Part 3 - An Unexpected Trip to the Pokemon League

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The Next Day

Slateport City

1:00 PM

"WHAT?!" Y screeched, as her four friends and the three adults covered their ears while the passers-by looked at her for a brief second before continuing with their businesses. "Are you serious?!"

Sapphire dropped her arms and made a calming gesture. "I'm really sorry. Turns out there's a meeting and all Gym Leaders must attend. Even if we go to Norman—I mean, uncle's gym, we wouldn't find him there. They're all busy."

Y felt her legs were getting weak and fell on the ground. Trevor and Shauna came to her aid. "And I thought I was gonna meet Ms. Winona too! I heard she studied at my school one time so I was gonna ask her a few questions."

Ruby furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait, Winona used to be in Kalos back in the day?" He looked at his girlfriend, hoping the find an answer but she was as clueless as him.

"Master never told me that," Sapphire mumbled. Now she wanted to meet her very soon too. She could go to the meeting place and ask for her master's presence but that would be rude and Winona was still the leader of the Gym Leaders in Hoenn; she couldn't just leave that important meeting.

"Well," X said to get their attention. He watched Y stand up. "Maybe we could go to the Pokemon League?"

Sapphire nodded. Well, they didn't have any choice; they had nowhere to go. "That's a great idea! Let's go!"

Ever Grande City

Pokemon League

1:30 PM

"Welcome to Ever Grande City!" Sapphire announced and showed the building behind her. "I'll give ya a tour inside! Come on!" She went inside the Pokemon League building while the rest followed.

It wasn't as what the Kalosians expected it to be. It looked like a normal office and there was only one door leading further into the building. Trevor wondered why and as he was about to ask that, Sapphire started explaining it to them.

"I heard ya can challenge which Elite Four member ya want in Kalos, but here in Hoenn, ya have to defeat them by order."

Trevor nodded along. It made sense why there was only one door leading to the next room.

"Of course, ya have to earn all Hoenn gym badges first before you take on the Hoenn League," Sapphire continued. They all went inside the room and saw a long bridge. They continued walking and the Kalosians just looked around it. It seemed empty too. Whose idea was this long bridge anyway? "Things got in the way when I completed the Hoenn gym badges years ago, but I eventually became the Champion."

"How about the gym battles here?" X asked. Sapphire looked at him. "How does that work?"

The Conqueror smiled at the Loner. "It's very similar in Kalos from what I heard. Each gym has a rule that ya have to follow in order to get the badge. For example, we have Roxanne's gym in Rustboro City. Ya have to get the highest score in her test in order to challenge her."

"That sounds boring," Y commented. She may have studied as a Sky Trainer but she always hated the written exam format.

Sapphire giggled. "I found it boring too at first, and maybe a bit intimidating, but Roxanne made the questions harder nowadays."

"Wait, why?" Trevor asked, tilting his head.

Ruby had a smug reaction when the younger lad asked. "Sapphire aced the exam, of course!" he stated proudly and the Kalosians were astounded once again. "She probably thought the exam was too easy since Sapphire aced it."

"That's one of the reasons," Sapphire corrected. "She also wanted to let her challengers actually study the books and experience the outdoors in order to ace the test. It's good that she did that, though. There are some things that a book can't teach ya."

Trevor placed a hand on his chin. Sapphire did have a point. He didn't realize that until now. He always relied on books and theories stated in the books but never actually performed the experiments themselves. And according to his brief talk with Professor Birch, one must experience both what was written and experienced in real life.

"Anyway, yeah, that's how the gyms work here. It depends on the Gym Leader if they wanna battle ya immediately but other than that, ya have to pass a series of obstacles before challengin' the Gym Leaders."

Sapphire stopped in her tracks. The Kalosians didn't realize that they reached the very end of the room. Was this where the Champion and the challenger would battle?

"The Hoenn League rules are simple: ya have to defeat the Elite Four and the Champion in order to become the next one. If ya lose, ya will have to start from the beginnin'."

"That sounds rough," Y mumbled.

"Anyway," Sapphire cranked her knuckles. "Let's end this tour with a little battle. What do ya say, X?"

X's eyes widened. As much as he loved the offer, he wasn't in the mood. He sighed, turning his head to remove his gaze from his senior Pokedex Holder. Maybe if he looked away, she wouldn't be in the mood too. "Maybe next time."

Sapphire laughed nervously. "So sorry," she apologized, making a prayer gesture. "I don't wanna force ya and—" She stopped, realizing something. "Hey, have we ever told ya about double battles?"

The five teenagers blinked. They were so focused on the Battle Frontier, the Pokemon Contest, the Gym Battles, and the Pokemon League that they forgot about what another thing that originated from Hoenn—the double battles.

"I heard about those," X folded his arms across his chest. Everyone looked at him. "It's where you use two Pokemon in one battle, right?"

Sapphire bobbed her head. "Yeah, and ya can either do it alone or with a partner. Ruby and I are double battle experts ourselves. How about we have a double battle?"

"I never actually tried it but I'm curious!" Y volunteered. She turned to look at X. "What do you say, X? It's just like a regular battle but with two Pokemon!"

X sighed and looked straight into Y's eyes. She looked so determined and he knew nothing could stop her despite how stubborn he was. "Fine."

"Alright, it's settled!" Sapphire exclaimed and Ruby went to her side.

"Well, that's our cue," Emerald took Tierno, Trevor, Shauna to the stairs behind Ruby and Sapphire. They all sat on it and watched the battle unfold.

"Let's use our trump card for this double battle!" Sapphire grabbed a Poke Ball and threw it in the air while Ruby did the same. The balls popped open and revealed a Gardevoir and a Gallade.

"Let's go!" Y sent out her Greninja, Croaky, whilst X lazily sent out his Chesnaught, Marisso.

"We won't use mega evolution, don't worry," Sapphire reassured with a smile. Ruru and Kiruru prepared themselves for the fight and stood side by side like their trainers.

"Thanks, Ms. Sapphire!" Y grinned then looked at her battle partner. "We have to win this, X! You ready?!"

X breathed. He never actually participated in a double battle before, so he was nervous. He didn't want to screw up but at the same time, he wanted to enjoy this match. "Ready."

"Let's go, Kiruru!" Sapphire moved her hand forward. "Use Leaf Blade!"

"Ruru!" Ruby called. "Stay behind Kiruru and use Future Sight!"

Kiruru positioned itself. It crossed its arms together, making an 'x' mark before releasing it. His blade-like arms glowed green like a leaf under the sun. Ruru, on the other hand, levitated from the ground. Its eyes glowed pink and after a few seconds, a pink glow surrounded the Gardevoir, blinding its opponents.

Kiruru saw its chance and moved forward to attack. X and Y noticed this and panicked at how quick the Gallade was. Y shook her head.

"Shoot," she cursed. "That Gallade is fast but we're faster!" She gritted her teeth and looked at Croaky the Greninja. "Dodge it, Croaky!"

"Marisso!" X shouted. "Use Leech Seed!"

Croaky jumped in the air and used its sticky feet to stick on the walls like a ninja while Marisso roared and placed both of its hands on the grounds. Seeds popped from its back and headed straight towards the Gallade.

"Slice those seeds!" Sapphire commanded her Gallade.

Kiruru continued moving towards its foe. It nodded and dodged one seed aiming at him. His eyes turned at it, as one its arms sliced the seed in half.

It was a mistake, however, for vines came out from the seeds and managed to trap the Gallade. The vines pulled one of the Gallade's arms to prevent it from running while Kiruru struggled.

"Alright, Ruru, use Magical Leaf to slice those vines!" Ruby ordered and Ruru did as it was told. Leaves levitated from the ground and sliced the vines and the upcoming seeds directing to the Gallade.

"Continue what ya started, Kiruru!"

Kiruru freed itself and continued running.

"Croaky, attack with a Water Shuriken!" Y commanded and the Greninja hopped off from the wall and threw water that shaped like a giant shuriken.

"Seed Bomb!" X yelled. He looked at Ruby and Sapphire and they didn't seem surprised. In fact, it felt like they knew exactly what they were doing. He was wondering how those two were able to read each other like a book, but then he realized that they just knew each other very well considering their deep relationship.

"Stand with Ruru!"

"You too, Ruru! Stand with Kiruru!"

Kiruru stopped in its tracks and the green glow on its arms banished. Ruru went closer to the Gallade and stood behind its back. They glared at their opponent.

"Now, Ruru," Ruby shouted. "Use Protect!"

Ruru closed its eyes and a white glow surrounded it and its partner. The seed bombs deflected when it made contact with the shield, but the water shuriken was able to destroy it.

"Now, Kiruru, slice that water with a Leaf Blade!" Sapphire instructed and Kiruru swiftly sliced the shurikens in half, causing a little shower.

Y gulped. That Gallade was definitely powerful. She had to think of something to knock out one of those Pokemon.

"Now, Close Combat!"

Y's eyes widened when Kiruru ran towards her Greninja. As she was about to command her Pokemon to evade the attack, X managed to save her.

"Marisso, Seed Bomb!"

"Deflect those with a Protect!"

X was taken aback. "How the?"

The Gardevoir levitated from the ground and headed to its opponents. It went past the Gallade and the protection surrounding it deflected every single one of those seeds.

"Water Shuriken, quick!"

"Ruru, take those bombs to the shuriken!"

"No!"

Ruru moved its hands forward and when a seed hit the barrier around it, she was able to throw it to where the water shuriken was aiming. The contact caused a light smoke but it cleared after several seconds.

Kiruru came out of the smoke and performed a deadly attack on Croaky. It punched, kicked, and sliced Croaky's body and the Greninja fainted. Kiruru panted for breath, looking at the defeated Greninja and made sure it was knocked out for good.

Sapphire looked at Ruby. "Kiruru's vulnerable now. I'm relyin' on ya."

"Don't worry," Ruby winked at her. "I'm at your service."

"Aim for Gallade while it's vulnerable!" X declared. "Seed bomb!"

"Kiruru, Ice Punch!" Sapphire instructed and Kiruru punched the seeds and froze it, preventing it from exploding.

"Hyper Beam!"

"Ruru, take the attack!"

The Gardevoir jumped between the attack and the Gallade. It hit the Gardevoir instead and almost knocked it out. Kiruru saw its chance and jumped.

"Ice Punch!"

Kiruru used gravity to fall quickly and delivered a freezing punch at the Chesnaught. It hit its head and was strong enough to knock it out.

X gritted his teeth and looked at his fainted Pokemon. She wasn't kidding about being the Hoenn Champion. Her Gallade was so powerful. He wondered what kind of training this Pokemon went to.

"Aww," Shauna cooed and pouted. "X-ey and Y-ey lost."

Emerald chuckled and the three looked at the smaller man. "Sapphire and Ruby are powerful trainers, but if they battle together, they're even more powerful."

"I see," Trevor observed. "It's like you won't realize their full potential until you see them work together."

Emerald bobbed his head. "Yup. That's about it."

Sapphire approached X and Y with Ruby tailing behind her. X returned Marisso back in its Poke Ball and sighed.

"You did well," the Loner reassured and smiled.

"That was a great battle, though, but ya two were missin' somethin'."

X and Y gave the Conqueror a puzzled look. They didn't understand. What wrong did they do?

"Ya both are powerful opponents, but remember that the key to winning in a double battle is by working together as one," Sapphire explained with a smile. X and Y now realized what she meant and she was right. "Ya both were actin' independently which is good but ya have to rely on yer partner too. Not just yer Pokemon partner but your other partners as well. Ya still great, though! Don't worry."

"I see," X muttered. It made a lot of sense. He did notice how Sapphire and Ruby worked together to defeat them. The Gardevoir even risked itself and took the attack for the Gallade. They have an amazing teamwork, no doubt.

"Don't feel bad about it!" Sapphire patted the Loner's shoulder. To him, however, it felt like a smack. Now, why did it feel familiar?

"Thanks a lot, though!" Y grinned. "It's an honor to battle with the Champion! I learned a lot!"

Sapphire smiled at the Flyer, as an embarrassed blush appeared in her cheeks. "It was nothin'. Not a big deal, honestly."

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Once the battle ended, the gang went outside the building. The Hoenn trio observed the five friends talk about their experiences earlier. They were laughing and even teasing each other. The three found themselves smiling just by observing the five friends.

"They're pretty close," Emerald said after moments of silence. "No wonder all of them went on this trip together."

Sapphire giggled. "Yeah. I really like how they're always there for each other."

Ruby hummed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Well, the three of us are like that, right?"

"Exclude me," Emerald corrected. "No way I'm hanging out with a couple like you."

His reply only made Ruby and Sapphire laugh. The Calmer furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his friends. "Hey!" he whined. "What's so funny?!"

"Nothin'," Sapphire responded in between laughs. "Yer so cute when ya complain like that!"

Emerald's cheeks heated up at that. "I-I'm a grown man, for crying out loud!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sapphire said to shut him up. She lowered her body and ruffled his blond hair. Emerald didn't seem to appreciate it, but he wouldn't stop blushing from it.

"Cut that out!"

"Hey, Ms. Sapphire," Y called, making Sapphire stop to look at her. "We would like to thank you all for showing us around Hoenn, and we're wondering where would we go tomorrow."

Sapphire never actually thought about that. They were only focused on the stuff they talked about that she forgot to ask what would they do after all of this. She looked at Ruby and saw him thinking as well. She then looked at Emerald and saw him doing the same thing. Her eyes went to the Kalosians. They were back to talking to each other again and it made her smile. She sighed.

"I think ya five should use this chance to do whatever ya want in Hoenn. This is as far as we could go," she answered and looked at Ruby and Emerald. "Right, boys?"

The boys blinked and stared into her eyes. They could tell how serious and genuine she was with this and who were they to complain? They smiled at Sapphire and nodded.

"Yeah," Ruby replied.

"Finally, I'm free," Emerald said and everyone laughed.

"Yeah, right," Shauna replied with sarcasm lingering in her tone. "I remember you want to be the only one to tour us around Hoenn!"

Y laughed. "I remember it too."

Emerald went back to blushing. His mouth fell and looked at the people around him. They were all laughing and giggling, embarrassing him even further. "H-Hey, that's not true!"

"By the way," Y stopped giggling. "How about Dexholder duties? Are we gonna talk about it?"

Sapphire looked at Ruby then back at Y. She grinned and patted Y's shoulder. "Maybe next time. Yer all here for a vacation, so ya should enjoy that!"

"And that's the last time we saw the Hoenn Pokedex Holders. They're probably busy with work since—"

"Hey!" Y called, making Trevor stop writing in his diary. The orange-haired lad blinked and looked at Y. She was in front of his hotel room with X and Tierno behind her. "You comin' or what?"

Trevor looked at his diary and smiled. Maybe he could finish writing this once this day is over. Taking a deep breath, he put the pen down and stood up. "I'm coming!" he called and ran towards his friends.

"Finally!" Shauna moaned. "I wanna get to the mall already and do some shopping! Let's go let's go!"

"You're just gonna let us carry your stuff," X mumbled and Shauna glared at him.

"Ever care about buying some souvenirs? They might sell some Lava Cookies there too!"

X chuckled. "Alright, alright. I'll find some."

Trevor laughed, as he closed the door. They haven't seen the Hoenn Pokedex Holders in two days and he was hoping they were alright. He couldn't wait to see them again.

Again a big thank you to Myth for the comments and to Liyada! You guys are the best! :D