"Something's off, just as I thought!"
Gengar, looking excited, shifted its gaze from the Key Stone to a document it found on another table.
Gengar immediately pulled out a miniature camera from its belly. Ace had prepared this for Gengar because Gengar was often sent by Ace to search for items or information.
However, Gengar sometimes struggled to distinguish what was important from what wasn't. So, Ace simply bought a miniature camera from the system, allowing Gengar to photograph things so Ace could later assess their value.
Holding the camera, Gengar flipped open the document, photographing it page by page. After finishing, Gengar also photographed the entire room layout and the Key Stones, then swallowed the miniature camera back into its belly.
Transforming back into a shadow, Gengar returned the way it came. It didn't take long before it reappeared in Ace's shadow, poking the sole of Ace's shoe with its hand.
This was their secret signal, indicating Gengar had found something.
At this moment, Ace and the others were in a laboratory. Ace's smartwatch had been given to the researchers, who were analyzing its map and navigation functions to record and back them up.
If all went as expected, they would later use this technology to launch a Pokémon navigator.
However, for Ace, this was irrelevant. Being able to profit from items obtained from the system was quite good.
As for why he didn't use gold to buy rare items and then sell them for League Coins:
Ace just wanted to say that in terms of value, gold's purchasing power far exceeded that of League Coins.
Moreover, there were too many good things in the system store. Given Ace's current small treasury, buying everything he wanted was unrealistic.
To put it simply, unless Ace had so much gold he couldn't spend it all, hoarding gold to buy better items was much more appealing than making money by reselling goods.
Originally, Mr. Stone wanted to borrow Ace's smartwatch for a day, but he didn't expect the technology to be low-tech enough that it only took three hours to copy, and after some testing, it was basically operational.
However, Mr. Stone didn't make Ace refund the money. Instead, he "enthusiastically" kept Ace there, intending to treat him to a meal.
Ace naturally understood his intentions, so he didn't stand on ceremony.
Mr. Stone took Ace to a very nice hotel. Ace, aiming to make the big spender pay through the nose, directly ordered all the most expensive dishes on the menu.
Then, under Mr. Stone's slightly twitching eye, after handing the menu to the waitress, Ace held up two fingers and said, "Two portions of everything. I'm used to eating with my Pokémon."
The waitress was also a bit stunned. She looked at Mr. Stone, who nodded, and the waitress quickly left.
Ace then released his Pokémon, preparing to eat with them.
Of course, Ace wouldn't be so foolish as to release all his Pokémon. Only Crobat, Victreebel, Blastoise, and Lapras were let out; the others weren't released at all.
Mr. Stone's eyes lit up slightly as he watched the Pokémon Ace released.
Although he wasn't entirely clear about certain aspects of Pokémon, having a champion son meant he knew some common knowledge.
Ace's Pokémon, having undergone perfect-grade physical restoration, plus Ace's daily nutritious diet, looked exceptionally well-trained just from their appearance.
However, Mr. Stone was ultimately not a trainer, and he only had a superficial understanding of some things. After seeing Ace only release four Pokémon, he instinctively assumed Ace genuinely only had four Pokémon.
This was a gap in perception that truly couldn't be denied.
The dishes arrived quickly, and Ace and his Pokémon began to feast, eating until their mouths were greasy.
To be honest, the dishes tasted decent, but they still fell short compared to food made for Pokémon.
But it didn't matter.
Was Ace eating for the taste?
No!
He was eating for the cost!
After a satisfying meal, Crobat and the others were also quite full. This lunch, which made Mr. Stone's wallet ache, finally concluded.
Due to this meal, Mr. Stone temporarily dispelled his suspicions about Ace. And with the map and navigation functions of the smartwatch copied, Ace naturally had no further use.
Afterward, Mr. Stone, using very polite language, "invited" Ace out of Devon Corporation.
Ace didn't mind. After all, he had found everything he needed, and it was time to leave Rustboro City and head to the Meteor Falls.
Crobat grabbed Ace's shoulder, then quickly flew Ace away from Rustboro City.
Meanwhile, Mr. Stone returned to his office, frowning at the display case that was missing a stone.
After much hesitation, he opened a drawer and turned a mechanism at the top of it. Soon, a small, person-sized door opened to the secret room that Gengar had entered earlier.
Mr. Stone entered the secret room and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that everything was intact.
On the other side, Ace lay on Lapras's back as Lapras swam towards Meteor Falls.
He had put Gengar back into an empty Poké Ball, and the miniature camera was now in Ace's hand.
After watching what Gengar had filmed, Ace remained silent.
The document was the Rayquaza Capture Plan, detailing the plan's contents and the participating factions.
Mr. Stone, that old schemer, kept this document for an obvious purpose: it was leverage, leverage against the Pokémon League.
Although Steven Stone was a champion, for Mr. Stone, he was just an insurance policy. If the League truly wanted to shut down Devon Corporation, it would be quite simple.
This document could be considered a dark secret of the League. If it were truly exposed, while it wouldn't harm the League in the slightest, it would certainly dishearten many people.
Therefore, with this document as leverage, his Devon Corporation wouldn't fall so easily!
As for the seemingly honest Mauville City, it went bankrupt not long after the Rayquaza Capture Plan.
If the League wasn't involved in that, Ace would rip off his own head and kick it like a ball!
But this was inevitable.
When the cunning rabbit dies, the good hound is cooked; when the soaring birds are gone, the good bows are put away.
This was an immutable truth, and a necessary means for all those in power to stabilize their positions.
It wasn't a matter of right or wrong; if Ace were in their shoes, he would probably have the same thoughts.
"It's just a pity about all those Key Stones..." Ace lamented. If Gengar could have simply taken one, Ace might have been able to use it along with the Mewtwoite Y to Mega Evolve Mewtwo directly.
At that point, Ace felt that his chances of sweeping through the Elite Four would be even more secure!