Pokemon: Radiant Ruby and Shining Sapphire
Chapter 10
The Gray Haired Boy
Sapphire used her head start to get to the Pokemon Center faster than Ruby, or so she at least thought. But then she stepped in front of the motion activated glass door, and as it opened she saw Ruby on Combusken's shoulders waiting for her arrival.
Ruby hopped off his Pokemon's shoulders and said sarcastically, "What took you so long Slowpoke?"
Sapphire's face seemed to be the essence of rage at this point. "You stupid cheater!" She exclaimed rather loudly.
Ruby responded, "I never made any rules when it came to means of transportation, and I also remember you starting before I said go so in the end I believe that you are the one who cheated. I just won anyway because Combusken and I are awesome." He extended his hand out to Combusken who in turn did the best attempt he could for a "high-five".
Sapphire walked up ready to hit Ruby when the nurse in the Pokemon Center yelled, "Stop fighting!"
The two children turned to look at the black haired girl at the desk. She was incredibly young compared to the other nurses, no more than sixteen. Her deep blue eyes stared into their very souls. Ruby then asked, "Wait, are you even a nurse?"
The girl spat back, "What kind of question is that? Of course I am!"
Ruby sarcastically stated, "I have a hard time believing it too. What's your name?"
The girl responded, "my name is Kaitl…"
Ruby held up his hand to stop her before saying, "Can already confirm it's not Joy, and therefore you are no nurse."
The girl stomped out from behind her station and exclaimed, "I get this almost every time an off islander comes here and I've had ENOUGH OF IT!"
Ruby put his hands on his hips and smiled saying, "Well I'm glad I promoted this feeling of change in your life. Maybe you should A. Change your name and dye your hair pink, or B. Find a new profession."
Sapphire sighed and spoke to the girl, "I'm sorry about his… um… social shortcomings? Yeah, that's what I'll go with. Anyway, you can continue to actually greet us as soon as you've calmed down."
The girl took a few deep breaths before starting again, "Hello, I'm Kaitlin. Welcome to the Dewford Pokemon Center."
Combusken looked at the girl thoroughly and thought to Ruby, "I'm with you. The hair color doesn't match the dress at all."
Ruby responded aesthetically, "I know! It's frustrating!"
Kaitlin then walked back behind the nurses station and asked, "What can I do for you today?"
All three present were shocked at the almost immediate shift in character the girl experienced. Sapphire answered, "We're going to be spending the night in the basement area if you don't mind. Our Pokemon just need to rest. We went through hell today already just to make it here."
Kaitlin observed Combusken's condition and nodded, clearly seeing how roughed up he was. She pointed to the escalators to her left and said, "All the rooms except the one at the end of the hall are vacant currently so take your pick."
Sapphire was rather confused by this, "All vacant? Why is it so empty?"
The nurse explained, "Dewford doesn't get many visitors. It's never really a nice climate here and very little to see and do. The most common reason for travelers to come through is to challenge the Pokemon Gym on the island. But I suppose the other visitors on the island said he was going to study something in Granite Cave."
This reminded Ruby, "Oh yeah…" He reached into the KEY ITEMS pocket in his bag and pulled out the letter Mr. Stone had given him and explained, "I think we have a message for your other client. Could you point us in the direction of the cave?"
Kaitlin nodded, "I certainly could… but…" She acquired a devious grin on her face and stated, "...because you were so rude to me earlier, I will kindly tell you to figure it out for yourself. And for future reference, don't fuck with me."
Combusken chirped in his usual laughing tone and stated, "I like her, if only for the fact that she doesn't like you."
Ruby sighed, grabbed both Sapphire's and Combusken's wrists, and drug them outside.
Sapphire asked, "You can't honestly say you didn't expect that, right? You were being an asshole."
Ruby nodded in acknowledgment of the fact but then pointed to a rocky formation past a few tries to the NorthWest that he noticed on his way to the Pokemon Center and said, "That may be true, but I'm just going to assume that that's the cave we're looking for anyway. However, I must admit, it was a good punishment for my dickery, at least in theory."
Sapphire sighed and just kind of accepted that the boy felt little to no remorse for what he said to the nurse. The two began to walk towards the cave to be stopped by a small child who looked to be around eight. He yelled, "Mainlanders!" He rushed up to them and asked, "What's big in the Mainlands! Tell me! Tellmetellmetellme."
Ruby put his hand up to shush the child before asking, "I'm sorry, but please slow down. What do you mean by "What's big in the mainlands?'"
The boy exclaimed, "I mean, what's hot right now!?"
Ruby, still rather confused, looked to Sapphire who appeared to be in a thought. A moment passed before she spoke, "Well right now, the Pokemon Contest hype is pretty crazy right now. They're opening the first facility in Hoenn in Slateport in a couple days after all."
The boy smiled and jumped around, "Yeah, Contests! I can't wait to tell everyone the news!" He then sprinted off and ran inside a long building to the north.
Ruby scratched his head and asked, "The hell was that all about?"
Combusken agreed, "Indeed. That was rather weird for a child to act like that. Hasn't he ever heard the term 'stranger danger'?"
Sapphire explained to Ruby, "Like Kaitlin told us. There aren't that many people that come to Dewford. I'm guessing the boy just wanted to know what's going on in the world rather than just on this small island."
Ruby nodded and said, "Well that makes sense I suppose. Anyway, no more delays. I want to catch our man before he leaves the caves." They continued to cross the beach but then Sapphire stopped. Ruby looked back to her and asked, "Hey, what's the deal?"
Sapphire closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. She looked completely absorbed in the moment. Her hair blew gently with the wind. Ruby couldn't help but notice once again how cute she really was. About a minute passed before the girl came back down from her own space and apologized, "Sorry about that. We can get going again."
Ruby asked, "Are you not going to explain what that was?"
Sapphire gave a giggle before explaining, "It's probably just a girl thing, but sometimes I just like to take a moment to admire the world around me. It just seems so… unreal at times you know. And now more than ever! I'm traveling the region with my best friend to help my dad complete the Pokedex. It's like a dream come true."
Ruby had no idea how to respond, not because he didn't feel the same way, but more so he could never put it to words how he felt. Never in a million years would he have thought that this past week was even possible before he moved to Hoenn. It felt like his whole life to this point couldn't amount to a single day of their adventure. So instead of responding, the boy just nodded and smiled to let Sapphire know he felt basically the same.
After about four hundred more yards, the two came to the entrance of a cave structure. Ruby peered in and saw that there were torches along the walls to guide them. Once the two entered Granite Cave they were immediately greeted by a fork in the path. There were arrow signs reading → Ruin Carvings ← Deep Cave Exploration. Ruby asked in thought, "What way do you think Mr. Stone's son is?"
Combusken blatantly responded, "Well I doubt he'd come her to explore the cave itself. It would seem to me that the carvings are the only real tourist attraction if you don't plan on hiking."
Sapphire caught onto this before Combusken even finished, having already started walking to the right side path. Ruby followed and very soon after, the path opened up into a big, well lit area. On the far wall there was a mural of sorts carved into the stone. At the bottom of the steps was a young man sitting atop a four legged, steel-blue pokemon. The children made their way down to the man and his pokemon. The young man looked to be about twenty years old but with gray hair and eyes the same color as refined metal. He was wearing a black suit with purple lightning shaped streaks on the body and white crown cuffs at the wrists. The jacket was open to reveal a purple undershirt as well as a big red neck tie.
His attention shifted from the wall to the children, but not looking directly at either of them. He tapped the large Pokemon he was sitting on saying, "I know you know this Metagross, but we have some guests. Let's greet them." The Pokemon picked up one of it's metal legs at a time to turn towards the children, and the man adjusted accordingly.
Ruby took out his Pokedex and scanned this new Pokemon. The Pokedex read
Metagross
The Iron Leg Pokemon
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 1212.5 lbs
Metagross has four brains in total so it can breeze through complex calculations faster than a supercomputer. It can also levitate by contracting its four legs.
The man laughed and said, "Scanning the new pokemon before you even say hello? Eager ones are we?"
Ruby apologized and said, "Sorry. My name is Ruby Plake."
The man nodded and stated, "Yes, I thought you bear resemblance to Norman. I'm assuming he's your father." He then shifted his attention to Sapphire, but before she even had the chance to introduce herself, the boy said, "And you're Sapphire Birch. No doubt about it."
Sapphire asked, "Wait, how… how did you know that?"
The man stated, "Believe it or not, we met a few years back when I was helping your father on his research of the ancient Pokemon war. I was about sixteen then so you must've been no more than nine."
The man then dismounted his pokemon and took a small bow and introduced himself, "A pleasure to meet you Ruby and Sapphire. Of course for Sapphire its more of 'to make your acquaintance again'. My name is Steven Stone."
Ruby nodded and said, "Likewise." Then he directed his attention to the carvings on the wall. He immediately notices the carvings on what appeared to be a whale type creature's fin. He looked at it closer and Sapphire asked, "Something catch your eye there?"
The boy pointed to the wall where the fin was and said, "Those markings on that creature… I think I saw them in a dream."
Steven had his Metagross retract it's legs and fly up to the painting where Ruby had motioned. He asked, "You mean the symbol Alpha? It's not an uncommon symbol at all. In many ancient texts it just stands for beginnings. You've probably just seen it elsewhere."
Ruby shook his head and said, "No, I mean I've seen it on a Pokemon in my dream. It was the first night after I'd moved to this region. I'm positive."
"Maybe it's a psychic revelation of some sorts." A voice resonated from the top of the stairs. All their attentions were diverted to Emerald casually walking down the steps. His Treecko was perched on his shoulder. He finished his assumption, "Or It could just be that, a dream and nothing more."
Sapphire snarled, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Steven gave a brief laugh before saying, "So I take it you've met? It's unfortunate you harbor such ill feelings for him. I asked him to come."
Ruby, Sapphire, and Combusken all asked simultaneously, "Wait what!?" Combusken of course, only Ruby could hear.
Steven nodded, "Of course. When it comes to ancient lore in the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions, there is no better source of information than the Draconid clan."
When Emerald made it down to the bottom of the steps he took a small bow. He then spoke to Sapphire, "I really do suppose we got off on the wrong foot."
But to everyone's surprise, Ruby was the one to respond, "It's fine, cause unlike you I have a purpose in this world." Shocked, everyone looked at the boy and he explained, "That was what you basically said when we first met wasn't it?"
Steven sighed and said to Emerald, "So you still have the massive ego, huh?"
Emerald shrugged and then apologize, "I'm sorry for having offended you. However, that is merely the persona I use to keep in line the members of Team Skystorm. They tend to listen to a more assertive leader better. However, you caught a glimpse of my actual personality in Rustboro."
Ruby explained, "That doesn't make me feel any better. Maybe if you were different, your grunts wouldn't make total fools of themselves, which also tarnishes the "Protection Team's" name correct?"
Steven stated, "Now isn't the time. I called Emerald here for his knowledge on history, not to have a debate on morals."
Emerald nodded and asked, "Well then, what exactly do you need cleared up? There is a lot of lore covering this mural after all."
Steven asked, "Well why don't you start from the top?"
Emerald groaned, "Alright, but just know that this'll be a long story so be ready." Once all people present seemed ready to listen Emerald began, "3000 years ago there was a war. A war that drove someone to create an ultimate weapon. This weapon when used destroyed almost all life that Arceus blessed this world with. From the ashes of this crippled society came people who built the world back to its former glory. However, this progress was halted by another war about 500 years prior to now. This war was of supremacy of Pokemon and Man. On both sides their stood two leaders, one man and one pokemon. The first of the two leading members, the ones battling for man's supremacy were a man by the name of Rupture and his partner, the legendary beast of the earth, Groudon, as shown here." The boy walked to the far right of the mural to point at what appeared to be a human standing on the head of a giant lizard creature. Emerald then started to walk to the other end of the carving as he stated, "The second set of leader's went by the name Depth and the legendary scourge of waters, Kyogre." He again pointed to a carving of a woman riding on the back of the whale figure Ruby had mentioned earlier. Emerald then continued the story, "These two pairs led armies into battle for over a decade with no clear victory ever being claimed. And in the madness of this war four new continents were formed as a result of the struggles. These four are Tohjo, Sinnoh, Alola, and of course our own home, Hoenn."
Sapphire asked, "So these two creatures really made our world after the great extinction? That's not just a fairy tale?"
Emerald looked at the girl before shaking his head, "Yes and no. They created our continent yes, but the rest of the world was still mostly in place before the extinction."
Steven then added, "Yes, but let's give credit where it is due. The creation of continents are feats for only creatures that can rival the powers of Arceus. It's still phenomenal what the two beings accomplished, which is of course why their tale is secured in legends."
Ruby then asked, "Ok, but if the fairy tales were still remotely true, then what of the third entity that ceased their battles, the Lord of the Sky?"
Emerald shot a glare towards Ruby specifically stating, "I'll get to that now calm down." The boy cleared his throat before continuing, "The battle lasted so long because the two legendary Pokemon had an infinite energy reserves. Two minerals only found on opposite ends of the depths of the Caves of Origin. These minerals became known as Radiant Ruby and Shining Sapphire. Two minerals that are completely worthless to human beings, and yet hold the key to infinite power for these beasts. All hope of the conflict ever ending nearly faded away at this revelation. However…" He then pointed to the top middle of the carving which showed a robed man riding on an elongated snake looking dragon. "... a Draconid by the name of Leon intervened in the battle with the Lord of the Sky itself, Rayquaza. While the other two parties fought each other. Leon and Rayquaza ended the lives of both Rupture and Depths and cut off the Cave of Origins to prevent further energy usage of the two sacred minerals. Rayquaza then fought Groudon and Kyogre in a three way conflict. Although it was close, Rayquaza managed to subdue them both. However, even the Lord of the Sky was unable to destroy the two, and so it choose to place a curse of slumber on the two legendary beasts. The two sank to the bottom of the ocean, neither dead nor truly still alive, and they still sleep to this day. Rayquaza, injured from it's battle, then returned to the sky to rest until it's power was required once more." Emerald then turned back to his "audience" and said, "And thus concludes the origins of the Hoenn region."
There was silence in the cave for a brief time after. Steven finally broke the silence with a brief laugh, "Just like the Draconids to make their own seem like the sol protagonist. What if I wanted to know more of Rupture and Depths' stories?"
Emerald nodded, "Precisely. This is why I rejected the ways of the Draconid in search of my own answers. However, the knowledge they did give me is a good start. Then maybe when I find the answers, my mind won't be as empty as your sight."
Steven laughed while patting his Pokemon's metal head and said, "Well unfortunately for you, I can see just fine regardless of not using my own eyes, thank you very much. So my sight is not something you can really bring up as a detriment."
Ruby and Sapphire looked at each other quickly before Ruby asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Steven had Metagross soar back to the ground in front of the two children and stated, "That's right, I never did tell you. I'm actually blind."
The fact that he said this while looking at the two made Ruby incredibly confused, but before he had the chance to ask, Steven already began explaining, "I have an aura bond with my partner here. And he has dedicated one of his four brains to relaying everything he sees to my own brain, thus allowing me to see whatever he sees."
Combusken thought to Ruby, "That's… absolutely phenomenal. Could you imagine battling someone with a bond like that? Their minds must be in perfect sync."
Ruby nodded, still relatively in awe and said, "Yeah, they must be a terrifying force to be reckoned with."
Emerald then stated, "Well If that's all you wanted to hear from me, I'll be on my way. Have to pay a visit to my…"
Sapphire butt into his sentence and said, "I actually have a question, if you'd be willing to answer." Emerald's gaze focused on her and she took this as her passage to ask, "Where is Zinnia?"
Emerald folded his arms and sighed, "My mother? I wish I could tell you."
Sapphire expressed, "isn't it a little weird for the 'Protection Team's' leader to randomly go missing, leaving her son in charge?"
Emerald nodded, "Indeed. And I also understand what your implying. However, I'd be much less concerned of her whereabouts if I had already killed her now wouldn't I? But as for where she disappeared to, your guess is as good as mine. Wherever she went though, she left the burden of the team and the safety of this region to me. I'll do my best to see that her region is still unscathed for when she finally decides to reemerge from the shadows."
Steven then came to a realization, "Speaking from coming out of nowhere." He asked Ruby and Sapphire, "Is there some reason you two came here? You acted as though you expected to find me here."
Ruby then reached inside his KEY ITEMS pocket and brought out the letter given to him by President Stone. He then held it out to Steven and said, "It's from your father. Didn't tell us what it was about, but it's probably none of our business anyway."
The man in the suit took the letter and opened it. He then showed the letter to his Metagross and said to himself, "I see… so that's what their next plan is." He then turned to the children and took a small bow saying, "It seems that I'm needed elsewhere. Until we meet again Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and of course the Combusken too." After saying this, he hopped onto his partner, it retracted it's legs, and zoomed at incredible speeds up the steps and out of the caves.
Emerald then started to walk up the steps and waved back to the other two kids there and said, "I best be off too. Maybe next time we can have a battle." He then left the same way Steven had just done before him.
Ruby then started to follow suite, only to stop upon realizing Sapphire was deep in thought about something. He asked, "What's up?"
The girl shook her head and said, "It's nothing. Just amazed at how nice he was this time. Barely any sarcasm at all. I wonder how hard it is to keep a persona that's almost the exact opposite of who you are?" She then smiled and stated, "Oh well, still want to hit him for stealing my dad's Pokemon."
Ruby laughed and said, "There's the Sapphire I like. Come on, let's get out of this cave. Then we'll challenge the Dewford Gym!" Sapphire nodded and followed Ruby and Combusken out of the cave.
Once outside, Combusken stated, "Enough of the exposition crap, I can't wait to battle again!"
Ruby thought back, "Yeah, I'm super excited! I wonder what type of Pokemon this gym will use?"
The three walked across the beach and back into Dewford, to see a giant banner outside of this largest building in the town read, "The Contests are Coming!" Ruby asked, "Wait, didn't you tell them about that like forty minutes ago… How did they..?"
Sapphire broke into laughter, just now realizing how desperate these people were for a connection to the mainland. The two walked by the building and went to the far south end of the town where the Orange roofed Pokemon Gym stood. Ruby thought to Combusken, "Well, here goes!"
His partner replied, "Yep, let's do this!"
