Heart of Steel

by WhiteRoseLeigh9099

Sakura Simmons and Steven Stone grew up best friends. However, when Sakura was four, her parents were murdered under mysterious circumstances, sending her to live with her godfather, Professor Sycamore. What happens when these two meet fourteen years later? What does Team Magma have to do with anything? Chapter 3 has been updated.

3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OCs.

Author's Notes: Thoughts, flash backs, Pokédex entries, and telepathy are in italics. There are also some triggers in part of this chapter. Just thought that I'd let you know. Next chapter is in the works.

Chapter 3

It took them several more days to reach Mauville City, a full week since they'd left Slateport. It was dark when they arrived in the city limits and they knew that they would have to wait before going to the gym, so they made sure to reserve a room at the Pokémon Center. Once again, a double was all that was left, which didn't bother the two friends too much. After all, they'd been camping together for the last week and had learned each other's boundaries. Many things had happened during the last week of travel too. Just before they arrived in Mauville, Poochyena evolved into Mightyena and Mudkip into Marshtomp. Swablu was well on her way to evolving into an Altaria. Both of her newest captures had adjusted well to her training style. She made sure that all of her partners knew that she was proud of their accomplishments. She had adjusted her strategy for her gym battle to include Marshtomp since his dual type status as a water and ground type would afford him some protection against electric type attacks. He'd learned the moves Mud Shot, Ice Beam, Mud Bomb, and Brick Break which would be a great help. Aron too had grown. He'd mastered Shadow Claw and Iron Tail. In addition to those, he'd learned Rock Slide, Iron Head, and Metal Sound.

At dinnertime, Steven insisted that he pay for it, much to Sakura's annoyance. If there was one thing that she hated just as much as a Pokémon abuser, it was feeling like a mooch. She told him that next time she was paying for her dinner, which he agreed to, but she didn't believe him. He'd had that look on his face that said that he was just pacifying her. Not wanting to start a fight, Sakura just let it go for the moment. After dinner, they walked around the town as it was still light out. Once they'd seen everything, they returned to the Pokémon Center and went to the battlefield at the back. Sakura had decided that before they went to bed, they would get a little extra training in, but nothing heavy. They started off with a light run and ended with a meditation session with Steven, Metagross, and Skarmory. The group meditated for about an hour before heading inside to sleep. What they didn't notice was that their Key Stones were glowing slightly.

The next morning Sakura was once again awake before Steven and went through her normal routine, though normally Steven joined her for her meditation sessions now. He'd told her that she had been completely correct that it would help improve his focus and ability to stay calm. She hadn't said what she'd wanted to at that moment, but she'd thought it. Once she and her partners were done meditating, Sakura returned all but Lucario to their Pokéballs and went to breakfast to find Steven already there. He'd already gotten a tray set up with her favorite breakfast, scrambled eggs with sausage, hash browns, toast, and a glass of orange juice. Yeah, you could say that it wasn't a healthy breakfast, but she worked it off. Letting out her partners, Sakura made sure that they had their food and some water before digging into her own. Sakura always saw to the needs of her Pokémon before her own. Once she finished her food, she happened to notice a slight glowing from Steven's Key Stone. Throat dry, she breathed, "Steven." Looking at her, he noticed where her gaze was and was surprised to see the Key Stone that Sakura had given him, glowing lightly. When he looked at hers, he saw that same glow.

He looked up at her, heart pounding, he whispered, "Do you think?" Sakura nodded and replied in a whisper, "The closer it is, the brighter glow. My gym battle will have to be put on hold." He nodded and they quickly finished eating. They returned their partners and went back to their room. Once there, Sakura began packing things that they might need, like blankets, water, food for at least a night just in case, flashlights, and batteries. She also made sure that her first aid kit was fully stocked before she packed it.

Then they set off, the glow of their Key Stones leading them up into the mountains. It took them most of the morning, but eventually Sakura and Steven came upon a cave. Handing Steven one of the flashlights, Sakura turned hers on and entered the cave, she and Lucario flaring their auras every now and then to keep them from being attacked by any cave dwelling Pokémon. They made their way towards the back of the cave. The presence that she felt was strange. Much stronger than it would have been if it was a single Mega Stone. She then looked at Steven and spoke, "If the presence I feel is anything to go by, there's more than one."

"You can feel them?" He asked, his eyebrow raised. Sakura nodded and replied, "There is power in Mega Stones. Anything with power gives off an aura. I've only come across three Mega Stones before and what I'm feeling is telling me there's more than one. At least five if I'm judging correctly. Which is very rare and unusual since the only time I've come across Mega Stones, there's only ever been one."

"Three?"

"The Lucarionite for my Lucario. The Absolite for my Absol and Garchompite for my father's Garchomp," she told him. He simply raised his eyebrow at her, but she didn't elaborate and kept on going. He sighed and followed, knowing that if Sakura didn't want to tell you something, you couldn't force her. He figured that if she wanted to tell him, she'd do it in her own time. Once they came to the back of the cave, Sakura placed her hand against the wall. When she did so, she felt the pulses of power become stronger. She then pulled Steven back before saying, "Lucario, use Rock Smash!" Lucario's hand began to glow a red orange color and he began punching the rock wall several times until five small multi colored stones fall out of the wall from the force of Lucario's attacks. It was almost as if they had been hidden there. Quickly gathering them in a small pouch that she placed in a secret pocket in her backpack, Sakura then told Steven, "We'll figure this out in a safer place." He nodded in agreement as they left the cave and headed back down the mountain. By then it was lunch time, so once they were halfway back to town, they stopped and fed not only themselves but their partners too, while taking a quick break.

Sakura sat by the stream that went by the clearing where they'd stopped for lunch, watching Marshtomp and Milotic swim in the water with Vulpix curled into her hip while the others curled up for a nap in the sunshine, wondering what kind of Mega Stones they'd found. She breathed in the fresh mountain air as she relaxed. If one of those Mega Stones turned out to be for at least one of Steven's partners, she might have to put off her gym battle for awhile to help them learn to control it. It wasn't so much that the Pokémon went berserk or anything, it was just that they are not used to their new strength and need to learn to control themselves as well as how much power to put into their attacks. It was harder for Lucario than it had been for Absol. At first he wasn't able to control the strength and power of his aura while Mega Evolved. It came to a point where he was almost afraid, though he would never admit it, to Mega Evolve after one time where he'd almost killed Sakura. He'd almost given up, but then his pride kicked in. Lucario refused to give up and he'd finally gotten it. When it came to Absol, it was mostly helping her to learn to control her new body and how to recognize how much power to put into her attacks so that she wouldn't fatally injure someone on accident.

She felt Steven come up on her other side and sit down. Sakura looked at him and smiled, though you could tell that she was tense. He asked, "What's on your mind, Sakura?" She sighed. He knew her too well. She simply sat there in silence for awhile before she answered, "I was just thinking about what might happen if one of those Mega Stones is for one of your partners."

"Why? What might happen?"

"When Lucario first started Mega Evolving, he couldn't control his aura. It took at least a month and half before he was able to control it. And I'm not saying that that's what is going to happen. It was a little easier for Absol," she explained, "She just needed some time to adjust to it and learn power output control. But then again it's different for everyone."

"That powerful?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow as she nodded. She then flared her aura to make sure that they were alone. Once she ascertained that they were indeed alone, she pulled her bag closer to her, got her pouch, and pulled out one if the Mega Stones out of the hidden pocket. The stone was small and blue with a gold and silver double helix symbol. Sakura's mouth quirked when she realized who this was for and she was nervous.

"Sakura? What is it? What's wrong?" Steven asked, looking at her worriedly. She just smiled and handed him the stone as she spoke, "Nothing is wrong, Steven. I just realized that the aura coming off that stone is reaching out to the aura coming off of your Metagross. That Mega Stone is Metagrossite."

"Metagross can Mega Evolve?" he asked incredulously. Sakura nodded and replied, "Apparently. Dad doesn't have an accurate accounting of all of the Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution. All we know is that there are many. There's still so much that we don't know."

"Are you able to recognize any of the others?" he asked. Pulling out another of the Mega Stones, this one was yellow with a black and red double helix. Looking at her Combusken, Sakura realized that Combusken's aura was reaching out for the aura coming off of Mega Stone in her hand, though it was being blocked, and knew which one it was, since she'd already researched both Combusken and Marshtomp's evolved forms. Sakura sighed and said, "This one is Blazikenite. Combusken's aura is reaching out for it, but it's being blocked, probably because she hasn't evolved yet."

Pulling out another, this one was blue with a black and red double helix. She saw her Marshtomp's aura reaching for the aura coming off of it, but like Combusken, it was being blocked. Speaking again, she said, "This is Swampertite. The same thing is happening with Marshtomp and more than likely for the same reason." Having pulled out the last three, one of them was a light green with a darker green and red double helix, which she did not recognize, but the other was lavender with a double helix in two shades of grey. While she looked at it, she saw her Aron's aura reaching for it, but being blocked and she knew in that instant what this one was, since Steven had told her all about Aron and its evolved forms. Looking at him, she spoke for the last time, "The green one I don't recognize, but the other is Aggronite." She then handed the Aggronite to Steven since she knew that he had one and kept the others for safe keeping.

Putting the others away, she spoke, "We need to get back. We'll figure the rest out later." Steven nodded, still a little in shock, and they pack up their stuff, recalled their Pokémon, and headed back to town. It was late afternoon to early evening by the time that they returned and Sakura debated going to the gym that day. In the end, she decided not to since she was tired and too wrung out to pay attention to a battle. She was too tired to even go through with her nightly before bed routine. She just went into her room, fell onto her bed and went to sleep, Lucario not too far behind her. Sakura didn't even bother to get into her pajamas.

Steven chuckled as he watched the woman he loved basically crash. He knew that she was exhausted. Though she tried to hide it, he had known that she was tired. She was okay on the trip up the mountain, but the trip back had wiped her out. Sighing, he helped her to take off her shoes and tucked her into the blankets. He then leaned over and kissed her forehead. Pulling back, he said, "Sweet dreams, Sakura," before moving away and going to sit on his bed. He sat there for awhile, just staring at the Mega Stones that Sakura had given him. He was also thinking about the warning she'd given him at the same time. He'd kind of figured that his partner would need to learn to control their new bodies and abilities, but the way she said it indicated that something else could happen. He guessed that something happened when Lucario first started Mega Evolving, but he also figured that it was something that Sakura didn't want to talk about. He'd wait for her to come to him about it, though it was hard being patient. It was always difficult to be patient when it came to anything involving Sakura. Sighing, he returned the Mega Stones to his pocket and went to sleep.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

When Sakura woke the next morning, the sun was just staring to come over the horizon. Looking at the clock, she realized that it was around eight o'clock and she was starving. She imagined that it was from not eating dinner the morning before and since she hadn't eaten dinner, her Pokémon hadn't either and figured that they'd be hungry by now. So she then went into the bathroom and took a shower, washing her hair with her favorite cherry blossom scented shampoo. Once she came out, she lathered on the matching lotion and got dressed. She came out of the bathroom pulling on her fingerless gloves just as Steven was waking up. She waited while he got ready.

Once he was they went down to the cafeteria go breakfast together. They didn't say much as they gathered their food and fed their partners. The two trainers ate in silence, neither sure what to say. Sakura decided that she couldn't take the silence and asked, "So what is our next move?" Steven sighed and replied, "First, you're going to your gym battle. We'll have plenty of time to help Metagross on the way to the next gym." Sakura just looked at him in shock and then started shaking her head, while smiling. Typical Steven. He was always thinking of her first.

"If that's the case, then I need to do my meditation session before we go," she replied. He nodded and they went to the battlefield behind the Center. They let out their partners and began meditating. Over the course of the last week, the bond between Steven and Metagross as well as Steven's bond with his faithful Skarmory had grown stronger as they meditated together. Skarmory had even come to like Sakura and would happily nuzzle her head when let out of his Pokéball. They sat there for about an hour before something teased Sakura's aura senses, reaching for Steven. She couldn't tell what it was, so she got up to investigate. On the ground by the trunk of a tree, she found a Pokémon egg. It was a blue, the same color blue as the fur on Sakura's Riolu before he evolved, with a couple of black stripes on the shell. Panicking, Sakura gathered the egg in her arms and carried it back. She could hazard a guess as to what Pokémon might be in the egg, but by the aura, she could tell that this egg wasn't meant to be with her, but her beloved friend and travel companion.

Coming out of the overgrowth to see Steven looking worried, she pushed the egg into his arms and told him to take it to Nurse Joy for a check up. They both took off and once Nurse Joy proclaimed that the egg was doing just fine and should hatch, by her estimate, sometime in the next few months. Sakura gave Steven her old incubator and put a Cherish Ball on the lid, thankful that she'd thought to keep it. When Steven asked why she'd given it to him, she told him that she felt the aura of the Pokémon inside reaching for his, but because Steven didn't have aura sense like she did, he didn't feel it. What Sakura didn't tell him was that she suspected what Pokémon was in the egg, due to it being only a theory and she didn't want him to be disappointed if she was wrong. Once that was taken care of and they'd eaten lunch, the two trainers headed off towards the gym.

Just as they were about to go in, they were approached by a young trainer named Wally, who asked to battle Sakura. He told her that he wanted to prove to his uncle that he had what it took to be a trainer. Sakura smiled as she let out Vulpix and Wally let out his Ralts. Seeing the little Pokémon made Sakura nostalgic, remembering when she'd caught both of her Ralts, who'd eventually evolved first into Kirlia and then into a Gardevoir and a Gallade respectively. Wally started things off with ordering Ralts to use Magical Leaf. Ralts complied and raised its hands above its head, then brought them forward and released multiple glowing light green leaves from its hands at Vulpix. Sakura ordered, "Vulpix, use Flamethrower!" Vulpix obeyed and released a stream of fire out of it's mouth, destroying the leaves and striking Ralts. Ralts was sent back several feet. Wally told it to use Confusion. It complied and closed its eyes and a wave of psychic energy forced Vulpix back.

"Okay, Vulpix, let's try out your new move, Will-o-Wisp!" Sakura called out.

"Vulpix!" the little fox Pokémon cried out as she complied and three balls of blue fire appeared. She then launched them at Ralts, sending the little Feeling Pokémon back into a wall. Though you could tell that Ralts had taken some damage, it was still able to stand up. Wally then ordered Ralts to use Magical Leaf once more. Sakura chuckled, impressed by the boy's exuberance, called out, "Flame Charge!" Immediately Vulpix's body was surrounded by flames and she charged at Ralts, destroying the leaves and burning Ralts as it was once again forced into the wall, though this time it didn't get back up. Wally sighed sadly and his shoulders drooped as Sakura approached with a berry in her hand, Vulpix wrapped around her shoulders. Placing one of her hands on Wally's shoulder, she handed him the berry and told him, "Here, Wally. Give this to Ralts. It's a Rawst Berry. It'll help with its burn. And don't give up. You have what it takes to be a great trainer." Wally looked up at her with a grateful smile before he gave the Rawst Berry to Ralts before recalling him to his Pokéball and Sakura and Steven went into the gym.

Walking in she saw an older man talking with a younger one and figured that one of them must be the gym leader. The older man looked up as they approached and smiled when he saw Steven. He said, "Steven, my boy, so good to see you."

"It is good to see you as well, Wattson. I'm here because my friend would like to challenge you to a battle," Steven replied. Sakura then stepped forward, holding out her hand as she spoke, " I'm very glad to meet you, Mr. Wattson. I'm Sakura Simmons from Lumiose City." He took her hand and replied, "Ah, such manners. Such a pity that you don't see that so much anymore. Lumiose City, you say? Isn't that in the Kalos region?"

Sakura nodded, happily, and said, "Yes, and it's also home to an electric type gym. The gym leader, Clement, is a very good friend of mine." Wattson threw his head back and laughed before leading her to the field while Steven took a seat in the stands. Sakura recalled Vulpix and Lucario to their Pokéballs just in case, though they weren't happy about it. The young man that Wattson had just been speaking with, who introduced himself as Watt, was commandeered to be the referee. He sighed and took his place, then he spoke, "This is a battle between Mauville Gym Leader, Wattson, and the Challenger, Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City. This will be a three on three match. Furthermore, only the Challenger may substitute Pokémon. Release your Pokémon!" Wattson let out his Voltorb. Sakura sighed and cried,"Aron, let's show them what we're made of!" tossing Aron's Pokéball and releasing him. She then pulled out her Pokédex and scanned Wattson's Pokémon.

"Voltorb, the Ball Pokémon. This mysterious Pokémon uses strong Electric attacks, and is often found near power plants. Use extreme caution; Voltorb may explode without warning. This Voltorb is male and has the ability Soundproof."

Battle Begin!" Watt called out.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Wattson ordered. Voltorb complied, sending out a strong stream of electricity at Aron, who absorbed the attack, but took no damage. Sakura smirked, and ordered, "Aron, use Iron Tail!" He complied with her order and ran towards Voltorb, faster than one would think he would be, his tail taking a metallic shine before slamming into Voltorb. Voltorb let out a cry of pain as he was hit by the attack, shoving him backwards. It looked like he was having trouble. Wattson then orders Voltorb to use Electro Ball. Voltorb's body began to glow as he formed a ball of electricity, which he launched at Aron. When it hit Aron, the force of the attack sent him backwards. Sakura then ordered,"Use Headbutt!" Aron put his head down and charged at Voltorb. Wattson tried to tell him to dodge, but Aron was too fast and landed a hit on Voltorb, throwing him into the wall, where he didn't move again. Seeing that Voltorb was unconscious, Watt called out, "Voltorb is unable to battle. Aron is the winner!"

"Good wor..." Sakura started to congratulate Aron when he began to glow with white light. His body got bigger and longer. When the light went away, a whole new Pokémon was left behind. It was a stocky, armored, Pokémon with four short legs. Its body was dark gray, and its eyes are sky blue. Its back was covered with segments of iron armor, each with a high ridge and round dark holes on the sides. The sides of its lower jaw had several flat protrusions, and two teeth are visible in its mouth. There are two pronged metal bands on its legs. The upper band was gray and the lower was silver. Sakura once again pulled out her Pokédex and scanned her new Pokémon.

"Lairon, the Iron Armor Pokémon. It digs up iron ore for food, and smashes its steely body up against others in battles over territory. This Lairon is male and has the ability Sturdy. Upon evolution, Lairon has learned Iron Defense, Heavy Slam, Stone Edge, and Aerial Ace."

Wattson let out his Magnemite and Watt called for the battle to resume. Wattson told Magnemite to use Sonicboom while Sakura told Lairon to use Iron Defense. Lairon's body becomes outlined in light blue and its body briefly shines, increasing Lairon's defense as the attack hit. Sakura then ordered Lairon to use Stone Edge. Lairon's eyes began to glow blue as rocks appeared all around his body in a circle and then he launched them at Magnemite, who took several hits and forced it back. Before Wattson could order a counter attack, Sakura ordered, "Use Iron Tail!" Lairon took off, and slammed Magnemite with his tail, throwing it onto the ground. Once the dust cleared, it was clear that Magnemite wasn't going to be able to get up, so Watt called out, "Magnemite is unable to battle. Lairon in the winner." Sakura, seeing how Lairon was breathing heavily, recalled him to his Pokéball and released Marshtomp. Wattson brought out his Electrike. Never having seen this Pokémon before Sakura pulled out her Pokédex and scanned it.

"Electrike, the Lightning Pokémon. Using the electric charge stored in its fur, it can run faster than the eye can follow. This Electrike is male and has the ability Static."

"Marshtomp, use Mud Shot!" Sakura ordered. Marshtomp fired a stream of mud at Electrike from his mouth, tripping the little dog and sending it backwards. Wattson ordered Electrike to use Hidden Power. Electrike opened its mouth and formed a light blue ball of energy in front of it and it prepared to fire the ball at Marshtomp, who Sakura told to counter with Ice Beam. A light blue ball appeared inside of Marshtomp's mouth. He then fired light blue beams at Electrike, cutting off Electrike's attack and throwing him backwards, one of his legs partially frozen. With Electrike practically paralyzed, Wattson once again called for Hidden Power, but Sakura ordered Marshtomp to use Brick Break. One of Marshtomp's arms began to glow white and he made a running leap to get above Electrike, who was still charging his attack, and he karate chopped Electrike.

Once the dust settled, everyone could see that Electrike had feinted, making Watt call out, "Electrike is unable to battle. Marshtomp is the winner. And that means that victory goes to Sakura Simmons of Lumiose City!" Sakura closed her eyes and sighed as Lucario burst out of his Pokéball on his own, not wanting to stay in there longer than he had to, and Marshtomp did a little victory dance on the field, making Sakura laugh quietly before she returned him. Steven came down and gave her a hug as he said, "Congratulations."

Sakura grinned at him, her eyes sparkling, unknowingly making his heart skip a beat. Sakura looked up as Wattson approached with an all too familiar box in his hand, and a smile on his face as he spoke, "That was a good battle, little lady. It is my pleasure to award you the Dynamo Badge," and he took it out of the box and placed it in her hand. She smiled as she placed it in her badge case. Once she pit her badge case away, Sakura turned back to Wattson, put her hands together in front of her, and bowed to him as she said, "Thank you for the battle." He bowed back and with that, Sakura, Lucario, and Steven went to leave the gym, but Wattson stopped them by saying, "Sakura, I was wondering if I might ask a favor of you." Turning back, Sakura asked, "What is it, Mr. Wattson?"

He turned to Watt who had brought out another Electrike, though it was obvious that it didn't want to be there since it kept wiggling trying to get Watt to let it go, and he set it on the ground by Wattson's feet. This one was different than Wattson's Electrike as this one was blue with yellow accents rather than green. Sakura expected the little Pokémon to run as soon as its feet met the floor, but it stood there looking up at her curiously as Wattson replied, "I found this Electrike about two months ago, chewing on power cables. She was in really bad shape and I think she was abandoned. She doesn't seem to like it here, so I was hoping that maybe she might be happier traveling with you." Sakura pulled out her Pokédex and scanned her.

"Electrike, the Lightning Pokémon. Using the electric charge stored in its fur, it can run faster than the eye can follow. This Electrike is female and has the ability Lightening Rod. Please note that the unusual coloration of this Pokémon indicates that it is a Shiny Pokémon."

Sakura got down on her knees and looked the Electrike in her eyes. She opened her aura sense and read Electrike's aura. Determination to be the best, distrust of trainers, and yet she was hopeful for a better future. She gently pulled some of her aura into her hand and laid it gently on Electrike's head, letting her see inside her heart. Sakura felt Electrike's surprise, and happiness. Maybe, just maybe she had found a trainer who would never abandon her like her previous one had. Sakura smiled as she sensed Electrike's decision and gathered Electrike in her arms and told Wattson, "I would be happy to bring Electrike along with me, Mr. Wattson. I promise I'll take good care of her."

Wattson smile happily and told her, "I'm glad." Sakura pulled out a green Friend Ball and gently tapped Electrike with it. She disappeared inside of it and the ball shook twice before dinging. Sakura smiled as she, Lucario, and Steven said their goodbyes to Wattson and Watt and went back to the Pokémon Center. As it was now coming into the middle of the afternoon, the two trainers decided that they would stay one more night at the Pokémon Center. Sakura dropped off the three that had battled that day with Nurse Joy to make sure they weren't hurt during battle and went out back with the others, while Steven went on an errand of his own.

When she'd asked, he told her that it would be a surprise and she'd just shook her head. As she stood on the battlefield, Sakura released all of her Pokémon but Electrike. Looking over her partners, she said, "I want to introduce you all to the newest member of our family," and with that she released Electrike, who stood sheepishly by her feet, looking with wide eyes at the others as Sakura continued, "Everyone, this is Electrike. Electrike, meet everyone." The first to make a move was Pichu, who bounded over to her fellow electric type and began a conversation with her. Sakura watched with pride for a few moments before she pulled out her Pokédex and looked through the information on her new Electrike and was surprised to find that she knew several moves including Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Spark, and Thunder Fang. This meant that she was due to evolve soon. She smiled as all the others gathered around and they started their training routines. This night she had Pichu working with Electrike, helping Pichu learn Thunderbolt. She had been starting to get it, but with Electrike's help, she was finally able to master it. Sakura then started teaching Electrike Iron Tail. It was a useful move that had saved her butt many times over.

Once it started to get dark, she recalled all of her partners, but Lucario, Pichu, who sat on her shoulder, and Electrike, who she intended to let stay out of her Pokéball for a little while so that they could bond, walking along beside her. She then headed off to dinner. Sakura looked around for Steven and saw him with Metagross and Skarmory, already eating his dinner. Sakura noticed the arm band on one of Metagross's arms and fashioned into it was the Metagrossite that she'd given him. Sighing, she figured that that was what Steven's errand was about as she gathered her own dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and a glass of iced tea. Sitting down across from Steven, she released the rest of her partners and gave them their dinner before digging into her own. As she ate, Sakura peeked over at Metagross's arm band and said in a low tone, "We're going to need to find a safe place, with few to no people, to work with Metagross. It took nearly two months to work with Absol and Lucario respectively, but as I've said before, it's different for everyone."

Steven didn't answer for a few minutes before he said, "There's a desert on Route 111 that we have to travel through to get to Lavaridge for your next gym. We could do it there." Sakura made a noise of agreement and went back to her food. Steven sighed in relief that she wasn't going to ask anymore about his errand. He put his hand on top of the box in his pocket. He hadn't intended on getting the ring, but once he saw the sterling silver ring with a blue sapphire that matched Sakura's eyes, he couldn't help himself. After all, he did intend on marrying her someday, but he had to let her know how he felt first.

The next morning, Sakura and Steven gathered all of the supplies that they would need for several months in the desert, with Steven paying for it. He insisted on it since it was his fault that they were going to spend at least that long in the desert. However, anything that Sakura got for herself, she insisted that she pay for it herself. Then they were off, heading towards Route 111. It took them several days, but in the end they reached it. Over the course of those days, many trainers had challenged Sakura to battle and she'd won all of them. As time went by, all of her Pokémon became much stronger as well as the bond with her new Electrike, who'd learned Electro Ball as had Pichu. Her Swablu had learned Steel Wing, Take Down, Safeguard, Ice Beam, Cotton Guard, and Mirror Move. It would seem that everything was going just fine when they reached the desert. Once they got there, they found an isolated area where they set up camp.

She then set about telling Steven everything that she knew about Mega Evolution and told him to release Metagross, which he did. She then let out Absol and pressed two fingers to her Key Stone. Immediately streams of energy erupted from Sakura's Key Stone and the Absolite around Absol's neck. When the streams of energy met, Absol was engulfed in bright light and her body began changing. Once the light went away, a differently looking Absol appeared as the Mega Evolution symbol appeared in front of her before disappearing. Her fur was longer overall, and the increased energy coursing through her body made the fur at the back of its mane stand on end, so that she appeared to have wings. The spikes on her heels and elbows grow larger, and the fur in those areas became longer as well. Her sickle-shaped horn widened, while an additional, smaller horn appeared on the opposite side of her head. Her tail now had a more saw-like shape, and the oval marking on her forehead was now a rounded triangle.

Steven looked at Mega Absol with awe in his eyes and his heart pounded as he took his lapel pin in his hand. He then pressed two fingers to his Key Stone and the same thing happened as streams of energy emerged from his Key Stone and the Metagrossite. When the streams met, Metagross began to glow with a bright white light and his body began changing. Once the light disappeared, a whole new Metagross was left behind as the symbol for Mega Evolution appeared and disappeared. Mega Metagross was constantly floating, and his legs became arms. The gold cross on his face turned blue, and it gained two small holes and a spike immediately below the cross, giving the impression of a goatee.

Looking over Mega Metagross with a critical eye, Sakura said, "Why don't we have a battle? It might help Metagross adjust." Steven nodded and ordered Mega Metagross to use Flash Cannon. A white orb of energy with light blue energy formed in between Mega Metagross's front claws, and it fired a white beam of energy with light blue energy from it at Mega Absol. Sakura ordered Mega Absol to dodge and she herself got out of the way. She then ordered Mega Absol to use Megahorn. Mega Absol's horn began to glow green and it grew in size. Then she slashed Mega Metagross with it, shoving him backwards before retreating. Steven then ordered Mega Metagross to use Meteor Mash.

Mega Metagross's body began to glow blue as he tucked in his four arms. He then pointed them at Mega Absol and began charging her while spinning in a clockwise motion, with a blue aura around him. Sakura called out for Mega Absol to jump up into the air and use Dark Pulse. Just as Mega Metagross would have crashed into her, she jumped into the air and while she was there, Mega Absol opened her mouth and a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appears inside of it. She then fires a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside its mouth at Mega Metagross, throwing him back into a sand dune, where he landed hard. Then a light formed around him and he returned to being Metagross. Mega Absol also returned to her previous form. Steven ran over to Metagross to see that he was getting himself up, but looked exhausted. He sighed in relief that his friend was okay as Sakura handed him an Oran Berry.

"Not bad for his first time," Sakura told him, "It looks like all we really need to do is teach him output control. If we don't, he could badly hurt or kill someone without meaning to." Steven nodded as he gave Metagross the Oran Berry, restoring his energy. He'd known that this wouldn't be easy.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

They spent the next six and a half months in the desert perfecting Metagross's control of his Mega Evolution. He was doing a lot better. After their supplies had run out, they'd had to return to Mauville City to get more. In that time, Swablu had evolved into Altaria and Electrike had evolved into Manectric. Altaria had learned Dragon Pulse, Perish Song, Moonblast, and Dazzling Gleam. Sakura was now trying to teach her Dragon Breath. Manectric had learned Wild Charge, Protect, Electric Terrain, and Discharge. Now they were working on Thunder along with Pichu. Both Manectric and Pichu have learned Charge Beam. Pichu also learned Wild Charge, Protect, Double Team, and Shock Wave. Sakura knew that it was only a matter of time until Pichu evolved since every time she checked Pichu's aura, she could feel the pulses of power that usually indicated that the Pokémon was due to evolve soon. Now that Pichu was just over six months old, she had been changed over to regular Pokémon food.

Marshtomp and Combusken had just recently evolved into Swampert and Blaziken. Sakura didn't immediately give them their Mega Stones since she wanted them to learn to control what they had already first. Swampert had learned Protect, Take Down, Hammer Arm, and Water Pulse. Blaziken learned Blaze Kick, Flare Blitz, Power Up Punch, and Focus Blast. The others had grown much stronger too. Vulpix learned Safeguard, Extrasensory, Fire Blast, and Heat Wave while Mightyena learned Assurance, Take Down, Dark Pulse, and Shadow Ball. Lairon learned Double Team, Hidden Power, Earthquake, and Shock Wave while Milotic learned Hydro Pump, Recover, Safeguard, and Icy Wind. Even Lucario and Absol had gotten stronger and faster. Both of them had even learned a few new moves themselves. Lucario learned Flash Cannon, courtesy of working with Metagross, Focus Blast, and Poison Jab while Absol learned Night Slash, Will-o-Wisp, and Charge Beam.

Steven, Metagross, and Skarmory now joined Sakura and her Pokémon in their training at Sakura's insistence since she'd told him, "You need to train yourself just as hard as you train your Pokémon." They've all gotten much stronger and faster. Sakura had even started teaching Steven martial arts. He was a natural. At first, he'd been reluctant, but she bluntly told him that no matter how much Metagross might adore him, if Metagross exceeds his skill level as a trainer, he'll stop listening to him, respecting him, or both. Steven had quickly learned to be up by dawn or get a Hydro Pump or Water Pulse from either Milotic or Swampert respectively in the face or shocked by a Thunderbolt from either Manectric or Pichu, much to his Pokémon and Sakura's amusement. By this time, everyone had improved and the bonds between them and their Pokémon, as well as the bond between the two of them, had only gotten stronger. So strong, in fact, that nothing could sever them. It even appeared that Steven's egg was close to hatching.

Now the two trainers were flying to Lavaridge Town on the back of Steven's Skarmory. However, they got side tracked by seeing several Team Magma grunts near what Steven said was Meteorite Falls. It looked like they were harassing a scientist into giving them something. They were forced to watch as the Magma jerks beat on the poor scientist and ran off with whatever they had wanted. Sakura told Steven to call for an ambulance as she went down to see if there was anyway for her to help. Getting down on her knees, Sakura pulled out her first aid kit and began bandaging his wounds while he told her that Team Magma had wanted the Meteorite and were taking it to Mt. Chimney for what purpose he hadn't known The two trainers made sure that the scientist, who introduced himself as Professor Cosmo, made it to a hospital and went to Mt. Chimney to figure out what Team Magma was up to.

They battled their way through the Team Magma grunts and they separated as they tried to find the machine that Team Magma was using to try to awaken the volcano. Lucario had gotten tired, so Sakura recalled him to his Pokéball. While she'd been walking around, she found another Mega Stone, though she had no idea how it had gotten there. Not having time to figure it out, Sakura quickly stowed it into her backpack with the others and moved on. She ended up in what looked like a control room when, thanks to her aura enhanced senses, she heard footsteps coming her way. Not sure who it was, since she knew that it wasn't Steven, she quickly took off her Key Stone necklace and put it in her skirt pocket. She regained on her guard as a man entered. He was wearing the typical Team Magma red jacket with a hood with spikes on it, but this guy carried himself with pride and self importance. This guy was no grunt. He then demanded, "Did you really think that you could stop us, little girl? Us! The great Team Magma!"

"I don't see anything that's great. Insane, maybe, but not great," Sakura sneered at him. He growled as he smacked her across the face before she could blink, snarling that no one spoke in such a way to Team Magma Admin Tabitha. Gritting her teeth, Sakura thought, "This guy has anger management issues." She could feel a bruise forming on her cheek, but didn't have time to dwell on it as he began punching and kicking her until she lay on her side, making no noise with every hit. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry or let him see that he hurt her. In all truth, her Lucario or her Blaziken hit harder than he did. It was only the sheer number of hits and the places he hit that caused the pain. Getting pissed off, Sakura swept her legs through his, knocking him onto the ground. She then got up as he did, but he didn't have any time to react before she punched him in the face, knocking him out.

She then left, as she went she put her Key Stone necklace back on, and let Pichu out of her Pokéball and she jumped onto Sakura's shoulder. Pichu had been horrified when she saw her beloved trainer's bruised face. After all, Sakura was the only mother the Tiny Mouse Pokémon knew and she loved Sakura dearly, as dearly as Pichu knew that Sakura loved her. Pichu had wanted to find the one who had done that to her and slam them with Iron Tail several times until they got the point. Sakura knew that Steven was not going to be happy when he saw her. It would be worth the lecture as long as they both made it out of here safely. They met up just outside another room where she could see that Maxie was. He'd taken one look at her face and his face darkened with anger as he demanded, "What happened and who did that to you?"

"Team Magma Admin Tabitha. Apparently I sassed him and he took offense," she replied sarcastically, though she had an annoyed look on her face. Steven gritted his teeth angrily. How dare he raise his hands to Sakura! The two friends quickly confronted Maxie who started a battle. Sakura used Pichu and Steven used Metagross. Maxie used his Mightyena who he ordered to use Dark Pulse. Mightyena opened its mouth and a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appears inside it. It then fired a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside its mouth at Metagross, but Sakura ordered Pichu to use Protect on her and Metagross. Pichu jumped in front of Metagross and created a barrier around the both of them, making Mightyena's attack bounce off. Steven then called out for Metagross to use Flash Cannon while Sakura ordered Pichu to use Thunderbolt. Metagross fired a white beam of energy with light blue energy at the opponent while Pichu's cheeks began sparking and it's body was consumed with electricity as it shot a stream of it at Mightyena. The lightening then combined with Metagross's Flash Cannon as they struck Mightyena, knocking it out. As Maxie was about to speak, Pichu began to glow. Her body become taller and wider.

When the glow went away, it left behind a short, chubby rodent Pokémon. It was covered in yellow fur, and its ears were long and pointed with black tips. It had a small mouth, brown eyes, and two red circles on its cheeks. It's forearms were short, with five fingers on each paw, and its feet had three toes. It had two brown stripes on its back, and its tail was in the shape of a lightning bolt with a patch of brown fur at the base. It had a V-shaped notch at the end of its tail, which looked like the top of a heart. This Pokémon could be classified as a quadruped, but it looked like it could stand and walk on its hind legs as well. Sakura pulled out her Pokédex and scanned her new Pokémon.

"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pichu. Pikachu's tail is sometimes struck by lightning as it raises it to check its surroundings. This Pikachu is female and has the ability Lightening Rod. Upon evolution, Pikachu has learned Discharge, Slam, Agility, and Brick Break."

Maxie was going to open his mouth to say something sarcastic, but then he took a good look at the pink haired girl who was opposing him. He knew that he'd seen her face before, but could not place where. It wasn't until he looked into her eyes and he knew. He'd seen those eyes on only one other person: Corey Simmons, the former gym leader for the Petalburg Gym. Now that he thought about it, the girl bore a remarkable resemblance to the former gym leader's wife, Emma. If he remembered correctly, the couple had had a child who would be about this girl's age.

He had not been in charge of Team Magma then, but he remembered the stir that their deaths had caused, especially since he knew for a fact that the team leader before him had something to do with it. Also if he recalled correctly, the gym leader's daughter had been sent to the Kalos region. The Team Magma leader shook his head at those thoughts and released his Golbat, but it quickly fell with a Volt Tackle from the girl's Pikachu and a Metal Claw from the boy's Metagross, and his Camerupt fell with a combination attack of Flash Cannon and Thunderbolt. How these trainers came to be so strong, he'd never know, but he ordered a retreat and as he and his followers left, he thought about that girl. He'd have to keep an eye on her.

Once the meteorite was just taken away, Steven insisted on getting Sakura to the Pokémon Center to get checked out. The Lavaridge Nurse Joy told them that she had some bruised ribs and would need to rest for awhile, but other than that she was fine. He'd been sitting by her bed, just watching her sleep when a beeping noise started going off. His eyes widened as he realized that his egg was hatching. Sakura opened her eyes at the noise and though he told her not to, she got up with a wince and followed him when he went to get Nurse Joy, who jumped into action to get everything ready.

Moments later, Steven was in a room alone with his egg and a Pokéball in his hand, waiting for it to hatch. The glowing started to stop and a cracking noise filled the air as the egg formed into a Pokémon. This Pokémon was a small, blue, canine Pokémon. It had black legs and torso, a blue tail, and a yellow collar. It had rounded bumps on the backs of its forepaws and a black "mask" and red eyes. Nurse Joy gasped as she spoke, "I've never seen a Pokémon like that."

"I have," Sakura replied, making Nurse Joy look at her as she continued, "It's a Riolu, the unevolved form of Lucario. I had a feeling it would be this one." Sakura watched as Steven met the little Riolu's eyes. She smiled. Of course, they're Soul Partners. It had been exactly like this when she'd first met Lucario. Steven then looked up and asked, "Sakura, can you come in here? I need to borrow your Pokédex for a minute." Chuckling, Sakura slowly walked in, not wanting to scare Riolu, and she pulled out her Pokédex and scanned it.

"Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. When sad or scared, Riolu's aura becomes stronger as a way of signaling its allies. This Riolu is female and has the ability Steadfast."

Nurse Joy also came in and pronounced that Riolu was in perfect health as well as instructing Steven on Riolu's diet for the first several weeks, and Steven then caught her, still a little bit in shock as they returned to their room. He then released Riolu who looked around the room and went and stood in front of Lucario for several moments before she settled into a meditative pose similar to Lucario's. For a little while, Steven and Sakura said nothing until Sakura spoke, "She'll need to train with Lucario for awhile." Steven looked at her and asked, "Why?"

"Steven, Lucario evolves from Riolu. It means that Riolu has the same ability to use aura and since she's a baby, she doesn't have anyone else to teach her the way Lucario did," she told him, "In other words, Riolu needs to train with Lucario in how to use her aura correctly in order to not hurt herself or others by accident." Steven nodded understanding as she continued, "I would also suggest keeping her out of his Pokéball. When Lucario first started staying with me, he stayed out so we could build on our bond. He'd stay in his Pokéball for a little bit, but he hated it." Steven nodded as he took a big breath and said, "This is my first time taking care of a baby Pokémon."

"Don't worry. I'll help you and you'll be a pro in no time!" Sakura said, giving him a bright smile, making it almost impossible not to smile back. She was already communicating with Lucario, working on how to train Steven's Riolu. Lucario would start to work with her while she was healing from Mt. Chimney and not just working on the aura aspects of it. Lucario had been with Sakura for so long, that he understood and could implement her training strategies himself. In fact, she'd broken her leg while they were traveling in Sinnoh and the whole time that she was healing, Lucario had taken to training her team. Sakura sighed and said, "You better get to sleep. Until my ribs heal, you and the others are going to be training with Lucario."

"How is he any worse than you?!" Steven asked, his eyes wide. She didn't take any insult from it, because it was obvious that he was jesting with her. Sakura locked eyes with Lucario, who had peeked over at her from where he was sitting with Steven's Riolu on the floor, and they grinned at each other before she replied, "Who do you think trained him?" Both Lucario and Sakura began snickering since the feelings in Steven's aura were not matching up with the horrified look on his face. He was, in fact, excited about the idea. He then laughed himself as he asked, "How is he able to do that?"

"Lucario and I are Soul Partners. I'm sure that you've seen how close we are and how similar our personalities are. It's because we're meant to be partners. It's the same with you and Riolu," Sakura explained, "It's why when I found Riolu's egg, his aura was reaching out for you, because he could sense that his partner was nearby, but you couldn't feel it due to the fact that you don't have the aura sense. Being a Soul Partner is a bond unlike any other. It is unbreakable and it's for life." She then looked over at Lucario with a fond look on her face as she continued, "Soul Partners are rare. I guess you could say that we're some of the lucky few. I couldn't imagine my life without Lucario or any of my other Pokémon in it. Not only that, he's been with me so long, that he understands and can implement my training strategies. He's already done it once."

"What do you mean?"

"When we were traveling through Sinnoh, I had a little bit of an accident and I broke my leg. It was just before the Lily of the Valley Conference. We still had a long way to go and I'd fallen down a hole dug by a Steelix. I was distraught because I thought that we were going to fall behind, because I was going to be held up for weeks waiting for my leg to heal, but Lucario stepped up and started training my team at the time. They all listened to him, because he was the oldest and had been with me the longest. Anyway, I still say we owe that Conference win to Lucario." Steven smiled and wished her a good night and they both went to sleep. Though, Sakura had a hard time getting to sleep, because of her ribs. As she tossed and turned, Vulpix burst out of her Pokéball and jumped onto the bed. She then slowly got on top of Sakura and curled up on her ribs, the heat of her body doing wonders for Sakura's ribs.

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

It was more than two weeks later before Sakura was able to move as she wanted to. During that time, Steven, his partners, and all of Sakura's other Pokémon began training with Lucario. It hadn't been much different than training with Sakura, only they received their instructions via Lucario's telepathy. Steven's Riolu spent a lot of one on one time with Lucario, learning how to use her aura. That wasn't the only thing that she learned. She had started out knowing only Foresight, Quick Attack, and Endure. She quickly learned Force Palm, Iron Tail, and Low Kick.

Riolu, when not training, was almost always at Steven's side or following Lucario around. Sakura had quickly learned that the little Emanation Pokémon looked up to the Aura Pokémon and wanted to be just as strong as him one day. Lucario had blushed when she started teasing him about it. It took awhile for her to get back to where she was, but a few training sessions and several spars with Lucario and Sakura was back in fighting shape. Once she was ready to get back into training, she focused somewhat on training with Milotic, Swampert, and Vulpix, as they would be the ones she used against Flannery, the Lavaridge Gym Leader, who was a fire type user.

It had been a few days since she'd gotten back on track that she felt it. As she went about her morning routine, she felt the steady gaze of someone watching her. She flared her aura and felt only the presence of a rather strong fire type Pokémon. The aura felt familiar, though she couldn't place where she'd felt it before. Why that Pokémon would be watching her, she had no idea, but she ignored it for the most part. It wasn't like they were doing anything but watching and she didn't feel threatened by it. Shaking her head, Sakura went back to what she was doing, preparing for her next gym battle.

The night before she was set to go to the gym as she was preparing for bed, Sakura finally remembered the Mega Stone that she found at Mt. Chimney. Gasping, which caused her to gain Steven's attention, she quickly pulled out the Mega Stone to look at it. Seeing the stone in Sakura's hand, Steven's eyes widened un surprised. The stone itself was yellow with a red and blue double helix. Opening her aura sense, she saw Manectric's aura reaching for the stone and the aura of the stone reaching back. Manectric, who had been laying at the end of Sakura's bed, came over and sniffed it.

"Where did you find that and do you recognize it?" Steven asked. Sakura looked up and replied, "I found it while at Mt. Chimney and yes, I do recognize it. It's Manectite. For Manectric." Manectric nuzzled her head against Sakura's hand while saying, "Mane, Manectric." Steven looked at Manectric and said in a slightly stunned tone, "So Manectric can Mega Evolve too."

"Apparently. I've also heard that the Kanto region's starter Pokémon in their final evolved forms can Mega Evolve too. At least I know Blastoise can since one of Siebold of the Kalos Elite Four has one. Gardevoir too since our Champion Diantha has one that can. I'm sure there are several others that I haven't heard of yet. It makes me wonder if Team Magma knew it was there or not. If they did, what in the name of Arceus were they doing with it?." He just shook his head since he didn't have any answers as she spoke to Manectric, "We're going to have to find some way for you to hold it, but not right now." She then put the Manectite away and went to bed. Steven sighed and went to sleep too, though Sakura had a point. Did Team Magma know that that Mega Stone was there? If so what were they planning on doing with it? What's more, what was up with the peculiar look that Maxie had given Sakura?

HOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOSHOS

Sakura's Current Party (In Order of Capture)

1. Lucario

2. Absol

3. Mightyena

4. Blaziken

5. Lairon

6. Milotic

7. Vulpix (Shiny)

8. Altaria

9. Swampert

10. Manectric (Shiny)