The following year was an action packed one. Two groups of trainers calling themselves Team Aqua and Team Magma rose up into the public eye. At first they seemed to just be a group of bad people, but as time went on the danger they posed became apparent. Not only were these teams causing general terror, there were also a pair of kids who were taking the world by storm. They were always popping up on the news for various things, be it winning badges, contests or beating a Team grunt. Winona ended up calling him saying they both appeared within a few days of each other and beat her. Steven also mentioned meeting them, saying he believed they'd go far.
Wallace knew they were drawing close when locals reported seeing a giant Pokémon headed towards the city. It was on the news that Team Aqua had awakened something in a cavern nearby.
"Any idea what it is?" Wallace asked Juan.
"It's Kyogre."
Wallace shot him a look. "Seriously? That ancient Pokémon from the legends?"
Juan nodded sincerely. "If you'd been keeping up with the news properly you might have heard that their plan was to wake it. Looks like they've succeeded. How else do you explain this constant rain?"
"And now it's hanging around in the Cave of Origin?"
"Seems so."
Wallace sighed. "Why did it have to pick our city? Now I suppose we'll have Team Aqua knocking on our door trying to get at it."
"For someone like you I'm sure it won't be too much trouble to dispel them."
"Depends on how many turn up."
Wallace patrolled the city, with many people aiding him in the bid to keep out Team Aqua. He stood with the old man who spent his days guarding the cave's entrance, waiting for a sign of trouble.
Barely a day passed before Steven showed up with a familiar young girl at his side.
"You're the girl I always see on the TV," he commented.
Steven smiled, glad to see Wallace recognised her. "She's here to quell Kyogre's rage. I'm sure even you are fed up with this rain."
"What about Team Aqua?" Wallace asked.
"She's beaten them! They won't be causing any more trouble."
Wallace looked at her. "Thank you. And what of Team Magma?"
"My friend will take care of that," she told him. Of course, the boy she was always competing against.
"And how, may I ask, will you tame such an ancient Pokémon?"
From her bag she produced a blue orb that was glowing slightly. She didn't say anything else as she walked past him and into the cave, the light from the orb guiding her way.
Wallace looked back to Steven, an impressed look on his face. "I can see why Winona warned me about that kid."
"The pair of them are quite amazing. I can't wait to face them in the league. So…can I go digging in that cave yet?" Steven had a massive grin on his face.
Wallace rolled his eyes. "Maybe."
They waited just inside the cave, listening to the roar of a large Pokémon from deep within. The battle must not have been an easy one judging by what they could hear. Steven walked around, touching and tapping at the wall of the cave, Wallace calling him back to reality from time to time when he wandered too far.
"Honestly, can't you just sit still for a moment?"
"But look at this place! It's been untouched for decades, right? Just imagine what's hiding just beneath the surface. Oh, Wallace, please, please, say I can dig. Even if it's just a little." Steven gave him puppy dog eyes.
Wallace tried not to give in to the sweet face in front of him, but Steven kept edging closer, hands clasped together. "Alright, okay, fine."
"Thank you!" Steven grabbed him in a hug so suddenly that Wallace slipped from the rock he was leaning against. Although he was about to say something about damaging his clothes, Wallace let it slide because this was the first time Steven had initiated a hug. Finally he felt comfortable enough around Wallace to do something like this, although there was an afterthought that anyone who allowed him to dig in a cave would receive the same treatment.
"They've stopped," Wallace noticed.
"So that means I can dig now, right?"
Wallace almost hit him.
"I'm joking."
They waited patiently for May (at least Steven knew her name) to return from within the cave. A light appeared at the end of the section they were in, the blue orb was still in her hands as she walked towards them, but now it was shining bright.
"What happened down there?" Steven asked.
"I caught it." She held up a pokéball briefly before walking out of the cave. "It's stopped raining." As she stood there her PokéNav rang and answered. Her conversation with the boy on the other end was much more animated than either of them had seen her be. They sounded like they were showing off to each other, but May clearly had the upper hand with her location. When the call ended she looked straight at Wallace and pointed. "I want to face you for the Rain badge."
He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little worried.
Steven stuck around to watch their battle which only made it more apparent that when these two passed through Ever Grande city no one was going to stand in their way. May made it a quick fight and looked up at Steven when it was over. "You're next." This girl really knew how to strike fear into people.
"The worst bit," Steven called down to Wallace, "is that Brendan is going to be even more ferocious knowing she's ahead."
OooO
May and Brendan passed by the pair of them with ease, but neither of them chose to stay as Champion. Steven had thought May might chose to face Brendan, but it seemed their rivalry was going to continue elsewhere.
After Teams Aqua and Magma were gone, and their biggest challengers too, life returned to normal. Wallace resumed training for the World Grand Festival with less than a year to go. He got to see a lot more of Steven too after he promised him access to the Cave of Origin.
"How's it going in there?" Wallace asked as they sat down to dinner – Wallace always offered to cook for Steven once a week.
"There're a lot of fossils and stones in there. Mainly water stones, but I found a dusk stone. I didn't think they could be found in Hoenn." He paused to eat a mouthful. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."
"Hm?"
"I know you said you didn't want to, so don't feel forced, but…will you be Champion for a while?"
Wallace looked surprised. "Why? Where are you off to?"
"Dad's asked me to go over to Sinnoh and do business with the Pokétch Company. One day someone's going to want to replace me as Champ, so I guess I should invest some time into Devon now."
"It sounds like a good plan. How long do you think you'll be away for?"
Steven shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. A few months? Maybe half a year? It's no problem if you don't want to take the job, I can ask someone else. The League has a list of people for times like this."
"No, don't worry, I'll do it."
A smile appeared on Steven's face. "Really? That's great."
"That champion cloak is going to look so good on me. I can't believe you never wear it. So, when are you off?"
"Seeing as you've said yes I'll probably leave in a week."
"I'll come and see you off."
It was a sad affair as Wallace stood by Skarmory on one of Ever Grande's cliffs. Steven came rushing out of the league building with a large bag, assuring everyone that he had in fact remembered everything this time.
"If you've forgotten anything I'll post it to you," Wallace said as Steven laid the bag at Skarmory's feet.
"Okay, right, close your eyes." Wallace went to question, but Steven cut him off. "Just do it. Please."
Wallace tried to listen for what Steven was up to, but the wind was blowing just a little too strongly. He felt something on his shoulders and Steven's hands at his chest.
"And open."
Wallace looked down to see the Champion's cloak draped over him, the bottom flowing in the breeze. He couldn't keep from smiling as he stood there.
"You look beautiful."
Wallace could feel the heat rising in his cheeks, so he stepped forward to pull Steven into an embrace. "Thank you. Good luck in Sinnoh."
Steven gave him a quick squeeze before breaking away and mounting Skarmory. "I'll be off then! Bye, Wallace!"
Skarmory grabbed the bag at his feet before spreading his wings and taking off.
Wallace stood waving, a tear rolling down his cheek. He was really going to miss Steven, and this time he wouldn't be able to follow with the hope of catching him again. He shook his head, wondering why he felt this sad. Maybe it was the idea that Steven would like Sinnoh more and stay there forever…still he knew they'd see each other again one day.
Wallace turned back to the league building and walked towards it, cloak billowing behind him.
OooO
Being Champion was not much different to being a gym leader. To be truthful he found it to be more boring. He could often spend days back in Sootopolis without a call notifying him of a challenger. At least he now had even more time to focus on the World Festival.
There was quite a buzz around the Festival this year. The news that both the current Champion and the supposedly retired Juan would be competing spread like fire. It was great that so many people suddenly seemed interested, but it also meant the pair of them had their work cut out with a sudden influx of challengers wanting to see them and prove their worth before the festival.
"How's it been?" Winona asked as they sat backstage.
"Hectic," Wallace sighed. "I had to spend the past week at Ever Grande just in case someone made it past Drake. It was tiring. Did your gym suffer the same?"
"Yeah, a bit. Mainly all the people who had seven badges and never bothered to get ours. It was great to get a little more action, but I'm just not used to that kind of workload. My Pokémon are having a break this weekend."
"I don't think any of the gyms are open this weekend. We only get this event once every three years after all."
"And I'm looking forward to it. Can't wait to see the opening speech." She grinned.
"I'm not. Honestly I think part of the reason Steven didn't stick around longer was so he didn't have to do it. A shame he's not here just to watch though."
"Aw, do you miss your boyfriend?" Winona teased when she saw his face fall.
He shot her a disbelieving look. "Are the pair of you jealous of each other or something? First he says you're my girlfriend and now you do the same. When this is over I'm going back to hanging out with Juan, at least he doesn't insinuate such ridiculous things."
Winona giggled. "Aw, look you're getting all defensive."
"No."
"You totally are. You do like him, don't you? Oh wait – maybe you like me?!" She tried to keep a straight face and stare him down but couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Wallace bopped her head lightly. "I think I'll keep you both at friend distance. Especially you."
"Oooh. So what you're saying is if you had a choice you'd have Steven as more than a friend?"
"I am going to have you thrown out into the audience again if you don't stop. Go and bother Juan or something."
"Nah, he's no fun. I can't wind him up like I can you."
"Great," he sighed.
When he took to the stage it was just him and his Pokémon, no outside distractions. As part of the opening ceremony Wallace not only gave a short speech, but also performed. Although he and Juan would go head to head in the beauty category the following day, they had decided to volunteer to open the festival. The pair of them had created a routine in which their Pokémon performed alongside each other, starting off with what appeared to be a beautiful battle before harmonising and pulling off the most spectacular moves they could display only with the other.
It was the first time that they'd done anything like it, but it was so enjoyable that Wallace was going to make sure it wasn't the last.
The actual contest performances were top class. He had thought that the Hoenn Festival contestants had been excellent, but these coordinators were on another level. They were masters of the art. Some of these people had won all three region titles before coming here, others were previous World Festival winners (although from a different category typically). It was nerve wracking to watch the cool contest before the beauty contest and it made Wallace realise what he'd signed up for.
Juan was the first person to take the stage, being out of the contest scene for some time he had the lowest qualifications. They liked to try and build on each performance, so the people who had won the most prestigious contests and festivals were always the last up. With one regional title under his belt that placed Wallace in the 5th spot out of the 10 contestants. The fact that there were potentially 5 better and more experienced people going after him made him doubt his ability to win.
Still, he went out and gave the performance of his life. The support from the audience was incredible; they all really wanted a Hoenn winner after Sinnoh's recent domination of the festivals. His idea for the performance came from the recent events between the legendary Pokémon. He pitched Gyarados against Walrein before introducing Milotic, coming to calm them as legend said Rayquaza would.
"You know, I think you could win," Winona said after all the contestants had finished.
"I gave them the best I have, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
She smiled and gave him a knock on the arm. "That's the spirit! Good to see you think you have a chance rather than outright denying it."
"What about Juan?"
Juan leaned forward in his seat to listen.
Winona grimaced. "I don't mean to sound like you didn't do well, but…you could tell it's been a while"
"It's a fair comment. I agree."
Winona's guesses at where they would come in the ranks wasn't far off. Juan came in at 6th, some of the judges clearly appreciated his style and elegance. Wallace stood, waiting for his name to be called, every moment making his more nervous. 3rd place was called and it still wasn't him. There was now a 50% chance he'd won. He let out a long breath as they announced the winner. They called his name just before cannons released confetti. He stepped forward as the crowd roared his name.
This was it; he had become the Pokémon master people always dreamed of being… He bowed before the crowd as the last of the confetti rained down.
"Congratulations!" was the first thing he heard when he answered the call from Steven. "Sorry I couldn't be there to see the double-champion be crowned, but I was watching it on TV."
"Thank you. I'm sure you were glad to be relaxing wherever you are rather than having a screaming Winona next to you." It had been the one thing Steven had always complained about when he attended a contest.
"Haha, I'm sure she was ecstatic."
"Oh yes, I think she's just about lost her voice. Oh, and then she tried to give me a piggy back – that almost ended badly. Good thing Juan was around really."
"She really is too much to handle."
"In her defence, most of the time she's perfectly fine, it's only when festivals come around that she gets hyped up. Anyway, enough about my end, how's Sinnoh?"
"It's great, a lot colder here than back home. I saw snow for the first time that wasn't made by a Pokémon." Wallace smiled at the idea. "You should come and visit some time."
"Maybe I will. Any idea when you'll return?"
"Bored of champion duties?"
"Not at all." He wanted to say he missed Steven, but it sounded so soppy in his head.
"Well, it's looking like I'll be returning in a month or so."
"I look forward to it. Let me know when."