Tracing Origins
A/N: First off, thank you for the kind words of encouragement! Also, the 'universe' that this story takes place in is a mix of what little of the manga I've read, the game, my interpretation, and—predominantly—the anime.
Chapter One: Another Day in Ever Grande City
Wallace thrummed his fingers against the railing impatiently as the battle between the challenger and Glacia raged. From his position in the booth high above Glacia's frigid battle field, he waited to see if this challenger had what it took to prove himself worthy of the title of Hoenn Champion. However, as things were progressing the way they were, it looked as though that would not be happening today.
Panic flashed across the challenger's face as Glacia's Glalie effortlessly brushed off the fire spin that his Ninetales had executed. The magnificent white creature had fought hard, managing to defeat two of Glacia's Pokemon in a row. But it seemed that in Glalie, it had met its match.
Glacia stood tall as she commanded, "Finish this, Glalie! Crunch!"
"Don't let it near you!" hollered the challenger to his Ninetales. "Keep it at bay with your flamethrower!"
Ninetales and Glalie were locked in a deadly battle of not only physical skills but also of wills. Despite the type advantage that Ninetales held over the ice-type, not much could make up for the simple fact that Glalie was more experienced, a result of years of training and battle after battle of hopeful challengers. Then there was the fact that after two consecutive, brutal battles, Ninetales was tiring.
Glalie charged, dark energy radiating from its body. The energy swirled around the ice-type Pokemon, and suddenly an illusion of a large set of jagged-toothed jaws appeared before its face, open and eagerly awaiting a victim.
Ninetales took a few hops back and dug its heels into the ground, lowering its head a fraction. Its luminescent yellow eyes began to glow as it gathered strength. The elegant fan of tails stood up on end, high and proud even though some scuff marks stained the creamy coat.
As Glalie jerked forward and unleashed the crunch attack, Ninetales' jaw snapped open and out exploded a stream of flames. The two attacks collided and for a moment, the showdown became a swirling mess between an inky mass of shadows and a bright, scorching burst of flames. Despite his reservations about the young trainer, Wallace watched with some anticipation.
"You can do it, Ninetales!" came the challenger's encouragement.
Ninetales, though obviously exhausted and already approaching its limit, seemed heartened by its trainer's words. The room began to glow brighter. The temperature suddenly soared and even made some of the ice of Glacia's battle field partially melt. The flames increased in intensity and ripped through the crunch attack. Glalie threw itself aside to avoid the onslaught of flames, which missed it by centimeters.
Glacia seemed unperturbed by the Ninetales' renewed determination, shouting, "Ice Beam!"
Glalie twirled and danced like a graceful figure skater across the ice as Ninetales' flamethrower pursued it. For such a bulky and odd-looking Pokemon, it was beautiful to watch in battle, especially when it was in its element--ice.
The challenger crooned at his Pokemon to keep it up, to keep Glalie from ever getting the chance to use its attack. Wallace watched with interest as Ninetales padded across the ice with its own innate grace, managing to somehow to stay afloat in an environment that couldn't have been more different from the rocky, fiery landscape that it originated from while also continuing to unleash flamethrower after flamethrower.
Wallace's eyes flickered to Glacia, who calmly watched as her Glalie focused more on evading than attacking. She seemed bored and disinterested. Wallace realized that she was waiting for the Ninetales to tire itself out, something that was happening rapidly before their eyes. It wouldn't be long now. Just one mistake was all it would take.
Ninetales landed hard from a leap after Glalie. One of its paws slid out from under it, and it jerked, frantically righting itself before it completely lost balance. But the damage had already been done; that had been the opening that Glacia had been waiting for.
"Now, Glalie!" Glacia commanded. Glalie was already moving. It shot across the ice, propelled by the slick surface. It became a blur of gray and black and smashed into Ninetales. The fire-type cried out in pain and surprise, tumbling back head over heels.
Glalie smoothly made an arc around the ice so that it was facing its struggling opponent. Pinpricks of bright pale blue light gathered into a glowing ball of ice. After a few seconds, Glalie reared back and let the ice beam loose. It tore across the distance in jagged bolts of ice-blue.
Ninetales barely had time to stagger to its feet before the blast of ice hit it. It let out a high-pitched cry of pain, stumbling backward from the cold beam of ice particles. The blast was so intense that Ninetales' fur became coated with small icicles. It tried valiantly to stand firm against the onslaught of ice, even as its trainer called out in alarm, but it was to no avail.
Glalie pushed its assault. Soon, Ninetales was no longer struggling. Instead, it was literally frozen in place, an elegant Pokemon encased in a large, ragged chunk of ice, unable to battle.
The challenger's jaw was agape. "Ninetales!"
"The challenger is unable to battle. The winner is Lady Glacia!" the official referee of the Hoenn Region Elite Four declared.
Much to the challenger's credit, he seemed more distraught by the sight of his precious Ninetales entrapped in ice rather than by his loss. Wallace was pleased to see this. At least this challenger was showing more concern for his Pokemon than for his failure in attaining the title of Champion.
"Oh, Ninetales!" exclaimed the young man as he slipped and slid his way across the ice. "I'll get you out of there! Return!"
"Tch," scoffed an annoyed Glacia as she regarded the challenger with much contempt. "Your Pokemon put up a good fight, but come back when you've trained a team and not just one powerful Pokemon who dominates the battle after the others have merely worn your opponent down."
Without another word, she pivoted and retreated through the side door that had slid open now that the match had concluded. Wallace looked sympathetically down on the challenger as the referee escorted him out. Such potential. Nothing a few more years of experience won't fix.
"Aww, it's over already? I was sure by the way he took me and Phoebe down that he'd at least make it to Drake," came Sidney's disappointed remark from behind him.
Wallace turned and gave the other man an amused smile. "You'd better not let Glacia hear you say that."
Sidney, ever the rebel, made a little noise of defiance, but the expression on his face quickly showed his agreement to that bit of wisdom. Glacia had quite a temper. It wasn't pleasant to be on the receiving end of one of her patented glares…glares that could be as cold as the magnificent power of any of her ice-type Pokemon.
"It looks as though that was the last one for today," Wallace remarked when he saw no indication that there were any more trainers vying to take on the Hoenn Elite Four for the day. He was both glad and disappointed. It was a bother that he had to be present for these challenges when usually the time the trainers couldn't even defeat all of the members of the Elite Four and move on to challenge him.
"Thank god! I have been dying to have a drink," Sidney exclaimed with a languid stretch of his arms. He smirked as he added, "You know…to, uh, numb the pain of losing."
Both he and Wallace glanced over when the door slid open and there stood Glacia, beautiful and dignified as ever though she looked a tad annoyed at the moment. She looked at the two of them. "Drake said you two were up here."
"A glorious battle, as always, Glacia," Wallace praised.
"Nothing short of perfection. That kid didn't have a chance," added Sidney.
The compliments rolled off of her like water. Instead of responding, she said, "Perhaps we should lobby the Pokemon Association with harsher guidelines as to what a trainer is required to do before he or she is allowed to challenge us." Her fine eyebrows drew into a frown. "I tire of being summoned to these pointless battles by these passionless fools who are barely skilled enough to be trainers let alone Pokemon Masters."
Wallace and Sidney exchanged a look before Sidney complacently said, "Oh, now now, Glacia. There's no need to be so harsh on them. We all had to start somewhere."
Glacia just raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed, so Sidney changed tactics. "Forget about them. Come have a drink with me and Phoebe. She said she's heading home tonight, so I thought it'd be fun to give her a good going home bash. What do you say?"
"Well…" Glacia hesitated, still leery of the many social events that she was required to take part in as a trainer of the Elite Four.
Sidney turned the charm up a notch. "Come on, Glacia. It won't be the same without you. Plus, we won't see Phoebe for months! We HAVE to make this one memorable. Until she comes back, that is."
After another beat of hesitation, Glacia nodded, "Fine. I will join you two misfits for the night."
Surprise flashed across Sidney's face; Glacia normally turned his invitations down without a second thought. "You will? Oh! I mean awesome! That's great!" He smirked, then, "Ha! I knew you'd cave in to my charms eventually!"
Glacia merely rolled her eyes and looked to Wallace. "Will you be joining us, Wallace?"
Wallace smiled but shook his head, "I'm afraid I must decline. I, too, am leaving for a time."
"You are?" Sidney blinked at this and then gave him a sly smile. "Ah, let me guess…Steven? Oww!"
"Have some class. It's none of your business," Glacia hissed with a condemning look as Sidney rubbed his head where she'd whacked him.
Wallace couldn't help but chuckle. Glacia and Sidney were so different that it was always amusing to watch them interact. He took pity upon Sidney and said, "No, no. It's not that at all. Steven is on a dig with his father. I've arranged to spend a few weeks in Sootopolis City to help Master Juan."
His words had a note of wistfulness and excitement. He was looking forward to the break. Being the Champion of Hoenn was an honor…but a time consuming one. The challenges made to the Elite Four and Champion were carefully screened from a selective pool of those who had not only collected all of the gym badges of the region but who had also made it to the top three of the Hoenn Conference. It was with this strict set of stipulations that the Pokemon Association ensured that not just any trainer with some skills could somehow weasel through to challenge the top five trainers of the Hoenn region.
While it worked to keep the number of challenges down, it was still a pain. At each challenge, every member of the Elite Four and Champion had to be present, lest there finally come a day when a challenger worthy to attain the title of the next Hoenn Champion enter Ever Grande City. Wallace had been waiting for the period during which there would be no challenges for a while, such as the period was about to begin. Normally, he would spend the time with his lover, the ex-Champion and heir of the illustrious Devon Corporation family, Steven Stone.
However, it looked as if he would not get to see Steven for some time, at least not until the end of the latest geological excavation that Steven and his father had gone on. Wallace had been disappointed when Steven told him about the coming dig. They were both Pokemon Masters with their own busy lives outside of the title; time together was rare enough. But…one look at how excited Steven had been, by the way his pale gray eyes seemed to light up as he spoke animatedly of the potential rocks they could find, had made Wallace smile and simply wish him a safe trip.
Steven must have sensed his true feelings, though, for he had smiled gently and took Wallace's hand. He had pulled him closer and kissed him, first on the lips and then on the forehead, murmuring against Wallace's skin, "I'll be back as soon as possible. I promise."
Wallace was so lost in the warm memory that he almost didn't notice that Sidney and Glacia were staring at him. Sidney laughed and remarked, "Uh oh. He has that look in his eye again, Glacia."
Wallace flushed as Glacia wryly added, "Perhaps the Sootopolis story is merely a cover-up and he is going to see Steven after all."
"Yes, that sounds about right," said Sidney snidely, chuckling.
"Oh really, now," Wallace chided. He shook his head and threw his hands up in defeat. "Leave me be and go drink yourself silly. I take my leave now. Farewell until the next time we meet!"
Sidney's smug voice followed him out the door and down the stairs: "Tell Steven we say hi!"
Wallace smiled to himself and just shook his head, used to such teasing. Still, he couldn't help but sigh to himself wistfully. If only he was going to see Steven!