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After a day of rest, Steven continued his journey.
Walking along Route 111, north of Mauville City, his next destination was the Fire-type Gym in Lavaridge Town.
Gym battles were becoming increasingly difficult.
They said starting with Charmander in the Kanto Region was hell mode, so wouldn't starting with a Steel-type in the Hoenn Region be inferno mode?
During these past few days on the road, Steven had truly witnessed the intensity of Skarmory's training.
Lairon would rest for half an hour, while Skarmory would rest for only ten minutes, training as if its life depended on it.
If Steven hadn't stopped it, he genuinely feared that Skarmory might collapse from overtraining one day.
"After you encounter the desert, head west, and you'll reach Fiery Path..."
Steven looked at the map on his navigator, then turned to Metagross, who was still studying a book beside him.
"Metagross, fly up high and see if there's a desert not far from here."
"Metagross." Metagross nodded, closed its book, and flew upward.
Over the past several days, Metagross was already nearing the end of the book it was reading. Its learning ability was truly impressive.
It landed shortly after, nodding to Steven.
"Then let's pick up the pace a bit."
Though he said that, Steven's walking speed only increased slightly.
From spotting the desert to reaching the rift valley, it still took almost half an hour.
As long as they passed through the gap in the middle of the rift valley, they could reach the desert on the other side.
"It's so hot." Steven was wearing a loose white t-shirt, and sweat dripped down his face in steady streams.
It made sense—there was a 1,500-meter-tall volcano nearby. It was natural for the surroundings to be sweltering.
"Hey, Metagross."
"Metagross?"
"Is there a stone tower in the sandstorm?"
"Metagross."
Metagross focused its gaze, then nodded.
Memories from his past life seemed to be activated, reminding Steven of this stone tower in the sandstorm.
This was a structure called the Mirage Tower, which appeared in this desert irregularly.
It was very mysterious, with no recorded information about it.
There were also rumors from some eyewitnesses that it contained a huge treasure.
Because no one knew when it appeared or disappeared, the Mirage Tower's existence wasn't marked on maps.
"What a rare sight—the Mirage Tower..."
To say he didn't want to go would be a lie.
This was a mysterious tall tower that had existed for an unknown number of years.
Steven wasn't particularly interested in the treasure inside the tower, unless... the treasure consisted of various rare stones!
No matter what, a mysterious tall tower that had existed for so long surely contained many interesting stones!
Steven glanced at Metagross. If worst came to worst, Metagross should be able to carry him out.
"But what if the Mirage Tower suddenly disappears? Will I be trapped inside until it reappears?"
Furthermore, what if it was empty inside, with nothing at all? Wouldn't that be a huge waste of time?
The risk and reward seemed completely disproportionate.
"But wouldn't it be a shame if I didn't go see?"
Steven hesitated for a few minutes, ultimately deciding to go inside and take a look.
"Let's go, Metagross! We're going to see the legendary Mirage Tower!"
"Metagross!" Metagross nodded.
No matter what decision Steven made, it would follow him, standing before him.
It was Steven's strongest shield!
Steven and Metagross passed through the rift valley. Looking at the flying sand everywhere, Steven said to Metagross:
"Use Psychic to block the sandstorm."
"Metagross." Metagross nodded, and blue light ignited in its eyes.
Steven walked on the desert ground, and the flying sand would be deflected when it approached him.
To save time and walk faster, Steven had Metagross carry him to the base of the Mirage Tower.
Looking at the tall, ancient, and majestic Mirage Tower, Steven couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Metagross, open the door!"
The Mirage Tower's stone door was too large. If Steven could push it open himself, he could arm wrestle with a Machamp.
Of course, only arm wrestle.
Rumble—
Metagross pushed open the heavy stone door.
Steven stepped inside the tower, and he had to admit—the tower was indeed very empty.
So empty that there were only stone pillars and stairs. There was nothing on the first floor.
"Don't tell me this tower is actually empty?" Steven's eye twitched.
Why was his prediction so accurate?
The worst-case scenario was already half-confirmed. The other half would be the Mirage Tower disappearing and trapping him inside.
"Hm?" Steven exclaimed in surprise.
On the floor of the first level inside the tower, there were many messy footprints.
These footprints were very clear, seemingly left about half an hour ago.
"Did an exploration team also discover the Mirage Tower?" Steven pondered. Most people might not have the courage to enter such a mysterious tall tower.
However, exploration teams who loved adventure would be highly likely to do so.
"Let's go, Metagross. Let's check out the second floor."
"Metagross!"
The first floor was so vast that Steven's words to Metagross echoed throughout the space.
Steven stepped onto the spiraling staircase. The stone steps were quite sturdy.
There was no need to worry about them collapsing halfway through.
Moreover, there were many footprints on the stone steps, so walking on them alone wouldn't pose a risk of collapse.
The second floor of the Mirage Tower had much more than the first floor.
There were some table-like objects on the second floor with various marks on them.
It seemed something had been taken away.
Also, there were more broken rocks on the ground than on the first floor, and the walls were pitted and uneven.
Most likely, some precious stones had been embedded in the walls, which was why they were dug out.
Steven briefly glanced around the second floor. Valuable items seemed to have been taken away already.
Upon reaching the stairs leading to the third floor, Steven faintly heard knocking sounds from above.
It seemed the exploration team was currently digging for stones on the third floor.
"Let's go up and say hello, Metagross."
"Metagross!"
Finders keepers—I'll take whatever stones I can get.
The tower was so large, and there should be plenty of stones. If he took a few, the exploration team probably wouldn't mind.
However, judging by the situation on the second floor, this exploration team seemed more like a mining crew.
Steven was pondering how to negotiate smoothly to take a few stones. Lost in thought, he suddenly realized he had already arrived on the third floor.
On the third floor, instead of the imagined exploration team in work clothes, there was a group of people in dark red uniforms and black robes scavenging for treasure.
What kind of exploration team dressed like that?!
Steven quickly scanned the area. There were six people, and they didn't look like decent folk.
"Hey! Kid, this isn't where you should be! Get lost!" Someone quickly spotted Steven and roared.
His voice attracted the attention of the other five, who all showed fierce expressions.
It seemed Steven's appearance had angered them.
"Wait, the Pokémon next to him..."
Someone immediately noticed the Metagross beside Steven.
"A shiny Pokémon, and an extremely rare Metagross at that." The person who spoke showed a greedy expression.
"I didn't expect today's haul to be so bountiful."
Steven's expression gradually turned cold, his gaze sweeping over the six people present.
Their specific strength was unclear for now. If each of them had a team of Alpha-level Pokémon, he might be in serious trouble.
However, he was still at the stairwell, so escaping would be easy.
Steven's hand moved behind him, resting on Scyther's Poké Ball.
"Kid, you'd better be smart and hand over that Pokémon next to you!"
One of them took two steps forward, "kindly advising" him.
Steven remained silent. He would never hand over Metagross.
Moreover, their words had no credibility at all.
"You... you must be Pokémon Hunters, right?"
With these words and outfits, Steven recalled that the Pokémon Hunters he'd encountered before were similar.
"Oh, you know quite a lot, don't you? Then you definitely can't leave." The man chuckled maliciously.
"Eighth Brother, why are you talking so much to him?" Another person looked impatient. "Just take it by force."
"Third Brother, don't be so irritable. Don't we have to show some 'care' for the young ones?" Eighth Brother said with a grin.
"If the boss's mission goes wrong, you know what will happen, right?" The person standing at the very back stepped forward, pressing on Eighth Brother's shoulder as a reminder.
"Alright, alright, then let's all attack together and deal with him quickly." Eighth Brother shrugged and pulled out a Poké Ball.
Bang bang bang—
Six sounds rang out, and six Pokémon appeared simultaneously.
"This is really bad..." Steven sensed the strength of these Pokémon, and his expression gradually turned grim.
All six of these Pokémon were Alpha-level.
He could fight six alpha-level Pokémon.
However, it would be extremely difficult.
But if they had more than one main Pokémon each, even the Overlord-level Metagross and Scyther couldn't handle so many Alpha-level Pokémon at once.
Lairon and Skarmory together could probably only hold off one Alpha-level Pokémon.
The most correct choice right now was...
Run!