Wallace couldn't help himself. He sighed. A thought had been running through his mind ad-nauseam for the past few days and he just had to share it with someone. And of course, being the training partner - as well as best friend - of Steven Stone, current Pokémon League Champion, it was as if fate itself dictated that it would be with him that he would share it.
"You know, Steven, sometimes I feel like we live in an inherently punny world.", he said, already knowing how Steven would react, with an arched eyebrow, and a look of pure confusion. Steven was many a thing, but good with humour was not one of them. He remembered the buzznav events for charity, where most Gym Leaders and famous people had been invited to speak, and Steven hadn't. Sure he and his nephew had, but not Steven, and his dad owned the company!
Still, as Wallace glanced from the cliffs of Mossdeep into the distance, to where a bunch of Wingulls - or maybe they were the animal, seagulls, and not the pokémon. - were observable in the distance, he couldn't help but feel that he was right in his assumption. Now, assumptions those were more Steven's thing, those were what made him such a great trainer, but being funny wasn't quite it. He barely reacted when presented with the humor shows in the Buzznav, except in a polite pretense when they were being shown or previewed, by his father."
"Whatever do you mean, Wallace?", Steven was intrigued which was a good state of spirit to be in. And Wallace was glad that he could put him in that state of being without talking about geodes or whatever kind of rock it took him to get in that state. Wallace mentally congratulated himself for still having it, the ability to dazzle whomever he was talking to. Though Steven was a tougher nut to crack than most. He was sure of it. But both of them sitting there, Steven having had the care to avoid staining his outfit with whatever moss and humidity present in the island. And Wallace doing the same because his outfit deserved the care, glancing far, far away. Both of them glancing at the horizon in silence, a silence that was broken only in the rare times where a rocket launched, which wasn't settled to happen today, or the Wingulls flew by.
"You know, like Roxane, which kind of sounds like it has rock on it.", Wallace's head was filled with examples, so he didn't have to try very hard to continue."; or the Pokémon Wingull, which looks like a seagull, which then evolves into Pelipper. Magnemite? Like magnets? And speaking of electricity, what about Wattson? Our long standing electric type gym leader?"
Before he could go on a rampage of examples, because if he had to face it, he had plenty of those, Steven lifted his palm, indicating him it'd be best if he stopped. Wallace was so absorbed in the examples, which had filled his mind, that he found it hard to do so, but when he did he could see that angular, small smile, that was the sole feature he could describe when talking about Steven to someone else. There was something about that smile, rarely seen, that was more important than his light blue hair, or his eyes. Few people ever saw it, Steven had to maintain a stoic appearance in front of most, but whenever it showed up, it stole the show. It was subtle, in a way most things about the Champion were, but it was unequivocally there.
And Wallace detested when someone else stole the show, when the attention of people was not on him, he who put as much effort in how he dressed and how he presented, as he did in his words Yet despite that he couldn't lie, he was glad to see his best friend, Steven Stone, having that smile on his face.
"I did not pick the name of any Pokémon, as you might be aware", not that there hadn't been a chance, it seemed every two years another couple hundred were discovered, and some were bound to be rock types, and he was the rock expert. Whatever regions hid, it was not something he particularly pertained in.
Wallace edged in closer, pushing himself near the other trainer. So that his words didn't escape through the air, and he could hear them. Steven smiled at that, aware that Wallace had his back. Literally, he couldn't fall through the cliffs even if he tried jumping, even if the tight as jacket, and the scarf billowing in the wind wouldn't be much help, he knew that Wallace would pursue him and not let go if he ever showed such intent, not to mention Metang. Just thinking about it in a hypothetical and jokeful manner he could feel his Pokeball vibrating. He had the best friends.
"And Wattson is good at his job, and has been doing it for far more time than I've been champion.",. It was true, a mere statement of fact. Though there were things that he held dear to him, as he heard the cry of Wingulls and seagulls, slightly different. He couldn't quite catch a seagull in his restraining devices, no matter how similar they looked.
"But it even extends to the elite, I mean Glacia as in glacial, cold, ice? Drake as in Draconius or Dragon? Do people purposefully name their kid hoping for a trainer type?"
Steven smiled.
"I wouldn't know about that, but they're strong and capable trainers, perfect for the elite. And if we're being honest it's not worse than me, a steel type specialist with Stone in his name."
Wallace smiled, as he made the small quip that Steven had more rock type pokémon than Steel type pokémon, and Steven let out a short chuckle. It was a common joke between them. But then Wallace had a thought, that trespassed through his mental space at extreme speed. It was a terrible, awful, thought. As awful as the trainers who came to him with a Sceptile and whined when he activated Swift Swim.
"You didn't...You didn't pick Norman, for gym leader, just because his name kind of sounds like normal, did you?", Steven could claim no qualms about picking the other examples in the list, as he hadn't been the champion, but the recent upgrade of Norman from legendary trainer in Johto to Gym Leader in Hoenn had been his decision. Wallace himself had met the man's kid, a strong willed individual of name Brendan. But the question still stood.
Steven shrugged his shoulders, a look of shame in his face. To Wallace that was far more proof than he needed.
"You didn't!", he lifted his arms in a dramatic fashion, as he hadn't done since both of them had slid down in some rocks near Mt. Chimney, though this ones, though more slippery, were far more stable. Steven had guaranteed him that.
"The decision came from feats, not the name, but it did call my attention.", he admitted, somewhat sheepishly.
"If not for muk being basically Mud, and Ekans being Snake backwards, I would dare say Hoenn is the punniest region in the land!", Wallace complained, his fears confirmed.
But it felt good to have his suspicions confirmed, and he laughed a good natured laugh with Steven.