Episode 232: Steven Stone
A little while after thwarting Xaldin with some unexpected help, Sora, Kairi, May, Max, Pikachu, and Angel have found Granite Cave.
"There it is. Granite Cave," Max said.
"Okay, going in, we should keep our eyes opened for anything that comes at us. That includes wild Pokémon, Heartless, Unversed, or Nobodies in case they want a second round," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Also, we should stay together because it looks like one of places that seems bigger and deeper inside," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Okay," May said.
With that said, Sora, Kairi, May, Max, Pikachu, and Angel stepped inside the cave and looked around for any signs of danger. Fortunately, there wasn't any... Yet. As they looked around, they spotted a Makuhita in the cave, doing some training.
"It's a Makuhita!" Max said.
"Kinda like the one Brawly has," Sora said.
"Yeah. He looks like he's doing some training," Kairi said.
"Makuhita?" May asked, taking out her Rotom Phone.
Makuhita, the Guts Pokémon
Type: Fighting
It grows stronger by enduring harsh training. It is a gutsy Pokémon that can withstand any attack.
"Gutsy is right," May said.
"Makuhita's a pretty cool Pokémon to have under your belt. And ever since I saw Brawly's Makuhita, I wanted one," Sora said, taking out a Pokéball and threw it. "You're up, Treecko!" His Pokéball opened and Treecko came out, putting his twig in his mouth. Makuhita turned to see the Wood Gecko Pokémon. "Okay, Treecko! Use Pound!" Treecko swings his tail at Makuhita, but the Guts Pokémon blocked with his hands. Makuhita then gave Treecko some hits with his hands. "That's Arm Thrust. Treecko! Use Leafage!" Treecko unleashed Leafage at Makuhita, hitting him. "Use Quick Attack!" Treecko darts at Makuhita, landing a hit with Quick Attack. "Now use Pound!" Treecko swings his tail and lands a hit with it. Makuhita hits a huge rock, knocking Makuhita out. Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it. Makuhita flows inside and the Pokéball wobbles around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Makuhita with him. He chose to keep Makuhita in exchange for Shroomish. Sora walked up to his Pokéball and smiled. "I got my own Makuhita!"
"Pi, Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered.
"Great job, Sora!" Kairi praised her boyfriend.
"Eevee, vee!" Angel said.
"Now let's go," Sora said.
Deeper in Granite Cave is a tall, thin young man with ice-blue hair and eyes. He wore a charcoal jacket with two black zig-zag stripes, a white undershirt and a red tie. He wore skinny black pants and black shoes with low heels, as well as metallic jewelry on both of his sleeves and his index and ring fingers.
He was looking over a mural of two Pokémon-like creatures in some sort of battle. On the left side, one is standing over erupting volcanoes and under what is believed to be a harsh sunlight, while on the right, the creature is in the raging ocean. And there appears to be a thunderstorm. The creatures each has a Greek letter on them. One has the letter omega and the other has the letter alpha.
"Interesting," the young man said to himself.
Back to Sora, Kairi, May, Max, Pikachu, and Angel, they kept going deeper into the cave, but the further they went, the darker it got up ahead.
"Oh no, it's getting darker the further we go," May whined.
"Don't worry, we got a couple of flashlights we can use," Sora said, taking one out and turning it on.
"That way, we can see what's going on," Kairi said.
"And if it helps, we can use this to keep our eyes open for some Heartless. We wanna see them before they see us," Sora said.
"I'd rather not see them at all," May said.
"Okay, let's go," Sora said.
"Okay," Kairi, May, and Max said.
They stepped forward into the dark cave. Pikachu and Angel rode on Sora and Kairi's shoulders, not wanting to get separated from them, also, they held hands just so they wouldn't get lost. They kept the flashlight shining ahead of them, right until they saw something.
What they saw is a short, bipedal, humanoid Pokémon with a pale yellow body. Its three-fingered hands and two-toed feet are black. It has red eyes and a pair of long, black, ear-like extensions on either side of its head. Its legs resemble a hakama. Its most notable feature is a pair of large black jaws emerging from the back of its head. These jaws have a yellow, oval-shaped spot on their top surface. They contain ten sharp, metallic teeth - six on the top row and four on the bottom. The jaws also contain a long pink tongue.
"What's that?" Sora asked.
"It's a Mawile," Max said. Kairi took out her Rotom Phone and scanned it.
Mawile, the Deciever Pokémon
Type: Steel/Fairy
Mawile's huge jaws are actually steel horns that have been transformed. Its docile-looking face serves to lull its foe into letting down its guard. When the foe least expects it, Mawile chomps it with its gaping jaws.
"What strong jaws," Kairi said. She took out a Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Plusle!" Her Pokéball opened and her Plusle came right out to battle Mawile. The Deciever Pokémon gave off an intimidating look, making Plusle shake. Mawile started things up be blowing Fairy Wind at Plusle. "Dodge it and use Spark!" Plusle avoids Mawile's Fairy Wind and came at Mawile with her body giving off electricity. "Use Nuzzle!" Plusle nuzzles Mawile, resulting in a paralysis. "Use Discharge!" Plusle unleashed Discharge, hitting Mawile on the mark. Kairi took out a Pokéball and threw it. Mawile flows inside the Pokéball wobbles around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Kairi went over to her Pokéball and picked it up.
"Great catch, Kairi," Sora said.
"Thank you, Sora," Kairi said. Kairi saw something glimmering in the darkness. "Sora, there's something else in here with us," Kairi said. Sora turned around and he saw the glimmering.
"I see it, too," Sora said.
"What is it?" May asked. Sora shines his flashlight on it. What they saw is a bipedal Pokémon with a dark purple body, armed with sharp teeth and claws, which it uses to dig through soil. It has pale blue, gemstone-like eyes, which allow it to see in low light and sparkle in the dark. It also has a red gemstone on its chest, and its back has a blue and green gemstone as well as another red one.
"A Sableye!" Max exclaimed. Sora took out his Rotom Phone and scans it.
Sableye, the Darkness Pokémon
Type: Dark/Ghost
Sableye is widely feared. It is believed that they steal people's spirits. Sableye's diet consists of the gemstones that it digs up in dark caves.
As Sora puts his Rotom Phone away, the Darkness Pokémon started to attack with its claws.
"He's using Scratch!" Kairi exclaimed. Sora took took out a Pokéball and threw it.
"Go! Whismur!" Sora called out. Whismur came out to battle against Sableye.
"No, not Whismur!" Max exclaimed.
"Use Disarming Voice!" Sora ordered. Whismur unleashed pink soundwaves from his mouth, hitting Sableye on the spot.
"That actually hurt Sableye," May said.
"Because Disarming Voice is a Fairy-type move. Since Sableye's a Dark-type Pokémon, he's weak against Fairy-type moves," Kairi said.
"Eevee!" Angel said.
"Plusle!" Plusle said.
Sableye came at Whismur with a Shadow Claw, but it does nothing to Whismur, much to his surprise.
"Disarming Voice again!" Sora ordered. Sableye unleashed another Disarming Voice, hitting Sableye, sending him back. Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it. Sableye flows inside and the Pokéball wobbles around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Sableye with him. He chose to send Sableye over to Professor Oak's lab.
"Great catch," May said.
"Let's keep going," Kairi said.
"Right," Sora agreed with his girlfriend. Sora and Kairi called back their Pokémon and proceeded with their search.
After making some successful captures, they continue on to find Steven.
Meanwhile, a group of Trainers are in the cave with a Sandslash an Ursaring, a purple, bipedal Pokémon with a square build. It has a large mouth with yellow lips and peg-like teeth in each corner. When its mouth is open, its large tongue and throat are visible. Above its prominent mouth is a stubby nose. On top of its head are two short stalks that support its circular ears. The inside of its ears have alternating black and purple rings, but there is only a single black ring on the back. There are yellow stripes on its back in a pattern that resembles sound waves. It has arms with three fingers and short legs with two peg-like toes. On the sole of each foot is a yellow circle. This Pokémon is known as a Loudred.
"There should be plenty of rare ore around here," one of the Trainers said.
"Yeah, we should find some in this cave," another Trainer said.
"The ore we'll find will make the evolution stones look like useless pebbles," the third Trainer said.
"Let's get started!" The first Trainer said, but a gang of Aron appeared and quickly surrounded them. "What's with the Aron?"
"I don't know, but let's clear them out of the way," the third Trainer suggested.
"Yeah. Ursaring! Use Hammer Arm!" The second Trainer ordered. Ursaring swings its arms the Aron. The Aron then started to attack.
"Sandslash! Use Sand Tomb!" The first Trainer ordered.
"Loudred! Use Boom Burst!" The third Trainer offered.
Sandslash forms a whirlwind of sand that surrounds the Aron as Loudred's ears glow white and a ball of white light appears in front of its ears. It then launches powerful sound waves from the white ball at the Aron, sending them flying.
"That gets rid of them," the second Trainer said.
"I agree. Let's get cracking!" The first Trainer said, picking up a pick and swung it down at the ground. He kept on digging until he hits something he was looking for. "Guys, I found something!" He turned to Sandslash. "Okay, Sandslash! Use Dig!" Sandslash starts digging where he was digging. Sandslash came out with what looks like royal blue stones. "And what do we have here?"
"This is weird. I never seen anything like this before," the third Trainer said.
"Neither have I. But you were right. This ore looks very valuable. And it's going to make us rich!" The second Trainer said.
"Okay, guys! Start digging!" The other two Trainers started to dig all around and they came across another ore, but it was aqua-colored.
"I found something!" The second Trainer exclaimed, holding it up.
"Sweet!" The first Trainer exclaimed.
"Keep looking! We could strike some more ore!" The third Trainer said.
They kept on digging and digging. This just infuriated the Aron living the area.
Over to Sora, Kairi, May, Max, Pikachu, and Angel keptwalkikg through the dark until they saw something very unexpected. They saw light ahead of them.
"What's that light?" May asked.
"Yeah, that is a light," Sora said.
"Great!" Max exclaimed.
"That could mean someone is in here with us!" Kairi said.
"You think it could be Steven?" Max asked.
"Only one way to find out!" Sora said. They started to rush right over to the light, but they're stopped by a bunch of Aron. And they looked very angry. "Those are Aron!"
"First time I have ever seen so many in place," May said.
"They look really angry," Kairi commented. Some of the Aron all stomped on the ground, so large rocks erupts from the ground.
"They're using Rock Tomb!" Max exclaimed.
"Watch out!" May yelled. They all scrambled out of the way before the rocks could hit them. "Hey, what was that for?!"
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt, but use it to scare them!" Sora ordered. Pikachu fired Thunderbolt straight up into the ceiling, but it was enough to startle the Aron.
"That worked," Kairi said.
"Why didn't he just attack the Aron?" Max asked.
"Because that'll only aggravate them even more, and we don't know what set them off to begin with," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Okay, scare them again with another Thunderbolt!" Sora ordered. Pikachu uses another Thunderbolt to scare the Aron, so they started to run in the opposite direction. One Aron still stood, not backing off. "Still one left!"
"He's not one to quit," Kairi said. Aron starts attacking by charging at Pikachu. Aron's right leg gave off a metallic glow.
"That's Metal Claw. Pikachu! Dodge and use Iron Tail!" Sora ordered. Pikachu dodged and swings his tail at the Iron Armor Pokémon, dealing some damage. Aron uses Rock Tomb to slow Pikachu down. "Use Quick Attack on the rocks to jump!" Pikachu uses the rocks to jump as they appeared. "Use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu fired Thunderbolt, shocking Aron on the mark. Aron was then knocked out from the attack. Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it. Aron flows inside the Pokéball and it wobbles around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Aron with him. He chose to send Aron over to Professor Oak's lab. "Gotcha." He turned to Kairi, May, and Max. "Let's go."
With that said, they went where the other Aron have fled.
The three Trainers and their Pokémon were still digging until they heard the Aron stampeding by them.
"Hey, get out of here, Aron! Go on! Scram!" The first Trainer yelled, swinging his pick at them, but one of them broke the pick and ate the metal part. "Hey, that shovel was very expensive!"
"Hey, look! Someone's coming!" The second Trainer said. The other two turned to see the group coming into the scene.
"Who are you?" Sora asked.
"We were going to ask you the same thing," the third Trainer said.
"Look, if you think you can muscle in and try to take our ore, then you got another thing coming!" The first Trainer said.
"Our or? Or what?" May asked.
"May, not 'or', he means 'ore' as in -O-R-E," Max said, spelling it out.
"Oh," May said.
"If I remember right, Aron eats ore to maintain their metal bodies," Kairi said.
"That explains why those Aron attacked us! They must have thought we were in cahoots with you!" Sora said.
"I get it! They were invading their home and they were only protecting it!" Kairi said.
"Pika!" Pikachu said.
"Eevee!" Angel said.
"So you wanna battle us?" The second Trainer asked, not liking their tone.
"You better not mess with us!" The third Trainer said.
"We can take you three on!" Sora said.
"Sandslash! Move in!" The first Trainer shouted.
"Ursaring! Go get 'em!" The second Trainer shouted.
"Move in, Loudred!" The third Trainer shouted.
"Kairi, how about we let Makuhita and Mawile have this one?" Sora suggested.
"I'm down with that," Kairi agreed, taking out a Pokéball. Sora took one out as well.
"Go! Makuhita!" Sora called out.
"Go! Mawile!" Kairi called out.
The couple's Pokéballs opened up as Makuhita and Mawile came out to battle. May stepped in.
"Three against two isn't a fair fight, so I'm in, too!" May said, taking out her Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Torchic!" Her Pokéball opened and Torchic came out to battle.
"Sandslash! Use Slash!" The first Trainer opened.
"Ursaring! Use Fire Punch!" The second Trainer ordered.
"Loudred! Use Stomp!" The third Trainer ordered.
"Makuhita! Dodge and use Force Palm!" Sora ordered.
"Mawile! Use Bite!" Kairi ordered.
"Torchic! Use Ember!" May ordered.
Makuhita dodged Sandslash's Slash and thrusts his hand forward and a burst of blue energy pushes Sandslash backwards. Mawile grabbed Ursaring by the arm and bites down on Ursaring's arm while Torchic fired Ember at Loudred, dealing some damage on it.
"Don't take that laying down! Use Boomburst!" The third Trainer ordered. Loudred unleashed Boomburst at the three opposing Pokémon, dealing some damage onto them.
"Ursaring! Use Hammer Arm!" The second Trainer ordered.
"Sandslash! Use Slash!" The first Trainer ordered.
The three Pokémon were about to finish them.
"Dodge!" Sora, Kairi, and May shouted. The three Pokémon heard their Trainers and they dodged their attacks.
"Use Fairy Wind!" Kairi ordered. Mawile swings her other mouth and blew a sparkling pink wind at them, hitting them.
"Use Arm Thrust, Makuhita!" Sora ordered. Makuhita came at the Trainers and gave Ursaring some hits with his palms.
"Why you! Ursaring! Use Fire Punch!" The second Trainer ordered. Ursaring came at Makuhita with a Fire Punch.
"Use Force Palm!" Sora ordered. Makuhita comes at Ursaring and pushed the Hibernator Pokémon with a great force.
"Torchic! Use Ember!" May ordered. Torchic fired Ember, turning it into a shower of small fireballs. The Trainers and their Pokémon get hit by the fire attack and they fell to the ground. "Yay! We beat them!"
"Torchic!" Torchic chirped.
"Okay, get your gear and get out!" Sora said.
"No way!" The first Trainer said. He picked up a pick and held it tight. "We came here for some rare stones and we're not leaving without them!"
They were about to attack when a Nosepass appeared and attacked them. The Compass Pokémon unleashed Rock Throw, hitting them. They were forced to run away.
"We won't forget this!" The three Trainers yelled as they ran off deeper in the cave.
"What's their deal?" May asked.
"I don't know, but at least they're gone," Sora said. He looked over to Nosepass. "Thanks for the save, Nosepass. Sure wasn't expecting some help from a local Pokémon."
"Nosepass," Nosepass said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Well, we should be going," Sora said.
"Pass," Nosepass said, stepping forward.
"You wanna come with us?" Sora asked. Nosepass nodded. Sora smiled and took out a Pokéball and threw it. Nosepass flows inside and the Pokéball wobbles around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Nosepass with him. He chose to send Nosepass over to Professor Oak's lab. "Welcome aboard, Nosepass."
Just when they were about to go. Max looked at the strange ore and he went over to it.
"Guys, check it out," Max said, holding an aqua-colored ore in his hand.
"What is that?" Sora asked.
"I don't know, but I have a feeling I seen something like this before," Kairi said.
"Really? You have?" May asked.
"Yeah, but I don't remember where I saw it," Kairi said.
"Look, there's more over here," Max said, taking a royal blue ore.
"Anyone have any idea on what kind of rocks these are?" May asked.
"I'm not a rock expert, May, but we should ask Steven when we see him. We'll take just one each and go find him," Sora said.
"Yeah, his dad did say he's an expert of rocks," Kairi said. Sora took the ore Max was holding and placed them in his backpack. They took off to find Steven.
As they go in deeper, they see what look like murals on the walls.
"Look at that," May said with awe.
"This is cool," Max said.
"Just what is it?" Kairi asked.
"Eevee?" Angel asked.
"These are murals from the ancient days of Hoenn," a voice spoke. They all turned to see the young man approaching them. "The images from the past tells the story of Groudon and Kyogre. Groudon has the power over the land while Kyogre has power over the ocean."
"Are you Steven Stone, the son of Joseph Stone, the president of the Devon Corporation?" Kairi asked.
"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" Steven asked. Sora took out the letter.
"We actually met your dad in Rustboro City and he wanted us to give this to you. He would have sent it himself, but he's going to be busy for a while," Sora said, holding out the letter. He accepts it and smiled.
"Dad must have been bored out of his mind. I can bet that he's probably sneaking out again instead of running his company. I'm not really surprised. No matter how short the leash Kennedy puts on him, he always slips out of it," Steven said as he laughed. "Thanks for bringing me this."
"It wasn't any problem," Sora said.
"We were just lucky that we found into you," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Anyway, Steven, since we know your name, we think you should know ours. I'm Sora and this is Pikachu," Sora introduced himself and his partner.
"My name's Kairi, and this is Angel," Kairi introduced.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"My name's May, and this is my brother, Max," May introduced.
"Nice to meet you, Steven," Max said. Steven smiled.
"I feel the same way. Since you're here, there is something I think you should see," Steven said. The group followed Steven to the mural he was looking at before. They were amazed by what they saw.
"Are these Pokémon?" Kairi asked.
"They are. The on on the left is Groudon, and the one on the right is Kyogre. And what you see is the both of them in their Primal forms," Steven said.
"Primal forms?" Sora asked.
"Yes. I have been looking into it for the last several months. It's a strong belief that I have that the Primal forms of Groudon and Kyogre may be connected to Mega Evolution," Steven said.
"Mega Evolution? What's that?" May asked.
"Mega Evolution is something that happens when a Pokémon and its Trainer shares a really strong bond. They go through a transformation that changes their appearance in battle. It was first discovered in the Kalos region," Kairi said.
"That's exactly right, Kairi," Steven said.
"You have any idea what it's about, Steven?" Sora asked.
"The mural shows the effects of these two Pokémon. Groudon's power has created a harsh sunlight while Kyogre has created a fierce storm. Legend states that these two Pokémon has the power to destroy the world, so they were locked away and they sleep for eternally. And if they ever awaken, then the battle between these two titans will begin again and the world will be in danger," Steven said.
"Gotcha!" Three familiar voices shouted. It turns out to be the three Trainers from earlier.
"You think we forgot what you did to us?!" The first Trainer asked.
"You're not going to get away with it!" The third Trainer said.
"We have a score to settle!" The second Trainer said.
"We don't have time for this, so get lost!" Sora said.
"What is this about?" Steven asked.
"These three were doing some digging, so some wild Aron just attacked us, thinking we were with them!" May said. Steven sternly glared at them.
"So that's what it was all about. The Aron were living here peacefully and you disturbed them!" Steven scowled. He took out a Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Aggron!"
His Pokéball opened and what came out is a huge, bipedal Pokémon. It primarily has a crusty gray exoskeleton, with plates of silver armor adorned. The armor on its head has two pairs of holes with horns protruding from the foremost holes. Its forehead plating extends past its upper jaw in a small point. It has sky-blue eyes, and two nostril-like holes on the tip of its upper jaw. On the rim of its mouth are several pointed, fang-like protrusions and the nape of its neck and back have gray-silver armor sections. It has wide, blunt spikes on its shoulders and gray-silver bands on its arms and legs. Its hands and feet each have three claws. It has a thick, long, black tail.
"Look at that Aggron," Max said as Sora took out his Rotom Phone and scanned it.
Aggron, the Iron Armor Pokémon
The evolved form of Lairon
Type: Steel/Rock
Aggron claims an entire mountain as its territory. It will attack anything that comes right into its territory uninvited. Aggron patrols its territory with high vigilance. While seeking iron for food, it digs tunnels by breaking through bedrock with its steel horns.
"And what strong horns," Sora said, putting his Rotom Phone away.
"You think that's going to scare us?! Sandslash! Use Sand Tomb!" The first Trainer ordered.
"Ursaring! Use Fire Punch!" The second Trainer ordered.
"Loudred! Use Hyper Voice!" The third Trainer ordered.
The three Pokémon unleashed their attacks onto Aggron, but nothing they did had any effect on it.
"You gotta be kidding!" The three Trainers exclaimed.
"Use Hyper Beam!" Steven ordered. Aggron fired Hyper Beam at the three Pokémon and their Trainers, hitting them all at once. The force of the attack sends them flying into the air. They screamed as they go flying into the sky. A star twinkles into the distance.
"Good work, Aggron," Steven said, calling Aggron back inside.
"He took them out with just one hit," May said.
"You can say that again," Sora said. Sora could easily see why Steven is the Hoenn region's Champion. And witnessing his Aggron's attack was all the proof that he needed. Sora then remembered the second thing. He took the two ore Max has found and approached Steven. "Say, Steven, there's just one more thing though."
"And what's that, Sora?" Steven asked.
"I was wondering if you knew anything about these two. This was what those guys were digging up earlier," Sora said, showing him the two ore. He hands them to Steven and he looked at the quite curiously.
"To be honest, I don't have the slightest idea what these are. These two are completely new to me. I would like you to show me where you saw these," Steven requested.
"Not a problem," Sora said. Sora, Kairi, May, Max, Pikachu, and Angel leads Steven to the spot the three Trainers were digging before. "And here they are."
"Fascinating. And I thought I have seen every form of stone known to man. This is new to me," Steven said.
"Thought it would be too easy," Sora groaned.
"Pikachu," Pikachu also groaned.
"I am grateful to you for bringing this to my attention, Sora. I really do," Steven said. Sora just smiled, so he had to say what came to his mind.
"How about a battle sometime? You and me, and we can make it one-on-one," Sora said. Steven smiled again.
"Someday, Sora," Steven said.
After a day of excitement, Sora, Kairi, May, Max, Pikachu, and Angel have made it back out of Granite Cave to get some more training done before Sora challenges Brawly to a battle. And also, Steven has promised him a battle someday, so only time knows when that will come around. Stay tuned if you want some more excitement.