In the left tunnel of the Granite Cave, Nana and Coco continue to glow as they slowly evolve into Mightyena and Delcatty. Steven remarks that Coco must have accidentally drawn energy from an evolution stone on his belt, and turns around to find Ruby missing. He looks down from the cliff and is surprised to see that Ruby is busy filming the scene with his video camera. He quickly hops down to grab the boy, and asks what he is doing. Ruby explains that he keeps a growth record of all his Pokémon, and that it is definitely important to capture their evolution moments. He reveals that he has already done 36 photo albums of his Pokémon, and asks if Steven wants to see them. Steven sweatdrops at the boy's enthusiasm, and states that it is not the time to discuss such matters.

The gang of Mawiles resume their attack and Steven swiftly pulls Ruby out of the way. The two start running towards the other end of the cave, and Nana and Coco quickly follow. Ruby wonders what are the stones that Steven talked about earlier, and the young man explains that certain Pokémon evolve with the special radiation from evolutionary stones. He states that Skitty is one of them, and reveals that he himself is a fervent stone collector. Ruby remarks that Steven is a really nice person, and says he will do anything to help. Steven sweatdrops, and tells Ruby to simply follow his steps as he is luring the Mawiles to a trap. The two come to a dead-end, and Ruby starts to panic, but Steven snaps his fingers and three Beldums shoot out from the rocks to attack the Mawiles.

Ruby watches in bewilderment as the Beldums collide with the Mawiles, but the Mawiles protect themselves with iron defense, and begin to chomp down on their attackers. Steven tells Ruby not to worry as Beldums are also steel Pokémon, and the huge jaws of the Mawiles soon crack and shatter into pieces. Steven says they have to get the Mawiles to stay together, and Ruby quickly orders Nana and Coco to circle them in by running around them. Steven snaps his fingers again and the ground begins to tremble. A Metagross breaks out to shatter the ground while a Metang emerges to lift Steven and Ruby out of the way. Nana and Coco quickly hop on Metang, and Steven explains to a stunned Ruby that the Beldum family have magnetic forces coursing through their bodies which allow them to repel the earth's magnetism and stay afloat.

Steven suddenly notices a glow from a crack in the crumbling cave, and quickly tosses out a metal cuff to hook it up. The object turns out to be a Sunstone, and Steven explains to Ruby that Hoenn is full of elemental stones that radiate evolutionary radiations, and they are usually highly sought after by stone collectors like himself. He mentions that there exist certain polished stones which are called orbs, but Ruby doesn't seem to be too interested in the subject.

Ruby tells Steven that he specializes in Pokémon contests, and says he couldn't be more satisfied seeing the coolness and cuteness Nana and Coco gained after evolving. Steven suddenly starts examining Ruby's physique, and says the boy seems fit enough. He explains that aside from rare stones, he is also currently looking for appropriate companions who could help him defend Hoenn against two great evil forces. He learns that Ruby is only 11, and says Ruby could have joined the scouts for training if he's a little older. Ruby embarrassedly laughs that he couldn't do well in Pokémon battles, but Steven smirks a little and says he is not easily fooled. Ruby gets slightly taken aback, and Steven starts climbing on his Metang. Steven remarks that there will come a time when they encounter each other again, and slowly lifts off into the sky with his two steel Pokémon.

Ruby thinks over what Steven said about the two great evil forces in Hoenn, then decides to drop the matter and continue on his journey with his Pokémon...

Thanks To Coronis For Writing this for us