Kanto is a region that is famous for its picturesque lush green landscapes but Stown Town is a notable exception to the rule. The town has always been about one primary industry: evolution stone mining. More than 100 years ago evolution stones were a rare treasure available only to the most affluent until a man from Johto trying unsuccessfully to start a farm found an amount of them beyond any imagine while trying to dig a well. During the century since Stone Town had risen up as the primary location for mining them across the world.
Initially the evolution stone mine was an open-pit mine, carving far into the side of Evolution Mountain, but the supply there was exhausted by over-mining in the early years. That easily could have been the end of Stone Town but just before its boom went bust a train tunnel under construction hit the mother lode, an even richer vein with an almost inexhaustible supply of stones in all variants. The mining moved underground and it remains there today. The modern Stone Town community was built in what was the old open pit mine, giving it majestic rock walls that raise up above everything. The Johto influences of its founding remain today as well, the city famously remains the only one in Kanto to use the other region's unique street address system, and things in general have been greened up by environmental restoration efforts above ground in recent decades.
I-Route 13 and Route 13 come together just outside Stone Town and run parallel to each other as they enter the old pit mine before splitting again, Route 13 proceeds straight into a rather rich residential area where most of the city's year-round residents live. I-Route 13 makes another turn and loops around the residential area into downtown.
Stone Town is an area naturally prone to the development of evolution stones, so while just digging up at the surface can still net one from time to time the deposits of evolution stones below the surface are so much richer and more profitable that Macro Cosmos, the Galar-based company the operates the mine today, doesn't bother with them. The tradeoff to mining below ground is that the area here is also rich with nickel; on the plus side that gives the mine a wonderful byproduct but it also creates a naturally corrosive environment where equipment doesn't last long; hence the constant need for new supplies to be brought in. Runs to the Stone Town mine were a rich source of income for GS Transport and many other Kanto trucking companies as a result. Macro Cosmos owns its own transportation companies but they tend to focus more on railroad and airline services . The company had some trucks but the fleet was too small to fill the demands of its Kanto mine and so it regularly contracted with everyone in the business.
As Truck #653 neared its destination with Ken at the wheel a young trainer named Jackson on his bicycle came riding up alongside him on the driver's side. Ken saw him and took note, obviously unaware that he had bred and released the little Eevee Ken had just caught. Eevee and Fennekin were playfully looking out the passenger side window and didn't see the bicyclist. Ken watched his mirrors for the kid but didn't linger on it as he reached up for his radio, tuning it over to a frequency used at the mine. Security at the mine was tight, as you'd expect with somewhere producing something as valuable as evolution stones, and they liked a heads up before arrival.
"Macro Cosmos Stone Town this is GS Truck #6-5-3 and I'm coming into town now with your belts," Ken said. "This is Ken Worth at the wheel."
"Roger GS Truck, please use the front gate and we'll buzz you in," came the response.
"10-4," Ken said.
On the trainer route Jackson pedaled his blue Mach Bike fast as he looked up at the monstrous 750 Eeveeliner truck. He was in a hurry to get to the Pokémon Center for a stop before proceeding on to Fuchsia City and didn't want a delay. Ken noticed Jackson looking his way and gave the little kid a friendly wave. Jackson didn't return it and instead looked straight ahead down the road to the intersection where Route 13 and I-Route 13 split again. The intersection had a traffic light as the vehicle traffic would turn to the driver's side, with Route 13 as a crosswalk, before proceeding on its way. There was no traffic and the light flipped to a green arrow. Ken had the right of way, as there were no pedestrians in the crosswalk or any likely to be in the half approaching his lane, and he had his hands on the wheel to make the turn. Jackson looked at the truck and then started pedaling harder.
"I can beat him," Jackson said.
Ken shifted gears and swung his truck into the turn. In a gutsy move Jackson, however, chose not to stop at the crosswalk and darted at full speed right in front of the truck. Ken's eyes almost bugged out of his head as the trainer cut right across his proverbial bow and he immediately took evasive action. Fennekin and Eevee weren't seatbelted in and both were flung forward in the cab, they didn't even see Jackson as a result.
"WHOA!" Ken yelled, slamming his truck's brake pedal to the floor and simultaneously blasting the truck's loud horn.
Truck #653 slid to a halt and thankfully avoiding plowing Jackson down. It wasn't close but if Ken had been slower on the draw that could have been. Jackson rode off and hearing the horn flashed Ken a hand gesture that wasn't the politest, not caring he had just cut him off. He continued his ride into town. The truck was just another minor speed bump to get past on his fast road to the Pokémon League.
"Beat him," Jackson said to himself. "Nice."
Ken shifted gears and resumed driving toward the mine. He hadn't heard any bangs from the back of the truck so thankfully his load likely hadn't shifted or been damaged by the sudden maneuver. On the floor Fennekin and Eevee got their bearings back.
"Kin, fen kin fen?" Fennekin barked as if to say "what was that about?"
"A kid on a bike cut me off," Ken said. "Dingbat…Eh, whatever. Let's get this load delivered and get on with it. You two okay?"
"Fen kin kin," Fennekin said, implying mostly but they could use a little bit of treatment.
"Vee," added Eevee.
"Alright, but just in case I'll get you guys to a Pokémon Center soon," Ken replied.
Truck #653 was back rolling and just moments later the big blue and gold truck started coming into the industrial part of town. Compared to the residential area downtown Stone Town was significantly more blue collar in nature. This is where the miners lived and worked and many of the businesses catered to them. There was a video screen in front of city hall flashing the latest Pokémon World Coronation Series results; mostly to highlight top trainers using stone-evolved Pokémon and show if demand was about to increase for any particular stones. Ice stones were up in popularity of late, initially they weren't found in Kanto but they had started turning up just recently as the mine dug deeper, and a lot of the demand was being driven by a popular new crime scene investigation show giving the lead a Glaceon as his partner.
Mining work could be dangerous but it paid very well and Macro Cosmos actually did have a good safety record. A miner could make a years' worth of wages from most jobs in just three months working underground here; making it an ideal position for those seeking seasonal work so they could undertake training journeys for the rest of the year. Many of the miners trained Pokémon for use on and off the job and Stone Town even had one of the rare Battle Clubs outside Unova to accommodate their desire to sharpen their skills. Ken wasn't looking for a battle today though as he pulled up to the giant black gate surrounding the mining complex. A guard came up to the truck, an identity check was standard for entry here.
"You Ken?" the guard said. "What is your load."
"I am and I've got conveyor belts and your new little loader," Ken replied.
"That checks out, head on in," the guard said.
The gate slowly opened and Ken drove into the yard and toward the loading dock. The mine was one of the most secured places in all of Kanto, even Team Rocket wouldn't try to touch this place. Ken, Fennekin and Eevee were all amazed at the interior beyond the fence, an area that few who didn't work here ever saw. A massive dump truck far bigger than even Ken's truck, branded as a 1750 Wailordlandmaster, was under repair while a front-end loader drove past to head down into the mine. The entryway, positioned against the side of Evolution Mountain, was heavily protected and the loader drove onto a large elevator alongside a group of miners before they all were lowered down into the mine. Everyone working at the mine wore matching florescent orange jumpsuits with the Macro Cosmos logo on them and different colored hardhats to signify their assignments.
Ken pulled up to the loading dock and backed in as a crew from the mine came out to greet him and handle the necessary paperwork to accept the load. This loading dock was positioned at what was known as the sorting house, where the stones collected underground would be brought to be sorted by type and then packaged for sale. No one who didn't work at the mine was allowed into the structure so Ken had to close the transfer outside. Eevee and Fennekin waited in the truck. Quickly the chains came off and the Luxio loader was backed off the truck before being driven over to a garage to be further prepped for mine work. Eevee watched as the little loader he had hidden under drove away.
The doors of the container were opened and a crew from the mine quickly emptied it of the conveyor belts. The men and women carried the equipment back into the building and out of sight. Ken was glad to finish up this run and ready for his return trip to Celadon City.
"You got my return load ready for the Celadon Department Store?" Ken asked a foreman.
"We will shortly," the foreman replied. "We're sorting some stuff they hauled up earlier."
"I like the sound of that," Ken said. "It'd be nice to get home before dark tonight."
No sooner had Ken's words left his mouth than a loud metal and plastic bang came from inside the sorting house followed by the sound of flapping plastic and then a chorus of alarms as an employee hit the emergency stop on the stone sorting line. The conveyor belt on the edge of failure earlier in the day had finally broken.
"That's not good," said the foreman.
"Will that delay the cargo?" Ken asked.
"Yup," the foreman replied. "That may be the least of it."
Inside the sorting house the broken belt hadn't resulted in any injuries but the it had made a mess of the equipment with some evolutionary stones having been flung about inside. The cleanup process had started but it was going to take a bit to get the equipment repaired and back rolling. With the replacement part on site it wasn't a complete panic moment but the line was now out of action until the repair could be completed.
Even without the brief delays related to Eevee or the weigh station Ken still would have still ended up in this situation. He only rolled his eyes. Well at least it couldn't get any worse, he could just get in the cab, have some lunch and maybe catch some TV during the delay.
"Oh, by the way," said the foreman. "I'm going to need you to move your truck off the mine property since your cargo has an extended delay. I don't want an outside rig parked in our loading dock idling for hours."
"What?" Ken responded.
"If you aren't working here I can't have you here that long," the foreman said. "It's a security thing. We need to minimize outside personnel on the property at all times and since you will not imminently be picking up a load I'm going to need you off mine property until we are ready to load the truck. It's a Macro Cosmos company policy and the order comes straight from the desk of Chairman Rose. I don't know why he's been so secretive lately but that's an across the board deal with all the company's businesses."
Ken only vaguely recognized that name. It was probably some Galarian businessman who was someone else's problem.
"We apologize for the delay and will inform you and GS Transport when your load is ready to collect," the foreman said. "Security will clear you when you leave and when you return."
"10-4," Ken said quietly before walking back to his truck.
The foreman walked into the sorting house as the sound of the giant elevator from the mine could be heard. Ken paused to watch as one of the giant 1750 dump trucks emerged from the shaft and then drove out, packed to the brim with freshly mined material. The truck would dump its load into the equipment up top so it could be sorted, removing all the dirt, rock, and minerals to reveal the evolution stones within. As the truck drove past Ken's Eeveeliner a small dirt clod fell off the top of the truck and plunged the ground below. It smashed on impact, revealing a turquoise Thunder Stone. The dump truck continued rumbling along, that was such a regular occurrence none of the mine staff batted an eyelash.
Ken walked over and picked up the stone. The foreman was gone but another employee was walking past on the loading dock. The female worker looked like she was in a hurry.
"Hey," Ken said, flashing the stone. "Where do you want this? It fell off the truck there. Is there a place inside to take it?"
"No visitors are allowed inside the sorting house," said the worker. "The loss of one stone, possibly fall damaged, does not justify the risks of allowing outside personnel in."
She walked off, still in a hurry. Ken just shrugged, pocketed the stone, and climbed into his cab. She was probably right; one thunder stone wasn't all that valuable compared to the likely thousands of stones that were still in that giant dump truck. He shifted into gear and departed the mine. Fennekin looked at him confused. Eevee looked at Fennekin and then tried to copy its look.
"They got issues getting our load ready so we'll have to wait," Ken said. "There's a busted belt inside there, that's likely going to cost us a few hours. Bummer."
Ken thought back to earlier and that hard breaking coming into town.
"We've got some time to kill, let's get you two checked over at the Pokémon Center in the interim after that bump," Ken said.
A few moments later Truck #653 pulled into the vehicle parking lot at the center. What Ken didn't notice was that a certain blue Mach Bike was tied to the bicycle rack outside.