Chapter Four: The Eight Trials
Location: Mr. Briney's boat, en route to Dewford Town, Hoenn
The group spent the night at Briney's rather uncomfortably, Kris, Iris and May having to sleep in his boat, which was now speeding towards Dewford Town. Kris and Iris had caught a glimpse of the sea route upon arrival to Hoenn (their current location being somewhere between Routes 105 and 106), but now they could see the various small, sparsely populated islands and the abundance of water Pokémon clearer than before, Iris almost falling off the edges of the boat in her attempt to catch a closer look of Hoenn's life aquatic.
To Kris' surprise, Wes had been rather taciturn throughout the trip, though his smug expression still remained the same. That gave the group a chance to give their Pokémon a rest, May feeding her Torchic and Shroomish, Iris attempting to teach her Sliggoo how to do tricks and Kris allowing Croc to swim next to the boat and Honchkrow to fly near it, also allowing Shrew to eat a little.
Shrew still didn't seem too fond of Wes, and as the latter didn't want to say why and the former was... a Pokémon, Kris still had to stay in the dark. Either way, the Sandshrew hissed exposed its claws whenever Wes tried to come near. Finally, after they had sailed almost an hour, Wes seemed to be ready to talk. Kris, Iris and May joined him in the cabin under the deck, leaving their Pokémon, except for May's Torchic, above to frolic around.
Kris noticed Wes had let at least one of his Pokémon out, too, though his Espeon just sat on a pillow in the corner, uncaring of the happenings around it. Kris, Iris and May sat in a row opposite to Wes, who had a bunch of papers in front of him.
"You sure you can read all of those?" Kris said icily, having crossed her arms while glaring at Wes. "They don't have a lot pictures in them, it seems."
Wes seemed to brush it off easily. "My mother is Orre's regional professor now, you know."
"A fact that I have to remind myself of," Kris remarked.
"Okay, calm down, everyone," Iris said and smiled at Wes. "We're both happy to see you, even her-"
"No," Kris argued.
"-we're just surprised that you're here, especially after disappearing on us at Mt. Silver," Iris finished, ignoring Kris. Oddly enough, she seemed to smile warmly to Wes and even sat the closest to him.
Even more weirdly, Wes smiled back. "I knew you missed me, at least," he said suavely. "I just wanted to see that Kris was okay – after I had confirmed that, there wasn't much reason to stay. Well, maybe some," he added, grinning obnoxiously, "but I had important things to worry about."
"Would that be all those agents crawling around?" Kris asked. "You're a criminal, after all."
"I would call myself misunderstood," Wes pondered, "but no, I had to investigate something, and if you don't want the results-"
"Ahem!"
Everyone looked at May, who had been feeding blue PokéBlocks to her Torchic all this time, but seemed to have listened to the conversation, too, and had now raised her hand in the air.
"Fill the new girl in, would ya?" May said. "Who is this guy?"
"It's a long story-" Kris began.
"Yeah, whatever, but if you guys want me to show you around Hoenn, you can't leave me in the dark!" May argued stubbornly. "'Coz I'll be asking you all the time until you give in!"
"Sorry about that, May, politeness is a new concept to good old Krissy here," Wes said to May smarmily, making an effort to show that he remembered her name. "But we go way back with her and Iris-"
"No, we just met you four months ago," Kris sighed and turned to May. "Here's the thing. About four to five months ago, I started my Pokémon journey-"
"So you are a rookie!" May gasped. "You lied to me!"
"Technically, no," Kris said awkwardly. "I'm still more experienced than you, and I have been, uh, mentally preparing becoming a trainer since I could walk, so there! Now would you please listen?"
Kris cleared her throat.
"So, I wanted to compete in the Silver Conference, but I didn't have the time to run around Johto to get all eight badges – the ones I got were merely to test how much I had improved."
"To compete, you usually have to have eight badges or sign in very early and pay an extravagant sum of money," Iris exposited. "Since Kris was close to professor Elm, she caught wind of one other way: to complete a set of dangerous and character-testing tasks laid out by the Blackthorn Dragon Clan and, uh, some monks in Ecruteak City, since they uphold the old laws of Pokémon competitions in Johto."
"Weird place," May remarked. "Over here we have to have eight badges – or four ribbons if you're some pansy Coordinator," she grumbled.
"Well, the same goes for Johto, usually, but the Silver Conference is a much bigger event than a traditional league tournament!" Kris insisted. "Anyway, that's how I met Iris here, but along the way, I got into all kinds of trouble with Team Rocket..."
May tilted her head. "That a soccer team?"
"No, it's – like Team Aqua and Team Magma, but less stupid in terms of goals and uniforms," Kris said quickly. "Anyway, I completed the tasks, but got caught up in something bigger. Me and my friends were used as pawns in Team Rocket's plans, and something even more than that. That's when I found out Wes here," Kris glanced at Wes, "had been keeping tabs on me for some shady purpose."
"To evaluate how you fit into the grand scheme of things," Wes insisted, "and 'cause I was bored. She, well, her Pokémon, defeated the guy who had resurrected Team Rocket, and for once without any help! Well, unless you count my crucial part in the whole thing."
"But what this guy neglected to explain," Kris nodded at Wes, "was what it was all about. The only thing me and Iris know is that there's this weird prophecy thing that may or may not involve the former Champion of the Indigo League, Red."
"You told me you're looking for him," May nodded. "Why?"
"We just want to know what he's doing," Kris said nonchalantly and turned to look at Wes. "This guy can tell us if there's another reason we should."
"You better believe there is," Wes smirked.
Wes laid all of his documents on the floor, and by his request, Iris also put the papers Wes had given to her back at Mt. Silver near them, spreading the sheets of paper all over the floor, practically filling most of the space in the cabin.
"According to that friend o' Red's I told you about," Wes began to explain, "this thing dates back to anything between a few hundred to a few thousand years in the past. Like I said, it might as well be just some ancient bedtime story or whatever, but it's pretty interesting in some parts... we all know about the big war in the north thirty years ago?"
Iris nodded. "The Pokémon-Human war," she said immediately and began a lecture. "It was said that humans were being killed by legendary Pokémon believed to be the 'Swords of Justice', in accordance with an ancient legend of the same happening hundreds of years ago. No one knew for sure, but during the war, not only were hordes of Pokémon apparently attacking humans, but so were humans who had allied themselves with them. Similarly, many Pokémon fought in the war on the human's side."
"I've heard of that!" May was quick to say to prove that she wasn't ignorant either. "The war lasted for five years until they sent some Pokémon masters from Unova to deal with it, right?"
"The Seven Sages," Iris nodded thoughtfully. "But only two of them survived. One is a now a reclusive gym leader in Kanto and the other one became a scientist. The battle ended where the Holon region is now, and that just happens to be the main place where Pokémon are trained for defense."
Wes started to rub his temples and stare at the papers thoughtfully. "One of the passages over here," he jabbed at one of the papers, "apparently talks about the 'cycles of age', or 'wheel of time' or something like that. History repeats itself – and isn't there a big hullabaloo about those three people supposedly killed by Suicune?"
"I'm gonna prove them wrong!" Kris said determinedly. "But right now, we need to translate this thing. Where does it talk about Red?"
"In these three," Wes said and pointed at the three papers closest to him. "Something about 'a child shall rise' and 'a child shall lead them'. Of course, they drew maps and calculated time in a completely different way from us, but we can say that the Champion originated what is approximately Kanto and began his journey approximately three years ago. It's all open to interpretation, however."
Kris groaned. "Why do ancient texts have to be so damn vague?"
"The real question is, why do languages have to be so damn vague?" Wes countered. "Really, for all we know, this could be a recipe for a really tasty sponge cake."
"So Iris' paper says that 'a successor will rise and save the Champion from a fate worse than death'?" Kris asked.
"Seems so," Wes said and shrugged. "They imply that the Champion is the new 'Transcendent One' and his or her successor will follow in their footsteps – probably. But the successor must prove themselves though arduous trials, suffering and so on – most of that hasn't been translated yet. Then there's something about a meteor... an invasion... a resurrection... opening of a gateway..."
"Yeah, it's vague, we get the picture," Kris grumbled, looking at the cabin's ceiling contemplatively. "But if you and Red's friend sought me out..."
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Wes said immediately. "This isn't about you being some chosen figure – quite the contrary, we've already established the chosen figure, now we need to find the successor. You have potential, but that's about it. It's still too vague to be sure."
But Kris continued to stare at the ceiling with her arms crossed, a sly smile on her lips.
A successor to one of the greatest trainers of all time... no matter what that means, with that much influence, I could show a few people how it's done – and shut Lyra up for good.
"Well, we best pick these back up," Iris said perkily and started to reassemble the papers. "Once we find someone who can read this text-"
"Dewford Town ahoy, children!" Briney yelled from above deck. "We'll be in dock in about seven minutes!"
Indeed, six minutes and fifty-seven seconds later, Briney's ship was in dock and Kris, Iris, May and Wes disembarked. Mr. Briney promised to wait until the letter had been delivered and take the group into Slateport next, no charge.
Leaving the docks, the group took in the sights of the island town. It seemed almost the entirety of the town was located on one big beach, with some countryside and wilderness further away. Dewford gave even more of a humble, small town -vibe than New Bark Town had ever done, the beach housing a huge market full of little shops and stands.
"Okay, and now to look for this Steven guy," May said spiritedly, observing the sealed letter she was holding. "Yeah. Look for him, we must. Definitely."
An awkward silence followed.
"Any ideas?" May asked quietly.
"Wait, Mr. Stone said that his son collects rare rocks, right?" Iris remembered.
May opened the PokéNav Stone had given her and brought up a holographic map of the Hoenn region. As May zoomed in closer, the group could see a map of the island they were on, Dewford Town included.
"The PokéGear can't do that!" Kris commented. "Amazing piece of technology, that. Any thoughts?"
"There's a place called the Granite Cave on the outskirts of this town," Iris pointed out. "Seems like a logical place to start from if you're looking for stones."
May scoffed. "He's an ex-Champion and he wanders around collecting rocks? Weirdo."
"They could have gems inside them, though," Wes pondered. "Imagine the profits of selling one of those babies – and imagine how cool would I look if I decorated my Pokémon with them? Their flash would blind anyone I'd fight!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's amazing and all that," Kris murmured. "But now that there's so many of us... I don't think all of us need to go."
"Well, I'm going for sure!" May said enthusiastically. "I promised to get this delivered and I want to get it done as quickly as possible – and there could be some cool Pokémon over there I can use against this town's gym leader!"
"Yeah, yeah, you go on to do that," Kris said, nodding furiously and almost pushing May in the right direction. "I'm going to check out the markets in case he's there instead. Iris, you can go with her - call me on the PokéGear if something comes up. Remember," Kris said in a suddenly serious, firm voice, making eye contact with Iris, "ask him about everything."
Iris tapped her nose with her finger briefly.
"Wes," Kris said, "you should-"
"Come with you?" Wes suggested quickly. "Fantastic! Two and two seems like a good split. Plus, balance is important – this way, we'll have one rookie and one powerful trainer in both groups!"
Kris wanted to kick Wes in the shin and narrowed her eyes at him, but arguing now would seem far too suspicious.
"Fine," she grunted. "You can come with me!"
"Yay," Wes squeed in a high-pitched voice. "See you later!" he told May and Iris and cheerfully waved as they walked away.
As Iris and May left, Kris started marching through the beach into the inner parts of the town, following the frequently placed signs to find her goal. Wes kept up with her pace easily, continuing to eye her suspiciously as they walked.
"What?!" Kris snapped at him.
"So, what's up with this?" Wes asked. "What are you scheming?"
Kris snorted. "You, of all people, accuse me of 'scheming'?"
"Yes," Wes said. "Are you?"
"...yes."
"Knew it."
"Shut up," Kris grumbled. "I'm going to find the gym."
"I'm guessing it's not to test his abilities so you can guide May, is it?" Wes guessed, prompting Kris to glare at him. "Yeah, she told me you guys are training her. That would be mighty thoughtful of ya... which means it's probably not true."
"Well, I might as well try to battle him now that I'm here," Kris said evasively, "but apparently people from Hoenn know about that strange writing more than us. If a gym leader doesn't know anything, my next step will be the local researchers, and if that fails, I'll go up to the Champion himself. I've met Wallace once before – I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember me, but still, he's an okay guy."
"Hmm," Wes said unnecessarily loudly as he briskly followed Kris past the narrow, unpaved streets and alleys of Dewford towards the gym. "You're saying you're afraid she might attempt to gun for your coveted 'successor' position?"
"If Team Aqua is really here, then the less she knows, the better," Kris said. "I know it's a new concept to you, but it's called caring about others!"
Wes didn't smile anymore. "Maybe you ought to reconsider those words," he said quietly.
"As soon as you reconsider your personality," Kris shot back.
The Dewford Town Gym was in a southern corner of town, with nothing but forest behind it, though it still took less than twenty minutes to get there from the docks. It was a regular small town gym, nothing out of the ordinary – until Kris and Wes stepped inside.
The interior of the gym was almost completely dark, only a few torches and candles around the walls giving the gym a pale, eery light. This surprised Kris at first, but Kris remembered May's mention of the idiosyncrasies Hoenn's gym leaders had. And apart from her elitism regarding theoretical knowledge, Roxanne had been fairly normal, so surely Brawly, Dewford Town's gym leader wasn't going to be some weirdo.
The gym guide was willing to guide Kris to the leader, but insisted that Wes stayed at the entrance. No reason for this was given, but Kris was quite frankly relieved that she wouldn't have to listen to Wes' input during her battle, so she cheerfully accepted. But when the gym guide had finished escorting Kris, she couldn't see anything – not just because of the darkness, as there were torches around where the gym leader was supposed to be. The gym guide, however, just left Kris alone, not answering any of her questions.
Frickin' Hoenn weirdoes.
Suddenly, Kris was almost deafened by a sudden guitar riff blaring from unseen loudspeakers, followed by out-of-tune rock music and someone talking to her via microphone:
"A puny pipsqueak of a Pokémon practitioner has been sent to me, huh? Well prepare to get your keester keelhauled, missy, because you're up against the unstoppable juggernaut of a Gym leader, Buuuuuuuuuh-rawlyyyyyyy~!"
"What the hell...?" Kris muttered.
"Your Pokémon don't even have the puniest of prayers, pal – the man you're about to mess with has been trained by the mightiest of musclemen known to mankind – Buh-buh-Bruno from the Elite Four himself! That's right, toots – today, a trainer will be totaled under the stupendous strength of my mighty muscles. Brawly, and all his Pokémon pals will pulverize the pansy posies you call your Pokémon. Buhhhh-ring it, buddy!"
Finishing his introduction, Brawly stepped into the light. Based on his voice and bragging, Kris had been expecting a seven-foot tall hairless, oiled muscleman. Instead, Brawly had blue, spiky hair and casual clothes, and while he was muscular, it was more in a swimmer or surfer dude way than a bodybuilder way. Nonetheless, he continued boasting on, microphone in hand even though he was only a few feet away from Kris.
"Do you feel the fear flanking you yet, little filly?" Brawly continued. "Because Brawly is about to begin to break your Pokémon right down to minute, molecular masses of mush, missy! Do you think you have what it takes to step up and throw down with the unfathomable, unconquerable and unstoppable Brrrrrrrrrrawly?!"
"Um... yes?" Kris said.
Brawly threw the microphone over his shoulder casually, an assistant swooping into catch it, though the guitar-heavy rock music played on.
"Your confidence has been noted, little missy!" Brawly bragged and grabbed a Poké Ball from his pocket, starting to spin it on the tip of his finger expertly. "But me and my Fighting-type Pokémon have been training our bodies, minds and souls to the extremes!"
Kris wondered if this all was really just for her. She couldn't see anyone watching, but then again there was almost complete darkness around them, and it wasn't unheard of to televise gym battles, though only when they knew the battle would be a tough one – and surely they wouldn't film Kris without her permission? Either way, Kris wasn't going to let this punk outstage her.
"I have reason to be confident," Kris said, trying to sound impressive, though nothing really felt enough after that boastful introduction, Kris wondering if Brawly even heard her over the music. "I have six badges already!"
"Allow me to laugh – hah!" Brawly said. "If you'd know even a speck about the training I endured under Buh-buh-buh-Bruno, then you'd know better than to brag about your little victories. I spent a month on Mt. Silver, wrestling Ursaring and Abomasnow with nothing but the muscles I'm packing now! Under Buh-rawly's roof, everything else is meaningless. The only thing that matters here is strength, and I'm going to show you what it really is, sister! Two Poké Balls and thirty minutes - now let's get ready to rrrrrrrrrrrumbleeeeee!"
Someone apparently turned down the volume a bit as the music died down a little, Brawly sending out his Medicham. Kris remembered seeing Arcade Star Dahlia fight this Pokémon back at the Silver Conference, and wasn't going to bother scanning it. However, since over half of the battlefield they were on was shrouded in complete darkness, Kris was going to need a Pokémon unhindered by it.
"Chandelure, go!" Kris yelled.
Kris sent out her prized ghost/fire-type, the Chandelure having a large, round head with no face apart from yellow, pupil-less eyes, purple flames burning on its head and on the ends of spikes extending from its black, curled 'arms'. As soon as Chandelure was out of its Poké Ball, it was much easier to see around.
"If you thought a wispy little ghost-type would threaten me, missy, you're dead wrong!" Brawly bragged, Kris getting annoyed with him already. "And I know the art of Ju, meaning the more power you're gonna throw my way, the easier it will be to take you downnnnnn~!"
"Don't you ever shut up?" Kris wondered. "Chandelure, Shadow Ball!"
"Mmmmmedicham, Detect!"
Its eyes glowing pale green for a split-second, Medicham dodged the sizzling ball of black energy Chandelure had launched with blinding speed. It then retaliated with a Zen Headbutt, the top of its head glowing light blue as it struck Chandelure, dealing serious damage to it.
"How can you be so fast... Chandelure, get closer to it and use Shadow Ball again!"
But Chandelure was too slow, and closing the distance only made it easier for Medicham to strike with another Zen Headbutt. This time, Chandelure was brought closer to the ground, its flames flickering a bit – Kris knew it couldn't last long, but didn't have any Pokémon trained to fight in the darkness, either, so...
"Chandelure, Flame Burst!" she ordered.
Purple fire was launched from all of Chandelure's flames, forming a ball of fire in the air which then burst, causing small burts of fire to hit everywhere, Medicham included, though the damage wasn't much. However, the flames stayed on the field, illuminating it well enough.
"Time to finish you off!" Brawly yelled, ignorant of what Kris had just did. "Rrrrrrrrrrrock sliiiiiiide!"
Medicham raised both of its hands in the air, forming orbs of energy that quickly turned into rocks that it launched at Chandelure with incredible velocity. Still feeling the aftereffects of Medicham's Zen Headbutt and too exhausted to dodge, Chandelure was hit with the attack and rendered unable to battle, prompting a recall from Kris. The flames, however, remained, and Kris wasn't held back by the darkness anymore.
"You only have one Pokémon to parry with, partner," Brawly announced. "Choose it wisely – or feel the devastating damage of defeat!"
"Yeah, I will – Croc, go!"
Kris sent out her Feraligatr next, Croc being refreshed and well stretched-out after its swim en route to Dewford. Brawly just chuckled at Kris' choice.
"You have sealed your fate, my friend!" he announced. "Mmmmedicham, High Jump Kick, nnnoooow!"
Though Brawly let his words drag on, he called the attack name very fast, allowing Medicham to jump into the air, ready to strike Croc with its knee. But Kris was ready, yelling at Croc to use Protect, stopping Medicham's advance on an invisible wall and sending flying backwards, hurt by crash damage.
"So you learned after all – Medicham, Thunder Punch!"
Medicham jumped back on its feet, its fist glowing yellow and sparkling with electricity. But it was too slow with its attack and its attempt to punch Croc failed. The Feraligatr sidestepped around the Medicham and retorted with Slash per Kris' instructions, bringing the Medicham down.
However, Brawly only looked pleased as he withdrew the Medicham.
"Nnnnnnice!" Brawly said. "But what your Feraligtr has in power, it lacks in discipline, the true mark of a worthwhile warrior! It's time for you to witness the power of my Harrrrrrrrrr-iyamaaaa~!"
"The what now?"
What emerged from Brawly's Poké Ball was a hulking giant of a Pokémon that was over seven and a half feet tall. It looked like a sumo wrestler and was vaguely humanoid in appearance, only with its body made of seemingly nothing but muscle and its two huge, orange hands being almost as big as Kris herself. This time, with no one around to complain, Kris decided to scan the Pokémon with her PokéDex.
"Hariyama, the Arm Thrust Pokémon," SkrillDex informed "and the evolved form of Makuhita. It can make its torso as hard as stone, while its powerful hands can knock a truck flying and stop a train on its tracks."
"You're messing with me," Kris said flatly.
"Unit would like to point out that it has not written these entries, and would take this opportunity to remind username Kris of the tendency of humans, cognitively inferior in every way, to exaggerate."
"At least you're not calling us 'meatbags' anymore," Kris muttered. "Any other info?"
"Hariyama appears to be a Fighting-type."
"Anything that I don't already know?"
"This unit cannot read minds."
"Come on, SkrillDex, be a pal!"
"...its body is impervious to many types of attacks, but as a result, it's slow and unwieldy. If it attempts to stomp on the ground, it will attempt to power up, so it should be advised to stop it as soon as possible."
"Wow, that actually helped!" Kris said. "You really do care about me, after all."
"Username Kris is advised to avoid such blatantly unfounded assumptions."
"I'm not hearing a no~" Kris sang, putting the PokéDex back in her bag to avoid it from retorting. "All right, Croc, you're faster than that meathead, so use Waterfall!"
"Fake Out!"
Hariyama just clapped its massive hands, causing a shock wave that hit Croc before it could attack, dazing the Pokémon.
"Hey, snap out of it!" Kris yelled. "Croc, do something!"
"And now... Bulk Up!"
Hariyama started stomping on the ground and flexing its muscles, its arms getting thicker and its body expanding slightly, a magenta aura surrounding it all the while.
"You gotta stop it from powering up!" Kris yelled. "You can't let yourself be humiliated by something like that – you beat the frickin' Masked Man!"
This finally snapped Croc out of its funk, making it shake its head and growl at Hariyama.
"Atta boy!" Kris cheered. "Now, we have to stop it from stomping – use Ice Punch on its legs!"
Croc charged at the Hariyama, its fist glowing blue. But as it punched Hariyama's stubby legs, the attack was deflected and Hariyama didn't even seem to feel it, casually slapping Croc away with Arm Thrust as it stopped glowing.
"A good strategy in theory – BUT THEORY IS FOR NERRRRRRDS!" Brawly roared. "My Hariyama's Thick Fat stops such sneaky onslaughts!"
"Why didn't you tell me it had that ability?!" Kris yelled at her bag.
"You never asked," came the muffled answer.
"Whatever," Kris grumbled. "Croc, Hydro Pump!"
"Hariyama, Body Slam!"
Even as Croc fired water at the Hariyama with intense pressure, Hariyama's body soaked the attack easily and charged at Croc, flattening the water-type under its massive weight as it slammed Croc to the ground. As Hariyama got up, Croc stayed down, its limbs moving oddly slowly and twitchily.
"Looks like I done paralyzed your Pokémon, princess!" Brawly bragged. "Let me fix that for you – Hariyama, Smmmmmmelling Salts!"
With Croc helpless, Hariyama could get the drop on it and smack it with its humongous hand as hard as it could. The attack got Croc back on its feet, curing its paralysis... but only for a few seconds before Croc collapsed again, now unable to battle.
Kris was forced to return Croc and face the truth: Brawly had won. After the battle, Brawly congratulated Kris for a good battle in a normal voice, informing that his boasting was just a show he liked to put on to put challengers to the spot – he had taken Kris' confusion as being unfazed by his tactic. As Brawly himself escorted Kris back to the entrance, she had time to ruminate over what happened.
And more importantly: how the hell did that happen?
Kris had gotten to the third round of the Silver Conference, getting past a powerful trainer who had eight gym badges and a frickin' gym leader. Therefore, wasn't it pure logic to assume that Kris was better than a gym leader? And yet, she had failed, barely denting the Hariyama, no less.
Kris had to rationalize this somehow. Perhaps Brawly was just a better-than average gym leader, like Morty and Clair back in Johto. Except Kris had defeated Morty and tied against Clair... so how could she suffer such a crushing defeat against some small town surfer dude? Worse yet, Brawly didn't know anything about the strange writing Kris had showed him, so the trip had been completely pointless.
At the entrance, Wes was quick to notice the outcome from the look on Kris' face.
"Don't feel bad, Krissy," Wes remarked as the two stepped out of the gym and into the sunny outdoors. "You've just been slacking a bit during your little fun-time cruise aboard the S.S. Anne, that's all."
"Slacking?!" Kris snapped.
"I'd say 'slacking' is about right," said a female voice Kris didn't recognize.
Kris and Wes turned to look. A tall young woman who, while slender, had broad enough shoulders to look like she could easily beat Kris in arm wrestling leaned against the wall near the door of the gym. Her face obscured by a white and pink cap, she had long and curly brown hair tied at the back.
Kris and Wes stared at her.
"Um," Kris said, "can I help you, or-"
"Yes, you can," the girl said. "Why don't you ditch the Orrean candy boy so we can chat for a while?"
Wes scoffed. "What? Who is this?" he said with forced laughter. "Trust me, you don't want to start anything with me!"
The girl snorted in contempt. "'Start anything'? Are you serious? Apart from the fact that, you know, I'd kick your ass without even having to think about it, 'start anything', what are you, like twelve?"
"Ohoho, looks like we have a troublemaker," Wes chuckled and took his gloves off, glancing at Kris. "Don't worry, you just sit on back and let old Wes handle things!"
"Yeah, I don't care one way or another," Kris said, feeling only confusion – and slight gratitude at the mystery woman for talking smack to Wes.
Wes rolled his sleeves back and took a step closer to the girl, who kept leaning against the wall calmly. Wes spat on his hands and rubbed them together, preparing for a fist fight.
"Please, you'll just embarrass yourself," the girl said. "But since you insist, then give me your best shot... Wes."
Wes paused, lower his arms, eyes wide and mouth slightly open as he stared at the mystery woman. Kris frowned at him.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Nothing!" Wes snapped. "She just... I just remembered something. All right, whoever you are, you're obviously trying to mug us or something, and that ain't happening – bring it on!"
Wes took about three steps towards the girl, who easily sidestepped around him and grabbed his arm with one hand and jammed the index and middle finger of her other hand into Wes' nostrils, causing him to yell out in pain. With a move so quick that Kris couldn't clearly see what the girl did, Wes was thrown on the ground and grabbed him in a half nelson, pushing Wes' face down in the sand with her free hand.
"Wait!" came the muffled yell from Wes. "I know who you – ow – are now!"
"I'm sure," the girl remarked and lifted her head to look at Kris – she had blue eyes and a cheerful disposition, as she hadn't even broken a sweat taking Wes down. "Anyway, like I was going to say, it's nice to meet you Kris. Yeah, I know your name," she said quickly when Kris was about to ask. "I watched the Silver Conference. I'd say you're actually a little better than average – a little. Oh, I'm Hilda, by the way – from east Unova, born and raised."
"What do you want?" Kris asked warily. "Because I have really mixed feelings at the moment."
"I bet," Hilda laughed, ignoring Wes' pathetic attempts to squirm free from her hold. "This guy can't help but to bug the crap out of people."
"You know each other?"
"Kris, there's something wrong!" Wes yelled, sounding like his mouth was filled with sand. "She was at-"
"We worked together – once," Hilda said grudgingly and tightened her grip. "But good old Wesley is not why I'm here – nor is the fine beach weather, though that's a plus. I came here to see you, Kris."
Kris felt fairly humbled. Not only had Wes tracked her down even after such a long time, much as Kris wished he hadn't, but now other people were looking for her, too. Still, Kris kept her distance – she had no desire to end up face down on the ground. Hilda spotted Kris' hesitation and smiled.
"Yeah, you don't exactly trust me, right?" she asked. "That's good – means you're not a total dumbass, at least. Well, I guess you could say I'm here as a talent scout. You got into the tournament because you completed the quests the dragon clan had laid out to you, right?"
"Yup, got through all of them," Kris said proudly.
"...nah, you really didn't," Hilda remarked. "You got through one of them. There are eight in total, all meant to test a 'virtue' or whatever. What the hell were they... honesty, compassion, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, spirituality and..." Hilda snapped her fingers to remember. Wes managed to raise his head and spit some sand off his mouth, but Hilda soon pressed him down again, to Kris' amusement. "Oh yeah, humility. Y'know, so basically the opposites of fun."
"One?" Kris said in disbelief. "But... that can't be right."
"Ahh, don't feel bad," Hilda said. "Few even get that far, even that famous kid from Kanto could say he got past like four or five, at max. But hey, you should totally keep at it, though – at least one more."
"Is it showing compassion if I tell you to let him go?" Kris said. "I mean, it was funny at first, but it's getting more pathetic by the minute."
"Trust me, unleashing this guy into the world is the total opposite," Hilda laughed.
However, she did let Wes go for a second. Wes lifted his head again and tried to turn to yell expletives at Hilda, but Hilda sat on his back and twisted his arm behind his back instead. Wes gritted his teeth, but kept quiet.
"Now, I wouldn't worry about that mushy stuff if I were you – you don't seem all that virtuous, if you don't mind me saying," Hilda continued. When Kris frowned at her, she laughed. "Ahh, don't give me that, who here is? I'm not, and this guy," Hilda ruffled Wes' hair condescendingly, "totally isn't. I mean, it's all pretty abstract, and you can throw that last one out of the window – I'm not expecting you to do this for the warm fuzzies."
Kris cocked an eyebrow at her. "But?"
"If you get past one more trial," Hilda said alluringly, "then Champion Alder will take you in as an apprentice."
Kris was stunned, managing to complete ignore Wes' plight and grunting under Hilda. Granted, Alder was not as high on her list of idols as Lance and Cynthia were, but still... that gym leader back there had bragged about being trained by an Elite Four member. To be actually trained by the Unova League Champion – she'd able to crush anyone who dared step in her way.
"Fuh... for real?" Kris stuttered uncertainly. "You really mean that? This is... wow, I mean, he must have seen me at the tournament and-"
Hilda laughed loudly and condescendingly at that, making Kris even more uncertain.
"I'm sorry," Hilda said, still chuckling to herself, "but that was... that was good, kid, really, I thought you were going to just stand there and be boring all day."
"I was – I mean, yeah, I'm a riot," Kris said and forced a laugh out of herself.
Hilda lowered her head and looked at Kris under her raised eyebrows.
"Seriously, now," she said. "He doesn't even remember you anymore, I bet. Do you have any idea how many tournaments he oversees and visits a year? I mean, right now he's in Ever Grande City preparing for the Hoenn League. I was brought along to act as his bodyguard on the trip here, and until he decides to return, I didn't have much to do, so I figured I'd get this out of the way."
"So that's what you've been doing," Wes grunted, finally daring to open his mouth again, apparently. "Wait – what does a guy like that need a bodyguard for?"
"Oh, hey, you can still talk!" Hilda exclaimed in fake surprise and ruffled Wes' hair again. "He never used to shut up," she told Kris. "You're a pretty sharp boy, aren't you, Wesley? That's going to bite you in the ass some day."
Hilda grinned and finally let go of Wes, stepping away from him and allowing him to get up, his dignity in shreds, though, his coat covered in dust and sand, along with his face, which he started wiping frantically. When he was done, he turned to glare at Hilda.
"Seriously, what are you doing here?" he asked. "The last time we met, you were-" Wes glanced at Kris, "-not in the best possible shape."
"Hey, it's been a year, hasn't it?" Hilda said casually.
"One year, one month and five days," Wes said bitterly.
"Adorable," Hilda said and flicked Wes on the forehead playfully. She turned to look at Kris. "Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about myself. And besides, I need to confirm you're even worth the effort. I mean, look at you!"
Kris looked at herself, looking a bit offended.
"Wha... what am I supposed to look at?" she asked sadly.
"C'mon, don't take things so seriously all the time!" Hilda said and gave Kris a playful nudge. "I was just asking how you've prepared yourself for the Hoenn League – I'm assuming that's why you're here, right?"
"That's one reason..." Kris muttered. "Well, I didn't have too much time to prepare, I spent three months sailing the seas, having to work my way to Hoenn."
Hilda nodded. "That's good – so many Pokémon trainers forget the heart of things. The code of the Pokémon trainers, if you want."
"What the huh?" Kris wondered. "Code?"
"An unwritten rule – mostly because those who don't discover it are not suited for trainer material," Hilda explained. "Even I had to discover that during my own little 'journey' three years ago. Why do you think we're out here? Do you think society works if just wander around, battling people for cash?"
"Um... no?" Kris suggested unsurely.
"Pokémon training is a valued skill, Kris," Hilda said. "Sure, most people own Pokémon, either a little Furfrou they can stick ribbons on and show off to their friends or a Ponyta that helps the plow fields – that's how things work. But only professional Pokémon trainers can handle multiple, powerful Pokémon and get them to their peak. Competitive fighting is in their blood, that's why there are trainers, leagues and tournaments. But while you get plenty of freedoms, there's a trade-off."
"Like what?" Wes scoffed.
Hilda paid no attention to him, as she focused on Kris. "Pokémon trainers exist to help people. If you become a gym leader, you have to protect your town. If you're a Champion, you have to defend your region. If you join organizations like the E4 Task Force or Holon Security, you'll have to be ready to use your Pokémon to kill, if necessary. And even a regular, wandering trainer has to stop and help if they can – that's just the way it is."
Kris had nodded throughout Hilda's sermon, while Wes had looked incredulous on the background, rolling his eyes at what Hilda was saying but once again going ignored.
"I have to see if you're up for that," Hilda said pointedly. "Show me why I should be interested in you, who came in eighth place at the Silver Conference, as opposed to that girl you lost to who came in fourth... what was her name... brown hair, dorky hat – oh, right, Lyra! Why shouldn't I just march up to her and offer her the position?"
"She's in Hoenn?!" Kris exclaimed.
Hilda crossed her arms and gazed at Kris with a knowing smile. Kris cursed not being able to keep her head cool.
"You'll choose me," Kris said tensely, "because she's nothing compared to me. I was the one who fought Team Rocket the most and I beat the Masked Man, not her."
Hilda nodded. "I would have gotten the point with less emphasis – but I like that attitude. By the way, can you guys give me a lift? If you're headed to Slateport, that'd be great."
"How did you even get here in the first place?" Wes wondered.
"Swam," Hilda said calmly.
Kris and Wes stared at her incredulously. Hilda smirked.
"Ahh, almost had you there!" she teased. "No, my Samurott brought me here."
"Samurott..." Wes muttered. "Um, Hilda, are you-"
"But I don't wanna stress it out, plus it's not safe to go around the water routes now," Hilda said casually. "There's been some reports about people in freaky blue pirate uniforms... I think I saw a couple of them heading towards the Granite Cave. Weird, huh?"
Kris' face hardened. "Crap... Hilda?"
"Yeah?"
"You say you're a Pokémon trainer, too?" Kris asked. "Then - can you help us out?"
~o~O~o~
Location: Granite Cave, Hoenn
Iris and May had wandered around the cave for an hour, the narrow beam of the flashlight being the only source of light in the pitch-black darkness. A hiker near the entrance had warned them about the darkness, but had also confirmed that Steven had arrived there earlier in search of rare stones, having stayed at Dewford for a good week now. Still, neither of them could really be afraid, especially as they chattered enthusiastically about Pokémon, May wanting Iris to tell her everything she knew about Pokémon battles.
Literally everything. Iris' mouth was incredibly dry at this point.
However, as they walked through a narrow tunnel, they noticed a Pokémon blocking their way. The Pokémon was a small, cutesy, yellow one with red eyes and lots of black hair.
"Huh – haven't seen one of those before," May commented as she spotted the Pokémon. "Torchic and Shroomish need some experience, but that ain't even worth my time."
She started to approach the Pokémon while Iris stayed still, wondering where she had seen that Pokémon before.
"You, we're in a hurry, here," May told the Pokémon. "Shoo!"
"Wait!" Iris yelled.
She lunged forward and grabbed May by her shirt, pulling her to safety just as the Pokémon turned around and extended its 'hair', which turned out to be a pair of enormous jaws filled with big, sharp teeth that it tried to chomp May with. May only seemed mildly surprised to see that.
"That's Mawile, the Deceiver Pokémon, a Steel/Fairy-type," Iris explained. "They lurk in dark caves, fooling opponents with their cutesy appearance before they reveal their jaws and chow down!"
"I ain't much for fairies," May said as she pulled a Poké Ball from her bag, "but a Steel-type sounds just perfect for my team. Stay back, Iris, I'll handle this."
"Be my guest," Iris said with a shudder. "I hate Fairy-types. I only heard about them a few months ago when I saw Kris battling one at the Silver Conference. Then I battled a girl who owned a Granbull at the S.S Anne. It looked like my Fraxure could easily beat it, but then..." Iris gulped. "Just do something!"
"You're weird," May commented, sending out her Shroomish. "So... any thoughts?"
"On what?" Iris asked, hiding behind May for safety.
"Best ways for capture – should I pummel it and soften it for a Poké Ball, or...?"
"You could paralyze it, but a Pokémon that slow won't mind much," Iris pondered. "You should try to immobilize it and wear it down a little!"
"I know just the trick," May said. "Leech Seed!"
As the Mawile tried to grab Shroomish with its jaws, Shroomish fired a bunch of seeds at it. They then sprouted into vines upon contact, the vines trapping the Mawile and making it glow red, draining its energy to Shroomish. When it was immobilized, May tossed a Poké Ball at the Mawile. It was converted into energy as the ball struck it, and after some shaking, the capture was successful.
"Ain't even a thing!" May bragged as she picked her new teammate's Poké Ball up. "Nicely done, Shroomish!" she added and returned it.
Iris sighed with relief. "Good job," she told May. "Now we just have to find Steven and-"
The rest of Iris' sentence was drowned out by the sounds of heavy machinery. It sounded like a powerful drill was being operated right beneath her feet – and indeed, seconds later, the cave's floor crumbled beneath Iris and May, sending them plummeting down.
The two found themselves in the floor beneath, but instead of darkness, they bathed in light thanks to the multitude of lamps hanging from iron cables attached to the stone walls. Moreover, they were also surrounded by a bunch of Team Aqua grunts, instantly recognizable from their blue bandannas and striped shirts, the symbols on their bandannas identical to the one Shelly had worn. There was also a barrel-chested man in a uniform that slightly different from the others' who had long, wavy black hair and an enormous square jaw.
"Tch, that's a real hazard," he said calmly, observing the new hole in the ceiling. "Couldn't you be a bit more careful?" he scolded a grunt.
"Sorry, Mr. Tabitha," the grunt said.
"Ow," Iris said simply, rubbing her head as she got up on her feet. "Your name's Tabitha?" she asked the black-haired man.
"What of it?" he asked defensively. "Also, hi, you're kind of interrupting our work-"
"You're Team Aqua," Iris said warily, hand ready on Fraxure's Poké Ball as she glared at Tabitha. "Now I know why that Mawile attacked – what are you doing over here?"
"Yeah, we are, okay, you got us," Tabitha continued nonchalantly. "We're just minding our business here, though – the bosses told us to look for something called the Enigma Stone, so that's all there-"
"Team Aqua!" May yelled as she got up too, pointing at Tabitha's uniform.
"Yes, I think we've established that," Tabitha said.
"What about all the Pokémon in this cave?" Iris asked. "Isn't the drilling and lights going to disturb them?"
"That's why we're going to relocate them," Tabitha said condescendingly.
Iris turned to look at where Tabitha was looking, noticing cages full of small Pokémon stacked in the darker corners of the cave. There were plenty of Aron, Makuhita and Geodude locked up in the cages, plus one cage was strictly for Zubat, about dozen of them stuffed into the same, cramped space. Perhaps they had resisted before, but now, all of the Pokémon had resorted to just apathetically leaning against each other.
"See?" Tabitha said warmly. "No harm, no foul, so if you could just skidaddle your merry way-"
"Like hell we will!" May yelled, grabbing a Poké Ball of her own, which made the Aqua Grunts nearby tense up, though Tabitha signaled them to be still. "You hurt these Pokémon, you caused me to fall on my ass and get dirt on my favorite outfit – and you're stopping me from delivering my letter!"
"Uh, May," Iris said meekly, "perhaps we should-"
May quickly sent out her new Mawile to the battle. As soon as it was out of its Poké Ball, it glared at the surrounding Team Aqua members, opening its massive jaws ready. Sighing theatrically, Tabitha snapped his fingers, prompting two Aqua grunts to confront May and two others to do the same for Iris, sending out two Corphish and two Sealeo, while Iris did the same for her Fraxure, backing against May as she did so.
"You had to use that thing," Iris grumbled at her.
"I wanna see how well it fights," May said calmly. "These guys are not even a blip on my screen!"
"Next time this happens, I'll do the talking," Iris sighed. "Fraxure, Dual Chop!"
"Mawile... um..."
"Use Iron Defense!" Iris suggested.
"Right – Iron Defense!"
Fraxure's swift Dual Chop managed to hit both the Corphish and Sealeo it was up against and move out of the way as they tried to attack it while Mawile sat still and hardened itself, the attacks launched at it just bouncing off.
"Now use Play Rough!" Iris advised. "Fraxure, Slash!"
May relayed the order, the Mawile's jaws turning to a devilish smirk as it lunged at the hapless Corphish and Sealeo, engaging them into a cartoony brawl which quickly dispatched both of them. Meanwhile, Fraxure blocked the incoming Sealeo's Body Slam with Slash, knocking the Sealeo out. The remaining Corphish fell easily when Fraxure fired a Dragon Pulse attack at it.
Tabitha's ever-present pleasant smile faded a bit as he saw his Aqua Grunts fall as Mawile and Fraxure attacked them next, easily knocking them to the ground and keeping them pinned down by sheer intimidation. Sighing, he sent out his own Mightyena, a somewhat canine-looking Pokémon with black, shaggy fur.
"Mighty, these brats are interrupting our woooo-ooork~" Tabitha whined. "Please finish them off, thanks!"
Tabitha's Mightyena barked and charged at Mawile, attempting to bite it... only to end up breaking one of its teeth and howling miserably, backing away from the Mawile in fear.
"All right, I think that's enough!" Iris said firmly. "I don't want either your Pokémon or the ones in the cages to get hurt, so just leave this place and we promise that we-"
"Will kick your asses to Sinnoh and back, yeah!" May cheered. "Bring it on!"
"That wasn't what I was going to say!" Iris protested.
"Oi!" a harsh voice suddenly yelled. "What's all this, then?"
Iris and May turned to look behind them, May cursing to herself as she noticed Aqua Admin Shelly having arrived to the cave, eight Aqua Grunts standing behind her, along with about two dozen Pokémon, mainly Corphish, Carvanha and Golbat.
"Oh, Ms. Shelly, thank goodness!" Tabitha wailed and ran to the newly arrived admin. "We weren't taking a break, these kids jumped in the way of our work, honest!"
"You sodding twats again?!" Shelly snarled. "You must be utterly barmy to think of crossing us again after our last scuffle!"
"You mean when I managed to humiliate your two Pokémon with my freshly caught Shroomish?" May taunted.
Shelly was unamused.
"All right, you expendable minions!" she ordered. "Eff them up!"
Iris and May prepared themselves, Fraxure and Mawile stepping up and preparing to fight, but they were outnumbered twelve to one. Iris was acutely aware of the situation, but at the moment, their options were to either beat them or be beaten. The only escape was upwards, but neither she nor May had flying Pokémon. Behind them was just solid wall.
However, the supposedly sturdy behind them soon exploded, and a male voice called out to them:
"YOU TWO, GET DOWN!"
Iris was quick to react, pulling May with her as she tackled Mawile and Fraxure, managing to catch them by surprise too and get them on the ground just as a barrage of rocks flew past their heads and at the advancing Aquas, who panicked and scattered. From the new hole in the wall, Aggron, an enormous black bipedal Pokémon with steel-gray armor covering parts of its body stomped out, slowly but menacingly advancing on the Aqua Grunts and their Pokémon still up.
With the Aquas distracted by the Aggron, a young bishounen of a man with light steel blue hair and eyes calmly made his way in through the new hole in the wall, gesturing at Iris and May to follow him.
"Holy crap, it's him!" May exclaimed. "Hey, Mr. Steven! I have a-"
Steven shushed her. "No time," he said curtly. "Come on!"
Leaving his Aggron to fight, Steven led Iris, May, Fraxure and Mawile into a narrow tunnel, but the footsteps of a few Aqua Grunts in pursuit could still be heard. Thinking quickly, Iris sent out her Excadrill.
"I know how we can lose 'em!" she said. "Excadrill, dig a tunnel for us!"
Nodding, Excadrill prepared the massive blades on its hands. The blades then started spinning like two enormous drills, which it used to bore into the tunnel's wall. Steven cringed at the sight, but didn't protest as Excadrill successfully started carving a slanted uphill tunnel. Iris and May recalled their Pokémon and followed, having to crawl their way through the tunnel, Steven coming in last.
"Can't they just follow us here?" May grunted as she crawled after Iris, almost hitting her head as she stopped to talk.
"Probably, but I'm sure they also blocked any exits we could have used," Iris answered, following Excadrill, who kept carving its way through the solid rock like it was cardboard. "Will your Aggron be okay?" she asked Steven.
"I've trained it for a good eight years, now," Steven answered proudly. "I instructed it to release all the Pokémon the Aquas had captured. Even if they somehow beat Aggron, I doubt those Pokémon will take their abuse sitting down."
"Good," May said. "Now, what was I about to say, I was asked to deliver-"
May was interrupted by daylight pouring into their hastily made tunnel, Excadrill having drilled its way up to the surface. Iris, May and Steven followed suit, climbing out of the tunnel and catching in the sights around them. They had arrived on top of the seaside cliff where the Granite Cave had formed into, both the ocean and Dewford Town in full view.
Taking in a deep breath, Steven finally made his formal introduction.
"Sorry for butting in," he said simply as he shook hands with both Iris and May, "but I just couldn't sit back and watch. I came here to find some rare stones, specifically something called the 'Enigma Stone'."
"That's what Team Aqua was looking for!" Iris said.
Steven nodded. "I heard," he said bitterly. "To do that to the Pokémon that dwell here just to find that thing – even my father would think twice about that. I had no idea Team Aqua had become such an infestation."
Suddenly, Steven smiled and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Oh, sorry, I almost forgot," he said. "My name is Steven Stone. I'm just an amateur geologist today."
"Yeah, we know!" May said hastily, looking like she was about to burst. "You used to be the frickin' Pokémon League Champion! It's such an honor to meet you."
Steven just sighed and turned away, though he put on a polite smile.
"Well, that's an honor, I suppose," he said, "but, truth to be told, I let my friend Wallace take over the job for this reason exactly. I don't want people making a huge fuss about me."
"Can I say my business now?" May asked. "I have this-"
"Sorry, May, but I have to ask – what is the Enigma Stone, anyway?" Iris asked Steven. "I've never heard of it."
"That's kind of why it is," Steven chuckled, "an 'enigma'. Nobody knows. It's a legend among people in Hoenn who share my interests – both of them," he cracked. "If it even exists, I doubt it's anything but a rare jewel that people in the past associated with some mystical power, but I do admit that I'm still curious."
May glared at Iris. "Now?" she asked, and Iris nodded. "Okay. Mr. Steven, I have this-"
"Found you!"
"Damn it!"
Shelly, Tabitha and a squad of five Team Aqua Grunts, one of them using his blue bandanna to cover his face, had arrived to the cliff and were now looking down at Iris, May and Steven. They were accompanied by over a dozen Pokémon, Tabitha's Mightyena included – it looked practically furious over chipping its tooth and was viciously growling at May.
"Oi, lookie here, mates!" Shelly taunted. "The Hoenn champ himself came to witness Team Aqua's rise to power!"
"Whatever!" May taunted right back. "We have Steven Stone with us now, so you might as well throw yourselves back into whatever holes you crawled out of, 'coz he's gonna teach you a thing or two about-"
"Actually," Steven interrupted as he glared up at the Aqua members, looking rather pale and sweaty now that Iris and May got a better look of him, "I'm still waiting for Aggron to come back. I only took two Pokémon here, and my Skarmory is resting from its flight at the Pokémon Center."
Iris and May stared at him. "A-are you serious?!" May yelled.
"On top of that, I'm not exactly at a hundred percent, anyway," Steven muttered. "So I'll have to let you guys to fight instead..."
"Well, we have to try!" Iris said firmly. "Excadrill, use-"
"Don't bother, little one, you might as well sit on your hands now that I'm here."
Iris, May and Steven gazed around them, wondering where the voice of the woman who had yelled at them came from. The Aqua members did the same, Shelly holding off the attack as she tried to get a better look.
"You know, I'm surprised," the mystery woman said. "I though that a former Hoenn Champion would be made of tougher stuff. I hope early retirement hasn't softened you up too much, Mr. Stone – you used to be quite the hero back in the day."
"Oh, bollocks to it all, I ain't going to let those little tossers interfere anymore!" Shelly snapped. "Soldiers, beat the crap out 'em!"
"Frenzy Plant!"
Gigantic, thick roots with spikes on them suddenly emerged from the rocky ground from under the Aquas feet, smacking both the trainers and their Pokémon around as a long, green and regal-looking serpentine Pokémon with red eyes grabbed an Aqua Grunt into a stranglehold and squeezed him. Iris recognized the Pokémon as Serperior – a Unovan species.
"Now I'm feeling it's the time for... Blast Burn!"
The grunts and Pokémon who had dodged the roots were thrown around by an ensuing fiery explosion caused by a roaring Emboar, who punched Tabitha's Mightyena off the cliff with its massive fist.
"And finally... Hydro Cannon!"
A massive ball of water was fired at the Aquas still on their feet by a Samurott who had climbed on the cliff, Tabitha getting caught up and thrown away by the sheer force of the water pressure.
In the end, only Shelly and the disguised Aqua Grunt remained, the latter having expertly dodged every single attack and didn't even have a graze on him.
The trainer of the three Unova starters soon climbed up the cliff as well – a tall, brown-haired girl who seemed to be utterly fearless when confronting the Aqua members.
"And what's with the pirate gear, anyway?" she remarked nonchalantly as she passed Shelly and the disguised grunt by like it was nothing. She then turned to look at Iris, May and Steven. "Oh, hi guys, name's Hilda, your friends are on the way, but they need some serious fitness training. You wouldn't even believe."
Indeed, Kris and Wes soon followed, along with Kris' Honchkrow, badly out of breath and barely managing to climb up.
"We're getting clobbered!" Shelly complained. "Lunick!" she yelled at the disguised grunt. "You know what to do."
"Yes, ma'am," came the muffled answer through Lunick's bandanna.
Reacting quicker than even Hilda could have prepared for, Lunick sent out a Pokémon of his own, though it was not a water-type or any of the other Pokémon Team Aqua had used. It was a green, reptilian Pokémon with a long neck and a tail that looked like it was made of a palm-tree branch, filled with razor-sharp leaves.
"A Sceptile?" May muttered. "But isn't that-"
Lunick nodded at the Sceptile, who nodded back before charging at Hilda's Serperior. Using the blades on its arms that suddenly glowed light blue, Sceptile slashed the Serperior with them in an X-like pattern, hurting the Serperior and leaping gracefully out of the way before it could retaliate.
"Ahh, a decent challenge," Hilda remarked, sounding outright pleased, ignoring the attack on her Serperior. "Samurott, Emboar, take it down!"
But Lunick didn't even have to use verbal commands – a mere gesture of his hand made Sceptile leap into the air and whack the ground hard with its tail, causing a seismic shock wave that knocked Samurott and Emboar off-balance. Finally, the Sceptile struck Samurott with the blades on its tail, expertly avoiding Samurott's horn by sliding underneath it and hitting the water-type's exposed belly.
"Honchkrow, we have to help!" Kris ordered. "Use-"
But Sceptile had already left – its intention wasn't to knock Hilda's Pokémon out, merely distract them long enough for it to leap at Iris, May and Steven.
"Be ready, Excadrill!" Iris said. "It's a grass-type, so use-"
Again, Sceptile moved at a blinding speed towards Iris and her Excadrill. Iris shrieked and covered her head with her arms, but Sceptile wasn't going for her. In a bright green blur, Excadrill was knocked out while the Sceptile grabbed Steven in its arms and carried him away. Sceptile's trainer was quick to follow: Lunick kept up with his Pokémon seemingly effortlessly, moving in long, graceful leaps like a Pokémon.
Shelly, the only Aqua member left, chuckled at the group's dumbfounded expressions.
"That lad's our secret weapon, he is," Shelly boasted. "And when the rest of Hoenn hears about how we captured Steven Stone 'imself, they'll-"
"Like hell!" May yelled. "I have a letter to deliver!"
May followed after Lunick's path, surprising even Shelly with how quick on her feet she was. Sighing, Kris whistled at her Honchkrow.
"We can't let May get herself hurt – I guess," she told it. "After 'em!"
Honchkrow swooped down, allowing Kris to grab its legs. Having already done this many times before, Kris' weight didn't even slow Honchkrow down as it flew after May and Lunick and into the forests surrounding the cliffs. May had disappeared somewhere in the bushes, but Kris was quick to find Lunick, Sceptile and a fainted Steven hiding on a clearing. Even the mysterious Lunick was surprised when Kris and Honchkrow came at them from the sky, but he didn't budge even as Kris landed almost right next to them.
"All right, you've had your fun," Kris said confidently – losing to Brawly had made her desperate to beat at least someone today. "Let go of the nice man and give up so we can all get out of here today!"
Lunick motioned at Sceptile to stay still, removing both the bandanna covering his face as well as the standard Team Aqua bandanna keeping his hair down. Kris frowned as Lunick revealed his face, allowing Kris to see it properly, along with his long, thick dark hair, a red headband keeping it from falling on his face. Lunick was taller and more broad-shouldered than the other Aqua Grunts Kris had seen, but was also younger than Kris had expected, probably being only in his early twenties.
Kris narrowed her eyes and tried to get a better look of him. Hazy memories came back to her mind, but she was unable to connect them to the man standing before her. Who was this guy?
"I have no intention of hurting this man," Lunick spoke up, causing Kris to flinch, "nor you, for that matter. And I don't wish to fight a rookie like you."
"Who are you calling a-" Kris paused mid-yell. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"I only hurt those who stand in our way," Lunick continued and pulled out a short sword with a curved blade from a sheath on his belt, keeping it at the ready – he definitely had the pirate theme down. "For the glory of Team Aqua!"
"Uh, yeah, I was going to ask you about that," Kris said, eyeing the sword warily. "What exactly is it that you guys stand for?"
Lunick tilted his head. "Were our intentions not clear?"
"Not really – I mean, you're pretty vague and act like henchmen from some Saturday morning cartoon. No, wait, have you seen Proteam Omega? There's a guy in that show that dressed up just like you – maybe that's why you look familiar."
Lunick looked even more confused. "Proteam... Omega?"
Kris was also bewildered. The man had a strange accent, unlike Kris had ever heard before, and Kris had spent three months on a ship filled with people from dozens of different corners of the world. Lunick recovered faster, though.
"It doesn't matter what you believe!" he said harshly. "We only wish to create more living space for Pokémon and force humanity to stop their careless expansion!"
"So... why did you have to cage up all those wild Pokémon to do that?" Kris wondered.
"...what?"
"Yeah, Hilda told me she saw you guys rounding up Pokémon from the Granite Cave and locking them up. Not to mention all that drilling you did, which is bound to have ecological ramifications – or something or other, I'm not an expert on that. If I were a Pokémon Ranger, I'd probably give you a lecture about it, but it's still not very cool."
"...you talk a lot," Lunick said simply.
"Yeah, it's weird, isn't it?" Kris babbled, almost forgetting the situation she was in. "A few months ago I barely talked with anyone and now you can't shut me up at all!"
"Does this mean, that... you're a defender of Pokémon?"
"Ehh," Kris said and shrugged. "I just don't feel right having you guys running around causing havoc. I mean, Pokémon are pretty cool, but sheesh, it's like life revolves around them sometimes."
Frowning at Kris, Lunick lowered his sword slightly, looking contemplative.
"What you said might be true," he said, "but I still believe in what we stand for. I have to confront our leader about this."
"Right, your leader," Kris said and nodded. "You know, that person whose name is...?"
"And this man?" Lunick asked, ignoring Kris' question and nodding at Steven, who was still in Sceptile's grasp. "Does he share your ideals? Is he also a Pokémon lover?"
"Eww... I mean, yeah, sure, I think so," Kris said. "Does this mean you'll let him go?"
"For now. Sceptile, let-"
"STEEEEVEEEEEEEEEN!"
Something red suddenly appeared on the clearing, swinging from tree to tree on vines with one arm, holding a Torchic in the other. It was May, her face smeared with some kind of war painting – essentially dirt and other stuff she found on the ground. Torchic fired an Ember attack on Lunick's Sceptile, blasting tiny bolts of fire from its mouth at the grass-type, forcing it to drop Steven to block the attacks.
Then, Torchic began to glow and grow bigger and meaner, its tiny chicken legs getting stronger, with sharp nails on each toe, while its wings also expanded from little stubby ones to arm-like appendages with three long claws on each one.
"All right!" May cheered. "Combusken, use Flame Burst!"
Sceptile was taken by surprise as Torchic's evolution spat streams of fire in every direction, almost hitting Kris and Honchkrow as well. The Sceptile looked at its trainer for guidance, but Lunick just shifted his gaze between Kris and May uncertainly. May took advantage of this hesitation and roughly snapped a branch off a nearby tree, using it as a weapon as she charged at Lunick.
But Kris grabbed the stick away from May just in time, causing both May and her Combusken to turn and glare at her.
"That's enough," Kris said plainly. "Lunick! Tell your friends at Team Aqua to withdraw. Just remember that we're letting you go this time. Don't cause anymore trouble!"
"What are you talking about?!" May snapped, trying to grab the branch back, but Kris held it out of her reach. "They're criminals! They deserve what's coming to 'em!"
"They'll go down eventually," Kris said. "But no one except them has been hurt today – and I think we need to tend to him," Kris nodded in the unconscious ex-champ's direction. "Just go away, Lunick."
Reluctantly, Lunick put his saber away and withdrew Sceptile before disappearing into the bushes. May tried to give chase, but Kris grabbed her arm. May easily wriggled herself free and yelled at Kris, but Kris wasn't listening. Instead, she kept staring to the distance. She now remembered where she had seen Lunick – but couldn't even believe it herself.
Steven's Aggron had returned from the Granite Cave and had easily dispatched of Aqua Grunts trying to fight it while releasing the captive Pokémon. Team Aqua had retreated to the boats they had hidden all over the island, fleeing to wherever their hideout was. Soon enough, the group reunited back at the docks, Steven having regained consciousness. May had immediately delivered the letter to him, and was now chatting with him enthusiastically while Wes and Hilda were apparently exchanging pleasantries a little away from the others – or, to be more accurate, Wes was talking to Hilda, who lay on the sand and ate her sandwich, seemingly not hearing what Wes was telling her.
Kris was sitting on the beach slightly away from the others with Iris, confident that she was with the one person who'd actually believe her story.
"So this has been happening since we were at the Ruins of Alph?" Iris wondered.
Kris nodded. "These weird dreams keep on coming, and just when I think I'm forgetting 'em... BAM! I wake up sweating after a yet another one."
"So," Iris said, trying to wrap her head around the situation, "is it always the same dream, or...?"
Kris shook her head. "Sometimes it's the same, sometimes it almost like... continues from where the previous one left off. And they're so vivid, too. But it's weird... I'm not seeing them through my own eyes, or from the perspective of anyone else. I'm observing them somehow, sometimes from the air, sometimes from ground level... it's like I'm some hack film director experimenting with different angles, with equally nauseating results."
"Dreams are fascinating," Iris said wistfully. "Like, I think I know what you mean... have you ever felt like maybe dreams were prophetic, or you were living a past life, or felt like you were actually there, or felt like your mind had written a better movie than any screnwriter could have?"
"Usually my dreams are pretty boring," Kris admitted, smiling. "But, see, it doesn't feel like these are dreams – you remember how I collapsed after touching the walls there?"
"But still..." Iris scratched her head. "To say that this Team Aqua guy is actually-"
"He looks and sounds exactly like the guy I had visions of, and I'm sure he had the same name as well," Kris insisted. "And when we talked – it was like he wasn't from around here at all."
"Well, maybe our language is a second or third language for him," Iris suggested. "Ever think of that?"
"You don't believe me," Kris said. It wasn't a question.
Iris sighed, wringing her hands over the best way to phrase things. "It's... not that," she said. "I believe that you believe it – don't get mad now," she said quickly.
"You suggesting I have a bad temper?!" Kris snapped, only to become aware that she was raising her voice and clasping her hands over her mouth.
Iris smiled. "Just think about it logically. Even assuming they had some ancient technology to record what happened there hundreds of years ago and somehow imprint to your mind, how can that same guy be here now?"
"We know time travel is possible, at least for Pokémon," Kris said. "Remember Celebi?"
"But neither of us saw it," Iris pointed out. "I mean, the Masked Man thought he could use Celebi to go back and forward in time as he pleased, but he could have just heard some legend and assumed it to be true. I suppose we could ask someone who was there. That Hilda girl told me that Lyra is in Hoenn now-"
"We're not asking Lyra anything!" Kris said with finality.
When she realized she was almost yelling at Iris, who looked distraught at Kris' words, Kris buried her face in her hands.
"Sorry," she muttered. "You do what you want, but I'm not asking her anything."
"I know you disagree, but it would be nice to see her," Iris said quietly. "She could be a great help to our mission as well..."
Kris thought about it, and Iris was right. She could and probably would be of help. Like what Kris had seen Lunick do, Lyra could give commands to her Pokémon without uttering a word, and had plenty of high-leveled ones at her disposal. And Lyra wouldn't miss a chance to try and upstage Kris – which was why Kris would steer clear of her until the Hoenn league, which was no doubt the reason Lyra was there in the first place.
She didn't have to answer anything to Iris, as Steven had finished talking with May, and was now making his way to the duo. Kris noticed that he was walking with a slight limp, and wondered what exactly was afflicting him.
"May was very insistent on bringing me this," Steven said and smiled at Kris and Iris, showing the letter Mr. Stone had given. "I wish I had something better to thank her with, but at least I could give her a TM her Mawile could use."
"She has a Mawile now?" Kris asked Iris.
"A lot of stuff happened," Iris muttered hastily.
"She also told me you two wanted to talk to me," Steven continued.
"Yes!" Kris yelled out so loudly that some tourists walking along the beach turned to stare at her. "Sorry," she mumbled quietly. "But we've been looking for you for a long time now! You're a former Champion, right?"
"I think that has been established," Steven said, and though his tone remained benevolent, Kris and Iris got the sense that he didn't appreciate the subject for whatever reason.
"Um," Iris said carefully, "you said earlier that you quit because of people making a fuss... or something."
"I was young, and unprepared for the challenges of being a Champion," Steven admitted. "Everyone said I was good at Pokémon since I was young, but I didn't even want to become a Pokémon trainer in the first place. But I had the skill for it, and I didn't want to be useless, or a burden on anyone, so I went along that route."
"So what have you been doing since then?" Iris asked pleasantly.
"Training, mostly," Steven said with a shrug. "It's a lot more pleasant now that I can do it at my own pace – and the way my Pokémon want it, instead of what the league expects me. I've also been looking for stones, helping out the Mossdeep Space Center, occasionally stopping to help whoever needs me, that sort of thing."
Kris was reminded of what Hilda had told her about the 'code' of being a Pokémon trainer. And Steven, even though he looked like he sorely needed more iron in his diet, still insisted on traveling around, trying to make himself useful...
"Do you know of another 'wandering champ'?" Kris asked quietly. "You know, the one who broke your record of becoming the youngest Pokémon League Champion? That guy?"
Steven looked at Kris stoically, without blinking, though it was possible to register anything from his face.
"I met him," Steven admitted. "About a month ago, that is."
Kris and Iris tensed up, getting closer to Steven and looking around them as if they were discussing issues of national security.
"What did you talk about?" Kris asked Steven quietly.
"I'm sorry, he asked to keep it between us," Steven said firmly. "You're not the first ones to ask, you know."
Kris and Iris didn't feel too disappointed, though. They had partially expected the answer, because whatever he was doing, Red didn't want to be found. But this almost confirmed that he either was in Hoenn, or at least had visited the region. There was bound to be more clues to be found.
"We also wanted to ask you something else," Iris said and took one of the numerous papers containing the strange writing found on the Ruins of Alph from her bag, giving it to Steven. "I know this is kind of a long shot, but, can you-"
Unlike with Red, Steven's expression betrayed him quickly. He raised his eyebrows a little and snatched the paper from Iris with force, though he quickly tried to cover it up by giving the paper back to her gently.
"No," he said quickly, "but I've been looking into this as well... how much do you know?"
"Um... about what?" Iris asked, the question having confounded both her and Kris.
"May told me you were in Johto before this," Steven said quietly, gazing at both Kris and Iris contemplatively. "Is one of you the girl who participated in the trials?"
"Uh, yeah, me," Kris said.
"But I helped!" Iris said quickly. "I mean, not more than the rules allow, but still a little, as in-"
"It's okay," Steven said. "An essential part of the trials is to learn how to measure danger and know when one needs to ask for help – foolishly denying help is not strength, it's stupidity. But that would mean you know of the Legendary Pokémon Society?"
"Hell yeah!" Kris said. "I've met Lance and Morty and even Wallace already."
"And Eusine!" Iris reminded
"Yes, him too, unfortunately. But why do you-"
Steven showed Kris and Iris his badge, something none of the previous members of the Society had done. It was pretty stylish, mostly black with a Poké Ball emblem in the middle, surrounded by the stylized, golden letters 'L' and 'S'.
"Wait, if this society is so 'secret', why do you have a badge?" Iris wondered.
"Sadly, we have to keep the highest levels of government informed of our activities, especially since most of us are in high-ranking positions already," Steven explained. "The Society keeps close track of its members, and unless I put in my fingerprint in this badge once every day, it dissolves. But mostly, it's because having this badge feels cool – and we get discounts."
"I knew it!" Kris said. "I would love to have me one of those. I know it's a bit presumptuous to ask, but-"
"We're not accepting new members at this time," Steven said bluntly, crushing Kris' hopes with a single sentence. "Even then, I wouldn't recommend joining us, especially for someone so young. Joining this organization means devoting your whole life to it. You can't say you have a cousin's wedding to attend to, or an important sports event you want to see, and there is no retirement, no vacations and very little recognition for our efforts. Getting accepted means you have to go through an initiation ritual so brutal that I don't want to reminisce it... which doesn't exactly encourage leaving, either."
"If you think that way, why did you join?" Iris asked.
"Like I said – it's to make myself useful," Steven said, sounding almost melancholy as he spoke. "I want to feel like I'm helping, no matter how little it is."
"Well, then," Iris said, "about the writing-"
"It would be wise if you stopped pursuing it," Steven said firmly. "We're already on the case, but it could involve a high risk. The Wise Trio and even the Elder himself are already focused on translating it, but new writing keeps popping up all the time."
Kris and Iris were even more confused, Iris putting the paper back in her bag. Seeing the disappointed expressions on the girls' faces, Steven smiled reassuringly.
"You helped a lot today, and I owe you for that," he said. "You're both promising trainers, so I would suggest training for the Hoenn League. I'm sure we'll meet each other there, and when we do, I'll have to repay you, somehow. For now, thank you so much, Iris and Kris. Also, about the whereabouts of Red..."
"You know where he is?!" Kris asked quickly.
"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell," Steven said, still smiling slyly. "I mean, he could be anywhere, at the underwater caves in the west, the Battle Frontier in the south, or even..." Steven stopped to scratch his nose. "... the Meteor Falls in the north."
Kris and Iris glanced at each other – Steven didn't say anything else, but Kris smiled back at him, signaling that she understood. Both of them got to shake hands with the former Champion, but before he got to head back to the Dewford Pokémon Center, Kris yelled out after him.
"One more thing, Steven!" she yelled. "How do you become a Pokémon master?!"
Kris knew what the answer was going to be even before asking, but still had a faint hope that it would be something else than-
"You have to figure it out yourself!" Steven answered. "Thanks again, and so long!"
Well, damn.
Kris turned away, and together with Iris, joined May, Wes and Hilda, the latter showing off her combat techniques to May by using Wes as a training mannequin. When he was confident that no one was looking, Steven took the letter from his father and ripped it to shreds without even opening it, letting the wind take the pieces into the sea.
A/N: I promise, no more chapters as long as this in the future. Thanks for reading so far, chapter five will be up soon!
