ESPNfanatic35
Catcher of Ubers
Time for a new story, which I am planning on making longer and more efficient than the other two I have written. While those were roughly 20 chapters, I am planning on making this a 3-part story that has much more to offer. The idea of all of the Champions and former Champions in the Pokemon world teaming up has always intrigued me, and I am also a big fan of comic book teams like the Justice League and the Avengers, which is where I drew some of the inspiration for this story from. Hope you guys enjoy, feel free to comment, I will read and respond to them all! It will be rated PG-13 for some of the battle scenes.
Part I
Chapter 1- Hoenn
He felt at home here. A young man of twenty-six was on one knee as he felt the cool, moist air of the cave on his skin. His hand ran along the humongous meteorite that was stuck in the ground. The slick but bumpy texture of it was unlike any the young man had ever felt. The meteorite was a glossy silver color and the sight of it supplemented with the waterfall in the middle of the secluded area of the Meteor Falls cave was absolutely stunning to him. So many questions ran through his mind: How far did it travel before coming to Earth? How long ago did it hit? He could feel goosebumps rise up in his arms as he took everything in. There was no other place in Hoenn that could even compare to the majesty of this place for the young man. He flipped his light blue hair away from his eyes as he stood up.
As nice as his old job was, being able to spend his time studying and searching for any kind of rocks or meteorites he could find was the one thing that truly allowed him to feel fulfilled and at peace every day. He took a handheld, electronic pad from his pocket and snapped a picture of the meteorite with it. The then jotted down a few notes using the stylus that came with it. To him this wasn’t work, this was life.
This peaceful moment was disturbed as he began to hear a ruckus outside of the cave. The sound of feet stomping echoed throughout the room as did the sound of a man with a commanding voice barking orders. The young man walked towards the exit and quickly hid around a corner when he saw a group of men marching into the room he was just in. They were wearing steel helmets with dot patterns that resembled Braille on the front as well as dark silver-colored uniforms. There were at least twenty men as well as a Lairon at the side of each one. Each Lairon had a thick steel coat and razor sharp teeth to go along with the spikes on their backs. The leader of the pack did not wear a helmet, but instead wore a tall, golden hat with a short brim. He was an enormous man holding a long, steel whip in his hands who was following a Magnezone. He looked unbelievably fit for a man in his early fifties. The Magnezone was inspected the area with its giant, red eye and the small magnets at the sides of its steel body were pointing towards the room the young man was just in.
Magnezone stopped suddenly when it reached the entrance of the room with the meteorite. The young man, still hidden, kept his breathing silent as he observed, trying to figure out what they were doing. He kept his hand near his belt containing his Pokeballs, just in case things started to get out of hand. “It must be in here, then!” the leader barked with his commanding voice. “Hurry up, men!”
“Yes, Captain Franklin,” the responded.
Captain Franklin laid the whip as hard as he could on Magnezone’s back. “Point us the rest of the way, it can’t be far!” Magnezone turned around to its master and its body began flashing. Robotic sounds were coming out of it as it attempted to communicate that it wasn’t sure where to go next. “Fine, then. Everyone spread out and search the room!”
Each member of the group, followed by a Lairon, distributed themselves throughout the area. The leader and his Magnezone slowly walked to the center of the room where the meteorite was. He rubbed his chin and walked in a circle around it. At length, he said to himself, “It could be using this as a vessel. Magnezone, we need to get this open and see what’s inside. Use Magnet Bomb!”
Several silver orbs formed in front of Magnezone and it launched them at the meteorite, exploding upon impact. The crew flinched at the sound of the explosions and the young man gasped as he watched Magnezone attack the meteorite he had just gotten done admiring. The rock was persistent, but after another quick barrage of Magnet Bombs, a small crack could be seen. “We’re getting there,” the leader said. “Just a few more…”
“Enough!” the young man shouted as he came out from his hiding area. The high volume of his own voice surprised even him as it echoed throughout the walls of the cave. Captain Franklin as well as the rest of his men turned to look at him. The young man still has his hand near his belt.
Captain Franklin scowled as he approached the young man. “Enough of what, might I ask?”
“You know what,” the young man responded, not backing down. “I can not allow you to wreck such a beautiful relic of nature. I can assure you that you will not find what you are looking for in there. You shouldn’t have any business here.”
Captain Franklin put his face only inches from the young man’s. He had to lean forward to do so as he was far superior to the young man when it came to height. “I can assure you that you are probably the only one who cares about that worthless rock. To me it is nothing more than a possible hiding spot for what we are looking for.”
“And what is that?”
“Classified. I can’t tell you anything.” His scowl turned into a grin. “Even if you are the famous Steven Stone.”
Upon hearing that name, Captain Franklin’s men began whispering and muttering to each other. “Hey!” Captain Franklin turned and shouted to quiet them. He turned back to Steven. “What we do is none of your business. It would do you well to keep away from us. I could care less who you are, you are still outnumbered. Now scram!”
Captain Franklin raised his arm and pulled his whip back. Just as ready as he started to snap the whip, Steven caught his arm and stopped him. “You are wrong. Protecting that meteorite and any other precious stone you try to wreck is completely my business.” Captain Franklin shoved Steven backwards. Steven quickly grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and flung it in front of him.
A bright light flashed and a monstrous creature with four bulky, iron legs, glowing red eyes, and a giant, metallic “X” on its face appeared in front of Steven. The top half of the “X” resembled eyebrows whole the bottom half resembled a mustache. This allowed the creature to show that it had just as much intelligence as it did physical prowess. There were spikes on the bottom of each of its iron legs, which raised upward towards its body and stuck outward as the creature began levitating. “Meta, Metagross!” the creature bellowed in a deep voice.
“While you may have quantity,” Steven said, “I possess quality.”
“Magnezone, Thunderbolt!” Captain Franklin ordered.
“Maaaag,” Magnezone said as it fired a lightning bolt at Metagross’s face.
“Psychic,” Steven calmly requested.
A purple veil surrounded Metagross’s body as it halted the bolt in midair and made it perform a U-turn. The velocity of the bolt doubled as Metagross sent it flying back in Magnezone’s direction. The bolt struck the magnet Pokemon and sent it flying backward, crashing into Captain Franklin and knocking him over. Captain Franklin grunted as he momentarily had the wind knocked out of him. He and Magnezone collected themselves and got up. He looked back as his men, who were staring in amazement. “Well, what are you waiting for!” he barked, doing his best to save some face. “Get him out of here!”
The men each sent their Lairon towards Metagross, following Mangezone. Steven and Metagross did not even flinch as the herd of fierce Pokemon stormed in their direction. “Remember that Meteor Mash move we’ve been working on?” Steven asked Metagross. “Now is a perfect time to use it.”
“Meta!” Metagross said as its arms hardened and became covered by a silver coating. Magnezone, using Gyro Ball, began spinning wildly as it hurled itself at Metagross. Metagross swung its front arm like a baseball bat and whacked Magnezone across the room. As the Lairon closed in, Metagross, still floating in the air, began pounding every Lairon in sight. It used its back legs to hit the ones coming from behind and its front legs to take care of the ones in front of it and at its sides. The numerous Lairon were getting knocked on their backs, pounded into the ground, and even hurled up against the ceiling of the cave. Metagross made it look as effortless as swatting a group of flies. It then began using its Psychic abilities, lifting many Lairon in the air and crashing them against one another.
Within a matter of only two minutes, all twenty Lairon were scattered across the room unconscious. Magnezone was still gathering itself as it started making its way back to Captain Franklin. Steven pointed at the Lairon on the ground in front of him. “Unless you want to end up like them,” he addressed the entire group, “I suggest you all leave right now.” The terrified and stunned men returned all the Lairon in their Pokeballs and started leaving the cave.
Captain Franklin, who returned his Magnezone, couldn’t say a word as he was much too embarrassed. He walked slowly out of the room, eyeing Steven the whole time as he attempted to retain some of the intimidation he thought he had before the battle against Metagross. Steven matched his look with a cold glare. He didn’t say anything, either. Nothing needed to be said after the display Metagross just put on.
After everyone left the room, Steven rushed to the meteorite and inspected the crack. “It’s not too big,” he said to himself. “Still a wonderful meteorite.” Metagross came up next to him. He patted the center of the “X” on Metagross’s face. “Well done, Metagross. Thank you for your help.” Metagross nodded in response.
Steven looked back at the entrance of the cave, making sure everyone was completely out of sight. As a former Champion of Hoenn, he had come across numerous evil organizations, namely Team Aqua and Team Magma, but he was stumped about what this group was and what they wanted.
-----
“Ludicolo, what do you think?”
The Pokemon resembling a platypus wearing a sombrero crossed its arms and inspected the painting on the vast canvas covering the entire wall. It walked over and pointed at the top of the head of Kyogre, the mystical water-type Pokemon being painted by the man named Wallace. “Ludi, Ludi!” it said.
Wallace, holding a paintbrush, walked towards the area. “Indeed, it looks a bit dry and thin here,” he confirmed. “Would you mind spraying a bit of water there so I can enhance the color?” Ludicolo nodded and squirted water from its mouth, getting the paint on Kyogre’s head. “Thank you, my friend,” Wallace said as he dipped the brush in the dark blue paint. He climbed up his small ladder to reach the spot and took a few minutes to touch the area up before climbing down stepping backward to see his work. The painting was being done in the basement level of his mansion in Ever Grande City, where the size of the canvas on the wall allowed him to create a life-size painting of Kyogre. The Pokemon was now completely painted and it was surrounded by white.
Wallace smiled at the work of he and Ludicolo. He clapped his hands together. “Wonderful, magnificent, superb, and any other synonym imaginable!” he said with delight. “I’m not one to pat myself on the back, Ludicolo, but I firmly believe we captured the true majesty of this water-type Pokemon. It has endured droughts and battles with Groudon as well as trainers, hunters, and even pirates trying to capture it! What a marvelous creature this is!” Ludicolo smiled and gave a thumbs up to confirm its master’s statement. “Now it’s time to get started on the background. We need to get a lighter blue color to paint the depths of the ocean. I wonder if we should surround it with coral or with small Pokemon, or both!”
“And now for a breaking news story!” said the voice of a female reporter on the flat-screen television on the back wall. Wallace hadn’t been paying much attention to the TV as he painted. “There was another steel mill break-in at Mauville City by an unknown organization that was only described as wearing steel-grey colored uniforms. This is similar to incidents that have occurred all throughout Hoenn within the past month by this unidentified group. The most recent incident along with the one in Mauville occurred at Meteor Falls where a couple witnessed the group being fended off by geologist and former Hoenn Champion Steven Stone.”
Wallace turned and walked towards the TV at the mention of his good friend. “Volume up,” he said. The voice-activated television increased the loudness of the news report.
An elderly man was being interviewed outside of the Meteor Falls cave. “Describe to us what you saw,” the reporter asked as she held the microphone to his mouth.
“Well, I come to Meteor Falls with my wife every weekend to enjoy the view,” he started explaining enthusiastically. “We heard loud explosions coming from one of the caves near us and we went to see what was going on. Before we even had time to take everything in that was happening, we saw Steven Stone, THE Steven Stone! He was up against at least twenty or thirty men and their Pokemon.”
“And what happened from there?” the reporter asked.
“Well, I was gonna use my Pokemon to help him out, but he looked like he didn’t need any help. The man’s Metagross took out every last one! It was a treat to watch!”
“Did you see or notice anything about the group of men that attacked the area?”
“Not much. I just know they wore these strange uniforms and helmets that had dots all over them. Not sure what that was about. The leader mentioned that they were looking for something, but they never said what it was.”
“Thank you for your time, Sir. Back to you, Kelsey!”
Wallace turned the volume back down and shook his head. After everything that happened with Teams Aqua and Magma, he was getting tired of these criminal organizations. He couldn’t help but smile when the man described how Steven defeated the group. Throughout the many times the two friends battled, he only managed to beat Steven’s Metagross once, and that was by using three different Pokemon. Even though he was currently the Champion and he was three years older and more experienced, he could not deny that Steven was the most powerful trainer in Hoenn. Still, he couldn’t help but shake the thought that he should visit his friend to make sure everything was okay. Sure, he handled this unknown group with ease, but who knows what they may be capable of?
Wallace glanced over at his painting. “This can wait,” he said. He hit a button on his wall, summoning his secretary from the office he had in one of the upper levels in his house. His secretary, a young woman named Ella, came down in the elevator. She was a head shorter than Wallace and had long, dark hair.
“What can I do for you, Wallace?” she said as she walked out of the elevator.
Wallace took out his white cap and placed it over his teal-colored hair, which slightly jutted out of the hat. “May you push my meeting with the Wallace Cup committee to later tonight, please? I need to visit someone right now.”
“I’ll take care of that immediately,” Ella responded. “You are the first boss I have ever had who says, ‘please’ when asking me for a favor,” she said as she chuckled. “Can I ask who you are going to see?”
Wallace smiled. “My old friend Steven, you’ve met him, haven’t you?”
Ella nodded. “Yes. So I’m guessing you heard about what happened at Meteor Falls, then?”
“Just now, in fact,” Wallace responded. As a fellow Champion and friend, I should go see if he’s okay.”
“Well, that’s sweet of you,” Ella said. “Would you like me to get your car prepared?”
“No,” Wallace said as he took out a Pokeball. “I will be using another form of transportation today.”
Ella cocked her head and her eyes narrowed. “You don’t have any Pokemon that know Fly, do you? At least none that are large enough for you to ride on?”
Wallace wagged his finger in a playful manner. “Oh, but I do now. Remember when I helped stop Team Aqua as they attempted to attack and rob the head Devon Corporation building?”
“Yes,” Ella confirmed hesitantly, still not sure where Wallace was going with this.
“They rewarded me by allowing me to test one of their newest products that is still in development. It is a special HM that allows some flying types who can’t normally use Fly to learn the move. I mean my goodness, all flying types should know Fly, am I right?”
“Absolutely,” Ella responded. “So, which Pokemon did you use it on?”
“Come with me,” Wallace said as he walked into the elevator. It took the two all the way up to the roof of his enormous mansion that overlooked nearly all of Ever Grande City. Tall buildings and bright lights were visible downtown as well as the beautiful view of the vast ocean. Wallace tossed his Pokeball on the floor, revealing an enormous, dragon-like serpent with a gaping mouth and scaly, blue skin.
“Your Gyarados?!” Ella exclaimed.
Wallace nodded proudly. “Until now it was a part-flying type that couldn’t actually fly!” he said as he climbed on Gyarados’s back.
“How does it…. does it even have wings?” Ella asked, still astounded at the prospect of a Gyarados being able to fly.
“Technically no, however the HM allowed the fins all over its elongated body to develop and flap in a way that allows it to fly. From there it turns into basic aerodynamics. Does that makes sense?”
Ella nodded her head at length. “Um, sure,” she said with uncertainty. “I feel sorry for whoever tries to challenge you for the Hoenn championship.”
“Indeed. You thought Gyarados was a fierce battler already, imagine how tough it will be to beat now that it can fly!” He patted Gyarados on the side of its head. “Let’s go to our friend Steven, shall we?” he said. Wallace then gave Ella a quick wave before Gyarados took off and began soaring through the air. Many of the residents of Ever Grande City looked up to see Gyarados take off from Wallace’s roof, but they only caught a quick glimpse as the Pokemon was out of sight in a matter of seconds.
Ella stood on the roof, shaking her head and smiling. “What would Hoenn be without him?” she said.
-----
On the outskirts of Meteor Falls was a small house that Steven and his Pokemon built together. He has lived there ever since his retirement from being the Hoenn Champion two years ago. Though he visited his hometown of Mossdeep on occasion to see his father and catch up with old friends, he enjoyed the solitude and peacefulness as well as being close to the Kreter geology building and, of course, Meteor Falls.
Mark Kreter was the owner of the building and the one Steven has worked with the longest. “The only one on Earth who knows more about geology than myself,” Steven would tell people. There were only four other people who worked in the building, but they were all so knowledgeable and diligent in their work that no other help was necessary.
Inside Steven’s one-floor house, he sat at his computer researching different criminal organizations that have been seen in Hoenn. Most of what he found had to do with Team Aqua and Team Magma, but he knew from experience that the group he ran into today was not them. Teams Galactic and Plasma were also possibilities, but sightings of them in Hoenn were rare to none and the motives of those groups and the group today didn’t match up. Steven rubbed the sides of his head with his pointer fingers as he stared at the screen. His frustration about anyone treating such a gorgeous meteorite in that fashion was still with him.
Steven stopped when he noticed a great shadow being cast over his house. His heart started beating quickly. His initial thought was that the criminal group was out there again. He exited his house and looked up to see Wallace hovering in the air with his Gyarados. In contrast to Ella’s stunned reaction, Steven simply crossed his arms and grinned. “Wallace, is there anything you can’t do?” he asked.
Wallace and Gyarados descended to the ground. Wallace hopped off and gave his friend a hug. “You already know the answer to that question. It’s a special HM that was a gift from your dad’s company from last year.”
“Now if only I could get my Metagross to fly,” Steven said. “Oh, that’s right…” he said as the two shared a laugh. “So what brings you here?”
“Well, I watched the news today,” Wallace explained. “Apparently you had yourself quite the battle in one of those caves,” he said as he pointed towards the falls. “I just came to see if you were alright.”
“I appreciate that, my friend,” Steven said. “I’m just fine. I’m angrier about that group trying to destroy a meteorite. I’ve been researching all day and I can’t find anything about them.”
Wallace rubbed his chin. “Well, I heard something about them in the news about how they also raided a steel mill in Mauville. It’s pretty obvious they specialize in steel-type Pokemon much like yourself. I just wonder what they could be searching for so anxiously.”
“We will figure it out,” Steven said. “I should have gotten more information out of them rather than simply dismissing them. I had them at my mercy.”
Wallace smiled and patted Steven’s shoulder. “I’m sure you did. I wouldn’t worry about it, though. It’s not your responsibility to bring every single criminal to justice.”
“Yet somehow it feels like it is,” Steven said. He looked over at the Kreter building. “This is my home now and I should protect what is in those caves and the Kreter building as I would my own family and friends.”
“You did drive them away though and prevented them from going into the Kreter building,” Wallace reminded Steven, trying to take all of his guilt away.
“True,” Steven said. “I still think I should do some investigating and research to find out who these guys are and what they want. I’m sure by looking at the shoeprints in the ground my group and I can find out something.”
This was only the second time Wallace has ever been to Meteor Falls and the first time he has had the opportunity to take a good look at it. The caves on the outside were an enrapturing golden color and he was able to notice a waterfall on the inside of one of the caves. He felt more peacefulness here than in any of the places he has traveled to in Hoenn. It was understandable to him why Steven was so bent on protecting it. “Tell you what,” he said. “I have a meeting concerning the Wallace Cup tonight but it can wait until tomorrow. It isn’t until next year and it is called the ‘Wallace’ Cup, after all. I’ll just call Ella and tell her to postpone so I can help you out and do some exploring here. The Champion of a region should know all of its territories. You wouldn’t mind that, would you?”
“Of course not,” Steven said. “I enjoy your company. I would also like to get a better look at your flying Gyarados. Certainly not something one sees every day!”
Wallace smiled. “Except for me.”
Steven returned with a smile of his own. “Touche’.”
Part I
Chapter 1- Hoenn
He felt at home here. A young man of twenty-six was on one knee as he felt the cool, moist air of the cave on his skin. His hand ran along the humongous meteorite that was stuck in the ground. The slick but bumpy texture of it was unlike any the young man had ever felt. The meteorite was a glossy silver color and the sight of it supplemented with the waterfall in the middle of the secluded area of the Meteor Falls cave was absolutely stunning to him. So many questions ran through his mind: How far did it travel before coming to Earth? How long ago did it hit? He could feel goosebumps rise up in his arms as he took everything in. There was no other place in Hoenn that could even compare to the majesty of this place for the young man. He flipped his light blue hair away from his eyes as he stood up.
As nice as his old job was, being able to spend his time studying and searching for any kind of rocks or meteorites he could find was the one thing that truly allowed him to feel fulfilled and at peace every day. He took a handheld, electronic pad from his pocket and snapped a picture of the meteorite with it. The then jotted down a few notes using the stylus that came with it. To him this wasn’t work, this was life.
This peaceful moment was disturbed as he began to hear a ruckus outside of the cave. The sound of feet stomping echoed throughout the room as did the sound of a man with a commanding voice barking orders. The young man walked towards the exit and quickly hid around a corner when he saw a group of men marching into the room he was just in. They were wearing steel helmets with dot patterns that resembled Braille on the front as well as dark silver-colored uniforms. There were at least twenty men as well as a Lairon at the side of each one. Each Lairon had a thick steel coat and razor sharp teeth to go along with the spikes on their backs. The leader of the pack did not wear a helmet, but instead wore a tall, golden hat with a short brim. He was an enormous man holding a long, steel whip in his hands who was following a Magnezone. He looked unbelievably fit for a man in his early fifties. The Magnezone was inspected the area with its giant, red eye and the small magnets at the sides of its steel body were pointing towards the room the young man was just in.
Magnezone stopped suddenly when it reached the entrance of the room with the meteorite. The young man, still hidden, kept his breathing silent as he observed, trying to figure out what they were doing. He kept his hand near his belt containing his Pokeballs, just in case things started to get out of hand. “It must be in here, then!” the leader barked with his commanding voice. “Hurry up, men!”
“Yes, Captain Franklin,” the responded.
Captain Franklin laid the whip as hard as he could on Magnezone’s back. “Point us the rest of the way, it can’t be far!” Magnezone turned around to its master and its body began flashing. Robotic sounds were coming out of it as it attempted to communicate that it wasn’t sure where to go next. “Fine, then. Everyone spread out and search the room!”
Each member of the group, followed by a Lairon, distributed themselves throughout the area. The leader and his Magnezone slowly walked to the center of the room where the meteorite was. He rubbed his chin and walked in a circle around it. At length, he said to himself, “It could be using this as a vessel. Magnezone, we need to get this open and see what’s inside. Use Magnet Bomb!”
Several silver orbs formed in front of Magnezone and it launched them at the meteorite, exploding upon impact. The crew flinched at the sound of the explosions and the young man gasped as he watched Magnezone attack the meteorite he had just gotten done admiring. The rock was persistent, but after another quick barrage of Magnet Bombs, a small crack could be seen. “We’re getting there,” the leader said. “Just a few more…”
“Enough!” the young man shouted as he came out from his hiding area. The high volume of his own voice surprised even him as it echoed throughout the walls of the cave. Captain Franklin as well as the rest of his men turned to look at him. The young man still has his hand near his belt.
Captain Franklin scowled as he approached the young man. “Enough of what, might I ask?”
“You know what,” the young man responded, not backing down. “I can not allow you to wreck such a beautiful relic of nature. I can assure you that you will not find what you are looking for in there. You shouldn’t have any business here.”
Captain Franklin put his face only inches from the young man’s. He had to lean forward to do so as he was far superior to the young man when it came to height. “I can assure you that you are probably the only one who cares about that worthless rock. To me it is nothing more than a possible hiding spot for what we are looking for.”
“And what is that?”
“Classified. I can’t tell you anything.” His scowl turned into a grin. “Even if you are the famous Steven Stone.”
Upon hearing that name, Captain Franklin’s men began whispering and muttering to each other. “Hey!” Captain Franklin turned and shouted to quiet them. He turned back to Steven. “What we do is none of your business. It would do you well to keep away from us. I could care less who you are, you are still outnumbered. Now scram!”
Captain Franklin raised his arm and pulled his whip back. Just as ready as he started to snap the whip, Steven caught his arm and stopped him. “You are wrong. Protecting that meteorite and any other precious stone you try to wreck is completely my business.” Captain Franklin shoved Steven backwards. Steven quickly grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and flung it in front of him.
A bright light flashed and a monstrous creature with four bulky, iron legs, glowing red eyes, and a giant, metallic “X” on its face appeared in front of Steven. The top half of the “X” resembled eyebrows whole the bottom half resembled a mustache. This allowed the creature to show that it had just as much intelligence as it did physical prowess. There were spikes on the bottom of each of its iron legs, which raised upward towards its body and stuck outward as the creature began levitating. “Meta, Metagross!” the creature bellowed in a deep voice.
“While you may have quantity,” Steven said, “I possess quality.”
“Magnezone, Thunderbolt!” Captain Franklin ordered.
“Maaaag,” Magnezone said as it fired a lightning bolt at Metagross’s face.
“Psychic,” Steven calmly requested.
A purple veil surrounded Metagross’s body as it halted the bolt in midair and made it perform a U-turn. The velocity of the bolt doubled as Metagross sent it flying back in Magnezone’s direction. The bolt struck the magnet Pokemon and sent it flying backward, crashing into Captain Franklin and knocking him over. Captain Franklin grunted as he momentarily had the wind knocked out of him. He and Magnezone collected themselves and got up. He looked back as his men, who were staring in amazement. “Well, what are you waiting for!” he barked, doing his best to save some face. “Get him out of here!”
The men each sent their Lairon towards Metagross, following Mangezone. Steven and Metagross did not even flinch as the herd of fierce Pokemon stormed in their direction. “Remember that Meteor Mash move we’ve been working on?” Steven asked Metagross. “Now is a perfect time to use it.”
“Meta!” Metagross said as its arms hardened and became covered by a silver coating. Magnezone, using Gyro Ball, began spinning wildly as it hurled itself at Metagross. Metagross swung its front arm like a baseball bat and whacked Magnezone across the room. As the Lairon closed in, Metagross, still floating in the air, began pounding every Lairon in sight. It used its back legs to hit the ones coming from behind and its front legs to take care of the ones in front of it and at its sides. The numerous Lairon were getting knocked on their backs, pounded into the ground, and even hurled up against the ceiling of the cave. Metagross made it look as effortless as swatting a group of flies. It then began using its Psychic abilities, lifting many Lairon in the air and crashing them against one another.
Within a matter of only two minutes, all twenty Lairon were scattered across the room unconscious. Magnezone was still gathering itself as it started making its way back to Captain Franklin. Steven pointed at the Lairon on the ground in front of him. “Unless you want to end up like them,” he addressed the entire group, “I suggest you all leave right now.” The terrified and stunned men returned all the Lairon in their Pokeballs and started leaving the cave.
Captain Franklin, who returned his Magnezone, couldn’t say a word as he was much too embarrassed. He walked slowly out of the room, eyeing Steven the whole time as he attempted to retain some of the intimidation he thought he had before the battle against Metagross. Steven matched his look with a cold glare. He didn’t say anything, either. Nothing needed to be said after the display Metagross just put on.
After everyone left the room, Steven rushed to the meteorite and inspected the crack. “It’s not too big,” he said to himself. “Still a wonderful meteorite.” Metagross came up next to him. He patted the center of the “X” on Metagross’s face. “Well done, Metagross. Thank you for your help.” Metagross nodded in response.
Steven looked back at the entrance of the cave, making sure everyone was completely out of sight. As a former Champion of Hoenn, he had come across numerous evil organizations, namely Team Aqua and Team Magma, but he was stumped about what this group was and what they wanted.
-----
“Ludicolo, what do you think?”
The Pokemon resembling a platypus wearing a sombrero crossed its arms and inspected the painting on the vast canvas covering the entire wall. It walked over and pointed at the top of the head of Kyogre, the mystical water-type Pokemon being painted by the man named Wallace. “Ludi, Ludi!” it said.
Wallace, holding a paintbrush, walked towards the area. “Indeed, it looks a bit dry and thin here,” he confirmed. “Would you mind spraying a bit of water there so I can enhance the color?” Ludicolo nodded and squirted water from its mouth, getting the paint on Kyogre’s head. “Thank you, my friend,” Wallace said as he dipped the brush in the dark blue paint. He climbed up his small ladder to reach the spot and took a few minutes to touch the area up before climbing down stepping backward to see his work. The painting was being done in the basement level of his mansion in Ever Grande City, where the size of the canvas on the wall allowed him to create a life-size painting of Kyogre. The Pokemon was now completely painted and it was surrounded by white.
Wallace smiled at the work of he and Ludicolo. He clapped his hands together. “Wonderful, magnificent, superb, and any other synonym imaginable!” he said with delight. “I’m not one to pat myself on the back, Ludicolo, but I firmly believe we captured the true majesty of this water-type Pokemon. It has endured droughts and battles with Groudon as well as trainers, hunters, and even pirates trying to capture it! What a marvelous creature this is!” Ludicolo smiled and gave a thumbs up to confirm its master’s statement. “Now it’s time to get started on the background. We need to get a lighter blue color to paint the depths of the ocean. I wonder if we should surround it with coral or with small Pokemon, or both!”
“And now for a breaking news story!” said the voice of a female reporter on the flat-screen television on the back wall. Wallace hadn’t been paying much attention to the TV as he painted. “There was another steel mill break-in at Mauville City by an unknown organization that was only described as wearing steel-grey colored uniforms. This is similar to incidents that have occurred all throughout Hoenn within the past month by this unidentified group. The most recent incident along with the one in Mauville occurred at Meteor Falls where a couple witnessed the group being fended off by geologist and former Hoenn Champion Steven Stone.”
Wallace turned and walked towards the TV at the mention of his good friend. “Volume up,” he said. The voice-activated television increased the loudness of the news report.
An elderly man was being interviewed outside of the Meteor Falls cave. “Describe to us what you saw,” the reporter asked as she held the microphone to his mouth.
“Well, I come to Meteor Falls with my wife every weekend to enjoy the view,” he started explaining enthusiastically. “We heard loud explosions coming from one of the caves near us and we went to see what was going on. Before we even had time to take everything in that was happening, we saw Steven Stone, THE Steven Stone! He was up against at least twenty or thirty men and their Pokemon.”
“And what happened from there?” the reporter asked.
“Well, I was gonna use my Pokemon to help him out, but he looked like he didn’t need any help. The man’s Metagross took out every last one! It was a treat to watch!”
“Did you see or notice anything about the group of men that attacked the area?”
“Not much. I just know they wore these strange uniforms and helmets that had dots all over them. Not sure what that was about. The leader mentioned that they were looking for something, but they never said what it was.”
“Thank you for your time, Sir. Back to you, Kelsey!”
Wallace turned the volume back down and shook his head. After everything that happened with Teams Aqua and Magma, he was getting tired of these criminal organizations. He couldn’t help but smile when the man described how Steven defeated the group. Throughout the many times the two friends battled, he only managed to beat Steven’s Metagross once, and that was by using three different Pokemon. Even though he was currently the Champion and he was three years older and more experienced, he could not deny that Steven was the most powerful trainer in Hoenn. Still, he couldn’t help but shake the thought that he should visit his friend to make sure everything was okay. Sure, he handled this unknown group with ease, but who knows what they may be capable of?
Wallace glanced over at his painting. “This can wait,” he said. He hit a button on his wall, summoning his secretary from the office he had in one of the upper levels in his house. His secretary, a young woman named Ella, came down in the elevator. She was a head shorter than Wallace and had long, dark hair.
“What can I do for you, Wallace?” she said as she walked out of the elevator.
Wallace took out his white cap and placed it over his teal-colored hair, which slightly jutted out of the hat. “May you push my meeting with the Wallace Cup committee to later tonight, please? I need to visit someone right now.”
“I’ll take care of that immediately,” Ella responded. “You are the first boss I have ever had who says, ‘please’ when asking me for a favor,” she said as she chuckled. “Can I ask who you are going to see?”
Wallace smiled. “My old friend Steven, you’ve met him, haven’t you?”
Ella nodded. “Yes. So I’m guessing you heard about what happened at Meteor Falls, then?”
“Just now, in fact,” Wallace responded. As a fellow Champion and friend, I should go see if he’s okay.”
“Well, that’s sweet of you,” Ella said. “Would you like me to get your car prepared?”
“No,” Wallace said as he took out a Pokeball. “I will be using another form of transportation today.”
Ella cocked her head and her eyes narrowed. “You don’t have any Pokemon that know Fly, do you? At least none that are large enough for you to ride on?”
Wallace wagged his finger in a playful manner. “Oh, but I do now. Remember when I helped stop Team Aqua as they attempted to attack and rob the head Devon Corporation building?”
“Yes,” Ella confirmed hesitantly, still not sure where Wallace was going with this.
“They rewarded me by allowing me to test one of their newest products that is still in development. It is a special HM that allows some flying types who can’t normally use Fly to learn the move. I mean my goodness, all flying types should know Fly, am I right?”
“Absolutely,” Ella responded. “So, which Pokemon did you use it on?”
“Come with me,” Wallace said as he walked into the elevator. It took the two all the way up to the roof of his enormous mansion that overlooked nearly all of Ever Grande City. Tall buildings and bright lights were visible downtown as well as the beautiful view of the vast ocean. Wallace tossed his Pokeball on the floor, revealing an enormous, dragon-like serpent with a gaping mouth and scaly, blue skin.
“Your Gyarados?!” Ella exclaimed.
Wallace nodded proudly. “Until now it was a part-flying type that couldn’t actually fly!” he said as he climbed on Gyarados’s back.
“How does it…. does it even have wings?” Ella asked, still astounded at the prospect of a Gyarados being able to fly.
“Technically no, however the HM allowed the fins all over its elongated body to develop and flap in a way that allows it to fly. From there it turns into basic aerodynamics. Does that makes sense?”
Ella nodded her head at length. “Um, sure,” she said with uncertainty. “I feel sorry for whoever tries to challenge you for the Hoenn championship.”
“Indeed. You thought Gyarados was a fierce battler already, imagine how tough it will be to beat now that it can fly!” He patted Gyarados on the side of its head. “Let’s go to our friend Steven, shall we?” he said. Wallace then gave Ella a quick wave before Gyarados took off and began soaring through the air. Many of the residents of Ever Grande City looked up to see Gyarados take off from Wallace’s roof, but they only caught a quick glimpse as the Pokemon was out of sight in a matter of seconds.
Ella stood on the roof, shaking her head and smiling. “What would Hoenn be without him?” she said.
-----
On the outskirts of Meteor Falls was a small house that Steven and his Pokemon built together. He has lived there ever since his retirement from being the Hoenn Champion two years ago. Though he visited his hometown of Mossdeep on occasion to see his father and catch up with old friends, he enjoyed the solitude and peacefulness as well as being close to the Kreter geology building and, of course, Meteor Falls.
Mark Kreter was the owner of the building and the one Steven has worked with the longest. “The only one on Earth who knows more about geology than myself,” Steven would tell people. There were only four other people who worked in the building, but they were all so knowledgeable and diligent in their work that no other help was necessary.
Inside Steven’s one-floor house, he sat at his computer researching different criminal organizations that have been seen in Hoenn. Most of what he found had to do with Team Aqua and Team Magma, but he knew from experience that the group he ran into today was not them. Teams Galactic and Plasma were also possibilities, but sightings of them in Hoenn were rare to none and the motives of those groups and the group today didn’t match up. Steven rubbed the sides of his head with his pointer fingers as he stared at the screen. His frustration about anyone treating such a gorgeous meteorite in that fashion was still with him.
Steven stopped when he noticed a great shadow being cast over his house. His heart started beating quickly. His initial thought was that the criminal group was out there again. He exited his house and looked up to see Wallace hovering in the air with his Gyarados. In contrast to Ella’s stunned reaction, Steven simply crossed his arms and grinned. “Wallace, is there anything you can’t do?” he asked.
Wallace and Gyarados descended to the ground. Wallace hopped off and gave his friend a hug. “You already know the answer to that question. It’s a special HM that was a gift from your dad’s company from last year.”
“Now if only I could get my Metagross to fly,” Steven said. “Oh, that’s right…” he said as the two shared a laugh. “So what brings you here?”
“Well, I watched the news today,” Wallace explained. “Apparently you had yourself quite the battle in one of those caves,” he said as he pointed towards the falls. “I just came to see if you were alright.”
“I appreciate that, my friend,” Steven said. “I’m just fine. I’m angrier about that group trying to destroy a meteorite. I’ve been researching all day and I can’t find anything about them.”
Wallace rubbed his chin. “Well, I heard something about them in the news about how they also raided a steel mill in Mauville. It’s pretty obvious they specialize in steel-type Pokemon much like yourself. I just wonder what they could be searching for so anxiously.”
“We will figure it out,” Steven said. “I should have gotten more information out of them rather than simply dismissing them. I had them at my mercy.”
Wallace smiled and patted Steven’s shoulder. “I’m sure you did. I wouldn’t worry about it, though. It’s not your responsibility to bring every single criminal to justice.”
“Yet somehow it feels like it is,” Steven said. He looked over at the Kreter building. “This is my home now and I should protect what is in those caves and the Kreter building as I would my own family and friends.”
“You did drive them away though and prevented them from going into the Kreter building,” Wallace reminded Steven, trying to take all of his guilt away.
“True,” Steven said. “I still think I should do some investigating and research to find out who these guys are and what they want. I’m sure by looking at the shoeprints in the ground my group and I can find out something.”
This was only the second time Wallace has ever been to Meteor Falls and the first time he has had the opportunity to take a good look at it. The caves on the outside were an enrapturing golden color and he was able to notice a waterfall on the inside of one of the caves. He felt more peacefulness here than in any of the places he has traveled to in Hoenn. It was understandable to him why Steven was so bent on protecting it. “Tell you what,” he said. “I have a meeting concerning the Wallace Cup tonight but it can wait until tomorrow. It isn’t until next year and it is called the ‘Wallace’ Cup, after all. I’ll just call Ella and tell her to postpone so I can help you out and do some exploring here. The Champion of a region should know all of its territories. You wouldn’t mind that, would you?”
“Of course not,” Steven said. “I enjoy your company. I would also like to get a better look at your flying Gyarados. Certainly not something one sees every day!”
Wallace smiled. “Except for me.”
Steven returned with a smile of his own. “Touche’.”
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