to the largest one near a canyon.
From afar, Lian spotted the massive crater with a wide and deep expanse, imagining the immense power of the meteor's impact upon its descent.
Lian halted at the edge of the crater while Kalia jumped down, gazing inward. A few people were already milling around nearby, drawn by curiosity as it presented a remarkable sight.
"Let's go explore," said Kalia. The vastness of the crater made finding scattered Meteorite Shards quite challenging, but since this was Professor Evergreen's assignment, she aimed to complete it diligently.
If the research on the alternative potential within Pokemon, mentioned by Professor Evergreen, proved successful, Kalia could potentially be among the first beneficiaries, possibly even the very first.
The crater floor consisted mainly of sandy soil and smooth debris; cautiously, Kalia descended step by step, knowing that Meteorite Shards typically lie deeper below.
From a distance, the entire meteor crater resembled a giant bowl as Kalia slowly ventured downward.
Lian flapped his wings and descended towards the bottom of the meteor crater, diligently scanning the ground for any Meteorite Shards.
Once Kalia reached the relatively flat area at the base, she meticulously searched.
However, after some time, she found nothing.
"It seems this place has already been thoroughly explored," Kalia frowned, realizing that locating such a specific meteorite might not be as easy as anticipated.
"Charizard, let's check out the other meteor craters," Kalia suggested to Lian, having no luck thus far.
Lian continued carrying Kalia, flying towards the next meteor crater. Some were small, while others were significantly larger.
Despite their efforts, Kalia still hadn't found any Meteorite Shards. Just as they were about to give up, fate intervened with an unexpected discovery.
The vicinity around the meteor craters was inhabited, albeit sparsely due to its distance from Rockcliff City's urban center. Most residents here lived modestly, bordering on poverty.
After climbing out of the last meteor crater, Kalia didn't rush to leave. With no success so far, she felt reluctant to return empty-handed.
Suddenly, a round stone hurtled towards her from afar. Kalia swiftly dodged it and turned to see a mischievous child throwing stones.
Feeling somewhat angry as it nearly hit her, Kalia picked up the round stone and approached the mischievous child, intending to teach him a lesson.
As she examined the smooth rock, it seemed familiar. Upon closer inspection, she realized it closely resembled the colorful Meteorite Shards found nearby.
"Of course! If someone took the Meteorite Shards, the local residents are most likely responsible. How didn't I think of that earlier?" Kalia felt quite foolish for not considering this possibility sooner.
Despite her young age, the mischievous child appeared to be only around seven or eight years old. As Kalia walked towards him, her initial intention to discipline him gradually faded away.
The Meteorite Shards were more important at this moment; obtaining even one would make the effort worthwhile.
Seeing Kalia approach, the child timidly stepped back but then showed curiosity upon noticing Charizard beside her.
In reality, many people in this world cannot become Trainers due to financial constraints. Struggling to support themselves, let alone afford the cost of raising Pokemon, they simply lack the means.
Therefore, most individuals aren't Trainers; instead, they may keep a few Pokemon as pets at most.
Kalia wasn't surprised by the boy's reaction to Charizard; after all, Charizards are immensely popular and well-known in the Sebas region. Judging from his attire, it seemed evident that he came from a poor family living on the outskirts of Rockcliff City.
Holding up the round, colorful stone, Kalia asked, "Hello, could you please tell me where you found these stones?"
The mischievous kid glanced at the stone in Kalia's hand and exclaimed loudly, "I polished this myself! It's mine, give it back."
Lian sensed that if he weren't standing beside Kalia, the boy might have already tried to snatch it away.
He considered scaring the child but decided against it, fearing he might go too far. After all, even a casual breath of fire from him now would be incredibly powerful.
"I can buy these stones from you. How many do you have?" Kalia had some spare cash with her - not much, around a thousand Alliance Coins, which should be sufficient for purchasing Meteorite Shards.
As she spoke, Kalia took out one thousand Alliance Coins, in paper form, convenient for carrying.
Seeing such a large sum, the boy's eyes lit up. "Wow, so much money! Do you really want to buy these stones?"
Kalia nodded, observing that the mischievous child seemed to have quite a few of these stones, which was perfect.
"Follow me," the child said after a moment's thought, heading towards a distant location. Kalia trailed behind.