Heart of Steel

by WhiteRoseLeigh9099

Sakura Simmons and Steven Stone grew up best friends. However, when Sakura was four, her parents were murdered under mysterious circumstances, sending her to live with her godfather, Professor Sycamore. What happens when these two meet fourteen years later? What does Team Magma have to do with anything? Chapter 3 has been updated.

1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my OCs.

Author's Notes: At the time that Sakura challenged the Shalour City Gym, Korrina hadn't taken over yet. Also kudos to anyone who can guess what Pokémon will be in her egg. This will be mostly game based, I guess, with some anime elements added in just for the heck of it. Rated mostly for language. Have not decided whether or not I'm putting a lemon in here. I guess I'll put it to a vote. You guys tell me if I should put some fluff in this story. If you want to know what she looks like, just take a look at Yuuki Cross from Vampire Knight after she became a vampire, but with pink hair and blue eyes. This here is an updated Chapter 1. As far as I can tell, I've fixed the typos, but if you find another one, please tell me!

Chapter 1

A young girl, no more than eighteen with long bright pink hair that went to her down past her hips and sapphire blue eyes, sat by the window of her room on the second floor of the Sycamore Pokémon Lab in Lumiose City in the Kalos region. Her name is Sakura Simmons. She had been living in the Kalos region for fourteen years, ever since her parents were mysteriously killed when she was four. Afterwards she was sent to live with her godfather, Professor Sycamore, who'd adopted her officially only a year later. He had been one of her father's best friends, his brother in all but blood. As such when he died, her father made sure that she would be taken care of by sending her to the one person he could trust most outside of Sakura's mother.

Sakura's father had been the gym leader in the Petalburg City Gym but her mother had been a coordinator. It had been expected that she would follow in one of their footsteps, and she pretty much so had. Being raised among Pokémon, first at her father's gym and then at the research lab, she had learned quickly how to take care of them. They'd also learned that she could see and use aura. Once her godfather learned this, he cautioned her to tell no one of it, afraid that someone would try to use her against her will, and found her someone to teach her how to use her aura abilities. That person spent the next two years teaching Sakura how to control and use her abilities. Turned out, she was the strongest Aura Guardian since Sir Aaron. Her teacher, however, had not been an Aura Guardian themselves, but had had the tools to teach her about her abilities and what she could do with them but learning about control was something she had to do on her own. It wasn't difficult. All she really had to do was practice and meditate. It had helped her to stay calm during times of crisis.

When she'd been six, two years after her parent's death and a year and a half since she'd begun training with her aura abilities, she'd found an injured and unconscious Riolu on the outskirts of the city after feeling its pain and fear. She'd brought the little Emanation Pokémon back to the lab where everyone quickly worked on healing him, though it took three days for him to wake up. Sakura had not left his side for a minute and was asleep when he opened his eyes. But ever since, the two had been inseparable. Riolu had bonded with Sakura and was very protective of the girl. It was not long after that that the pair was sent off to the Shalour City Gym. While there, she trained under Gurrkin, the Gym Leader, alongside his granddaughter, Korrina, and her Riolu. Korrina was about two years younger than her. During the years that they trained together, Korrina had become not only her best friend but a sister in all but blood.

All the training she did with Riolu paid off and he eventually evolved into a Lucario. Sakura didn't formally start her journey until she was fifteen and half. But when she did, she'd originally planned on only travelling with Lucario, but a Fennekin that she had helped her dad to raise insisted on coming with her. They had become great friends, with Fennekin eventually evolving into Braixen, and then finally Delphox. She traveled from gym to gym, until she earned all eight badges, making new friends and catching new Pokémon along the way. One of her first captures had been an Absol that had challenged her to a battle not long after she left Lumiose City after having watched her and Lucario train together. She had been surprised to see her, due to the fact that they were, for the most part, found in Hoenn. Absol had become, along with Lucario, one of her most trusted and beloved Pokémon. Though don't misunderstand, she loved all of her Pokémon.

After her battle at the Santalune Gym with Viola, she found an Eevee being terrorized by some hikers. If there was one thing that would push Sakura over the edge more, it was someone hurting a Pokémon. She had quickly taught them a lesson, making them run away. Once she knew they were gone, she set about making sure that the Eevee was okay. Afterwards as she and Lucario made to leave, Eevee had followed, joining her on her journey. Much later, that Eevee evolved into Sylveon. Though eventually she caught every Eevee evolution as well as another Eevee. The last Eevee didn't want to evolve so she used an Everstone on him.

Once she reached the Shalour Gym, two months after her sixteenth birthday, she challenged her former mentor to a battle. It was a hard battle as Gurrkin knew her too well, though she did win. She stayed a few days to catch up with Gurrkin and Korrina before continuing on with her journey. During that time, he told her that he was going to turn the gym over to Korrina when she was fifteen, in less than a year. When she left though, Gurrkin handed her a box and told her not to open it until she left. Boy, was it a surprise when she opened it to reveal a Key Stone like the one Korrina wore on her hand, one of the components for Mega Evolution. Of course she knew what it was! Her dad was the only authority on what little is known about it!

There was also a note in the box that explained that he was giving this to her because he loved her as if she had been his own granddaughter and he trusted her with the responsibility as well as telling her where she might find some Lucarionite. In the note he also told her that she had to prove herself worthy of it. As they made their way there, she and Lucario continued training, both physically and with their aura. She sparred with Lucario using martial arts, keeping herself and her partner fit. She eventually made it to where Gurrkin had told her and earned the Lucarionite. She had it fashioned into a small glove for for Lucario's hand, similar to a fingerless glove, something that wouldn't hinder his ability to move while in battle when he wasn't Mega Evolved. For her Key Stone, she had it fashioned into a silver chain choker necklace that allowed the stone to lay at the hollow of her throat.

At first, Sakura's Lucario couldn't handle his aura during Mega Evolution, but after several weeks of hard training, Lucario got the hang of it. Watching her Pokémon become stronger made her extremely proud. She herself had grown stronger as well. She trained herself just as hard as she did her partners and it showed. Anyone who looked at her swore up and down that she was older. Not that she didn't enjoy that, but it became a hassle when she had older men flirting with her. Once she had the Lucarionite, Lucario decided to stay out of his Pokéball and that was just fine with her. She, in fact, enjoyed his company. They were, after all, Soul Partners. They'd found this out years ago when he'd woken up after he'd been unconscious. He'd taken one look at her and knew that she was meant to be his trainer. Their auras were a perfect match and it showed when they battled and their similar personality traits.

Once she earned all the badges she needed, though it took her about eight months, she trained for a little while longer before challenging the League. She came in second and that didn't bother her at all. After all, she could always try again some other year, after all, whoever beat the League won the right to challenge the Elite Four and if you beat them, then they could challenge Champion.

After the League, she continued traveling around the region and eventually found an Absolite, which she had fashioned into a necklace around her Absol's neck in a star pendant, as well as a Sail Fossil. She turned the fossil over to her dad who sent it to someone who could revive it. It turned out to be an Amaura. Though she adored her Amaura, she thought that it would be best if she stayed where she was as the facility was better equipped to take care of her than Sakura was, though the first time Amaura opened her eyes, Sakura had been there. Amaura absolutely adored her and was sad that she couldn't go with her, though Sakura visited her often to make sure she was being properly taken care of. During this time, she and Absol trained to control its Mega Evolution. Strengthening not only themselves, but their bond as well. Lucario would always be special to Sakura as he was her first, but Absol had been the first wild Pokémon that she'd ever caught and thus she had a special place in her heart as he did.

She remained friends with all of the gym leaders and spoke with them often. Valerie seemed to have taken over her fashion sense and always had a new dress for her, her favorite was one with a Sylveon pattern, and asked her several times to help model for her during a fashion show, which she happily complied, seeing it as a favor for a friend. She wore her Sylveon dress whenever she competed in a contest or a performance contest, which had been a fair few times. Viola gave her a camera that she took everywhere with her, and sent back pictures of every bug type that she met while she traveled. Clement made her a new backpack similar to his and whenever she visited, Bonnie begged her to let her take care of her Pokémon, which Sakura did with a fond smile. Another of the gym leaders, Wulfric, encouraged her to travel to another region and challenge the League there. She thought about it for awhile before deciding. She had been thinking about returning to the Hoenn region and trying find her friend Steven for awhile now but didn't know where to start.

Sakura and Steven's mothers had been friends as well as coordinators. They had many times brought the pair together for play dates. She even stayed with them when her parents had date night, which they had at least once a week. She wondered how he was doing. If he remembered her. But instead if going to Hoenn, she went first to Unova and after that Sinnoh, taking with her only Lucario and Absol, but bringing back others. She hadn't felt ready to face Hoenn at that time, no matter how badly she wanted to see Steven. She'd actually beaten the League in both Unova and Sinnoh and could have challenged the Elite Four and the Champions but she didn't feel ready for that. After all, she still considered herself somewhat of a rookie. It took her just over a year and six months for both regions as she'd hung around after the Leagues were over. She visited places and caught Pokémon that she'd missed during the first time around. She eventually caught all of the starter Pokémon from each region. Bonding with them all as only an Aura Guardian could.

She had met many interesting people during her travels, including the Champions for both regions and counted them as friends, especially Cynthia, who told the most amazing stories. She learned a lot about the history of Sinnoh from her. Cynthia had kept gushing about a friend of hers from the Hoenn region and telling her that she needed to meet him. At one point Sakura started teasing her that she had a crush on the poor man, but Cynthia had smiled and told her that he had been carrying a torch for someone from his childhood, even though he hadn't seen them in years, though she was fond of him and considered him one of her closest friends. That had made Sakura smile and she secretly wished him luck, though it made her heart ache.

It has been a month since she has returned from Sinnoh and she was happy to be back, though she was feeling the itch to travel again, as were Lucario and Absol. Sakura looked over at her night stand at the incubator with a yellow with a black spot Pokémon egg in it. When she'd got home, she'd found that egg forgotten by the gate. Once they made sure that the egg, as well as the Pokémon inside it, was unharmed, they tried finding an owner for it, but couldn't find anything, so the egg went to her since she found it. Sakura sighed and looked back out the window. It was early, no more eight o'clock. She and her Pokémon had just finished their morning training session as well as their mediation. Today was the day that she, Lucario, and Absol would be leaving for the Hoenn region.

Two weeks ago, on her eighteenth birthday, the professor, who she called Dad, had given her a ticket to get to the Hoenn region, telling her that it was time. The plane would be leaving at noon. She had been surprised but accepted that it was time. Time to go back home and find Steven.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

An hour and a half later, her things, including several of the dresses that Valerie had made for her, especially her Sylveon print dress as she was planning on entering at least one contest, and the egg packed in the backpack that Clement gave her, Sakura stood in front of the lab with her ever faithful Lucario by her side, facing her dad, Sophie, and all of her Pokémon, saying goodbye. She hugged each of them and gave them a kiss on the head. As she stood before the man who had been like a father to her for the last fourteen years, tears pricked at her eyes. You'd think that she would be used to this by now, but leaving had never come easy. He smiled a sad smile as he pulled her into a hug while saying, "Take care of yourself, Sakura. Call often."

"I will, Dad. I'll call from the Pokémon Center as soon as I arrive," she replied before turning to Sophie and letting her pull her into a hug while saying, "Take care, Sophie. Look after Dad for me. Don't let him get so caught up in his research that he forgets to eat." Sophie laughed as her Dad grumbled about not needing a babysitter. She then turned to her Dad's Garchomp and said, "Keep an eye on things, Garchomp, I'm counting on you to look after the others." Garchomp beamed as he nuzzled her cheek while saying, "Gar, Garchomp, chomp!"

She then pulled away and said, "I have to go! Wish me luck!" as she ran out the gate, her loyal Lucario following after her. Once they were on the plane, she was so excited, though nervous at the same time. What if Steven didn't remember her? She shook her head and sighed, making Lucario look at her. She simply smiled at him while fiddling with the small package that was in her pocket. It was a present for Steven. In her travels, she'd found another Key Stone that she'd had fashioned into a stainless steel lapel pin and she'd thought that he'd like it, especially with his love of rare stones. Maybe he had a Pokémon that could Mega Evolve if he could find the appropriate Mega Stone.

It took several days to reach Slateport City. As soon as the plane landed, they went immediately to the Pokémon Center and put through a call to her dad, letting him know that they'd arrived safely and were about to leave to go see Professor Birch, one of her dad's colleagues, to drop off some research materials before moving on to register for the Hoenn League. Sakura was grateful when they'd left the city as soon as possible since several trainers had approached her about possibly trading Lucario, which annoyed both her and him more than anything. As if she would trade her oldest friend! A few days later, as they were approaching Little Root Town to see Professor Birch, she heard someone shout, "Someone help me, please!"

Sakura and Lucario shared a look and headed off towards the voice to find a man in a white lab coat, not unlike the one that her dad wore, pushing himself up against a tree as a dog like Pokémon growled at him. Pulling out the new Pokédex that her dad had given her when she'd left, though it was still a Kalos region Pokédex, she scanned the Pokémon as she'd never seen one before.

"Poochyena, the Bite Pokémon. Its biting strength is superior to other Pokémon, and has the endurance to chase opponents down until completely exhausted. This Poochyena is male and has the ability Quick Feet."

She then looked at Lucario and ordered, "Aura Sphere!" Lucario put his hands together, creating a sphere of blue aura energy, and threw it at Poochyena, knocking it out as she threw a Pokéball at it. But she didn't stay to find out whether or not she caught him, Sakura grabbed the man's hand and dragged him away, Lucario following shortly after. Once they stopped, the man caught his breath and said, "Oh, thank you! I have no idea what would have happened if you hadn't come along." Sakura smiled at him and replied, "Not a problem, sir, we were glad to help. Um, are you Professor Birch?"

The man nodded and said, "You must be Sakura. I've been expecting you." He then led her to his lab where he had her drop off the materials from her dad, where Lucario handed her the Pokéball containing her new Poochyena. While they were doing that, one of the Pokéballs on the table burst open and a small red and orange bird Pokémon appeared, staring at her as if looking into her soul. Pulling out her Pokédex, Sakura scanned the little one.

"Torchic, the Chick Pokémon. Torchic sticks with its Trainer, following behind with unsteady steps. This Pokémon breathes fire of over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, including fireballs that leave the foe scorched black. Torchic is one of three Pokémon new trainers can choose from in the Hoenn region. This Torchic is female and has the ability Blaze."

Torchic tilted her head to the side and said, "Tor, Torchic," before walking over to Sakura and nuzzled her head against Sakura's leg. Professor Birch sighed and handed Sakura her Pokéball while saying, "It seems as though that Torchic has taken a liking to you. She's a difficult one. You're the first trainer that she's taken active interest in and she's getting too big to give to a new trainer as a starter. Now that we're done, you should go ahead and take her with you as she won't listen to anyone else." She smiled down at her and asked, "Would you like to come with me, Torchic?"

"Tor! Torchic!" she cried out happily as she jumped into her arms, making Sakura and the professor laugh. After thanking Professor Birch for his help, Sakura recalled Torchic back into her Pokéball and headed out. They made it to Oldale Town by nightfall. As she laid down on her bed in the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy helped her to register for the Hoenn League, she smiled, hope blossoming in her chest. Along the way, Sakura had been able to get some training in with Torchic and Poochyena and they both showed great promise. Poochyena, however, wasn't very happy at first until she'd used her aura to soothe his distrust of her and allowing him to see inside her heart.

Currently Torchic was curled up in top of her hip, while Lucario was sitting on the other side of her bed. Absol and Poochyena had fallen asleep on a cushion next to the bathroom door. Sakura fell asleep with a smile on her face, thinking of Steven, wondering where he was, how he was doing. She hoped he was okay. Smiling she shook her head and closed her eyes, her last thought, "Steven."

Meanwhile miles away, a young man, about nineteen years of age, with silver hair opened his slate blue eyes and looked around the room at the Pokémon Center where he'd been staying. He could have sworn he'd heard someone saying his name. Shaking his head, he went back to sleep when he saw no one.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOHOS

Sighing happily as she and Lucario headed out of Oldale Town after her early morning training and mediation, and things were going great with Poochyena and Torchic, since they took to her training like a Magikarp to water. Once they'd eaten breakfast, they decided to head towards Rustboro and the first gym, but on her way out of town, she stopped when she was approached by a man wearing a lab coat who asked, "Excuse me, Miss? You wouldn't have happened to see a Shroomish, have you?" Pulling out her Pokédex and looking up the Pokémon in question, she shook her head and the man looked sad, until they were approached by a man wearing a red outfit with an M on the chest who said, "There you are, you stupid scientist! I was waiting for you!" Now hand over the goods!"

As Sakura watched, the scientist shrank back in fear, her face changed and her eyes grew cold as she stepped into the jerk's path while saying, "If you want to hurt this man, you're going to have to get through me!" The man sneered and growled, "You don't want to get involved in Team Magma's business, little girl."

Scowling from being called a little girl, she thought, "Team Magma? What the hell is Team Magma?" Lucario the spoke in her mind, "I do not know, Mistress, but I have a feeling that we're bound to find out." As soon as he'd evolved, Lucario had taken to calling her Mistress whenever she gave an order and nothing she did could get him to stop, so she just gave up after awhile instead of wasting her energy. When she turned back, the jerk growled as he let out a Poochyena. Sakura sighed, feeling terrible for the poor Pokémon. The jerk then ordered, "Poochyena, use Bite!"

I sighed and ordered, "Lucario, dodge and use Bone Rush!" She wanted to get this over with quickly, so that the poor Pokémon wouldn't suffer. The little dog ran towards Lucario, who moved faster than the eye could blink, then he put his hands together, creating a long bone which he then swung and knocked Poochyena into a wall, knocking it out. The man growled as he returned his Pokémon and said, "You going to regret messing with me, little girl, I'll still get the goods in Rustboro," and disappeared. Sakura didn't reply as she turned and asked the man behind her if he was alright. He nodded and replied, "Yes, thank you so much for your help," he then went ashen as he asked, "He said Rustboro, didn't he?" Sakura replied with a nod and he panicked, apologizing as he ran off saying something about needing to warn someone.

Sakura simply shrugged her shoulders and they continued on. They ended up spending the night in the forest and made it into the city the next morning with little trouble as she and Lucario continuously flared their auras, keeping the weaker Pokémon from attacking them. Though they did get a few challengers, but they were quickly dealt with thanks to Torchic and Poochyena. The first thing they did when they got into the city was go to the Pokémon Center. As they went, they passed by the Devon Corporation, Sakura paused. She knew that Steven's father owned it, but she also knew that she couldn't just go on in and ask to see him, even if he was there. They'd think she was crazy and she'd more than likely would get arrested. Not something she wanted to do.

Sakura sighed and continued on to the Pokémon Center, where she asked Nurse Joy to take a look at her Pokémon. She smiled and took their Pokéballs, but before she left, she asked, "You're Sakura Simmons, aren't you?" Surprised, Sakura nodded and Nurse Joy continued, "Then I have a message for you. Your father wants you to call him." Sakura looked confused and went to find a video phone. Before long, her father's face came on the screen and he said, "Ah, Sakura, you got my message."

"Yeah, Dad, what's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked. He sighed and replied, "It's your Furfrou."

"What about Furfrou, Dad? Is he okay? He's not sick, is he?" she asked panicking, her heart in her throat. Furfrou was one of the Pokémon that she had caught after the Kalos League. She had saved him from an abusive trainer. The trainer had been beating on Furfrou because he had lost a battle when Sakura and Lucario stepped in. Before he left, Furfrou's former trainer had smashed Furfrou's Pokéball, releasing a severely hurt Furfrou. Sakura had then taken Furfrou to the Pokémon Center. She'd stayed with him as he recovered and told Officer Jenny what had happened as well as giving her a description of the trainer. The trainer had had all of his Pokémon confiscated and his trainer's license revoked as well as serving jail time.

Furfrou had decided to travel with Sakura. It had been a long and hard journey to gain Furfrou's trust and loyalty, but it had been worth it when Furfrou had started listening to her. He was one of her most loyal partners and she loved him dearly. Her dad quickly reassured her, "No, no, Furfrou is just fine. Unless you count being sad and depressed. He misses you. I'm thinking of sending him to you for day or two. Do you still have room in your party for him?" The pink haired girl sighed in relief and nodded. To tell the truth, she missed Furfrou too. Her father smiled and told her to expect Furfrou shortly.

As she hung up the phone, Nurse Joy called her name. When she approached the desk, Nurse Joy told her that her Pokémon were in excellent health and also handed her Furfrou's Pokéball. She immediately called him out. As soon as he was released, Furfrou jumped onto her, knocking Sakura over, making her laugh as he licked her face as he cried out happily, "Fur, Furfrou!"

"Okay, okay, buddy, I missed you too," she said, giggling as she got up. She then clipped the rest of her Pokéballs to her belt and headed out, Lucario and Furfrou flanking her, Furfrou's tail wagging happily as they went. They received many glances and stares. She realized that it was because of Furfrou. Since Furfrou were only found in the Kalos region, no one in Hoenn had seen one unless they'd been to Kalos, which she doubted many had as it was a little unknown. As they went into the Rustboro Gym, Sakura called out, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

"Are you a challenger?" a woman asked with burgundy colored hair when she appeared before her. Sakura nodded as she replied, "I'm Sakura Simmons from Lumiose City," as she held out her hand. The woman took her hand and shook it and replied, "I'm Roxanne, the Rustboro Gym Leader," and thought a moment before asking, "Where's Lumiose City?" Sakura kindly explained that it was in the Kalos region, which made Roxanne smile.

Sakura smiled back as they took their places on the field, Lucario sitting in a meditative pose over her right shoulder and Furfrou laying down next to her to watch the battle, as the ref spoke, "This is a match between Rustboro Gym Leader, Roxanne, and the Challenger, Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City. This will be a two on two match. The victor will be decided when either side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Furthermore, only the Challenger may substitute Pokémon. Release your Pokémon."

"Geodude, I choose you!" Roxanne cried out, releasing her Geodude. Taking one of her Pokémon's Pokéball, Sakura said, "Torchic, come on out," releasing her brand new Torchic who had grown a lot stronger in just the two days that she'd been with her. In truth, she could have started off with Lucario. He'd have had the advantage here, but she wanted to get some battling experience for Torchic.

"Battle begin!" called out the ref. Roxanne ordered her Geodude to use Rollout. Sakura told Torchic to dodge using Quick Attack and to follow up with Heat Wave, which she'd been surprised that she could use. As Geodude approached, Torchic disappeared in a burst of speed, while sending out waves of fire at the rock type. Geodude was able to hold on, but was greatly weakened and was slow because of it. Seeing this, Sakura decided to have Torchic try out the new move that she'd been teaching her and that she'd just mastered, so she ordered, "Torchic, use Fire Spin!" Torchic complied and began rolling at Geodude, wreathed in flames. Roxanne ordered it to dodge, but it was too slow as Torchic smacked Geodude into the wall. When the dust cleared, it was obvious that Geodude had feinted. The ref then said, "Geodude is unable to battle. Torchic is the winner!"

Sakura was smiling proudly at Torchic when she began glowing with a bright light. Being a seasoned trainer, Sakura knew that Torchic was evolving. Once the glow disappeared, it revealed a bipedal, chicken-like Pokémon. Most of its upper body was yellow, while most of the lower body was orange. An orange, pointed design adorns the center of its waist at the dividing line of the two colors. It had orange eyes, and short, wide beak. There was a feather crest on top of its head with three orange points. This crest on its chest was small. Its tail was short and pointed. It had three, sharp claws at the ends of its long arms, and scaly, gray legs with well-developed thighs covered in shaggy yellow feathers. Pulling out her Pokédex, she scanned it.

"Combusken, the Young Fowl Pokémon, and the evolved form of Torchic. Its quick, powerful kicking legs can deliver as many as 10 kicks per second. This Combusken is female and has the ability Blaze. Upon evolution, Combusken has learned Double Kick, Flame Charge, Sky Uppercut, and Flamethrower."

Sakura smiled brightly at her Combusken and said, "That's great, Combusken! Do you want to continue or do you want a break?" Combusken grinned as she turned back to the field and prepared for battle as Roxanne released her Nosepass. Once the call for battle to resume, Roxanne ordered it to use Rock Tomb. Getting an idea, Sakura ordered, "Combusken, jump on top of the rocks, then use Flamethrower." Combusken jumped on top of the rocks as they fell, making her way towards Nosepass and released a stream of fire at Nosepass. She hit Nosepass, but Roxanne ordered it to use Rock Throw which knocked Combusken back into the opposite wall. When the dust cleared it showed that Combusken had feinted. She realized that she had probably been a little worn out from fighting Geodude.

Sakura sighed as she returned Combusken. She then looked at Lucario and simply said, "Go." Lucario jumped from the platform and onto the field. Roxanne, who had begun to look smug, paled a little bit, since she'd never seen a Lucario and didn't know what it was capable of. Once the battle was restarted, Sakura ordered, "Use Force Palm, Lucario!" Lucario's hand began to glow and when be hit Nosepass, it sent it flying back. It then retaliated with Rock Throw, but it was tired from battling first Combusken and now Lucario. Before Roxanne could order another attack, Sakura called out, "Aura Sphere!" Lucario complied and sent a sphere of aura energy at Nosepass, causing it to fly into the wall behind it.

"Nosepass!" Roxanne cried out worriedly. When the dust cleared, it revealed that Nosepass had feinted. The referee sighed and called out, "Nosepass is unable to battle. Lucario is the winner. The victory goes to Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City!" Sakura sighed happily. Pride infused her being and she made sure that her Pokémon felt it. Lucario turned and grinned at her before returning to her side as Furfrou nuzzled his head against her hip. She smiled down at him before recalling him to his Pokéball.

Roxanne then came over and congratulated her before presenting her with the Stone Badge. Sakura smiled as she put her very first Hoenn badge into her badge case. She then bowed to Roxanne as she said, "Thank you for the battle." Then she turned and walked back out of the gym, intending on going back to the Pokémon Center, however, as she passed by the Devon Corporation, she saw the same scientist that she'd helped out the day before, shouting after the same man that she defended him against. Walking up to the scientist, she asked, "What's going on?"

The scientist jumped in surprise but relief showed on his face when he saw that it was her and replied, "A thief has made off with some goods that were meant to go to Slateport City and I can't go after him as I don't have a Pokémon." Understanding lit up Sakura's features and she said, "Say no more, sir, leave it to us," and she took off with Lucario on her heels. She followed the thief to an entrance to some kind of tunnel system, where she found an older man, crying that his Peeko had been stolen. Rage bursting through her heart, she ran into the tunnels after the thief. She was finally able to get ahead of him. Lucario stood at her side as she released Absol, deciding to let Combusken rest some more.

Once he turned the corner, she heard him growling, "Why did I take this stupidly weak Pokémon?!" When she heard that, Sakura's expression went darker and a scowl made its way onto her face. If there was one thing that her biological father taught her before he died, it was that no Pokémon was weak. They all grew as humans grew. She had taken that principle and applied it to her training strategies for her partners. And look at her Goodra. Everyone in Kalos believed that Goomy, Goodra's unevolved form, was weak, but with the right care and enough love, Goomy can eventually evolve into a very powerful Goodra.

As he came towards her, she cleared her throat and he finally noticed her. His scowl then matched hers, though his face was slightly pale, as he growled, "Get out of my way, brat. Don't mess with the business of Team Magma." Sakura simply raised and eyebrow as she thought, "Team Magma again? What in the name of everything that is holy is Team Magma? Lucario, what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?" She asked him that because she knew he'd hear and she was proven right when he replied, "I do not know, Mistress, but it appears that he's getting agitated."

And, indeed, he was as he'd released a orange lobster Pokémon. Never having seen it before, she scanned it with her Pokédex.

"Corphish, the Ruffian Pokémon. Corphish uses its sharp pincers to capture prey. It can happily live even in very polluted waters. This Corphish is male and has the ability Shell Armor."

Sakura simply raised her eyebrow higher as the man ordered Corphish to use Water Gun. She sighed and replied, "Really, that's supposed to intimidate us? Absol, use Shadow Ball." Absol created a ball of dark energy and launched it right at Corphish, the impact making Corphish crash into the wall behind it, knocking it out. The man growled as he returned Corphish, dropped the stuff and the little bird Pokémon, and ran off. Sakura sighed as she petted Absol's head and told her, "Thank you, my friend, I am proud of you." She purred happily as her trainer returned her. Lucario picked up the Devon goods while she dealt with Peeko.

At first little Peeko, who she found out was a Wingull, didn't want her to touch him, but when she flared her aura, he let her pick him up. Once he was in her arms, she began making soothing noises, which calmed him greatly. As she emerged from the tunnels, the old man approached her, crying, while saying, "Thank you, miss, thank you! You saved Peeko!" Sakura smiled as she returned the the little bird. The man introduced himself as Mr. Briney and told her that anytime she need to a ride on a boat, he'd take her anywhere, free of charge.

Sakura smiled again and thanked him before saying goodbye. She along with Lucario, who was carrying the stolen goods, headed back to the Devon Corporation. When he saw her, he cried out, "You did it! You got them back! Oh, thank you!" Someone came and took the parts from Lucario as another person came and told Sakura that the president wanted to see her.

As they led her upstairs, someone asked her if her Pokémon needed healed and she gratefully accepted. She told Lucario to go too, though he was reluctant. As she stood in front of the door, Sakura had to take a deep breath before entering. When she did, she saw someone she hadn't seen in fourteen years. Steven's father hadn't aged much at all. As she walked towards his desk, she noticed a picture of a younger Steven hugging a younger version of herself with big smiles on their faces. Seeing it brought a tear to her eye, but she was able to hold it back.

When Mr. Stone saw the girl who had saved the parts that had been stolen, he was shocked. It felt like he'd been taken back about fourteen years. He knew exactly who she was as she was the spitting image of her mother. There she stood, her long pink hair halfway pulled back, her bangs slightly in her ocean blue eyes with two locks of hair framing the front of her body, wearing a red tank top dress with a pink pleated skirt that came down to just above her knee, a Pokébelt hanging loosely around her hips, with red thigh high socks along her slim, though toned, figure with a pair of black walking shoes. The girl worked out and it showed. She also wore pink fingerless gloves. Looking at her, she would be about the same height as his son, a trait she inherited from her father no doubt. The daughter of his dearest friends had finally returned home.

He couldn't wait to tell his son. Steven had never really been the same after Sakura left. He had given him his Beldum as a means of distracting his son from her absence, though he'd never truly forgot her. He had never dated anyone, no matter how many offers he'd received, and when he'd asked, Steven had bluntly told his father that they weren't her. At the tender age of three, Sakura Simmons had, unknowingly, stolen the heart of Steven Stone and still had it to this day. He never even considered anyone else, not even the Sinnoh Champion, who had been lovely. He knew that if she hadn't have returned now, Steven would have gone and searched for her. He had known that with how protective, or in many respects possessive, of her his son had been, that one day he'd have her for a daughter in law. He couldn't have been more pleased with his son's choice, though he hoped he wouldn't be disappointed.

"Hello, Mr. Stone. It has been a long time, hasn't it?" she spoke. Sakura could tell that he was lost in the past as she had been when he replied, "Fourteen years. Look how you've grown. You look like your mother." She smiled sadly at that as her dad told her that all the time, never realizing that it only made her miss her mother more, but he didn't leave her to ponder it long as he continued, "I hear we have you to thank for the return of our stolen property."

Sakura blushed as she answered, "Yes, but I was only doing what I thought was the right thing." He smiled at that and gave her a PokéNav which he told her was his latest design and programmed his number in it. She blushed, knowing exactly how much things like that cost. She was after all a rather budget conscious person. She had accrued a pretty good nest egg from her battling, from having hardly touching her earnings. He then asked her to deliver a letter to his son in Dewford Town, which she eagerly accepted, excited to see her oldest and dearest friend again, for she had missed him greatly. He also asked her to deliver the parts that she'd saved to a Captain Stern in Slateport, which she also accepted as it was on her way. Her Pokémon were returned to her and he was surprised to see that she had a Lucario, as well as how protective of her the Pokémon was. They seemed to share a rather unique bond. It was like watching his son with his Beldum. He just shook his head as she was shown out of the building. He had a call to make.

Meanwhile in a cave on a far away island, the young man with the silver hair answered his PokéNav when he saw that it was his father.

"Yes, Father?" His father quickly apprised him of the situation that had happened with the theft. What really caught his attention was what he said next.

"But we don't have to worry about it. A young trainer and her Lucario retrieved the items and we have them back in our possession. As it was on her way, I've asked her to deliver the parts to Captain Stern in Slateport." The man made a small noise in the back of his throat, but it sounded annoyed. His father sighed and continued, "What was interesting was who the trainer was that retrieved our items."

"Who, Father?" Even to him, he sounded bored, though inside he was raging that someone had stolen from his father. They may not talk much anymore, but they were still close.

"It was Sakura, Steven. Sakura was the one who brought the items back." Steven's heart began pounding in his ears at the sound of the name of the one person in the world that meant everything to him. The one person he would actively destroy the world to protect. Her name had been etched on his heart since childhood. It had broken his heart when she'd moved to Kalos, even if it wasn't her wish to go. He had missed her greatly. In an attempt to distract him from his beloved's absence, his father had given him Beldum and it had worked, up to a certain point. He had accomplished much and become a rather strong trainer in hopes of finding her one day. He thought of her several times a day, wondering how she was, what she was doing. Hoping to the skies and back that she didn't have a boyfriend. It took him several moments to answer as he said with a shaky voice, "She's here? In Hoenn?"

"Yes, right here in Rustboro. From what I gather, she was returning from her gym battle when she noticed the theft taking place," his father replied. Steven was about to get up and start packing, but then his father then explained about the errand he'd asked of her. That she was coming his way anyway as she'd won her gym battle. After a few more minutes of conversation, they hung up and Steven sat back, trying to remember exactly what his Sakura looked like. He knew it wouldn't help much as she was older and so was he. He'd bet his last Pokédollar that she was gorgeous. A satisfied smirk made it's way on to his face. His beloved had returned and he'd be damned if she left him again.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

Sakura was woken in the middle of the night to a loud beeping sound. Recognizing the sound as the alarm on her incubator, which was sitting on the table next to her bed, she knew her egg was hatching. She jumped out of bed, startling the others, as she quickly grabbed the incubator and ran out of the room, calling for Nurse Joy, who once she realized what was happening, jumped into action.

In a safe room, much later, the egg had been removed from the incubator and Sakura had a pink Love Ball in her hand, waiting for the egg to hatch. Soon the glowing stopped to reveal a small rodent Pokémon with pale yellow fur. Its eartips, collar, and tail were black and angular. It had cute pink patches on its cheeks and its tiny nose looks like a dot. This Pokémon could be classified as a quadruped, but it could walk easily on its hind legs. Pulling out her Pokédex, Sakura scanned the little baby Pokémon.

"Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. Despite their size, Pichu release bursts of electricity that can shock even humans. However, Pichu are unskilled at controlling their electricity, and sometimes release it by accident when surprised, or when laughing and shock themselves. This Pichu is female and has the ability Lightening Rod."

Looking up, Sakura met Pichu's eyes. For a few moments, they just stood there staring at each other until a big smile slid across Pichu's face and she jumped into Sakura's arms, exclaiming, "Pichu, Pi!" This made Sakura laugh as she said, "I'm very happy to meet you, Pichu. I'm Sakura." Pichu simply nuzzled her face against Sakura's shoulder while making happy sounds. Sakura gently pushed her away so that Nurse Joy could examine her. It didn't take long before the nurse proclaimed Pichu to be in perfect health.

She then instructed Sakura on Pichu's diet for the next couple of weeks and advised her not to use Pichu in battle for awhile. Having caught Pichu, she walked out of the room with her empty incubator, which she wanted to keep just in case, and Pichu on her shoulder, nuzzling against her neck. As she walked into her room, she noticed that her other Pokémon were awake and waiting for her. She smiled at them as she brought Pichu into her arms and said, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Pichu, the newest member of our family." The others came over one by one and introduced themselves, eager to meet the little baby. It wasn't much longer that everyone was back in bed, curled up even closer than before.

The next morning after they'd finished their early morning training and mediation as well as gotten something to eat, Sakura wearing the opposite dress to the one she'd worn the day before with pink thigh high socks, her Pokébelt loosely around her hips, with Lucario by her side and Pichu on her shoulder, went to go get Mr. Briney to take her to Dewford Town. While they were sailing, she called her dad and had him register her number after telling him what had happened the afternoon before. While he admonished her for putting herself in danger, he praised her for doing what she felt was right. She then introduced him to Pichu, jokingly calling him Grandpa. He didn't find it as funny as she or Sophie did, but he was glad that Pichu had hatched and was doing fine. Once she was done with that, she played with Pichu for awhile. The little Pokémon adored her and loved simply sitting on her shoulder, where she eventually curled up for a nap.

They reached Dewford Town within two days. During that time, she'd called Korrina as well as all the other Kalos gym leaders and had them register her number, so that they could talk more easily and often. This made them all, especially Korrina, very happy because they liked to check in on her progress from time to time. She went to the Pokémon Center and got herself and her team something to eat. As she sat there and ate, she thought about where to look for Steven. She knew her friend had been a rare rock fanatic when he'd been little and continued that trait to this day, thanks to his dad letting it slip. She overheard people talking about the Granite Caves and how they'd found some rare stones there. That was when she knew she'd find him there.

So she got directions, made sure that she had a flashlight, extra batteries, plenty of water, and off she went in search of her friend, and though she'd never tell him, her childhood crush. She knew she still had a little bit of a crush on Steven, but she also knew that that was when they were kids. They were older now and feelings changed. There was no guarantee that Steven even remembered her. It would be a miracle if he did.

As she walked around the caves, she found then beautiful, though one thing she couldn't stand was the dark but there was nothing for that. It seemed that Pichu was like her since she had to recall her to her Pokéball. It was a cave after all. Before long, she and Lucario came upon Steven bending over a collection of stones that he'd found, completely ignoring his surroundings. Fourteen years and she was being ignored for rocks! The indignity of it.

Silently laughing, she looked at Lucario and put a finger to her lips in the universal sign for quiet. She silently crept over and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder at the stones that he'd found. He had a pretty nice set, but she felt that she'd been ignored long enough, so out of the blue, she said, loudly, "I guess they call you Stone for a reason," making him jump about a foot in the air and fall on his behind. Sakura started laughing so hard, her ribs were hurting and tears formed in her eyes.

Steven stood up and said,"Oh, very funny." As he dusted himself off, he took in her appearance. She was the same height as him. Her bright pink hair was long and down past her hips, partially held back by a butterfly barrette clipped onto the back her head with two locks of hair falling forward over her front, her bangs hanging slightly in her eyes and framing them. Her heart shaped face, small nose, and rose pink cupid's bow mouth. She was wearing the same dress, but the top was sky blue and the skirt a soft navy, with sky blue thigh high socks. There were soft navy fingerless gloves on her hands. She hadn't changed all that much, yet there was maturity in her eyes and confidence in her stance. As he was looking her over, Sakura nodded, with a huge grin on her face, and said, "Yes, it was hilarious." He just scoffed before grinning and pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly for several moments before saying, "I missed you." Sakura wrapped her arms around him in return and replied, "I missed you too."

They stayed like that for awhile before he pulled away and she handed him the letter that she'd been asked to deliver. They sat around and talked for awhile until a wild Aron appeared. He was staring at Sakura, a challenge in his eyes. Sakura stared back, her gaze unwavering. Reading his aura, she could feel that he was looking at her as a potential trainer, a trainer that could help him grow to be as strong as he wished to be. She stood up, making Steven look at her, as she spoke, "You wish to challenge me, don't you, Aron?"

"Aron!" he cried out, moving into a battle ready stance. Sakura smiled and said, "I thought so. Lucario," Lucario then startled Steven by appearing in front of her, faster than his eyes could keep up with. Then she continued, "Lucario, use Blaze Kick!" Lucario made a sound as he ran towards Aron and kicked him, his foot flaming. Before Aron could retaliate, Lucario was far away, awaiting his mistress's next order. Aron then moved in for a Headbutt, but Sakura ordered, "Dodge and use Aura Sphere!" Lucario then threw a sphere of aura energy at Aron, which knocked it over. Sakura the threw a Pokéball at Aron, who disappeared inside it. It shook for a few moments before dinging, signaling a successful capture.

"I see you made a new friend," Steven joked. Sakura smiled brightly and replied, "I seem to make friends wherever I go."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," he answered. They then spoke for a little while longer before she asked, "Are you done here or can you come with me?" He nodded and began packing his things. As it was lunch time, they headed back out to the Pokémon Center. Once they got there, Sakura dropped off Aron with Nurse Joy to make sure he was alright and then they went to get something to eat. As they ate, he asked her about her adventures. She told him practically everything, from when she'd found Lucario to defeating the Sinnoh and Unova Leagues. He was surprised at that, because Cynthia had told him about a young woman that she'd met that had great promise, who'd defeated the League, but hadn't felt ready for the Elite Four or the Champion, stating that she wanted to get some more experience under her belt before she did so. It amazed him to think that Cynthia had been talking about Sakura the whole time and he'd never caught on. The thought made him smile as Cynthia had never told him the name of the young woman that she was speaking of.

They decided to wait until the next day for her to challenge the Dewford Gym. Before going to bed that night, she sent Furfrou to her father that night since he was starting to miss the rest of their friends. Both she and Steven went to bed that night happier than they'd been in a long time.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

Sakura's Current Party (In Order of Capture)

1. Lucario

2. Absol

3. Poochyena

3. Combusken

4. Pichu

5. Aron