Rustboro city was a city that married rustic buildings and nature together in a brown existence. Lucas walked along the street, picking at a few pieces of silk leftover from when wurmples attacked. Red had supported him during the attack, and stood back whenever a trainer had challenged.

Ralts seemed to enjoy the battles well enough. Lucas and Ralts walked side by side, hands linked and swinging back and forth. Red trailed a step behind them, looking up at the giant buildings.

Lucas laughed as he picked up Ralts, and twirled around. Red grinned down at the shorter boy, before looking away towards a larger building that rose above the rest. His attention was immediately brought back to Lucas, where there was a soft cry from the boy, and the sound of a body hitting the ground.

Crimson eyes shot back to Lucas, to find him sitting on his rear. A tall, blue-haired man stood above him, looking slightly surprised. A hand extended out, towards Lucas. "I'm sorry."

"Ah, it's okay." Lucas scrambled up to his feet by himself, looking everywhere but the man. "I should've looked where I was going-"

"No, no. I should have been looking as well. You did nothing wrong." The two were apologizing profusely to each other. Red watched in with amusement as the apologies continued on for a solid three minutes. He better break them up if anyone wanted to go anywhere anytime soon.

Red stepped in, hand reaching out to tap Lucas on the shoulder. He made sure that his face was kept in shadows- the man seemed slightly familiar. And if Red vaguely recognized him, there was a big chance of the other guy recognizing him back. "Ah, are you his friend?"

The tall man took a step back, rings on his black gloves flashing. He sniffed slightly, frowning. "That's odd- you don't smell like a native from Hoenn."

Lucas shook his head mutely, arms wrapped tight around Ralts. The Pokémon chirruped softly, horns glowing in an attempt to calm his trainer down. "We're not." Lucas mumbled the words, while staring down at the ground.

Red squeezed his shoulder gently. While Lucas had a tendency to shut down while meeting new people, this introduction was worse then others. Lucas glanced up at him, and Red nodded reassuringly. Lucas finally met the man's eyes. "I'm Lucas. Sorry for running into you." He bowed from the waist.

"What? Oh, no, no. I apologize as well. I should know better then to run around here without looking, since I grew up around here. The apologies are mine. My name is Steven."

Steven? As in- The former Pokémon Champion of Hoenn?

Lucas didn't recognize the name, as he smiled shyly. "Oh. Pleased to meet you."

Red eyed the man- if he looked closely, he could see it, the resemblance to Lance. It wasn't facial features or any sort of physical resemblance, but a mental one. How he kept one eye on the surroundings, how he held himself with an air of dignity and grace. How there was a flicker of a flame in his eyes that spoke of many, many fights.

Red's fingers twitched towards his pokéballs, eager for a good fight. He stopped himself- a city was not a place to have a fight, and Steven was the former champion. He wasn't fighting anymore- according to one of Blue's data sheets, the champion was taking over his father's company.

Red stared at Steven for a moment longer, who was managing to tease a bit of a laugh from out of Lucas. A pretty amazing feat, really. "Ah, are you here then to challenge the gym?"

Lucas nodded quickly. "Then you should try visiting the school next too it." Steven suggested. "You may learn all sorts of new things. Especially since you're just beginning your adventure."

"O-Okay." Lucas glanced towards Red, who nodded back, pointing forwards. While Red had tried to keep his data up to date, he was technically two years out of date. Who knew what new things had been discovered? Though, in his time at Smash mansion, he had done his best to catch up on all of the latest information.

The sound of Lucas's stomach rumbling brought one slight smile, and one wide-eyed half-panic look on him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I've kept you for far too long. You both should go eat."

Red nodded, and caught Lucas by the shoulder. The two of them calmly walked away from Steven. No sooner did Lucas get out of eyeshot, when he buried his red face in his hands. "He reminds me a bit like Duster. The height thing and all. At least he doesn't have bad breath…"

Duster?

Red asked, "Who is Duster? You mentioned him a few times."

"He's a person I traveled with for awhile on my journey. He can play the bass, and he's super good at being a thief! But, well, he has a limp. And… The look in their eyes are the same. Like they're being held back from doing what they really want too do."

Red looked back, but Steven had already vanished into the crowd. Lucas smiled slightly sadly. "But Duster managed to go back, and find the place where he belongs. So I hope Mr. Steven does as well!"

The question was, what does a former champion do?

Red tugged the bill of his cap down low. He didn't know the answer to this question. He had vanished onto Mount Silver, spurning all attention and focusing only on his Pokémon. He hadn't thought that there were any challenges left in either Kanto or Johto, and at ten, he was too young to travel to any other regions due to their age restrictions. And, well, other pieces of his past kept him from straying too far.

But he was twelve now, and there were different regions he could travel too…

Lucas tugged at his shirtsleeve, and pointed off to the side. "Is that the school?"

Red glanced upwards, looking forward. Gates surrounded the school building, a low built, sprawling structure, and a steady stream of people walked in and out. Some were older folks, with gray hair, and canes. Some were even younger then Lucas.

Lucas glanced at the school, before looking to Red. "Should we go in?"

Red nodded, and led the way.

The building was nice and cool when compared too the tropical island climate outside. Red sighed in relief, missing Lucas's shiver. He could see several hallways leading off towards classrooms, and see the steady stream of people but it was just so nice to be able too finally cool off a little.

Pikachu agreed with him with a happy sigh. The little Pokémon had almost retreated to his ball, but instead crawled into Red's backpack, out of view. Now, he crawled onto Red's shoulder. "Pika, pi!"

"Ralts? Ral-Ralts!"

"Pika!"

The two Pokémon grinned at each other, in perfect agreement to whatever they were talking about. Probably the heat, and how good it felt to get out of it. Red turned to Lucas, who looked back up. "So, where should we go?"

"Hmmm, lead the way."

He put all of the decisions into Lucas hands, and tagged along through the rooms. Nobody noticed them, as they peeked into empty and slowly filling rooms. There was a list on each of the doors, stating which classes would take place.

"Oh, the gym leader room?" Lucas paused before it, and glanced in. It was mostly empty. "I wonder what happens in this classroom?"

Red shrugged, glancing over his shoulder into the room. Only a few, studious types were inside, but they all looked absolutely elated. Was somebody big coming then?

"Well? Are you coming in or not?" The two twisted around to see a young woman in a simple black dress and red leggings standing behind them. "I'm Gym Leader Roxanne, here to teach one of my classes. If you wish to listen, then do so- if not, then please leave immediately."

Red eyed her for a moment- as per tradition, the first Gym Leader was 'weak'. The real challenge to gyms didn't come until about the fifth. Still- he wondered how strong her real Pokémon were.

Lucas scurried in, and took a seat. Red plopped down beside him, put his head on the desk, and took a nap. His ears were still peeled for any new information, and a hour later, when she announced it was time for a mock battle, his head rose.

Roxanne led the way to the simple gym. It suited her rather blunt personality, Red decided. I wonder what Green's gym looks like… The thought surprised him. He had never visited Green's gym, simply because he didn't want to have to battle his way through pitifully weak trainers to meet up with Green. Plus, he was doing his whole 'loner on a mountain' and 'I don't actually exist anymore' phase. And he may still of been a little angry at Green.

Being in Smash Mansion had kinda shook him out of that phase. Not by much, but he was actually traveling with another human being, which was a bit of a step up.

Red and Pikachu leaned against a wall to watch as Lucas lined up with the other kids- there were four in total. "I'll heal in-between each of you, and treat this like a proper battle, so pay attention. If you win, then I'll give you the Stone Badge."

Red sighed, and settled down onto the floor. Oh joy, a trainers first gym battle. Maybe he could sleep through the brutal eye-opener that was about to happen?

Pikachu jumped onto his lap, and butted his head against Red's palm. Red obligingly scratched behind the ears, watching what was going on with hooded eyes. The first kid had a Wrumple, the second had a Geodude, and both were defeated within a minute.

The third kid had actually done their research before coming, and had picked up a Lotad. The Lotad spat out a stream of water, soaking Roxanne's Geodude. Red began to sit up, and pay a bit more attention.

The second Pokémon, and the next-to-last judging by the fact that she had only one more pokéball at her side, was a Nosepass. The Rock-type Pokémon shone- Harden. Lotad used Water Gun again, but Nosepass shook it off.

Red idly wondered if the Lotad had any grass-type moves, which might work a bit better. The thought was wiped from his mind, when there was a loud crash from further back. Red didn't tense, but Pikachu did, long ears twitching.

Pikachu rose to his feet, ears sparking slightly.

A Wingull, one wing ripped and bleeding, careened into the building. Red's eyes narrowed- that wound wasn't natural. The thought was backed up when a young trainer came dashing in a second after the Wingull.

The trainer had on sharp, expensive-looking clothes. An Exploud walked behind him, it's eyes nasty and dark. Pikachu growled softly at the two. Red lifted his arm, and Pikachu ran down it, balancing on his elbow. Slowly, Red pulled himself up from the floor, eyes on the trainer. That Exploud- there was something off about it. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the eyes were empty and dark. Distant. Empty as if it didn't have a heart at all. The Exploud itself was far too powerful to be in the hands of a trainer that was obviously so weak. Red's hand dipped towards the balls clipped to his waist.

It was Lucas who moved first. In seconds Lucas was in-between the wannabe trainer and the Wingull arms outstretched. The Wingull dropped to the floor, Roxanne instantly over it with a Potion in her hands. Red's eyes flickered back to the two trainers facing each other off.

"W-What do you think you're doing?!"

"Isn't it obvious, I'm going to catch that Wingull!" The other child sneered at Lucas. "Now move!"

"No." The soft voice was shaking slightly. "I won't."

"Oh, then do you want to battle me? You and your pitiful Ralts? Everyone knows that Exploud knows several dark and ghost type moves that are super effective against Ralts! Plus, look at how weak it is! I doubt it'll be able to last a single minute."

Ralts angrily shouted back in its own tongue. Red stayed where he was. Was Lucas-

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle. If I win, you have to give up on Wingull." Well, well, well. Look who had finally gotten into the spirit of being a Pokémon Trainer.

"Hah, and if I win, then I'm going to make you eat dirt. Exploud, use Bite!"

The Pokémon lunged forward, jaw unhinging to bite at Ralts. "Ralts, Double Team!"

The bite closed on empty air, as the smaller Pokémon moved back and forth, three copies appearing. They were all a little off, and not very good, but- "Ralts, use Disable!"

Exploud blinked, and the other trainer yelled, "Exploud, Bite!"

The Pokémon didn't move. "Exploud, you useless Pokémon, I said use bite!"

"Ralts! Use Confusion!"

The glowing psychic beam hit Exploud, who stumbled backwards. "What?! Exploud, eat this berry and get rid of it!"

"Ralts, confusion again!" Lucas refused to give up. Ralts shot the beam again, mouth puckered into a tiny frown. The Wingull behind the two watched on. There was a look in the Pokémon's eye, a rather fearful look.

Lucas gasped as a black ball of energy abruptly burst out of the Pokémon's mouth, slamming into Ralts. Ralts didn't stand a chance- the Pokémon cried out as it was flung backwards. "Shadow Ball?" Roxanne muttered, "What on Earth- how did he get such powerful Pokémon? Moreover, where did he find that TM?"

Lucas crouched next to Ralts, gathering the green and white Pokémon into his arms. "R-Ralts, are you-" His voice trailed off, his eyes getting a slightly unfocused look that they always did whenever he and a Pokémon were communicating. "Are you sure…"

His head bowed for a moment. "Okay." Red smirked, the twist of his mouth hidden by his hat.

There was the voice. The voice that Red had been waiting for. The voice of a Trainer- "Let's go Ralts. We're not down and out yet!"

"Hmph. You two just don't know when to give up. Exploud, Shadow Rush!"

The Pokémon charged, aiming towards Ralts. "C'mon Ralts, use double team!"

Ralts moved back and forth, picking up speed as he went. "Double Team again!" Lucas urged- the other trainer's eyes narrowed as he picked up on what Lucas was planning.

"Exploud, Shadow Ball the entire area!"

"Disable!"

Ralts had to pause for one second to Disable the move. Red winced- to choose to do this now, instead of after the Shadow Balls had disappeared was going to cost Lucas and Ralts both.

Ralts glowed as a Shadow Ball hurtled towards him-

And a winged, feathered Pokémon abruptly snatched Ralts and took to the skies. The Wingull's wings beat frantically for a few seconds, unable to keep aloft with so much weight.

They both plummeted with identical screeches. Lucas dashed forward, to catch the two Pokémon in his arms. Red grinned- There was no way Lucas could loose now. Instead, something else to think about was…

Sharp eyes turned towards the door. The Exploud wasn't the kid's- he was too green. He didn't know how to use it. Only three moves, and not using the Exploud's superior strength to pound Ralts into the ground. "Exploud, use Shadow Rush!"

Roxanne noticed him standing, and moving towards the door, but she didn't say anything. Their eyes met for a second, before she turned her attention back to the two battling Trainers. Of course, she was here to make sure that it stayed fair, and if needed, step in.

Wingull and Ralts turned on the Exploud. The kid clutched some kind of Pokéball in his hands- it didn't look like the usual ones. Instead, it looked more like…

Red slipped out of the door, and was immediately confronted by two men. They were about eighteen or nineteen, and had on dark overcoats. Grunts, plebeians, anyway you cut it, the lowest of the low.

"Well, well, well. Looks like our little experiment failed."

"I wouldn't say that yet. He got that Exploud, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but he can't even catch one measly Wingull that belongs to a little girl."

"Boss said not too loose him. His family's an important source of money. We should step in as well-"

BOOM!

The two men flinched back as Pikachu brought a Thunderbolt directly between the two. Red smirked, though no excitement thrummed through him. He would quickly wrap these two up, and get started on tracking down who and what was behind this. Hopefully before it spread too far and interrupted his time with Lucas.

The two teens took a step back, before taking a step forward. "We'll catch that Pikachu with our Snag Balls!"

Snag Balls? Red jumped back in time to miss a blast. His mind worked furiously- where had he heard of it- Orre. Orre region, one of the few regions that have no wild Pokémon. Blue said that there was a group there who found a way to steal Pokémon from right out of the pokéballs-

His train of thought was interrupted when a glowing pokéball rushed past his face, directed at Pikachu. Automatically, his hand reached out to block it. The ball hit with a solid thud- Red grimaced as he felt pain blossom. His hand fell to his side, and the glowing pokeball fell to the ground.

Pikachu, normally a joyful, sweet Pokémon, froze. Red attempted to flex the hand, and grimaced against the pain. It was probably a good-sized bruise. No broken bones-

"PI-KA-CHUUUUUUUU!" The almighty thunderbolt shot from the Pokémon, aiming directly at the humans.

The two grunts screamed and ducked, barely missing enough electricity to send them off to space. Pikachu jumped down from Red's shoulders, entire body throwing off miniature electrical bolts. Red wasn't willing to call them sparks. These were far too big and deadly for that.

"Pikachu! Don't hurt them!" The signed command brought the number of electricity bolts down by a tiny percentage. Red doubted that either of the two grunts clinging to each other in fear would recognize the difference, but it was clear to his trained eye. It wasn't enough to keep Pikachu from harming the two grunts, which wasn't what Red wanted. He needed to distract Pikachu now.

"Pikachu, quick attack, and grab their bags. We don't want them catching you."

The yellow Pokémon darted forward, snagging the belts off both trainers easily. Proudly he trotted back to Red, dragging the belts with him. Red bent down to scoop up the belts, and loop them over a shoulder. The two grunts were beginning to back up now gibbering in fear.

One of them actually turned to start running away. Red lifted his hands, ready to tell Pikachu to attack, when the grunt lifted into the air. Red, on guard, paused. "Well, it looks like it was a good idea to come here. Claydol, keep them in the air. We don't want any funny business. But still, grunts from Team Magma and Team Plasma working together?"

It was Steven, the former champion. The large Pokémon floated beside him, its psychic energy keeping both grunts floating. Red took a step forward, unlooping the belts from off of his shoulder. Steven's eyes fell on him.

A frown appeared on his face. "You- you were with Lucas. Are you with them? Is that Pokémon of your stolen as well-"

A thunderbolt zipped past Steven's ear, barely missing the man. Pikachu bristled, as he climbed onto Red's shoulder. Red, if he had the mind enough, would've gaped in surprise. "Pikachu! Don't attack people!"

Pikachu turned his nose up at him. Steven's scowl was still plastered over his face. "It seems that although I was wrong about the stealing, I was not wrong about your violence. Where is Lucas?"

Red pointed towards the school building, before lifting his hands to sign, "What are you doing here?"

"I- I'm sorry, I do not know Sign Language." Steven at least seemed truly apologetic about it. Red sighed, and dug out a piece of paper and a pencil. It was so good that he carried them around, but he really just wanted to use sign . ?docid=35244785guage.

'What are you doing here?'

"I came here because I heard of suspicious looking characters hanging around the gym and school. I escaped from my fathers meeting- Oh, I mean- That isn't- urgh. Either way, I left the company to come here."

The two grunts, as if sensing a chance to make trouble, shouted, "He's one of us! Look, he even has Snag Balls like us!"

Red's eyes narrowed at them. Pikachu growled threateningly. Electricity crackled in the air. "They have a point, why else do you have their belts?"

Red held up the snag balls. "Are those- from Orre region?" Any champion would be well versed in what the balls meant. It was the terror of any trainer.

Red nodded, and sighed. His left hand, used to block the pokéball, was beginning to throb. And this guy before him… Well, he knew Steven would be a completely worthy match. To fight him at less then his full strength would be agonizing. "I see. Will you come with me?"

Pikachu let loose a little electricity, eyes still fixated on the man. "This isn't a request."

Oh? It wasn't? Like this former champion could really stop him if he wanted to get away. Red took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. When he looked at Steven again, his mind was clear.

Quickly he wrote, 'Fine. I suppose I do look rather suspicious.'

There was a hint of gratefulness in Steven's eyes, before he looked towards the school. "What is going on inside of the gym?"

'A Pokémon battle. No worries, Lucas has it covered. Roxanne will probably arrest the guy inside after.' The quickly written words brought about another frown, before a friendly hand clapped Steven's shoulders, as a pale man with a red afro appeared.

"Yo! Steven! I'll head on inside, so why don't you take these folks down to the police station?"

"Flint." Steven's eyes closed for a moment. "Very well then." He turned to Red. "Follow me please."

Pikachu's ears went flat black. Red took a step forward-

A laugh that he had never forgotten, could never forget, filled the air. Pikachu and Red turned as one, the pokéballs at Red's waist beginning to vibrate as his Pokémon recognized the voice as well. Charizard's ball nearly shook off his belt at the voice. Red's hand slapped against them, keeping them close as his throat throbbed and ached.

"Now, now. I can't let you take off with them quite yet I'm afraid."

"Boss!" The two joyous cries were lost on Red's ears, as he stared up.

On the back of a Dragonite, was a face Red knew very, very well. It was long, full of sharp angles just like the man's personality- but it was also completely, and utterly forgettable. This wasn't a man you looked at and immediately remembered- this was a man you thought of as one of the common grunts. Red had underestimated him once, to his great sorrow. As if in agreement, the scars hidden beneath smooth skin throbbed and burned.

"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!"

Red's hand moved of it's own accord- Blastoise flashed into existence, Hydro Cannon roaring into the air without Red's command. The two attacks clashed, filling the air with steam.

Steven took a step back, before gesturing, "Claydol! Clear this steam out!"

The few, lingering people who hadn't fled took this as their final cue to get out. Red ignored everything, Charizard flashing into existence as Blastoise was recalled. He hooked an arm around his Pokémon's neck, feeling the threatening rumble beneath his hands, as Charizard stared straight up.

One beat, two beats- Charizard took to the skies in a powerful blast of air, making steam vanish. He could see Steven's astounded glance, revealed by the vanishing steam, but his attention was solely focused on one thing, and one thing only.

"Well, well, well. I recognize you." There was a twisted, sick grin on the man's face. "We met two years ago in Silph Company."

"I don't need that reminder." The words were signed, automatically, though his throat constricted. How could he forget the day when his entire world had been reordered?

It was clear his Pokémon remembered the day as well, judging from just how eager they were to pound this man into the ground. There was a slightly crazed smile on the man's face, as he extended his hands. "I'm afraid I can't fight at this time! I have things to do, but if you try and keep up, then maybe this time you'll loose your eyes instead of your voice!"

a/n: So then my dear reviewer- I saw how Sunday is your birthday and I couldn't resist. Would you like the next chapter for your birthday, or would you like to request a story for your birthday? I probably won't be able to trot out a good-sized story in one day, but it could become a belated birthday present.
And, yes, I'm using all sorts of characters from all of the games. :) And Lucas isn't quite a completely psychic-type user. Of course, the reasons shall be revealed later. As will the Sonic and Snake frenemy relationship.