Pride
"You free to lend a hand here, Stone?"
Steven looked up from the corner he was currently using a trowel to dig at. He went over to where the Canalave City gym leader stood. "Sure, what do you need?"
"Mind brushing away some of the dirt down there?" Byron pointed with his shovel to a spot where a peculiar grey-looking stone was protruding from right below them. "I think Roark took some of my tools when he decided to go to the other side of the cave."
Steven nodded and obliged his request.
He'd been invited by Byron and Roark to accompany them on a trip to Iron Island, that day, telling him they might have found a few fossils the young heir would be interested in seeing himself. Needless to say, he accepted the offer wholeheartedly, knowing he had nothing planned for that day. But more so, he needed to find something to do to distract himself.
Cynthia had managed to call him the day before, some few hours after the Championship Tournament ended. The challenger of said tournament happened to have made it past three members of the Elite Four before inevitably losing to Lucian in the end, Steven had watched it all unfold on TV.
Despite not having spoken to her for nearly a week, he was relieved to hear from her again. He understood the responsibilities she had to fulfill during this time and needed no explanation from her. She had wanted to speak with him just as much as he did, but had to inform him she would need to take time off to visit her grandfather, now that the tournament ended.
Steven heard the deep worry in her voice and respected her wishes, telling him he'd be there to listen whenever she was ready.
Though, after having that conversation with her, it was rather difficult to get the matter off his mind.
Which was why coming on this trip to Iron Island served as a distraction, for the young man – just so he wouldn't find himself lounging around back at his villa, brooding over his conflicted emotions. Steven almost always found himself immersed and focused when it came to work like this, anyway.
The brush in his hand moved back and forth, as he got closer and closer to revealing what exactly Byron had found. The gym leader was expecting to find some fossils around these parts, explaining why he was taking precautionary measures with whatever piece of stone that might represent the ancient artifacts, so they would not get damaged. However, as Steven got down to it, he realized they were far from getting to where they wanted.
"It's just an Everstone," Steven announced, when he brushed off most of the dirt. He picked it up in his hand, feeling the smooth surface of the light grey rock, and held it out to the gym leader above him. Byron frowned but took the stone from him anyway.
The older man sighed. "Damn, and here I thought we hit the big loot," he said, stabbing the ground with his shovel. He scratched his chin as if he were deep in thought. "Maybe Roark's got better luck than we do."
"We could go check," Steven suggested, moving to grab his backpack full of tools off the ground. "We've pretty much covered most of this area anyway."
Byron nodded in agreement, balancing his shovel over his shoulder and started leading the way with his Bronzor following closely beside him.
Years ago, Steven had met the gym leader when he was enlisted by his father to help build the connecting tunnel between Rustboro City and Verdanturf Town – that is, Rusturf Tunnel. At the time, Steven had still been a wandering trainer and was rather fond of the chance to meet a fellow trainer having an interest in steel-type pokémon, like him. He grew to respect the man and had been in contact with him ever since, often sharing stories of their expeditions with one another like old friends.
They walked down the way Roark had gone through and soon came to an exit where light from outside was shining in. Steven followed Byron outside and immediately had to cover his eyes from the bright sun. It'd been a few hours since they first entered the cave, in the first place. His eyes were going to have to adjust to the brightness outside now.
But that was when he happened to hear pokémon cries – as if they were fighting – coming from behind a large rock that obstructed their view of whatever was on the other side. Byron looked around and frowned.
"Strange, Roark should have been here," he said.
"I think I hear some pokémon behind that rock," Steven said and proceeded to investigate. When he made it around, he certainly hadn't been expecting to see a pokémon battle happening between two trainers.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Luxray, use Thunder Fang."
Steven watched the two pokémon on the field obey their trainers' commands and battled it out against one another. He recognized the trainer commanding the Lucario to be Riley, the man he had become acquainted with the first time he came to Iron Island.
The other trainer, another man with blond hair, spiked in every direction, commanded the Luxray. The former champion didn't happen to recognize the trainer, but he could tell that his Luxray was very powerful, if it was able to put up with Riley's powerful Lucario.
The electric-type pokémon had managed to avoid the incoming Aura Sphere by leaping into the air and launching itself forward, to bite its opponent with Thunder Fang as a counterattack. The attack sent Lucario falling to the ground in a state of paralysis when Luxray let go and the electricity of the attack wracked through its body.
Luxray didn't react to its opponent's downfall. Instead, its red eyes watched carefully, awaiting its trainer's next command.
"Lucario!" Riley called out, but his partner failed to respond as it lay on the ground, feeling the after effects of the electric move course through its body rendering it completely immobile.
The trainer across from him then calmly said, "Finish it with Discharge."
Focusing on the energy within it, the Luxray began charging up great amounts of electricity again before releasing the energy in a vibrant wave of blue lightning emitting from its body, and straight towards Lucario still on the ground. It writhed in pain from the impact and was promptly knocked out afterwards.
"Lucario is unable to battle," a familiar voice spoke out. Steven looked over at Roark, who'd been standing off to the side, acting as the referee for the match the entire time. "Looks like Luxray is the winner!"
Both trainers recalled their pokémon back into their poké balls and shook hands at the center of the makeshift battlefield.
"Your pokémon are very powerful, Volkner," Riley said to the other trainer. "No wonder you're a gym leader for a reason."
Volkner smirked triumphantly. "Compared to all the challenges I've been getting lately at my gym, that was pretty fun, to be honest," he said. "It's starting to get a little boring around Sunyshore nowadays."
Riley then turned to Roark. "Thank you for overseeing the match, Roark. I apologize if we've taken up much of your time."
Roark merely shrugged. "It's okay, really," he told him. "I haven't seen a battle as incredible as that one in ages, to be honest. I'm honoured to have been your referee." His gaze wandered over to where Steven and Byron were standing, just then, after having only watched a snippet of the pokémon battle themselves. "Oh, hey, Dad! Hey, Steven!"
"Roark, I thought you were working?" Byron sternly asked once they met up with the group.
His son laughed sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized. "I met up with these two once I got out here, but I couldn't resist being a witness to their battle. These two are really good trainers. Maybe even better than you, Dad."
"Watch your tongue there, son," Byron mused, ruffling his son's hair from the lack of his usual helmet. He shifted his attention to the two newcomers and nodded at them. "Riley, Volkner, good to see you two again."
"Likewise," Riley responded and Volkner just nodded.
"Ah, Steven, I don't suppose you're already acquainted with these two?"
"I've met Riley already," Steven replied, giving him a nod to the dark-haired man. He then looked at the man next to him, who met his similar gaze with a curt nod of his own.
"The name's Volkner. I run the gym in Sunyshore City."
"Steven Stone." He held out a hand. "From Hoenn."
Volkner gave his hand a firm shake, but suddenly widened his eyes. "Steven Stone…? As in the former champion of Hoenn?"
Steven grinned. "That would be me, yes," he replied.
Sometime later, the five of them had decided to take a break and chat amongst themselves. Byron's enthusiasm was the main drive to keeping up a conversation between all of them.
He asked Volkner why he had come all that way from Sunyshore City, that day, since Iron Island was completely on the other side of the region. The gym leader revealed it was because he wanted to get out of the boring routine of his gym duties for a while since nearly every challenger who visited would get shut down by his team, posing almost no challenge or enjoyment at all for him.
Having been old friends with Riley, his friend offered to invite him over to train together to serve as his opportunity to get away from the gym.
It was no surprise to the other two gym leaders as they often heard stories of the man closing up his gym for long periods of time. Byron mentioned that even Hearthome City's Gym Leader, Fantina, was also known for leaving on small journeys and closing up the gym for indefinite amounts of time, as well.
"While it's not recommended, there are no rules against doing such a thing, so long as gyms aren't closed for over a month," Byron explained. "Only then will the League committee interfere."
"I'll probably go back in a few days," Volkner spoke out calmly. "Though I'm not expecting much from any new challengers."
A phone rang amongst them. Roark was the one to react with a jump when he felt the vibrations from his pocket. He took it out only to widen his eyes at the caller's name.
Byron didn't appear surprised, however, merely chuckling to himself. "It's your girl, isn't it, son?"
Roark's cheeks reddened at his comment and just nodded slightly. "I-I've got to take this," he said to the group. "Excuse me." He got up after that and walked out of earshot from the others when he finally answered the phone.
The older man grinned. "I see that boy nearly every week, and almost every time, he always gets interrupted by Gardenia," he mused. "Love is a beautiful thing, eh, fellas?"
None of them actually said anything.
"Do you boys even know what I'm talking about?" Byron prompted them further from their blank expressions.
To Steven, love was a strong word. He knew what love was, no doubt – he loved his parents and his friends. They cared for one another equally, but he could tell that wasn't exactly the context in which Byron was trying to imply here.
After a few seconds of silence, Riley spoke out, "I think Volkner seems to have an opinion on such a topic." He smirked at his friend's rather shocked expression and the glare he sent towards him.
"Do you, now?" Byron directed towards his fellow gym leader, a glint of interest in his eye.
"I don't," Volkner replied.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Riley pinched his chin with his thumb and finger, deep in thought. "But you do have a rather extensive fan base, Volkner," he chimed in. "Particularly with a lot of the women here in Sinnoh."
Volkner shrugged and looked away nonchalantly. "I'm not interested in that right now," he replied simply.
"What about that visiting girl from the lighthouse city in Johto?" Riley bluntly said with a smirk.
His friend's previously calm expression had changed to complete utter shock.
Byron laughed loudly. "Hit the jackpot!" the older man exclaimed.
Volkner's cheeks turned a visible shade of pink as he looked away again. "H-How did you…no - I don't know what you're talking about."
But the man continued to laugh in amusement. "Denial is written all over your face, young man. Listen, we're talking all in good fun here."
Volkner grimaced. "I don't see how talking about a nonexistent relationship is 'all in good fun'. If you must know, Jasmine is just a friend."
The whole conversation was amusing to Steven. He knew Byron was just poking fun at his fellow gym leader. It was always in his nature.
But still, the man knew how to be professional. He remembered the first time he met him, Byron and his father had a rather deep conversation on matters regarding the tunnel's construction. They both had come up with the same idea that construction should halt as the Whismur living in the cave were becoming greatly agitated by the workers in there.
It showed how he had a sense for pokémon feelings and since then, he was one of Steven's role models, despite his questioning behaviour sometimes.
The former champion looked at Byron who was suddenly staring at him with a smirk on his face.
Steven blinked in confusion but the man had glanced away before he could ask anything further.
Later that day, when they finally decided to head back to the mainland, Roark, Byron, and Steven said their farewells and headed to the docks to wait for the boat that would take them back over to Canalave City.
Roark was off to the side, still on the phone with Gardenia, having been in conversation with her for nearly an hour now. The gym leader didn't appear irked in the slightest, but in fact had been smiling happily the entire time.
Byron mentioned that, "He reminds me of myself when I was young."
Steven glanced at him curiously, as they stood by the docking area.
The gym leader sighed wistfully. "My wife – Roark's mother – to be frank," he said with a sad smile. Steven had known about his wife's passing a long time ago and couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him right now. "Best days of your life are when you find that you're in love…or at least, interested in someone. Most people have that kind of weakness, I like to think." He glanced over at him. "What about you, Stone?"
Steven stared at him with a raised brow. "What about me?"
He elaborated, "Anyone you find interesting lately?" He then added, "Not trying to pry, of course."
He had to think over his next words carefully. There didn't seem to be any harm in discussing the matter with Byron since he had full trust in him not to judge or say anything otherwise. It was him and Wake who introduced him to her, after all.
"I guess you could say that, sure," Steven said with a grin.
Byron raised a brow and stabbed his shovel into the ground so he could cross his arms, seemingly interested in this new bit of information. "Who's the lucky person?"
Steven deadpanned, conflicted on deciding whether to telling him the truth or not. He trusted Byron, of course, but he didn't know if revealing it to him was wise.
"I'm not one to blab secrets, Stone, don't worry." The older man paused. "Unless it's Roark, of course. It's my duty to embarrass my son in any way. But I know this is serious one-on-one talk right now. If you're not willing to say it, that's fine by me."
The former champion shook his head. "Perhaps it won't be much of a surprise since you all know her," he stateded, deciding to just come out with it. "She's Sinnoh's champion, after all."
He watched the gym leader's eyes widen. "Champion? You mean Cynthia?" When Steven nodded, Byron let out a whistle. "Well, well, Steven. Never would've thought you'd have the guts."
Despite coming on this trip to create a distraction for himself, Steven could not deny that Cynthia was always at the back of his mind somewhere. Thinking about her now left him feeling warm and fuzzy all over.
What Byron had said, about the days of realizing you are interested in someone being amongst the best, seemed very true. Every time he spoke with her, every time he saw her, every time their hands brushed whenever they walked closely to one another – made him feel like he was living out the best moments in his life. He wouldn't trade that feeling for the world.
"I should probably thank you," Steven said with a wide grin on his face.
The other steel-type user looked confused. "For what?" he asked.
"For introducing me to her at the gala."
Byron continued to look confused before realization dawned upon him and he started to laugh with a knowing smile.
They heard the boat horn off in the distance and the boat coming into view soon after. Roark came running back to where they were, his phone finally turned off ("My battery died.").
As they all watched the boat getting closer to the dock, Steven smiled to himself. Whether she reciprocated his feelings or not, he knew that as long as she was in his life, one way or another, he would still be happy.
So there's this thing I've seen fanart for on tumblr called the NEET Trio ('Not in Education, Employment, or Training') consisting of Steven, Riley, and Volkner because at one point or another all three of them are just wandering trainers (in Volkner's case he kinda ditches his gym responsibilities or so the logic goes). And, I dunno, I think they'd make a great group of friends because they share this common trait between them. I guess it's sort of just eye candy also when they are grouped together, haha! Anyway, they'll appear at another point in the story altogether because Steven needs friends in Sinnoh and the NEET Trio fits the spot because…why not?
Boring chapter? No? I hope not, haha! But, to be honest, I had trouble with this prompt (this just unfolding randomly in my head as I wrote this). I don't even know how I got this many words written… Three chapters in a row without actual Steven/Cynthia interaction is killing me but that'll all end soon! Like I mean next chapter soon. :) Thanks for reading! (Sorry for the lengthy A/N! Explanations were in order!)