The salty sea breeze blew through the young's man hair, giving it a more windswept appearance than it already possessed. His eyes stared intently ahead; the silhouettes of roofs and houses were beginning to take shape in front of him. At this point, the breeze began to get stronger. The young man wondered if the calm waters would soon be turning into tumultuous seas, until he realized that it was not the wind that was picking up speed, but rather the Pokémon on which he sat. The young man looked down at the mass of rock and iron that was his transport, and gave a sympathetic smile.
"You must be getting tired, Aggron," the young man said soothingly. "Pacifidlog is just up ahead. We'll rest there. You've earned it."
The mass called Aggron gave a soft, metallic roar, and continued to swim faster still. It wasn't long before Aggron and its passenger made it to their destination: an outcropping of large rafts, strung together by floating logs which connected the rafts like walkways. Sitting on these rafts were numerous buildings, including (on the innermost raft) a Pokémon Center. The young man dismounted Aggron and climbed aboard a raft, being careful not to slip on the sea-sprayed wood. The young man knelt down and peered through the cracks in the raft: he could barely discern dozens of pink masses huddled together directly underneath the waves.
"Them be the Corsola that keep our town afloat," said a man's voice. The young man looked up. A balding man with a friendly face was walking towards the spot where he was kneeling. The young man straightened up to greet the newcomer properly, and as he did the balding man got a better look at him.
"Why, Mister Stone!" the balding man said, taken aback. "I didn't realize it was you!"
"Please," the young man corrected, "Call me Steven."
"Fair enough, fair enough!" the bald man exclaimed happily. He shot a glance at the Aggron treading water directly behind Steven, and his joviality faltered slightly. "Er, pardon me for saying so, Mister Steven sir," he muttered apologetically, "But that there Aggron of yours is much too big to be stomping around our fragile little town..."
Steven looked back at the Iron Armor Pokémon. "Of course, of course..." he said softly, reaching into his pocket for a Poké Ball. He aimed the ball at his Pokémon. "Come back Aggron, you've earned a good rest." he said kindly, and Aggron smiled appreciatively for a few seconds before materializing into the Poké Ball, back to its Trainer.
Steven stared down at the Poké Ball clutched in his hand. The bald man eyed him a bit nervously. "I-I'm sorry about that," he said, uncertain of how Steven would react. "It's just a matter of Pacifidlog Town safety, is all."
"These Corsola," Steven said, who did not seem to be listening to the man, but instead knelt back down to observe the Corsola. "They are fascinating Pokémon. They are Rock-types, yet they thrive exceptionally well in aquatic areas, despite Rock-types' natural weakness to Water. What's more, they allow humans to construct vast and complex structures atop their colonies, even when their habitats make life dangerous for them."
The bald man cleared his throat. "Well now, I don't think the Corsola have it so rough in these here southern seas, or any other part of Hoenn for that matter."
Steven turned his attention away from the water and looked directly at the man. "True," he said. "But I've heard rumours of other structures built on the backs of Corsola, in distant regions where natural predators to the Pokémon are plenty."
"Well I wouldn't know anything about that," the bald man said nervously, still unsure of how to feel about Steven's behaviour. "Though as a former Champion, I suppose you've done a great deal of traveling, seen a right amount of wonders, eh?
Steven closed his eyes and smiled. "Yes, I suppose you're right." he said. The bald man gave a small sigh and relaxed a bit. Steven proceeded down the log-like pathways towards the centre of town, and the bald man followed in his wake.
"Speaking of traveling to far and exotic lands," the bald man continued as they walked, "What brings you to our humble little town, hmm? That there Corsola colony be fascinating enough I suppose, but outside of them we've only got fishing and deep-sea diving to pass the time, and I thought you were more of a spelunking man yourself..."
Steven gave a small laugh. "You are absolutely correct," he said. "In fact, that's what I've been doing around this area, Surfing around looking for a cave."
"That explains why you'd come to Pacifidlog atop that mighty metal Aggron of yours as opposed to simply Flying here," the bald man said, as the two of them approached the Pokémon Center. "But I have to tell you Mister Steven sir, you're Howling up the wrong tree. There are no caves around Pacifidlog Town."
Steven stopped walking and turned towards the man. "Oh?" he said, frowning slightly. "I was under the impression that there was a cave around Pacifidlog, a cave that contains the key to unlocking several mysteries."
The bald man shook his head and gave a sympathetic sigh. "I'm afraid you've been taken in, Mister Steven sir," he said gently, "and believe you me, you haven't been the first one, and you won't be the last."
Steven gave the bald man a puzzled look. The man chuckled in a slightly patronizing way and continued.
"For generations, there have been rumours of a mysterious underwater chamber that contains long-forgotten inscriptions, inscriptions that can lead a person to fabled titans of immense power. But that's just what they are, Mister Steven sir. Fables. Legends. Bedtime stories that Pacifidlog parents have been telling their children for years. Nobody takes them serious. Nobody but the crazy old coot who lives near the edge of town, mind. He's always going on about "legendary chambers" this and "imaginary isles" that. Drives the townsfolk absolutely crazy..."
"My apologies," Steven interrupted, "but did you say he lives at the edge of town?"
The bald man looked slightly taken aback. "Er, yes," he stammered, pointing down a log path heading south, "he lives down that way. But Mister Steven sir, you can't possibly think that..."
"Thank you," Steven said, inclining his head and setting out along the log path, leaving the bald man looking flabbergasted.
As Steven progressed down the path towards his destination, he noticed that the logs leading there were not as well-kept as the others in town, with algae and seaweed building up in several areas. It seemed as though not that many people bothered to come down this way. Finally Steven reached the house at the edge of town. It too showed signs of neglect and oceanic wear. Steven approached the door and knocked.
"Come in, come in..." he heard a croaky voice say from within.
Steven opened the door and proceeded inside. An elderly man with a long, white beard sat staring out the window facing towards the seas of Route 130, fidgeting slightly.
"I don't see Mirage Island today..." he muttered quietly to himself, wringing his hands as he spoke.
"Excuse me, sir?" Steven said gently. The old man turned his head to look at Steven, as though noticing him for the first time.
"Oh!" the old man exclaimed with a croak. "I didn't hear you come in, m'boy! I was too busy looking for Mirage Island, which unfortunately I have not seen today. Please, please, have a seat!"
"Thank you," Steven said, pulling up a chair.
"Now, what brings you to my humble abode?" the old man asked. He seemed quite distracted, his eyes darting all around Steven's face. "Have you come to search for Mirage Island with me? I'll warn you, I haven't seen it today."
"Unfortunately, I have not," said Steven, who seemed unperturbed by the man's eccentric behaviour.
"Just as well," the old man sighed, "I haven't seen it today."
"Actually," Steven continued, "I was wondering if you could tell me about the Sealed Chamber."
At these words, the old man ceased fidgeting. His eyes stopped darting around and instead met Steven's eyes, lighting up as though a fire had been lit behind them. "Ah, a young explorer I take it, hmm?" he said, his creaky voice replaced with one of controlled calm. "Interested in the golems of ice, rock, and steel, are you?"
This time, it was Steven's eyes that lit up. "Yes," he said quietly, "very much so."
"Well, I'm afraid I just haven't seen it," the old man wheezed, resuming his fidgeting and turning back to the window. "Mirage Island, I mean. I haven't seen it, not at all.."
Steven stared at the man for several seconds, then closed his eyes and smiled a sad, understanding smile. "Thank you for your time, sir," he said kindly, rising from his chair. The old man did not look away from the window as Steven crossed the room and proceeded to the door. Steven reached out for the handle and gave one last backwards glance. "Good luck with your search for Mirage Island," he said quietly. "I hope you see it one day."
"I did see something," the man's voice said, in the same calm tone as before. "The other night."
Steven turned around. The old man was facing Steven again, with that fire behind his eyes once more. "Except it wasn't Mirage Island I saw. It was... lights."
"Lights?" repeated Steven.
"Yes, lights in the sky. Great flashes of light, like explosions. They were coming from..."
The man trailed off. For the first time since coming to Pacifidlog, Steven had a slightly worried expression on his face. He took a few steps closer to the man and asked, hoping his hunch was incorrect, "Where did you see the lights?"
The man looked directly into Steven's worried eyes. "Just a little way's past Route 131."
It didn't take Steven long to arrive at his new destination. His trusted Skarmory took him to the base of the tower in what seemed like an instant, and soon Steven was making the somewhat dangerous journey up the forlorn tower. He didn't stop for anything as he quickly made his way to the top, and when Steven finally reached the highest point of the tower, he had difficulties catching his breathe in the thin atmosphere of Sky Pillar.
"I'm afraid you're a little late," said an eloquent voice from the platform above.
Steven recognized this voice. He ascended a small set of stairs to the absolute pinnacle of Sky Pillar, and saw a tall man wearing a flowing cape of magnificent blue and white. His illustrious blue hair fell in slight curls out of the white hat he wore on his head, and he stood in the very middle of the tower floor.
"Wallace," Steven said. "What are you..?"
As Steven approached the man named Wallace, he took a closer look at his surroundings and saw the remnants of what appeared to have been a fierce battle: the floor was covered in large and angry-looking scorch marks. Several large fires were still burning in places. An entire corner of the tower itself seemed to have been blasted away by a powerful force. Steven had visited the top of Sky Pillar once, years ago, and the top of the tower had been in ruins then as well. However, the detail that perturbed Steven in the present was the lack of a green, serpentine entity that he knew normally took up residence on this tower...
"My mentor was looking out the window of his Gym last night, and saw a dazzling array of lights coming from Sky Pillar," Wallace explained. "I came as soon as I could to investigate, but by the time I got here, the battle was over."
He gestured around him, indicating the scorched ground. Steven had a stern look on his face as he asked "Has anybody else come to investigate?"
Wallace frowned and shook his head. "Not many people know about Sky Pillar's to begin with, let alone possess the fortitude to make it all the way up here..."
Steven frowned and began searching through piles of rock as Wallace continued to speak. "I've been theorizing about what happened to Rayquaza. Of course I ruled Team Aqua and Team Magma out immediately, they barely made off with their respective prizes the last time, there's no way they'd survive an encounter with Rayquaza. Then I thought of that incident you described to me once..."
"That was supposed to be a meteor, remember?" Steven interjected, attempting to pull something out of the rubble he was examining. "Not a battle raged on Sky Pillar."
"True," Wallace conceded. "I suppose I'm fresh out of ideas, then."
"Good thing I'm not," Steven said. He was still attempting to remove whatever was trapped under the rocks. "Give me a hand with this, will you?"
Wallace began to walk over to Steven, though when he saw the dirt and dust being created by Steven's attempts to shift the rubble, he hesitated.
"Well?" Steven panted, "Aren't you going to help?"
Wallace eyed the dust cloud apprehensively, then cleared his throat and said in a commanding voice, "Stand back."
Steven did as instructed, as Wallace threw a Poké Ball towards the pile of rubble. A monstrous serpentine Pokémon erupted from the ball, its massive blue scales clattering and its fangs bared.
"Gyarados, please help us with these rocks," Wallace said.
Gyarados obeyed, sweeping away the rocks with its mighty tail. When the dust had settled (Wallace had moved back quite far at this point), a large piece of metal lay on the ground, now freed from the rocks thanks to Gyarados. Steven shook his head and chuckled softly, wiping the dirt off his face and striding back towards the piece of debris. Wallace returned Gyarados to its Poké Ball and followed, at a distance.
The piece of metal was about a metre in length and heavily charred, as though it had been burned away from something bigger. Written across the length of the debris in bold black lettering was the word 'ONE.'
"One?" Wallace stated in confusion. He turned to Steven. "What do you suppose it means?"
"I'm not sure," Steven said, pondering. He remained lost in thought for several moments. "Although..."
"Although what?" Wallace asked.
"Well, it could be the name of a satellite sent up by the Sootopolis Space Station..."
"You mean the Mossdeep Space Station," Wallace corrected him.
"Am I ever going to get that right?" Steven asked, half-exasperated, half-amused. "In any case, this could have come from one of the Space Station's observational satellites. Maybe it was passing overhead as the battle ensued, and got hit by a stray Hyper Beam?"
"If that's the case, maybe its monitoring equipment caught a glimpse of what happened here," Wallace suggested.
"My thoughts exactly," Steven remarked. He picked up the debris (though the piece was rather large, the alloy itself was quite light). "Let's take this to the Space Station and investigate further."
Wallace nodded, and the two of them made their way back to the staircase leading down.
Meanwhile, deep under the waters of Route 134, in the bowels of the Sealed Chamber, a crack of white light appeared above the stone engravings on the wall.