Sapphire strolled down the road, looking down at Brook to check on her. The Mudkip was trotting by her side, head high and a little skip in her step. Sapphire smiled a little, looking down at the folder in her arms. With the information inside, she'd have to find somebody to trust with it. For now, she had to find Ruby. "I wonder how she's doing… I haven't heard anything about her since we split up."
"Mudkip..!" Sapphire nodded, keeping her eye on the path. Her first stop was going to be Mauville City. The last time she was there, it was a small thriving town. Not a whole lot happened during those times, but it was a beautiful place to visit. She wondered how much had changed since then. Sapphire smiled a little, thinking about all the things she could probably do there. From there, she might head to Slateport if she had the time. It was a small town right next to the ocean. She looked down with a small smile, remembering the first time she and Ruby arrived to the region with Rose and Pearl. The ocean was very beautiful.
"Mudkip! Mudkip!" Sapphire looked up as they approached a large city, picking up the Mudkip as she stared. "This is Mauville City? My goodness, it looks like a shopping plaza. It's very nice," Sapphire stated, smiling at the sights. "So pretty, too. Steven would probably like this place." Sapphire took a deep breath and entered the city, looking at her surroundings. There were Pokémon Move shops and a Bicycle Shop, people going in and out each shop with a smile on their face. Sapphire looked as one kid left the Bicycle Shop, carrying a bike by her side. It was a nice looking bike, too.
"Mud!" Sapphire looked up as they approached a doorway leading to a large yard in the middle of the city. A large structure caught Sapphire's attention as she slowly approached. As she started to read the plaque, a slight movement caught her eye. Her attention turned up as her eye widened. It was a large Pokémon, its metallic body shining in the sun. Beside the Pokémon was a man with blue hair and a black suit, talking to a small child sitting on a bench. Sapphire gasped, recognizing the child immediately and started to wave. "Ruby!"
Ruby looked up, eyes wide as she spotted Sapphire. "Sapphire…?," Ruby got to her feet, eyes wide. "Sapphire!" Ruby grinned, waving back as she ran from the bench with her arms out. Sapphire started to run to Ruby, a grin on her face as Ruby's eyes teared up. "Come to me!" Sapphire ran as fast as her legs could take her, unable to contain her happiness. "Ruby!" The two met in the middle, arms wrapped tightly around one another. "I thought I lost you when I ran into the woods…" Ruby chuckled quietly, rubbing her eyes as she kissed Sapphire on the forehead. "I'm fine now. Are you ok?"
"Yes, but… Ruby, what are you wearing?"
"Huh?" Sapphire looked at Ruby, placing a hand over her mouth." She was wearing a dark red sweater with a light red hoodie over it. The hood bore little horns along with a big 'M' on the chest. Ruby looked up at Sapphire, gesturing a hand to her. "I have to ask you the same thing, Sapphire."
"This is the uniform I have to wear. This group, they call themselves Team Aqua." Ruby's eyes widen, letting go of Sapphire as she stared. "Aqua..? They captured you?!" Sapphire nodded, looking up at Ruby. "And what about you? Is this uniform for Team Magma?" Ruby nodded, looking down. "Yeah..! They captured me while I tried to stop them.. I-I'm sorry, I couldn't stop them." She pulled a hand away, rubbing her eye to rid herself of tears. "I'm so sorry, Sapphire…" Ruby sniffled quietly, keeping her face low. "Ruby…" Sapphire lifted Ruby's head up, brushing her bangs away to look at her. "You wanted to be sure I was safe, Ruby. It's not your fault."
"But you still got captured..!"
"While this is true, it has given me an advantage. Here, look at these, Ruby." Sapphire held up the folder in her arms, watching Ruby stare in surprise. "That looks like the one I found in Maxie's office..! Where did you get this one?" Ruby hovered her hands over the folder, looking at Sapphire as she nods. She took the folder in her own hands, holding it up.
"The leader of Team Aqua, Archie, had it in his office. Did your leader have the exact same one?"
"Sort of. I have a feeling the folders both contain different information," Ruby said as she opened the folder. Her eyes fell on one of the old sketches, holding it up. "Is this…?" Sapphire nodded. "I'm starting to think these two teams are more connected than we think they are." Sapphire fell silent, staring at the folder. "Ruby, who is this?" Ruby looked up at the man, looking quite surprised.
"Oh! Err, Steven. This is Sapphire. Sapphire, this is Steven Stone." Sapphire looked up at Stone, letting her bangs fall over her face as she held up a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Steven." Stone smiled and took her hand, shaking it. "Nice to meet you as well, Sapphire. You're a gem, too?"
"That is correct."
"You gems are just fascinating. Ah, you chose a Mudkip, huh?" Sapphire nodded, crouching to pat Brook on the head. "Yes and she's protected me a few times." Ruby smiled, patting Nugget on the head as he approached. "Say, I have an idea, Ruby! You said you wanted to train your Torchic. How about you and Sapphire train together? I've got a few more Trainers who will probably help you."
"What do you think, Sapphire?" Ruby asked, watching her pick up Brook carefully. "I like the idea. Let's give it a try. Who are the other Trainers?" Stone chuckled, patting the two on the shoulders. "You'll see..! Now, come along. Wattson agreed to let us use his Gym to help you all train." Stone led the two gems through Mauville City, approaching a building with a few signs that had announcements written on them. Standing outside the door was a man with white hair, wearing a yellow suit and a Hawaiian designed shirt. "Wattson!"
"Ah, Stone! I was just about to look for you! You had me quite shocked when you disappeared!" Wattson laughed at his own joke, looking down at Ruby and Sapphire. "And these are?" Stone smiled, gesturing a hand to each gem. "This is Ruby and this is Sapphire. They'll be training with the others. Thank you again for letting us borrow you Gym to train."
"It's a pleasure to help! Well, Ruby and Sapphire. I hope you're ready to go in there because once you do, you'll be training until you faint like your Pokémon. Think you can handle it?"
"We're ready for anything, sir!"
"You'll be shocked with how hard we train." Sapphire grinned as Wattson laughed again, opening the door. "Alright, then! Get in there and meet your opponents, then!" Stone escorted the gems inside, approaching the middle of the Gym. There were four other people there, all kids with their own Pokémon by their side. Sapphire recognized the girl, remembering her from the bike shop. Beside her was a boy who was brushing a large leaf on his Pokémon's head. Beside him was Wally and a fourth trainer who started to wave excitedly. "Ruby! Sapphire!"
"Emeline!" The gems shouted in unison, smiling as they approached. "You're here to train, too?" Emeline nodded, giggling as Treecko climbed out her trenchcoat. "Yep! After that little play battle we had in Mossdeep, I thought about training to help Treecko." Emeline looked at Sapphire, gasping excitedly. "Ah, Sapphire! Ruby told me she was with Team Magma to gather information." Sapphire giggled, smiling as she patted Emeline on the shoulder. "I saw. And as you can see, I'm with Aqua."
"Mr. Stone, can we really trust them? They're in uniform," the girl asked, looking at the two gems in concern. "Of course we can, May. Wally and Emeline know them. Ruby, Sapphire. This is Brendan and May. Brendan is Professor Birch's son and May is the daughter of our new Gym Leader Norman. He's out in Petalburg City." Ruby and Sapphire smiled as they nodded to Brendan and May. May looked at Sapphire, holding ahand out as the gem took it. "It's nice to meet you, then. Sapphire, right?"
"That is correct. I saw you by the Bicycle Shop earlier."
"Oh, I think I saw you there earlier! I was afraid of saying anything since you were in uniform." May chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "I look forward to battling you, Sapphire. I think you'll be a wonderful opponent." Sapphire smiled, nodding to her as the six Trainers stepped back, forming a small circle. Stone stepped into the circle, looking over each one of them. "Alright, then! The six of you will be training against one another in order to make each other stronger. Usually, this strides from traditional Pokémon training, but if what Emeline has told us is true, then we have to work together."
"What Emeline said…?" Stone nodded to the gems, gesturing a hand to Emeline. "She came to me when I got here to Mauville, telling me that both teams had a hold of the Orbs. In time, they'll be on the move and will be awakening either Groudon or Kyogre." Sapphire looked at Ruby, seeing an uneasy look on her face. "How does she know they have the Orbs?"
"I didn't.. I had a feeling they did. You're a part of the teams, right? Have they said anything?" Ruby looked down, shaking her head as she rubbed her arm. "Maxie didn't say anything.. Though, I have this feeling he already has it. If that's the case, we're in trouble." Ruby looked at Sapphire, frowning as she looked down. "When I went to Mt. Pyre with the Team, there was only one Orb there. Archie took it already and… Something happened…"
"It's true, then. Emeline, do you have an idea where the Pokémon could be located?" Emeline shook her head. "I don't, but knowing what these Pokémon are capable of, there's a chance one is in the volcano and the other is somewhere in the ocean. Stone nodded, placing his hands on his hips. "Then we don't have much time. Ruby, I want you to train with Brendan. Sapphire, train with May. Emeline, train with Wally. In a few minutes, I'll switch the teams up, so everybody has a fair fight against one another. Is everybody ready?" Sapphire looked at Brook, watching her stand tall. "I'm ready."
"Take a spot in the Gym and start Training!"
