Meteor Falls. A cave distinguishable by its numerous craters and powerful, yet tranquil waterfalls. To some, this was merely a place to catch rare Pokémon. To a certain silver-haired Champion, however, this place was almost like a second home. Indeed, Steven would more often than not find himself coming here after a particularly rough day to relax. The cool, moist caverns of Meteor Falls did wonders for his nerves, and there was always a stone or two that was bound to catch his eye. Steven didn't feel much like digging for rare stones today, however. Finding a large rock in the middle of the room, the Champion decided to sit upon it and let his thoughts roam free.
'Things sure have calmed down in Hoenn since the incident in Sootopolis… Yes, if not for Brendan and his Pokémon, the world as we know it might have been doomed…'
Steven shook the ominous thought from his head and smiled as he thought about the young trainer in the white hat. The boy certainly possessed conviction and promise, undoubtedly enough to become the Champion one day. While pondering, Steven recalled how they had first met; Brendan had been playing delivery boy for the Devon Corporation – more so for Mr. Stone, Steven's father, at the time – and rushed to Granite Cave to deliver a very important letter.
"That reminds me," Stevenmuttered aloud. "How is Dad doing lately?"
Indeed, Steven had not phoned his father in quite some time and was now starting to fear for his safety. Sure, Team Magma and Team Aqua had both vanished into thin air since the event in Sootopolis, but Mr. Stone was getting up there in years and Steven wanted to make sure he was okay. Stepping out of the cave and into the warm sunlight, Steven pulled out his PokéNav and dialed his father's number. The device rang a few times before abruptly ending the call. Blinking in confusion, Steven tried again only to receive the same response. Finally, the man sighed in frustration and dialed his father's workplace instead.
"If he can't pick up his own PokéNav, maybe someone over there can," Steven muttered. The PokeNav rang several more times and Steven nearly flung it in frustration before someone finally picked up on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Yes, this is Steven Stone. I'd like to speak to Mr. Stone, please?"
Some rustling could be heard on the other side before the voice continued. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stone cannot speak to anyone at the moment. And by that, I mean that he literally can't speak to anyone right now because we've tied him up and-"
Before the voice could finish, some fighting was heard on the other side and a new voice could be heard. "Idiot! You weren't supposed to tell him that! Who would even do something like that?"
"Now you listen here," Steven nearly growled into the PokéNav, getting the attention of the voices. "I don't know who you are and I don't know what you want, but what I DO know is that, as the Champion of the Hoenn region, I will NOT stand for this villainy. Release my father and the other Devon employees at once."
"Fat chance, Mr. Champion!" a third, more sinister voice taunted through the PokéNav. "We don't answer to the likes of you."
Steven paused for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing in an oddly calm tone of voice.
"You will."
With that, the silver-haired man ended the call on his PokéNav and began walking along the sandy shores north of Rustboro City, a Poké Ball clutched in his hand tightly…
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May sighed as she sat on the shores of Mossdeep City, letting the waves wash over her bare feet. Ordinarily, she'd be thrilled to visit beaches like this on such a beautiful day, but there were more pressing matters on her mind. Her own father, the jolly Professor Birch, had been kidnapped straight out of their own home. Although Brendan had reassured her that they'd find him and bring him back safely, May was still deeply concerned.
'Don't worry, Brendan's never let us down before! I'm sure he'll find a way,' her thoughts reassured her. At that, May's thoughts drifted to the boy in the knit cap. They'd been good friends for quite some time now, but the brunette couldn't help but feel that there was something more to it. Whenever he looked at her and gave her that comforting smile of his, May's heart nearly skipped a beat. Just picturing it in her head was enough to make the girl feel as if she had pack of Beautifly in her stomach. May blushed and shook her head, smiling softly. "Maybe we could…"
"May!" a voice called out from behind her. Snapping out of her thoughts, the young trainer quickly turned her head in the direction she heard the voice call out and saw Wally and Brendan running towards her. As they reached her, the green-haired boy was the first to speak up between pants.
"He's… not there…"
"What?" May asked, eyes widening.
"Steven!" Brendan finished his friend's statement. "We checked everywhere… No one around here has seen him in a few days, nor was he even in his own house…"
"Where could he be then?" May inquired softly, patting Brendan's back gingerly to set him at ease. The boy blushed slightly at the contact; luckily, his female companion seemed to not notice.
"Hard to say," Wally muttered. "It's entirely possible that he's roaming around in a cave somewhere… I mean, his house was full of rocks and everything…"
"But there are so many caves in Hoenn!" May exclaimed, surprising both of her friends. "How would we know where to start looking?"
"Maybe we shouldn't," Brendan spoke at last.
"Wh… What?" May was now thoroughly confused. "Brendan… We can't just give up…"
"I'm not saying we should," the boy replied. "But it would take far too long to explore all of Hoenn's caves. Maybe we should just confront Devon Corp directly. I mean, between the three of us and our Pokémon, we should be able to handle anything they throw at us right?"
"But…"
"May, I know you. I know that you have more faith in yourself as a Pokémon researcher than a Pokémon trainer, but I've seen you in action and you and your team can definitely hold your own against other trainers," Brendan stated with a proud grin as he placed his hand on the brunette's shoulder before turning to his green-haired friend and doing the same thing. "And Wally, you've definitely grown both as a person and as a trainer since I first met you in Petalburg City. We've all come a long way in our journeys, and I know that we can do anything we put our minds to."
May was moved to tears by his speech, and Wally gazed at him with a rare smile that few had ever seen. Brendan reached into his bag and pulled out a Poké Ball before releasing his loyal Swellow from it. Climbing onto its back, Brendan looked back to see his friends doing the same thing with their flying Pokémon, a Pelipper for May and an Altaria for Wally.
"Okay!" May exclaimed with her trademark smile returned to her face. "Next stop, Rustboro! Last one there's a rotten Exeggcute!" With that, the brunette suddenly took off into the sky, leaving both boys far behind her.
"Waaah! Hey, wait for me!" Wally shouted as he wrapped his arms around his Altaria's body and refused to let go. The Dragon-Flying type Pokémon let out a cry of happiness as it followed its trainer's friends throughout the bright sky, racing towards a new venture.
Brendan grinned and said nothing as his Pokémon also took flight, his Swellow chirping in anticipation as it sensed that it had been challenged to a race.
Next stop, Devon Corporation HQ.
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… And that's that! I'd like to thank all the readers who have made it this far and put up with my incredibly slow updates. I'm so sorry guys, a lot's been happening and it's been a bit hard for me to keep up with it all. I promise updates for this story will be quicker from now on! I also apologize if anyone seems a bit OOC here, it's been awhile since I've written anything of quality involving… well, anything. ^^; Also, sorry if the ending of this chapter a bit cheesy, but I had to throw a bit of fluff in somewhere! Feel free to give me your opinions and input through a review or PM! See you all next time on So Glad You're Safe!