Steven gasped with horror as he awoke from his dream with a start. The memories flooded back as he recalled everything; the mega evolution challenge that Alain partook in for Lysander, and the incident between Zygarde, Chespin and the small girl from Kalos . . . Steven thought her name was Manon.

Now, what on earth had provoked such an odd dream? Sure, the silver-haired man had eaten before bed, but could that really be an excuse for such a vulgar mental apparition? He believed not.

Shaking his scattered hair with a determined flip, he allowed the blankets to slip off his bare chest before reaching across the bed to the night stand, only to stop suddenly.

Steven Stone froze solid, a rigid statue. There was another figure in his bed, a slowly breathing lump beneath the snug covers. He couldn't recall falling asleep beside someone . . . And yet, there was definitely another human, giving off steady waves of heat while they slept peacefully. Steven shook awake the other being, forcing himself to remain calm in such an unexpected situation.

"Hrmph, Steven . . . ?" The lump mumbled.

Oh, for the love of Arceus . . .

"Wallace! What are you doing here?!"

The man named Wallace rolled onto his back, flashing a cocky grin through the darkness. Steven could now see the aqua-coloured hair his boyfriend donned, curled at the front into two neat little zigzags. Though it was now messy from sleep. Wallace's sharp nose tilted upwards while he blinked innocently, almost cutely.

"Oh, you know . . . Just trying to sleep." The feminine man replied all too sweetly.

Steven narrowed his ice-like gray eyes into a clean glare.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then you should be more specific, my dear."

Steven scoffed, feeling anxious enough to cover up his bare chest from the other. After all, he certainly hadn't expected to see the Sootopolis gym leader in Kalos, an entire region away from home, even if they were in a relationship. It had started out as purely professional, but unfortunately escalated rather quickly.

"Fine, then. Wallace, why are you in my hotel room, and why are you here in the Kalos region?" Steven inquired, quickly adding, "You know that I'm due back to Hoenn tomorrow?"

Wallace propped himself up onto both pointy elbows, smile vanishing as though it'd never existed in the first place.

"You mean, you haven't been told?" The man with teal-hair looked honestly confused. "Its been all over the news."

"What has?" Steven also sat up straight, letting his blanket slip down idly. He silently thanked Arceus that he'd decided to wear pants to bed; it made things a lot less awkward.

Wallace's eyes dropped to his lap, and he spoke with a tinge of sadness.

"There . . . is a storm. A really bad one, originating in the sea south of Ambrette town. But the main problem is that it's growing bigger, and scientists from the weather institute claim that its path may shift to Hoenn; and by then . . ." Wallace paused with a slight shiver. Steven shifted closer to wrap an arm around his partner's waist.

"They say the waves could grow to such an immense size that they could crush Sootopolis's crater."

Crush . . . Sootopolis? Steven withdrew his arm and rested it under his chin. How could such a thing be possible? Was a Pokemon's power at cause here? He glanced back at Wallace and saw that his theory may be correct.

"I, too, thought it was Kyogre's doing. But how would a Hoenn-native legendary end up all the way over in Kalos?" He unknowingly mirrored Steven's pose with a hand under his face. "It just doesn't add up."

After thinking things over, Steven at last returned to his original question.

"But Wallace . . . Why are you here?"

The man glanced up from his legs, his lips turning up into a gorgeous smile.

"I figured you might need some help . . . from the current Hoenn champion."

Steven chuckled to himself, remembering how he'd left his boyfriend in charge of the Pokémon league, for at least until things returned to normal. But with the way their lives were altering, Steven wondered whether life would, indeed, be as it used to.

It was a silent hope he sent out under his breath. Maybe he would at last have a normal relationship with Wallace.

"The full story is that the Elite Four back home were getting anxious, so they elected me to find you. Together, at least, we can hopefully stop this storm." Wallace's eyes began to sparkle. "Once we figure out what's causing it.