The ship pulled into Slateport City harbour two days after the Ariana incident. The rest of the journey proceeded without incident, which both Lyra and Silver were pleased about. Getting of the ferry, they were pleasantly surprised about the temperature of the Hoenn region. It was expected to be warm- at least, warmer than Johto, but this was different than they expected. The sun was beating down on the cobbled pavement, making it almost difficult to stand on the ground.
"What now?" Lyra asked, stretching her legs.
"I'm not sure. Didn't you say you wanted to challenge the league overe here?" Silver responded. Lyra nodded.
"But only if you're okay with it. I won't do it unless you're comfortable with it."
"It's fine. I know you want to become champion of another region. And it wouldn't surprise me if you manage it."
"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Silver. We should head over to the Pokémon Centre then. I'm sure I'll be able to sign up there…"
The two headed off, out of the port area and into the town centre. Slateport City wasn't huge, with a market taking up more than half of the town. While they were looking for the Pokémon Centre, Lyra spotted a Contest hall, and made a mental note that she would have to go and watch a contest while she was in Hoenn. It took them a while to find the Pokémon Centre; Silver wouldn't ask for directions, and Lyra got distracted by every little thing.
When they did eventually find it, the process of registering for the League was fairly simple. Nurse Joy requested Lyra's Pokémon Trainer card, scanning it into the computer. She raised her eyebrows when she saw the extensive list of achievements on Lyra's profile- her sixteen gym badges and two championship titles, among other minor things that she didn't really think about. Nurse Joy handed the card back to Lyra with a smile.
"There. You're all registered! I assume I don't need to explain the League's rules to you, since you've already done two?"
"I don't think so!" Lyra laughed. "I don't think anything is different in Hoenn, so we'll be okay. Can I ask where the nearest gym is? I don't think I saw one when we were on our way here…"
"Mauville City, to the North of here. The Gym Leader is Wattson, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to accept your challenge!"
"Thank you, Nurse Joy!"
Lyra left the Pokémon Centre to meet up with Silver, who had decided to wait outside. She smiled brightly, proclaiming that she was all registered and now they could leave. Silver rolled his eyes.
"I don't even know why you have to register anyway. I challenged Gym Leaders and got gym badges without registering at all."
"You can get badges and stuff- they don't ask for your pass in gyms. But when it comes to actually challenging the Elite Four, they ask for it, along with all your gym badges. They need it for recording you in the Hall of Fame," Lyra explained. "I only learned this after I became the Champion," she added as an afterthought.
"Why do you want to challenge the League over here anyway? You have two League titles already. Maybe you should let someone else be the Champion for once."
"I'm going for world domination, Silver," Lyra deadpanned. Seeing Silver's disgusted expression, she changed her answer to a more truthful, serious one. "I want it to look like our trip isn't you just running away and dragging you with me- which it is, by the way. If I challenge all the gyms, then it'll look like I'm over to do exactly what I am doing, and I've dragged you with me. Honestly, it'll work. Trust me."
"Right." Silver sounded less than trusting of her, but decided it was easier to go along with her plan that counter it. "It's still pretty early in the day. We should leave and go to wherever it is we're going. We might be able to get to civilization before the end of the day."
"Mauville City is apparently where the nearest gym is. Shall we head that way, then?" Lyra asked. With a simple nod from Silver, she pulled a map she had taken from the port. She pointed at the city, and they figured out the best way to it from their current position.
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The route to Mauville was a lot different from any paths either of the trainers had traversed in Johto or Kanto. It was quiet, with a lot of grassy areas and a large lake in the centre. The cycling path scraped the azure sky, but neither Lyra nor Silver had a bike, so they chose the quieter route under it.
"So," Lyra started, with a very pointed look at Silver.
"So?"
"Are you ever going to tell me why you left the region? I mean, you pretty much forced me to leave my home, and…"
"You didn't seem to mind," Silver pointed out, causing Lyra to flush.
"It's because I care about you, Silver." He huffed in response, turning his head away from her, and sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Five minutes, okay? Wait until we're further out from the city. Let me gather my thoughts."
Lyra nodded silently, and they continued along the route for another five minutes. They managed to cover a good bit of ground in this time, so much so that the city could just be seen in the distance. They still had a fair bit to go, but the two trainers decided to stop by the lake to talk. They sat by the shore, Lyra with her legs tucked under her, and Silver with his drawn to his chest. Lyra didn't say anything- waiting until Silver felt comfortable to talk.
'You know who my father is, right?" Lyra was unsure how to answer this, but decided being truthful was the best option. She nodded. "Well, he and his 'business partners' are really into making deals without consulting anyone else. Sometimes its just gambling, which I can get over, but sometimes it's a lot worse than that. Like…" He paused. Lyra took her gaze off him, staring out over the lake.
"When I was eight, I met this girl. Her name was Crystal, and not gonna lie, she was an ass. I hated her from the moment she spoke to me. Then, at the end of the party that we met at, we were formally introduced. Turns out she was the daughter of one of my dad's friends. He announced that we were… to be married. As in, from the age of eight, I was engaged to this girl I didn't know." He finished his story with a shrug, staring down into the water.
"Is that it? That doesn't really explain why you left…" Lyra questioned, still not meeting his eyes. "And besides… you could've gotten along. You might've even loved her!"
"Nah," Silver huffed, exhaling loudly. "It wasn't just that. It was an act of defiance, partly. I ran away because I didn't want to marry her. I didn't want to have to conform to my father's ridiculous standards. And why me? Why not my sisters-"
"You have sisters?"
"Yes, Lyra. Two," he stated, exasperated. He then realised he hadn't told her about them before. "One of them is called Mars. I actually liked her, but she left before I went on my journey. The other…"
"Is Ariana."
"How did you know?" Silver asked bitterly.
"When she said you were going 'home'. And you have the same hair, practically," Lyra pointed out.
"Whatever. Ariana went into Team Rocket, as you know, and Mars joined some other team based in Sinnoh. She didn't want anything to do with Giovanni either. As for Crystal, I haven't seen her in years. We're here because they found me. They tracked me down to the Dragon's Den, and told me I had to be home in a month." He sighed, resting his head on his knees. "They told me that I would be getting married. Now that both me and Crystal are eighteen, they want to get us out of the road as soon as possible. And I would never get married to her. I couldn't marry someone I didn't love."
Lyra nodded knowingly, placing a hand on Silver's shoulder to comfort him. He looked up, attempting a smile.
"Thank you for listening, Lyra. We should get going, though."
The two trainers grabbed their bags, Lyra again not saying anything while they headed towards the city looming in the distance. She knew that there was more to Silver's story than what he was willing to divulge today, but she wasn't too worried. She now understood why he had dragged her all the way to Hoenn. No one knew who he was over here, and he could do a pretty effective job of hiding from other Team Rocket officials.
They entered the large city of Mauville at a little after five p.m. Lyra was all ready to get her gym badge, but Silver wasn't in the mood to go.
"Come on, Silver. You don't even have to do anything, just sit there. I doubt they'll even want to talk to you. You can just be my moral support."
"You really think I'm good at moral support?" Silver asked, his voice taking on a skeptical tone.
"Yes. Now, let's go." Lyra started walking, knowing that if she left, Silver would quickly follow. He rolled his eyes before doing exactly what she had predicted.
"What Pokémon are you using for the battle anyway?"
"I think this gym uses electric type Pokémon, so I have Meganium, Dugtrio, and Magmortar."
"Only one of those is a ground type," Silver pointed out, almost sneering.
"Yeah, but the other two are incredibly strong, so I'm hoping to take this gym with Meganium alone. She's the best Pokémon I have, and I'm going to start strong in Hoenn!"
Silver couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm as she checked the city map, locating the Gym. She dragged him through the main plaza and out the other side, where the gym was situated. The automatic doors slid open easily for them, and she strode into the gym with an air of confidence she hadn't had when challenging her first gyms in either Kanto or Johto.
"I'm here to challenge the gym leader," Lyra told the man at the door.
"You'll be the last trainer for today, then. Go on ahead. Wattson will be waiting for you at the end. What about you, son? Are you okay with coming back tomorrow?"
"O-oh, I'm not um.." Silver stumbled, not mentally ready for the question. He was half hoping that the man wouldn't notice him.
"He's not challenging the gym," Lyra explained, thanking the man before heading into the puzzle area.
She surveyed the area before fully stepping onto the gym floor. Since it was quite late in the day, most of the gym trainers had gone home, apart from one that was talking to who she presumed was Wattson at the end of the gym. She could see the battlefield, and there was adequate seating around the outside of it.
Concentrating again on the puzzle, she assumed she had to simply stand on the switches presented to her. Lyra gingerly stepped on one, which immediately turned off one of the barriers and turned on another. Understanding what was going on, she stepped on all the switches in sequence, ending up at the battlefield in record time.
"Hello, Wattson," She said, clearing her throat. Silver slipped past her, into the seats surrounding the perimeter of the field. The gym trainer he had been speaking to took that as his cue to leave, sitting down on the seats opposite Silver.
"Hello! Are you here to challenge me?"
"Yep!" Lyra drew a Pokéball from her pocket, turning it over in her fingers.
"Well, we'll waste no time, then! Ready?" He asked the referee, who jumped in position.
"This match between Wattson, the Mauville City Gym Leader, and…?" He stopped, not knowing who the challenger was.
"Lyra, from New Bark Town," she finished.
"This match between Wattson, the Mauville City Gym Leader, and Lyra, from New Bark Town, will begin now! Each trainer will use three Pokémon each, and the battle will be over when all the Pokémon from one trainer are unable to battle! Begin!"
Wattson sent out his Manectric, and Lyra sent out Meganium. The battle only lasted a few minutes, with Lyra taking out of all Wattson's Pokémon in one hit. The veteran Gym leader stood in shock as he returned his last Pokémon to it's ball.
"Well, that was certainly impressive. You're certainly a strong trainer, Lyra."
"Thank you," Lyra replied, returning her unharmed Meganium to it's Pokéball.
"Here is the Dynamo Badge. You deserve it, without a doubt." Lyra graciously took the badge off him, setting it in her case in the third spot.
"Wait… is this your first gym badge?" Wattson asked, staring at the almost empty case.
"Uh…" Lyra didn't know how to answer this. In a way, it was, and again, it wasn't. "Yes," she decided, closing the badge case and returning it to her bag.
"Impressive. I wish you luck on your journey." Lyra smiled a thank you, signaling to Silver it was time to leave.
When they were outside of the gym, Silver confronted her.
"Why did you lie? That wasn't your first gym badge. That's your… what, seventeenth?"
"Yep. I'm making a new name for myself here. I can't just say I have sixteen gym badges and I'm the champion of two regions."
Silver rolled his eyes. "Typical."
AN: Sorry for the late update! I hope you enjoy. Please review!