Pokémon: Hoenn Travels.
-The Important Stuff:-
1) I am not at all affiliated with Game Freak nor Nintendo, or any other companies that write/produce Pokémon.
2) I do not own any part of Pokémon.
-A Waiver:-
1) This is not a direct steal from anything already Pokémon-related that exists, not the show or a game or a novel/book. It is my own creation, therefore I may bend the rules a little bit to fit my needs.
2) The names of Professors, Gym Leaders, and Cities were taken from Ruby Version.

Chapter Two:

The Champion

After taking just a moment to compose myself, I stepped over Luma, who scurried away, and to the front door of my house. I took a deep breath as I set my hand on the door knob, forcing several slower breaths into my lungs. I twisted the knob and slowly pulled the door toward me.

My fear disappeared as I beheld the tall, dark-haired man standing on the opposite side of my door. He immediately met me with a bright grin, which made my heart flip. I couldn't find my voice as I stared up at him.

"Rowan Eden," Douglas Evergreen smiled down at me. "How are you?"

I took several steps backward, still quiet. I looked around, spotting Luma in her seat in the living room. She was crouched low in the seat, staring warily toward the opened door. I returned my attention to Doug and chewed nervously on my lower lip. "What are you doing here, Doug?" I finally managed to voice the shock I was still feeling.

He cleared his throat, clearly caught off guard by my lack of friendliness. He shifted his shoulders, resulting his the black, leather jacket he wore adjusting across his chest. "It's cold as hell out here, you mind if we come in?"

"We?" I echoed.

At Doug's knees, a black, sleek Pokémon appeared, staring up at me with intelligent, red eyes. "Hello, Rowan," Phantom spoke.

My eyes left Doug's Pokémon and flew over to mine. While she was still lowered in the chair, only her ears and eyes visible over the arm of the chair, her eyes had widened at the sight of Phantom. "Uh, yea," I said, waving toward my living room. "Come inside."

"Thanks," he gave me another smile, though not nearly as attractive as the first, as he moved inside and shut the door behind himself and Phantom. He pointed to my sofa. "It okay if I sit?"

I numbly nodded, watching him as he stripped off his jacket and stepped down into my living room. He wore a fitted, black, long-sleeved shirt under the jacket. The fabric was pulled taut across his broad shoulders. His jeans were also fitted and he had stomped the snow off his boots before stepping down into my living room. His hair was different than the last time I had seen him. Instead of the long, hanging-down-in-his-eyes style he'd had, the sides and back of his head were shaved very close to the skin. He still wore the top long, however it was styled up and back, resulting in effortlessly disheveled look.

He was lowering himself to the sofa and I dropped my eyes from him, returning quickly to my boiling water in the kitchen. I forced myself to focus on making tea, instead of staring at Doug.

"Could I sit with you?" I couldn't help but to look up when I heard Phantom speak again. He was standing in front of Luma's chair. She was staring down at him, her tail lashing against the back cushion. "No!" She hissed, then reached forward with a paw and bopped him on the forehead. His ears dropped angrily and he hurried onto the couch beside Doug, who was laughing.

After a moment, Doug cleared his throat and stared in my direction. When I met his eyes, I hurriedly looked back down to my tea steeping. "You've got a nice house, Rowan," he commented. "It's really secluded."

"Thanks," I mumbled, unsure of what else to say to him.

"I wish I stayed somewhere this nice," Doug said, though it was so quiet I almost didn't hear it. I suspected I wasn't supposed to.

Deciding to try and make him as uncomfortable as he had made me by showing up unexpectedly at my front door, I followed up on his quiet comment. "Where do you live?"

"I usually just stay in hotels," he admitted. I was disappointed when he didn't seem embarrassed. "I travel a lot."

"Why?" I slowly returned to the living room, holding my warm cup of tea in both my hands. I stared at the back of my sofa, wanting and yet not wanting to sit beside the man I had had an undeniable crush on years before.

Come sit with me, Luma offered. She scooted backwards in the seat, dragging the furry blanket she was laying on with her. Relieved, I walked to the chair and perched on the edge of it. I lifted my cup to my mouth and softly blew across the light brown liquid. I stared into the cup for a moment, but when I realized Doug hadn't answered my simple question, I lifted my eyes to his face. I found him staring back at me, a barely discernible smile across his lips.

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head. The smile dropped as he spoke. "What was the question?"

"You said you travel a lot," I reiterated, "why?"

"Oh, uh." Finally, the man looked uncomfortable at the question. He rubbed his hands up and down the fabric of the fitted jeans on his thighs. He glanced from me, to his lap, and then to Phantom.

"Really?" Phantom scoffed at him, then his glowing eyes were on my face. He released another irritated huff of air. "Don't you watch the news?"

I shot him a glare. "Look around, Phantom, do you see a television?"

He returned my expression with an equally, hateful look. "He's the longest, title-holding champion," he spat at me.

At this, I felt a look of surprise come over my features. "You're still Champion?" I was staring at Doug now.

He chuckled and ran a hand through the hair on the top of his head and then down the back of his head. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rowan."

"I'm just, that's what?" I quickly counted backwards the years since I had seen Doug. "Five years?"

"Uh, yea, just about," he agreed with a nod of his head. "At this point, my manager just sends me to battles instead of letting them come to me."

"Why?" My eyebrows came together with curiosity.

"The, uh, League only lets me battle trainers in the area for one week every month," he explained. "Sending me to them racks up my total battle number, which means more money for the League."

"And for us," Phantom snickered.

"Uh, yea," Doug sheepishly agreed. "That too."

I pursed my lips as I stared silently at him. Aside from the occasional swirl of steam coming up from my tea, I had all but forgotten about the hot drink. "Why are you here, Doug?" I asked him after several seconds of quiet passed.

"I needed to ask you something," he responded with a vague answer, which only made me madder.

"Is it related to your champion title?" The words hissed between my teeth.

"No," he quickly said, then winced slightly. "Well, kind of."

"Kind of?" I echoed, my anger rising. "What does that mean?"

"A request was made of me because I'm the Champion," he began to explain, but I didn't want to hear his words.

"And you came to me because I'm your runner-up?" I shot back at him. I leaned forward and set my cup of untouched tea on the coffee table.

"Rowan."

"I'm sure you, the longest reigning champion, could have found someone else besides your runner-up from five years ago." I vacated my seat, standing over and glaring down at Doug.

"Rowan." His voice remained calm, almost gentle.

"Sounds like that at this point you have dozens of runners-up." I couldn't stop the words charging out of my mouth.

"Hundreds, actually," Phantom sarcastically commented, earning him a glare from me.

"Phantom!" Doug's voice raised as he barked at his Pokémon.

My nostrils flared; my eyes remained on Phantom for a moment longer. I then resituated my glare onto Doug. "After five years, you may still be the Champion, but I am no longer your runner-up," I snapped at him.

He sighed. "I am here because I trust you, Rowan." He stood as well, holding his hands out defensively. "I'm here because I need to ask for your help."