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At this moment, the "ordinary rock" Solidad was holding was, in fact, an Top-tier Moon Stone of immeasurable value.

Though it currently looked no different from a regular stone found by the roadside, under Sato's discerning eyes, its true nature was exposed without a trace.

...

Item Details — Moon Stone

Type: Evolutionary Item

Quality: Top-tier

Effect: Allows specific Pokémon to evolve and slightly improves their potential.

...

Unlike typical Evolution Stones, a Moon Stone appears utterly mundane during the day. However, when placed in darkness—or at night—it reveals its true brilliance.

To be honest, Sato hadn't expected to come across a Top-tier Moon Stone in such an unexpected manner.

Traveling and meeting other Trainers really was an excellent way to quickly increase one's strength. The very thing you've been tirelessly seeking may well be in someone else's hands. It's only by interacting with others that you get the chance to obtain what you truly desire.

In fact, the enormous Moon Stone protected by the Clefairy clan of Mt. Moon—Sato had only speculated it was of Top-tier quality. He never had full confidence in that assumption.

If his guess had turned out wrong, then even if he managed to locate that massive stone, it would've been entirely useless. But now, finally, there was hope—a way to resolve the difficult issue that had been troubling him for so long.

Of course, this was just hope—Sato wasn't naive enough to believe that this girl would really let him purchase such an incredibly valuable item with mere money.

From the moment Solidad Fujiwara had taken out the Moon Stone, Sato had already begun to deduce her true identity.

A Top-tier Moon Stone was not something one could just stumble upon in the wild. Solidad's claim that she'd received it after saving a Clefairy on Mt. Moon felt far too suspicious to him.

Clefairy were rare and precious Pokémon—even at Mt. Moon, encountering one wasn't easy. And given their adorable appearance, they would have massive appeal to a girl like Solidad, whose demeanor screamed "girlish affection."

Sato was sure that if Solidad had really encountered an injured Clefairy, her first reaction would've been to throw a PokeBall to catch it—then treat it.

As for saving it, releasing it, and being gifted a Top-tier Moon Stone in return—that sort of fantasy belonged in dreams, not reality.

Therefore, the most reasonable explanation for why this young Coordinator had such a valuable Moon Stone was that she had obtained it from someone else.

And judging by how casually she spoke of it earlier, Sato could be fairly sure the cost to her had been minimal. When she brought it up, her tone had been light and nonchalant—clearly, she didn't view it as anything special.

So the real question was: who would give someone like her such a precious Evolution Stone for almost nothing?

The answer came to Sato almost immediately: the Fujiwara family—a prominent clan that controlled most of the mines around Pewter City.

If Solidad was actually a high-ranking member of that family, it would explain everything. The stone could very well have been a gift from one of her elders.

After all, for the Fujiwaras—who held sway over a vast number of mineral-rich mountains near Pewter City—obtaining such a stone wouldn't be difficult at all.

However, some things still didn't sit right with Sato.

He and Solidad had never met before—and had only just been introduced. So why had she so suddenly pulled out such a priceless Moon Stone?

What exactly was her motive?

Could it be… she knew that Sato also carried valuable things on him?

But how could she know that?

What else was hidden about her identity?

A slew of questions swirled through Sato's mind. He began to feel slightly guarded toward the girl in front of him—who was very likely the precious daughter of the Fujiwaras.

Despite his suspicions, the fact remained: this Moon Stone was crucial to his Nidorino's evolution, possibly the key to elevating it to gold-tier ratings. No matter the risk—or cost—it was worth pursuing.

So Sato composed himself and communicated telepathically with the girl before him, who still wore an expression of innocent expectation.

[Please don't be alarmed, Miss Solidad. I'm the one speaking to you—telepathically.]

[To be frank, the quality of your Moon Stone is exceptional. It's precisely the kind I've been seeking. But it's also too valuable—far beyond what money alone could buy.]

[Truth be told, I don't believe in coincidences. If I'm not mistaken, Miss Solidad… you're the daughter of the Fujiwara family, aren't you?]

[Given that kind of background, possessing such a stone makes perfect sense. For a family that controls so many mines, acquiring a few of these wouldn't be a challenge.]

[So, I'll ask plainly—what do you want in exchange? You wouldn't offer something like this unless you hoped to get something in return. Whatever it is, as long as the value is fair, I'm open to trade.]

Once Sato had mentally sorted out the hidden implications, he transmitted his thoughts to Solidad through telepathy.

The sudden voice in her mind startled Solidad so much she almost cried out—but thanks to Sato's immediate clarification (and her own considerable self-control), she managed not to lose composure.

Still, she was deeply shaken.

She had never imagined that Sato was a psychic.

Just as Sato had suspected, Solidad was indeed the heiress of the Fujiwara family in Pewter City. And from an early age, she had been educated on how powerful and dangerous psychics could be.

She had been warned countless times by her elders: never provoke a powerful psychic. Doing so could easily result in her own death.

After all, to a psychic, an ordinary human was laughably weak. Killing someone without a trace would be almost trivial to them.

More importantly, she knew psychics could wield powers like telepathy, mind-reading, and hypnosis. In the face of such abilities, regular people had virtually no secrets.

Thinking back to the way she'd tried to manipulate Sato earlier, Solidad broke out in a cold sweat.

The truth was, her encounter with Sato hadn't been some happy accident—it had all been arranged by her. Her purpose: to get close to him and acquire something from him.

Solidad was meticulous in nature. She never acted without a detailed plan. Using the resources of the Fujiwara family, she had easily gathered background information on Sato.

According to her intel, Sato was just a lucky civilian Trainer who had stumbled into the profession. He'd only been active for a few month, and he had no known background or backing.

That's why—even though she'd been impressed by his insight back in the waiting area—she hadn't taken him too seriously.

Had she known that Sato was a psychic, she never would've come alone.

A psychic Trainer who had awakened their powers was destined for greatness, no matter how humble their origins.

For an average Trainer, a few months might barely be enough to graduate from "rookie" status.

But for a highly intelligent psychic with incredible abilities, a few months could be enough to rise to a level most Trainers could only look up to.

Now, remembering how precise Sato's predictions had been back in the waiting area, Solidad realized he hadn't been guessing—he had the strength and skill to back it up.

At this moment, she was immensely grateful that she hadn't tried to deceive or harm him. If she had, the consequences would've been… unthinkable.

Being targeted by a powerful psychic Trainer would be a disaster for any normal person.

"I… I've truly overstepped, Mr. Sato. Please forgive my boldness. I meant no harm," Solidad stammered nervously.

"I only wanted to get close to you because… I was hoping to purchase some high-quality PokeBlocks."

"I swear—everything I know came directly from Master Wallace. He even gave me your contact number. I tried to reach you, but your number was never in service."

"I never imagined I'd run into you at the airport today, so I took a gamble. But I swear—I had no ill intent. I just wanted to buy some of those gem-like PokeBlocks Master Wallace showed me…"

Now that she knew Sato was a psychic, Solidad was in full panic. Her mind scrambled, and she ended up blurting out all her intentions in one breath.