Lurkers lurking

They do, but the way it is handled in the games is not like the manga at all. Even though it is mentioned that Infinity Energy is believed to be used to power Mega Stones, the manga approaches this idea very differently by having them drain a Pokemon’s energy while in their Mega Evolved state.

In the official game canon, Infinity Energy comes from a Pokemon’s life force, which powers their corresponding Mega Stone so that they may Mega Evolve. Meaning that it’s simply one of the three mediums required to reach this state, rather than power that is produced exclusively from Mega Evolving, à la the manga.

But more than that, according to the confidential documents in Sea Mauville, Infinity Energy is taken from Pokemon bioenergy. Bioenergy being defined as “renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources. Biomass is any organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it may include wood, wood waste, straw, manure, sugarcane, and many other byproducts from a variety of agricultural processes.“ 

This means that Infinity Energy could very well be taken from renewable substances from Pokemon. To further my point, here’s an excerpt from the Infinity Energy page on Bulbapedia:

Prior to the events of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Mr. Stone’s grandfather, the previous president of the Devon Corporation, learned of the ultimate weapon and wished to use the same energy to help people and Pokémon. This led to Devon developing Infinity Energy. The use of this energy made Devon one of the top industries in Hoenn. Many things have since been powered using the energy, such as Submarine Explorer 1 and the rockets launched from the Mossdeep Space Center. The Devon Parts were also parts to help make the submarine run on Infinity Energy.

In the Delta Episode, a rocket full of Infinity Energy was to be launched to teleport the incoming asteroid to another dimension, prior to Zinnia preventing the launch.

Now, while the Ultimate Weapon was fueled by a Pokemon’s life force thanks to AZ (and maybe Joseph’s grandfather did the same), who is to say that the other Stones who came after began to discover more ethical means of producing it? The games don’t really go into much detail about Devon’s current policies, but given how Steven and his father care deeply about the well-being of Pokemon, I really wouldn’t it past them to find methods that don’t hurt Pokemon.

As for Steven and his father’s relationship, there really isn’t anything indicating them being on bad terms, unless you count Joseph’s playful banter towards his son. 

I also wouldn’t go as far as to say that Steven exploits others just to suit himself. While he does indeed seem to give orders, there’s really nothing that is selfishly exploitative about this. And I doubt Steven cares very little for his fortune, either. Just look at how willingly he is to give away his infinite resources to help other people. Besides, he’s far more interested in his own hobbies and Pokemon battling than he is in Devon.

But I think more than that, since the Pokemon League is essentially the sports equivalent to the real world, I’m pretty sure Steven could be financially stable with his role as a Champion. Considering how famous he is outside of Devon heir status, he most likely gets paid interviews and features from time to time.

So, yeah. Manga!Steven is most certainly corrupt compared to regular Steven.

I agree. And to be honest, I rather dislike it. A lot.

Not only is my favorite character in all of Pokemon being portrayed differently than the official game canon, but he’s suddenly corrupt and partaking in things that his other two counterparts would be thoroughly disgusted at.

And on that very note, I really don’t like how Devon is portrayed as this evil corporation that experiments on Pokemon for Infinity Energy, thus adding a reason to Zinnia’s supposed hatred of Steven in the games.

Not only is it contradictory to the official canon as it’s a company that caters to the trainer lifestyle and other Pokemon needs, but I’m pretty sure that sort of corruption would be illegal. Given how very famous and influential Devon is, they’d be found out faster than you can say Mew, and they’ve been around for how long? Most likely way before Joseph’s grandfather was around, considering that it’s a family business that dates back many generations.

While folks like Lysandre could keep dark stuff under raps, I highly doubt the people at Devon would. I mean, in spite of making the Holocaster, Lysandre Labs isn’t as powerful of a company as Devon. Besides, Lys is evil and the Stone family isn’t. Joseph is a generous man and his son, being the Champion and all, represents what every trainer in Hoenn strives to be.

Tl;Dr, Steven and Devon being evil and corrupt is OOC and I dislike it.

And I present to you all the final nail in the coffin to prove once and for all that the in-game models aren’t scaled!

So let’s get started, shall we?

The first image I used AZ ’s canon height and lined up the characters to see how they fared next to him, and look at the difference! All of them have heights of either extreme or almost unrealistic proportions!

The height that I gave Lysandre was used for the second image, and here AZ is one foot shorter than his original height while the others are still pretty tall themselves.

Steven’s headcanon height of 5′10 was used for the third picture. While I could get behind Sycamore and Maxie being around 6′2, Archie being 6′7, and even Lys at 6′11, it still doesn’t do much that AZ is slightly shorter than his given height.

And last but not least, I used Archie’s given height and now have a similar situation to the so-called “canon” height chart from over a year ago that almost everyone on Tumblr accepted without question. Er, what can I say about this one...? Yeah, this one just doesn’t work at all. AZ is not standing at his canon height, Lysandre is at average male height, and the others are extremely short. 

How right you are, anon! XD

I definitely agree that the games canon is without a doubt, the most official one, since the games are what started this awesome franchise in the first place. Which is why I kinda dislike when people try to make the manga canon coincide with the games and anime canon when the former is extremely different from both.

But before I delve into this, keep in mind that’s been well over 8 years since I read the manga. So if I leave anything important out, please let me know.

A little warning beforehand; this is going be pretty lengthy. 

Sorry this took long to answer! Still busy with school.

That’s great, anon! I do agree that there are little fics based on the game canon. Anyway, that is a very good observation.  Though, I wouldn’t exactly say he is worried because he usually tries keep clear head during situations, and comes up with solutions to the issue at at hand. But that’s just me. XD And correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember much about him looking down on the player, though I do recall the countless time he would order everyone (including the player) around. Lol.

Steven also does indeed come off as cocky. Maybe slightly arrogant even. He’s the Pokemon League Champion, so of course that may give a person more incentive to be super confident in their battling skills. But who’s to say his dashing looks could also warrant this attitude. O___o

As for his politeness, there’s a huge theory that that side of him is just a public facade. Given his reputation, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Though, this is mostly based around the recent anime canon, so who really knows for sure? 

However, I can say that most of the time that he is with the player, he seems pretty genuine, though I often attribute that to him having a soft spot for children (not in the creepy pedo way of course). Going by the anime, he seems more friendly to Mairin than anyone else.

So all in all, despite what some people may think, Steven has flaws. And not just being scared of certain things, or lacking certain skills, but genuine and human personality flaws. The one’s that you’ve observed in canon are a pretty great start, but I hope more come along the way. Maybe a second playthrough of ORAS is at hand. XD