“X-Scissor!" Energy flowed through Steven´s arms, as his pincers emanated a light blue glow, and in his mind, the target was set; a somewhat strong branch that was hanging from a small tree. His claws moved almost by instinct, right arm first, left arm almost intermediately after, and in a matter of seconds, the branch was now on the floor.
Steven had woken up very early in the morning and decided to train with his new abilities. After half an hour of trying to clear his mind up, he and Layton had set up a training routine to discover and strengthen Steven´s moves. He had already mastered Steel Wing, his favorite move; he could pull off some Protects; and after many failed attempts, they discovered Steven´s third move, X-Scissor.
"Good, but not good enough. Again!" Layton ordered, while Steven began swinging his claws diagonally.
"He is getting pretty good at it, isn´t he?" Pockets mentioned
"Aesthetically, he really is. But in battles, his power is weak. I can protect him from most threats, but he wanted to learn the moves to defend himself, to make the best out of his new body by learning how to use it to its full potential. So as his partner, I must help him," Layton replied
Both remained silent for awhile, the only sound that could be heard besides the wildlife were the swinging of Steven´s claws. Pockets decided to start a new conversation after a little while.
"How long have you known him for?"
"Since he was ten, around 18 years ago." Layton answered
"Care to explain more?"
"Why would you want to know more?"
"I like to hear stories. Plus, I don't think he will finish any time soon, and watching him practice the same thing over and over ain't near my definition of fun."
"I see no problem with telling you the story" Layton surrendered, "But I'd prefer to do it this way."
Layton closed his eyes, only to open them again and reveal a white glow that invaded Pocket´s own eyes, and prepared her brain for the mind fusing process.
"Come on, you have to choose one of the three!"
"Why? I already told dad, I don't want to go to a Pokemon adventure, I want to stay home with him and mom!"
"Come on Steven, I'm sure you'll bond with one of these little guys," Professor Birch took one of the Pokeballs that were resting on the table, and threw it in the air, it stopped mid-flight to open itself, unleashing a weak flash of light that aimed to the ground.
"Mudkip!" A blue amphibious Pokemon appeared in front of Steven, and looked at him with a smile, excited to have a new owner.
"You know, I heard from a little Taillow that you like mudkips" Professor Birch said with a friendly voice.
"I don't like water types." Steven answered coldly, breaking both the Mudkip and the professor´s hearts.
"Birch, this is useless, he doesn't care about Pokemon, all he cares about are his darned rocks, his father passed that madness unto him."
"I could find some Rock type Pokemon if I speak with some friends, what about a Carbink? They are pretty popular in the Kalos region."
"Just forget about it, we have to leave now. I swear to Arceus, if this kid for some reason decides by himself to go on a Pokemon adventure, I'll wear flower shirts and shorts, and I’ll go to anger management courses." Scott laughed on the inside at his own idea, but remained with that serious look that he always used near Steven.
"Add sunglasses to that and I might consider it" Interrupted Steven tauntingly
"Quiet you, I wasted half a day of my life for this. Who would've imagined it, the son of the president of Devon Corporation does not like Pokemon!" Scott said to himself. "Well Steven, time to go see your father, I hope he takes the news lightly"
"I want to go back to grab my mining equipment" Steven said coldly
"There is no time, your father is waiting for you and we are almost there." Scott answered
"If we are going to the mines, I want to look for some stones to add to my collection."
"Steven... It’s been a hard day for me, okay? My biggest project to date is already being a disaster and I just started planning it a month ago!"
"You mean the Frontier? That was a failure from start and you know that." Steven said coldly
"Quiet you sassy little snob. Just remain quiet until we get there, and I promise I'll ask one of the workers to borrow you equipment."
Steven remained silent, as the boat drew away from Lilycove. They arrived to the naval city about half an hour ago, and took the boat that would take them to their next destination, Sootopolis. The morning was already gone, and the afternoon was in the middle of its life. The boat swam swiftly, guided by two Whishcash tied to the boat by ropes. The weather was rather calm and made for a nice enjoyable trip for most of the passengers, except for Steven who remained bored. He spotted a young teen, about one or two years older than him. He was in charge of watching over the Whishcash while his grandfather looked out for any potential wild Pokemon attacks.
"Wallace boy, how are Whishy and Cashie doin?" Said the sailor
"Cashie looks a little tired, sir. I think we have to let them rest for a bit," Said Wallace softly
"That old lad can do more than that, I raised her myself! We are halfway there already, she can just keep goin," Said the sailor proud of his abilities to train water-type Pokemon.
"I'm sorry Ribbon, you won't be able to rest now, I promise you that as soon as we get there, I'll get you some good berries to help you regain energy, okay?" Wallace said silently, but loud enough for the Whiskers Pokemon to hear. This made the Water-type smile, leaving a soft cry before speeding to keep up with it´s mate.
"Why did you call that Wishcash 'Ribbon' ? Weren't their names Whishy and Cashie?" Asked Steven after seeing the scene which caused nothing but a light curiousness on him.
"She doesn't like the name Cashie, so I came up with another name for her, her whiskers are kinda shaped like ribbons so I named her like that." Answered the young turquoise-haired boy.
"Why would you care so much for what a Pokemon thinks? They are needy, they are annoying, and they are dangerous."
"They are caring, brave, kind, loyal, and overall, beautiful." Wallace replied. When he finished the last word, a shabby looking fish Pokemon jumped out of the water and into his arms. His big pink lips releasing a dull cry and a soft smile.
"Bas- Feebas"
"Yeah, they are quite stunning, aren't they?" Commented Steven sarcastically.
"You are not the first one to comment on Feebas´ looks. Many trainers lucky enough to find one ignore them, and throw them back to the river. At least it's not the same luck as its distant relative, Magikarp. They are eaten daily with no remorse. People can't see that in every Pokemon, there's beauty, inner beauty. If you dislike a Pokemon, it's because you have not given it the time to show you what it's capable of, you have not given it the time to love you, and for you to love it back. This Feebas is my best friend, I'd give my life for her and I can feel she'd do the same for me."
To this statement, the Feebas cried happily, showing it's approval. Steven saw both with curiosity, how could anyone love a Pokemon like that, to give his life for it.
"You are going to the excavation site, aren't you?" Asked the long haired teen, interrupting his train of ideas.
"Yeah, my father works there" Answered Steven
"In that case, wanna go with me to Old Charlie's Cave?"
"You mean, the cave no worker is supposed to go into? The one with the curse? Yeah that sound like a good idea." Replied Steven sarcastically.
" Great! We'll go there as soon as we land, adults never realise when we are gone."
Steven wanted to reply, but Wallace was already talking with his Pokémon, ignoring him.
"Sure... it can't be that bad, can it?
"There you are, thought you'd never come back," Said Wallace, hugging a Seadra, and holding a flashlight on his right hand
"I told you I was just going for some equipment." Replied Steven, full of bags, mining, and safety equipment
"Well silver boy, I think we should start with introductions, as we didn't do them in the boat. My name is Wallace, Wallace Tide. This little guy here is King."
"Dra!" Cried the Pokémon
"I'm Steven. Steven Stone."
"The owner's son? That explains the clothing," Joked Wallace, pointing at the perfectly clean suit and the pin with the logo of the company.
"I'm gonna put a safety suit over this, I can't possibly risk this suit, it's imported from Kalos."
"Fancy talk. I doubt that safety equipment will cover up your groomed hair though"
"Are you going to keep trash-talking me? Or are we going inside?" Countered Steven annoyed.
"That's more like it!" Wallace walked inside the cave, carelessly and cheery. Steven followed him dubiously, scared of the rumors about the curse.
"Well this is getting boring."
"Patience is one of the biggest virtues there are. "
"Well you promised me adventure..."
"We are almost there anyway."
"Almost where...?" Steven got his question answered, as they reached a room with different colored crystalline pillars, one purple colored enormous crystal in the middle of it.
Steven was astonished, in all his life he had never seen such an amazing piece of mineral. Its great beauty paralyzed him completely. He managed to overcome the amaze, and he came closer to it, as his hand raised to touch the purple beauty.
But when the tip of his finger was about to touch the gem, a loud malicious laugh stopped him from progressing. The enormous gem revealed two yellow and red eyes, and a wide, red, malicious smile. The other monoliths suddenly disappeared, and were replaced with red, round eyes that lurked from the darkness.
“You have met a terrible fate, haven't you?” A voice whispered in his ear. Steven walked backwards towards Wallace, but when he turned around, the fisherman’s son was no longer there.
“Wallace? Uhm… was that you?” Steven asked frightened. But he got no answer, just the multiple eyes watching him in the dark room. The yellow eyes suddenly began floating towards him. Steven was now completely stunned in pure terror. The rumors were real, there was an ancient evil living in Old Charlie's Cave, and it was looking directly into Steven's eyes. The red mouth left out an echoed laugh.
"We are all alone, my dear. No friends to help you. On the other hand, I have plenty of friends here." Said the same sinister voice. This time Steven was able to find the source, as the words came directly from the floating smile and eyes, which were now too close to Steven for his own comfort. The red, round eyes around them glowed white, on a way in which the room became slightly more illuminated. Steven could now see the owner of the sinister face, a witch hat, three gems surrounding it´s neck, and a purple, ethereal dress; a Mismagius.
“Who… who are you?” Steven asked frightened.
“I am the spirit that guards this cave. I defend the inhabitants and the treasures resting here from greedy, vicious humans like you. The only thing of interest for you in here is this gem, isn't it?” The Magical Pokémon's eyes glowed an intense red, and suddenly around Steven, fiery ghost-like spheres started circling around him. “I've always wondered what effects a Will-o-Wisp could have on a human being…”
Steven was about to get a heart attack, many deaths have been reported in the past related to Pokémon attacking humans. And it seemed like Steven was going to be the next face on the newspaper.
“A young human child, burned to ashes because of his greed, how sad.” The Will-o-Wisp started circling faster than before, before fusing into one big ball of fire. “Boo!”
Steven screamed with all his forces, he was going to die, burned to death by a wild Pokémon, his father would never see him again, all his dreams of collecting the rarest rocks in the world were banished, he was no long-- Steven opened his eyes and looked around him, a slight sense of smoke was all that he could feel, he looked at his body, there was no fire, he then looked at his back, and found the source of the smoke. There was a small fire on the rear end of his safety suit, which was somehow causing a hole on it.
“Fire! Put it off! Put it off!” Steven exclaimed, running around in circles while trying to take off his suit. Loud laughs could be heard all around the room. The Mismagius, who was also laughing, used Flash to completely illuminate the room to reveal the ones responsible for the prank. Around him, six Metang showed to be the owners of the red, circle eyes; and between two of them, a young teen and his Seadra were also laughing out loud; Wallace looked at the burning suit and decided to help Steven.
“Ki-King, use wat- Water Gun” Wallace ordered while laughing. The Seadra, who was also enjoying the show, shoot a powerful Water Gun towards Steven, getting him all wet. This caused even more euphorical laughs to come out of the audience. Steven gazed at Wallace angrily, taking off his wet safetysuit.
“You had this planned all along, didn't you?” Steven grunted.
“Well, most of it. Miss Gio came up with the Will-o-Wisp.” Wallace answered.
“Did you really think I'd hurt a little boy? Come on, I'm better than that,” The Ghost-type added.
“Miss Gio guards the entrance to the deepest part of the cave, or as I like to call it, ‘The Nest’” She does things like this to scare people away from it, and in extreme cases, she ends up hurting them lightly. Of course, all those rumours about curses and such are not true, those who claim to have bad luck after visiting the cave don’t know that it is a mere coincidence.” Wallace added, “So Miss Gio, would you mind showing us the way?”
“I’d be pleased” The Mismagius’ eyes glowed white, and a big rock that seemed to be part of the stone wall, was moved from it’s position A path was revealed in front of them, and the Mismagius advanced towards it, followed by the Metang.
“You coming or what?” Wallace asked Steven
“After what you just did? Yeah… I don’t think so”
“Come on, you wanted adventure, didn’t you? Just follow me, I promise you are going to love it!” Wallace stretched his arm towards Steven, who looked at him with a bit of skepticism, but decided to trust him anyways.
“Where - is - my - SON!?”
“Nobody knows, sir. Some claim to have seen him collecting some gear, but besides that, there’s no more information.” A worker answered.
“He is probably exploring some caves, Joseph, searching for his weird rocks and what not, he should be back soon”
“He never goes exploring without me, Scott. He has never done this before, what if he encounters a wild Pokémon? Have you seen what Golbats do to those that can’t defend themselves? It is not pretty!”
President Stone sighed. He had already called every station, every manager, even every worker; yet none could give him any information about Steven’s location. He was not the calm and happy man that people knew him as anymore, he was worried, and stressed out, his son had gone missing two hours ago and there was no clue as to where he could be.
“I may know where the lil boy went.” Said a raspy, creaky high voice.
“And who might you be?” President Stone asked
“He is the sailor, the owner from the boat we came in.” Scott added
“My name is Marcus Tide, the best sailor of the Seven Seas, I think I know where your son is.”
“And how could you possibly know where Steven is?” Scott replied skeptically
“Around 10 years old, extremely white,almost pale, a grayish blue hair, fancy clothing--”
“Yes! That’s him! Where is he!?” President Stone interrupted
“You know what? I can’t really remember… my memory is not that good anymore, maybe if I had a little… incentive” said the sailor while stretching his arm out, showing the palm of his hand and his fingers moving crazily. Both Mr. Stone and Scott knew what he meant with that.
“Stone, are you seriously thinking on trusting this guy?” I mean, he did saw Steven at the boat, he could just say that he knows, get the money, and flee.”
President Stone remained silent, before taking his wallet out, and giving a bunch of Pokédollars to the old sailor. “He may be the only one with a clue.”
“Old Charlie’s Cave. My grandson Wallace always goes there when we dock here. If he makes new friends, he takes them there as well. Me and some friends that work here can go inside to look for him, the cave is dangerous after all. Don’t worry, I assure you that we’ll bring your son in one piece… if possible…” The sailor left the place, leaving a face of worry in the ones that heard him.
“Wait a minute, isn’t Old Charlie’s Cave where…” Mr. Stone commented.
“We are going to the damned cave again, aren’t we?” Scott guessed, and President Stone nodded, “I’ll prepare the gear…”
“Ok now, you must close your eyes, that way the surprise is more… surprising.”
“Nice choice of words there”
“Just close your eyes and follow me, Okay?” Steven did as said, he grabbed Wallace´s hand and followed him to wherever they were taking him.
“Ok, you can open your eyes now”
“I hope this isn’t another kind of prank, Walla-” Steven’s mouth was completely shut. Before him, there was a large cave system filled with different types of gems and minerals, But ironically, what surprised Steven the most was the amount of Pokémon living there. Dozens of different kinds of Pokémon. Zubat flew around happily, as Sableye pranked each other out. Meanwhile Nosepass hummed happily, and Solrock and Lunatone danced with each other. It was Paradise for cave Pokémon.
"Come on, the chief must be expecting us, I'm sure he already sensed your presence." The Mismagius said.
"Sensed?" Steven asked, surprised by the choice of words that the Ghost type used.
They advanced towards the end of the cave. A wide tunnel, completely different than the other more simplistic ones, welcomed anyone with the magnemite-powered light bulbs and the flattened out walls, to the Chief's room. The room itself was surprisingly large, with multiple Beldum and Metang floating around. There were dozens of each. In the middle of the room, as a large blue spider-like steel creature, with a silver "X" in the middle of its face; was cheerfully playing with the younger Beldum, which floated around him, crying happily while the old Metagross attempted to hit them with weakened and slowed Bullet Punches. The Metangs following Miss Gio left her trail, and went to play with their younger brothers
"Darling, I'm home." Said the Mismagius
"Giovanna, my love, welcome back!" Answered the Metagross
"Hello, Chief!" Greeted Wallace
"Wallace, my boy, my son of another species! It's been awhile since you last visited. And I sense you brought two friends."
"This little guy right here is King," Wallace introduced.
"An honor to meet you, sir."
"OK, that Pokémon just talked, that ain't normal" Steven panicked.
"Of course it did! They always do! My psychic power lets me translate Pokémon language for you humans, who have lost that ability centuries ago! Destiny may have taken my sight away, but Arceus rewarded me with a strengthened mind instead!" Steven didn't notice before, but the Metagross’ eyes were a plain white, sign of blindness. “So, young boy, what’s your name?”
“Steven, Steven Stone. It’s… an honor to meet you, Chief”
The Chief stood up on his four legs, and walked towards Steven as fast as any Metagross could. He looked at him eye to eye, and said on a serious tone: “Stone? As in, a relative of the owner of Devon Corporation?”
Steven became paralyzed once again, “Ye-yeah?” Steven was frightened, he was almost certain that the name “Devon Corporation” was not famous around these parts, the company invading the land and all.
The Metagross raised its arm, and pointed it to Steven, he was now certain that Chief was going to punch him to death, that was it, he just dug his own grave. But of course, he was wrong. Chief swung his arm and “patted” Steven on his back, almost sending him to the ground.
“Mr. Stone is such a great man! He let all the Pokémon in the area move here calmly and in order before the mining process began. You, my friend, should be proud of being part of his family!” Exclaimed the Metagross
“I’m actually his son…”
“Mr. Stone’s son!? Why didn’t you say so before! Everyone, prepare yourselves, we are celebrating the visit of a very special guest!”
The Metagross voice filled the caves and tunnels, and Pokémon of all kinds suddenly began arriving to the room. Steven saw himself surrounded by the curious Beldum that analyzed every part of him, making Steven uncomfortable.
“These are my sons and daughters, Steven Stone, Pokémon that escaped the hands of the human trainers and their damned Pokeballs. I built this home myself with my iron fist, and I take care of them with my life. Specially, my only true son of blood, of course, implying that I have blood. “ As he said this, a silver colored Beldum appeared from behind the Chief. His eye and Steven’s met directly, Steven’s light blue eyes with the red round eye of the small creature. For some reason, Steven felt fascinated about this Pokémon, like if they were connected by a bond of destiny.
“Did I hide the entrance to the cave?” Interrupted a feminine voice behind them.
“No, Ma’am” answered a Metang.
“How many times have I told you to remind me of hiding the entrance? I’m getting too old for this!” Miss Gio grunted, before disappearing into one of the stone walls.
“Hahaha, stop! Stop it! Stop tickling me!” Steven saw himself on the ground, being brutally attacked by a devilish little shiny Beldum, while it floated around his ribcage, pressing softly against his sides.
“So, about not liking Pokémon” Wallace taunted.
“I- I guess they are ok” Replied Steven, being spared from his punishment.
“I knew this place would change your mind, it truly is a magnificent place.” Wallace looked around, all the Pokémon of all the species were playing, chatting, and even dancing with each other, Chief being one of the main dancers with his rusty moves.
But suddenly, Chief stopped moving, his face showed anger, and worry. “Everyone, hide, now!” He said through a mental message.
“What’s going on, Chief?” Asked Wallace worriedly
“They… they found us… they have Giovanna.. they… they” But Chief couldn’t finish, as a Flamethrower attack came directly into the Chief’s room, hitting him on the back.
“Steven, Wallace, Beldum, run!” ordered the injured Metagross. Steven did as said, running towards one of the tunnels, but no one else was following him.
“King, King! Where are you?” Shouted Wallace, worried about his friend.
“Wallace, what are you doing, we have to go, now!”
“No way I’m leaving him behind, neither him nor Chief, I’ll attack the attackers if I have to!”
“I don’t think you’ll do anything like that” A raspy voice could be heard from the shadows, in the same direction from where the Flamethrower was shot. Marcus Tide came out from the entrance to the room, a Magcargo following him, and his hand surrounding a Seadra’s neck.
“King! Leave him alone! He can’t breathe!” Screamed Wallace
“Of course he can’t! He is a Water type Pokémon, he belongs in the water!”
“You know nothing about Water type Pokémon!” Quivered Wallace with tears on his eyes.
“Oh really? Well I do know how to punish them!” As he finished his sentence, he threw the Seadra to the ground, placed it’s foot on it’s head, as he started pressing.
“Stop! You are going to kill him!” Steven shouted
“What do you care? He is a Pokémon, an animal, he has no feelings, he is needy, he is annoying, and he is dangerous!” Replied the sailor.
“No… they are not…” Steven muttered.
“What did you say kid?” Chief asked from his location
“No, they are not! They are caring, brave, kind, loyal, and over-all, amazing! That’s what Pokémon are!” Steven shrieked with all his forces, he found a new self, he realized that he was wrong, he realized that Pokémon were more than mere pets or toys.
“Well let's see how this ‘awesome’ Pokémon´s head explo-” Marcus Tide could not finish his sentence, as a silver and gold Beldum Take Down’ed him to the ground, breaking a couple of ribs. “Damned creatures! Jonah, Frank, come in here and help me out!” The old man called.
Two man entered the room, one with a Scyther at his side and multiple Pokeballs on his belt, the other one with a Mightyena behind him and a whip on his hand.
“Marcus, you ok?” Asked Jonah.
“G-get rid of these animals, and catch the shiny Beldum!”
“Sure thing Marcus! Scy, use False Swipe!” The Scyther swung his scythes softly, but for his surprise, the Beldum was no longer there. He was now with Chief, who was starting to get up.
“Mighty, use Crunch!” Ordered Frank, as his Pokémon ran directly towards the Metagross, and delivered a strong bite on one of his legs, sending him back to the ground. The Beldum used another Take Down on the Mightyena, sending it back, before shaking himself on pain
“Stop, yo- you are hurting yourself” Ordered Chief, but the Beldum didn’t want to listen.
“He must be weak now! Scy, use False Swipe!” This time, the attack did hit, and Beldum was sent several meters away. He was about to faint, but still wanted to give a fight.”
“N-no, stop him- he won’t be able to do ano-another attack” Chief murmured, as the Mightyena was once again Crunch’ing his leg.. Wallace was with King, trying to get the fainted Pokémon out of the fight, so the only one that could help, was Steven.
“Lets finish this, Magcargo, use Flamethrower on the Metagross!” Ordered Marcus, who was struggling to stand up completely. Steven knew what was going to happen, Beldum wouldn’t let his father die like that, and his father was too weak to stop him from sacrificing himself.
Steven acted almost by instinct, he didn’t plan it, and if he had, he would have stopped himself. But he didn’t. He ran as fast as he could towards the incoming attack, and hugged the Beldum that was going to place himself in front of the Metagross. The Flamethrower attack didn’t reach neither Beldum or Chief, it hit Steven, setting his suit on fire.
“Kabutops, use Stealth Rock!” A voice ordered from behind them.
“Omastar, use Water Gun!” Another voice added.
Rocks surrounded the attackers and their Pokémon, while the Water Gun hit Steven, putting the fire off. Scott and Joseph Stone had arrived just in time. Behind them, authorities followed with their Pokémon. The police force arrested the sailor and his friends, and broke the Pokeballs that were used to catch the inhabitants of Old Charlie’s. One of these caught Pokemon was Miss Gio herself, who had been attacked when hiding the entrance.
One tall man, with a blue coat, and black and white hair was with them. The Gym Leader of Sootopolis had arrived there to help the authorities with the criminals. He spotted Wallace, who was hugging the fainted Seadra with tears on his eyes.
“What’s wrong, kid?” Asked Juan.
“My… grandfather… he almost killed him… King…” Sobbed Wallace
“I suppose you are Wallace Tide. Your grandfather was a terrible man. You, on the other hand, seem to be a kind boy, who loves his Water type Pokémon, just like me. I don't think I can leave you here by yourself. Come, you can stay with me for the night. They already sent your grandfather’s Pokémon to my house and I’m sure they will be happy to see you. "
“Thanks… mister…”
On the other side of the room, Joseph, Steven, Chief, and the Beldum finished counting the disappeared Pokémon, who could now rest on their respective rooms.
“Your son is an impressive boy, Stone. To risk his own life to save my son's, that's impressive. He is sure to become one of the greatest trainers there has ever been.”
“I don’t think so, he doesn't like Pokémon, right Steven?” Josep sighed, looking at his son.
Steven remained silent for a while, looking at the ground while thinking on everything that had just happened. His thoughts were interrupted by a silver Beldum, who softly tackled his sides, making him release a soft laugh.
"Ste-ven." Said the Beldum with difficulty through a weak mental link.
“Father, I like Pokémon, and I want to go on a Pokémon adventure.” Said Steven with his head up.
“That´s amazing son! I’ll call Birch right now and ask for a starter.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary. I think the boy just found his own starter,” Chief interrupted, before seeing in front of him the two young beings playing with each other, a smile on Steven’s face.
“This place is truly wonderful.” Mr. Stone said, before grabbing a Pokeball out of his bag, and preparing to give it to the young trainer who was ready to start his new adventure.
Pockets saw the world turn green around her again, a tear on her eye. She couldn't believe how strong the relationship between Steven and Layton was, how they could risk their own lives for each other. Was that the strength of the friendship between a Pokémon and his trainer? But what confused Pockets more, was the fact that Steven was a different kind of Pokémon, a white, thin, hairless bipedal creature.
“I see you guys are done” Steven interrupted.
“I showed her The Nest story”
“You can’t get enough of that story, can you Tin Can?” Joked Steven
“That- That was… you were not a-” Pockets wanted to say something, but she was stopped from doing so by a force beyond her. A message that was being broadcasted to every living being in Equestria at that very same moment.
“What… was… that.”
“Don’t look at me, I didn’t understand half of that.”
“He said he was… Arceus. Layton?”
The unicorn and the Scizor looked at the Iron Leg Pokémon, who remained static.
“The message was Psychic powered, yet it was enough power to transmit it through possibly the entire planet, if its size is similar to Earth’s, that is. Indeed, the creature behind that message was certainly a legendary of great power, a power not before seen in any kind of Pokémon, not even legendaries. “
Steven remained speechless. Was it really Arceus the one behind that message?
“Steven, who is this... Arceus?” The unicorn mare asked, seeing the shock in Steven’s face.
“Arceus… is supposed to be our god…”
“Your WHAT!?”
Steven sighed, and began relating the ancient story. “A legend states that, a long time ago, before the universe itself existed, there was an egg…”
“So, an actual god. Wow…”
Steven sat down, and looked at the blue sky, as leaves began flowing with the calm wind, “Why… why did he bring us here… He created our planet, we all were his creations… why did he leave it. There must be a reason… I need to know, I need to get back. We can’t just ignore all the progress we have made and leave the Earth to rot, who knows, it may be just end up blowing up for all we know. We need to go back, we need to save what’s left of our planet.” The former human stood up, as the sun reflecting on his chitin, showcasing sparkles that surrounded his body. A shiny aura present only on shiny Pokémon.
“I believe we have a new objective.” Layton commented, a small unseen grin on his face.
“We are setting off to this Everfree Forest. We’ll require a map, and supplies. We are also going to need a guide, a local that knows how to go there, and has experience traveling on foot. Layton, prepare an analysis to try to find resources in our area that will be of help.”
“Well well well, its your lucky da-”
“We’ll require data about the resources on this planet. We need to study these different organisms and find what we could use to our advantage.” Layton interrupted
“Yeah cool, but guys-”
“That will be fairly easy with your data, but the hardest part would be who to trust to guide us in this wild new world.” Steven added, stroking his chin.
“GUYS!” Both Pokémon turned their attentions at the blue unicorn, shocked by the sudden and rude interruption. “Thanks, sorry for that. Anyways, you guys consider yourself lucky, because!”
Pockets flashed and disappeared in barely two seconds, to reappear shortly after with various bags and a somewhat large roll. With the aid of her magic, she unveiled the roll to showcase a cartoonish looking map, which showed various cities and landmarks, as a fancy looking “Equestria” was displayed on the top. Pockets pointed at a small city in the west side of the map, Tall Tale, and moved her hoof east of the map, until stopping at a wide forest, which was tagged “Everfree Forest”.
“This is where you want to go,” The unicorn mare said, “The Everfree Forest is a scary looking place, and can only be reached if you go through Ponyville, the town next to it. Due to how dangerous it is, you’ll need someone that has gone through it and survived. So yeah, you need me”
Steven looked at Pockets surprised, and left out a small chuckle “You’ve been there before?”
“What, you don’t believe me? Dude, I’m from Manehattan, came here with my own hooves. I have enough experience. Sides, I need to go to Canterlot to do some business. Ya know, thief stuff.” Pockets got her hooded coat, grabbed her bag, and started trotting towards the city, “In fact, if you want to see what I’m talking bout, I got some fencing to do! It’s payday!”
“Steven, what are you planning to do? “
“I’ll go back to the city with her. You stay here and wait for us, your size is too evident and they would find us easily” Steven ordered, before following the blue unicorn.
“Understood… good luck.”
As Steven and Pockets sneaked into the city, avoiding several officers on the way, Steven began wondering if helping a thief was a good idea. In fact, this whole act of fencing was against everything he believed in.
“How far are we from… your buyer?” Steven asked ashamed while following the pony through obscure alleyways.
“Fence, get the terminology right.” Pockets chuckled, while stopping and hiding as an officer walked by, “And we are not that far from the neighbourhood. Sides, you don’t seem to have any problems with walking and running, do ya?”
“It’s not that, I just feel… uncomfortable I guess.” Steven sighed, following the now running Pockets.
“Nah, don’t worry. After you see what I’m bout to do, you’ll love it as much as I do.”
As the pair began reaching the outskirts of the city, Pockets entered a small building, with a sign that read “Value Hunt’s Pawn Shop” . When inside, Pockets took of her coat and knocked a crystal door that lead into one of the various rooms. An old looking light gray pegasus opened the door, with a smile on his face and a cane under his wing.
“Pickett, my dear! Glad to see you here!” The pegasus greeted, opening his wings to hug the small unicorn.
“Mister Hunt, long time without seeing you. How have you been?” Pockets grinned, a bit asphyxiated by the hug.
“Great my darling, that old cane you sold me has been helping me with my poor leg. Speaking of which, I suppose you have something to sell me.” The old pegasus chuckled
Pockets got inside the room, resting her bag in a small table located in the middle of the room, Steven following shortly. The sighting of this creature shocked the pony, yet Value Hunt let out a loud laugh shortly afterwards, “I see you got a Pokeman of your own, sweetheart.”
Pockets giggled at the old colt’s antics, before pulling out some of the items in her bag. Steven on the other hand, saw himself surrounded by the odd pony, who was now observing every detail on his body, until reaching his abdomen and poking it with his long wooden cane.
“Uhm, excuse me, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that, sir.” Steven said, shocking the pegasus once more
“He can talk? Wow, you really got lucky with this Pokeman, Pickett”
“It’s Pokémon, Mister Hunt,” The unicorn giggled, “and I just used a translation spell on him, not a big deal. Sides, he ain’t mine, he is some sort of subspecies called ‘Human’, I still don’t fully understand that part.”
“I see, pretty interesting. I’ve gotten Pokémon myself, you know? Let me call her, I think it’s a her… Purroline!” The old pegasus called. A large, gray, cat-like creature, with pointy ears and odd whiskers came into the room. The Purugly left out a loud yawn, before looking at Steven, and releasing a loud hiss that showed how much it liked him already.
“Pur, Purugly”
“Hey, I think he says you are ugly,” Pockets chuckled, as she took a small gem out of her bag, placing it on the table.
Steven sighed, and got away from the Tiger Cat Pokémon, “That’s their cry, she is not saying that I’m ugly.” But what he didn’t tell anyone, is that the Purugly actually said to him: “You look stupid”
“Anyways, Mister Hunt, I got these this week. Anything valuable?” Pockets asked, showing various loot he had gathered over the week.
The old pegasus got closer to the table, and took a pair of glasses out of the pocket on a coat that was resting on a chair nearby. “Let me see, what do we have here…”
“A thousand and half bits, pretty good for a week of work.”
Steven looked at the bag filled with golden coins that the pony told him to take for her, “This is quite a lot, what are you going to go with this?”
“I told ya last night, this money goes to some friends in the outskirts of the city. We should be getting there pretty soon.”
“Right, forgot about the whole ‘good thief’ deal,” Steven deadpanned
“Come on, give me some credit! I am like a real life Robin Hoof!”
Steven stopped for a second, before recognizing the name “You mean, Robin Hood, right?”
“No dude, Robin Hoof, ya know, the archer unicorn.”
“Not from this planet, remember?” Steven pointed
“Oh right, totally forgot bout that. Hey speaking of which, you said that your planet was called, Earth, right?”
“Indeed, Earth, it isn’t that different from this planet, except from the inhabitants of course, even some things like that story you just mentioned seem to be similar.” The former human explained
“You really like that fancy talk, don’t you? Yesterday you said something about being a Champion? What’s that.”
“Former Champion. A Champion is like… the strongest Pokémon trainer in a region. They obtain the title after going through several challenges including multiple battles against skilled trainers, and their Pokémon.”
“Ok, now in equestrian please.” Pockets chuckled, not understanding half of what was just said.
“A Champion is like… the strongest of knights in a kingdom.” Steven continued, “Back on Earth, these knights were called trainers, they lead their Pokémon to battles against other trainers, or wild Pokémon. There’s a challenge for every trainer that wishes to do it, the Gym Badge challenge. They can choose to fight eight trainers spread around the region that are placed in what we call Gyms, and if you defeat what we call a Gym Leader, you’ll get a badge. With each badge you collect, the challenge gets harder, meaning the next Gym you’ll challenge will be a bigger challenge. If a trainer manages to gather all the eight badges, that trainer can participate in an annual tournament, in which the winner gets to challenge the four strongest trainers in the region. If the trainer manages to defeat the Elite Four as we call them, he or she can challenge the Champion to try to get their title.” The former Champion explained, trying to make it as simple as possible.
“Wait, so you are like… the strongest of all the trainers back on your planet? For real!?” Pockets exclaimed astonished.
“Well no. I’m a former Champion. One trainer has defeated me before, and although he didn’t take the title, I gave the title up to another trainer, my friend, Wallace.”
“The guy from the story Layton showed me?” Pocket asked surprised, remembering the blue haired boy.
“Indeed, he later became the Gym Leader of Sootopolis, his hometown. They call him the Water Master due to his skill with Water type Pokemon. Couldn’t think of anyone else to take my position.”
“Wow, you sure are something!” Pockets chuckled, before pointing at the small house that was in front of her. “Now it’s time to show you, Champion Steven, why I am a ‘good thief’ “
Pockets walked towards the door, and knocked a couple of times, before a feminine childish voice replied to the knocks, “Who’s there”
“Is Pockets. Bright, is your dad home?”
“Pockets!” Another childish voice exclaimed from the distance, as a small filly opened the door violently, running towards the unicorn, hugging her as soon as he reached her. “I thought I’d never see you again!”
“Calm down, Rocket, it’s only been a month.” The unicorn chuckled, seeing the red earth pony hanging from her neck.
“I know but it felt like foreeeeeever. “ The filly whined, spotting the shiny Scizor that was observing the scene in amusement. “Woooow is that one of those crazy aliens that are everywhere now?”
“Yeah he is, and if you don’t behave yourself, he is gonna eat ya!” Pockets said, disturbing the small filly.
“I won’t do that…” Steven sighed
“Quiet, you beast from space Tartarus! Your race won’t eat our bwraaains!” The unicorn dramatised, grabbing the child as if she was protecting it, while the kid started screaming in fear, getting as far from Steven as possible
“You are as dramatic as always, Pockets.” A Light Blue stallion said from behind the unicorn, The child dropped from Pockets neck, and ran towards the stallion, jumping on his neck and almost sending him face to the floor.
“Daddy!” The red filly said, as Pockets chuckled, getting closer to the unicorn.
“Hey, Gentle. How are you?”
“Was doing pretty good, Pockets. Even better now that you are here.” The stallion grinned
“You mean, even worse now that she is here,” The childish feminine voice from before chuckled, a beautiful brown bag on her wing with a nicely sewed “P.M.” on the side, “Oh yeah, this is for you Pockets.” The filly said, tossing the bag towards her, Pockets grabbing it with her magic shortly after.
“It looks nice and all, but who is Private Message, the mailcolt?” The unicorn asked confused
The filly laughed and launched herself at the Navy Blue unicorn, “It’s Pickett Midnight ya airhead!”
“Oh right, that’s my name, isn’t it?” The unicorn joked, grabbing the filly and rubbing her head.
“So, Pockets, what brings you here?” Gentle Light asked.
“Well, it’s that time of the month, you know.” Pockets sighed, taking her breath back.
“Kids, go inside, Pockets and I have to talk.”
“Okay, bye Pockets! Bye mister Alien!” Red Rocket waved, as he and her sister went inside the house.
“So yeah, Pockets. I suppose you have some money for the neighborhood…” The stallion chuckled awkwardly, “You know, I still don’t like the idea of you doing this for us…”
“Nah, don’t you worry. Remember, this money is from the same kind of people that got you in this situation, you used to be such a successful lawyer, now look at you! I can’t just let these people steal from you like that. So please, take the money and share it.” The unicorn grabbed the bag of bits on Steven’s shoulder, and gave it to the stallion, who had a hard time holding it.
“WOW, this is… gah, quite a lot” The unicorn muttered.
“It’s my gift for at least two months. I’m leaving Tall Tale for a while, I’ll try to be back as soon as possible. Pass the info. “ The unicorn explained.
“You going with this nice gentleman here?” Gentle Light joked, pointing at the Bug type while dropping the bag on the floor..
“Yeah, we are going to Canterlot, and then we are passing through the Everfree. You know, this guy was the one responsible for saving the city yesterday.”
“So we got a hero here, huh? I guess i have to thank you for saving our flanks” The stallion joked.
“It wasn’t much, I really just helped as much as everyone else. “ Steven replied, not wanting to boast.
“We got a humble alien then, you sure find the weirdest things out there, Pockets. Take care of this wonderful mare. I’m sure she will give you more troubles than anyone else out there. Oh yeah, Grumble's pretty mad at the recent events, if ya going to Canterlot don't get close to the trains, there are officers searching for you two apparently, keep yourself off public eye.” Gentle Light chuckled, before leaving and waving goodbye, dragging the heavy bag filled with bits.
“Hey,” Pockets said softly to Steven, “I didn't hear you complain when I said I was going with you to Canterlot, what could that mean?”
“It means... I decided to take you with us. You seem to be trustworthy enough, thief.” The former champion deadpanned, before moving back towards the forest.
“I prefer the term, ‘hero of the people’ Thank you very much.” Pockets said elegantly, following the Steel type.
“And I will never call you that way.”
With a new, unusual partner, Steven and Layton start their new adventure in the lands of Equestria, land of the magic and the mysterious. What will Steven find in his road to the Everfree? Join him on this new journey, where he'll encounter new friends and new foes, where he'll do things he never thought possible, and where he'll find something that will change his life forever.
