Chapter Text
It’s only been a little after a year when the Weather Trio disrupted the tranquility of Hoenn that Steven thought his life would finally be back to normal.
That was hopeful thinking, an easier said than done sort of deal with the emotional and mental scars still fresh and had yet to be mended. As Hoenn’s champion however it wasn’t something he could easily confide to anyone about. There was his father, Wallace and maybe a few select people from the Elite Four he could attempt to talk about it with, but why trouble them when the horrendous events affected everyone?
Maybe less so for the other trainers considering he had to get up close and personal with the two Primals. To be there and witness the calamity in person was something he wished he didn’t have to be there for, but he knows even if the title of champion and all its duties weren’t hanging over his head he’d
still
go out there to stop the clashing legendary Pokemon.
It’s almost too easy to mask; a facade of what appeared to be a calm smile that hid every bit of anxiety he had when it came to being out in public. Arceus knows a therapist was out of the question, too paranoid in anyone finding out and only taking comfort when he’s alone at Mossdeep City or Mauville Hills where he could let his guard down surrounded by his Pokemon.
Being in Mossdeep wasn’t the most pleasant place to be in, bringing back a lot of unwanted memories that he’d soon rather forget but
can’t.
Even if he wanted to, the incident was a constant reminder of how stronger he needed to be, how two evil teams nearly destroyed Hoenn and could have possibly killed so many. So many Pokemon were so timid and wary, those who were usually gentle now scurried away at the smallest things.
Groudon’s towering presence threatened to rob Hoenn of all its water, a walking monstrosity that could have easily destroyed every piece of land it walked by, blinding everyone with how scorching it made the sun. Kyogre was equally as bad, wanting to flood the entire region with a never ending downpour, waves that could take out buildings, dangerous whirlpools that terrified the water type Pokemon and had damaged so many with the disruption it caused just by thrashing through the ocean.
A shiver runs through him, eyes trying not to reveal how the mere memory made him feel panicked on the inside. He’d rather be at home right now, anywhere really, but with his father’s insistence he was stuck in another interview, one that was supposedly good for his reputation as champion and for Devon Corporation’s sake. Arceus, he didn’t think Lance did as many interviews as he was thrusted into.
“Moving on from the topic of the huge success of the PokéNav,” The interviewer pauses, a growing smile that brings a sense of dread now running through Steven. She didn’t need to finish her sentence for him to know where the conversation was headed. It
always
led up to the agonizing topic. Another huge reason why he was so reluctant with getting into interviews anymore. “Its been over a year now since you’ve saved Hoenn from Groudon and Kyogre! Can you describe how you did it again to refresh our viewers' memories of your tremendous courage to take them on by yourself?”
Is courage what they called it now? For a champion to simply do what they need to, to save their own region despite being filled with fear?
“It wasn’t just me. I had the help of other trainers,” Steven starts softly, hands curling up on his lap into fists. He recalls Brendan attempting to help him, but with the level difference of their Pokemon it was left up to Steven to deal with. Someone so young shouldn’t have to be involved with
that
anyways. “I battled Primal Kyogre first with my Magnezone, using a heal ball to catch it.”
Endless rain poured down on him, soaking his suit and plastering his hair to his forehead. His hands could barely grip onto Skarmory’s slick body, a disadvantage to grasp onto a steel type during a storm. He could barely see his Magnezone through all the rain, shouting out commands hoping his Pokemon could hear him through the rainstorm. Electroweb hit its target, but his heart felt as if it were going to beat out of his chest when Kyogre easily broke free. Glowing yellow eyes with orange-red pupils turned their attention away from its feud with Groudon only to target him.
For the first time he felt an overwhelming sense of fear when their eyes met. Kyogre leapt into the air, leaving behind towering waves that threatened to hit him, barely having enough time for Skarmory to evade the water. His eyes hastily looked around, the absence of Kyogre making his anxiety rise with every second wasted not being able to battle the legendary. A loud roar caught his attention, but not one of the many Groudon had been letting out, instead a more chilling one and when his head slowly rises the open mouth and razor sharp teeth of Kyogre is the only view he could see clearly through all the rain.
“Oh, come on now there must be more to it than that!” The interviewer pushes, expecting a thrilling story that he by no means was going to give. The less details meant the better, anything really to hurry up the interview so he could leave. “You’re much too humble!”
“Groudon played a part in all of it,” Steven closes his eyes with a forced smile, one he’s had for so long it could fool and charm anyone he was around. Perhaps not those close to him, but to anyone else they couldn’t spot the difference. “Its long time feud with Kyogre was far more important than wreaking havoc on Hoenn.”
Groudon’s Precipice Blades pierced the side of Kyogre, knocking the legendary away from him but the impact and force of the wind was too much for Steven to handle. His grasp on Skarmory came to an end when his fingers could no longer hold onto his metallic wings and sent him spiraling downwards into the ocean below. After a beat of sinking down into the water, his eyes slowly opened, unable to see anything in the depths of the ocean; the storm too dark for him to see how close or far the surface was. His arms desperately thrashed with his air supply quickly running low with each passing second, not wanting to meet his end by such a terrible fate.
A loud gasp tore itself from his throat, inhaling as much oxygen as he could the moment his head came out from the water. Instead of meeting the sight of the two legendaries fighting he was welcomed by the presence of his Magnezone, having easily found him with its magnets due to all the metallic jewelry he wore. Skarmory was right by its side, gently nuzzling his face with the side of his beak in an attempt to comfort him. “Thank you both.. Magnezone use Zap Cannon on Kyogre while Groudon is distracting it. We can’t waste another moment.”
“It didn’t take much to catch Kyogre when Groudon was dealing damage as well,” Steven’s eyes briefly close, ignoring how the interviewer leans in by what he wants to be a short story. Why did everyone have to linger on his every word? “The heal ball, of course, fully restored Kyogre’s health and made it so I could battle Primal Groudon with the type advantage, and with Kyogre already dealing a few critical hits before I caught it, it made the battle fairly quick. Not to mention Groudon’s one track mind on Kyogre made it easy for it to be distracted.”
“Origin Pulse once more!”
Kyogre let out a roar under the blaring sun that threatened to overrun the small rain storm it had created from being let out from its ball. Various blue orbs appeared around the legendary, making countless beams glowing a deep and brilliant blue take over the sky and their target on Groudon being a success. Its efforts to use Precipice Blades proved to be futile as the attack was overpowered by Kyogre’s. The impact of the explosion nearly made Steven fall from his Skarmory again, though this time if he did fall at least Kyogre would retrieve rather than attack him. A lot more confident than his battle with Kyogre, Steven threw a heavy ball with what energy he had left, though there appeared to be plenty considering how badly his adrenaline had been running throughout the course of each battle. With the successful capture of Primal Groudon he could still clearly remember the bright yellow glow of its eyes; how its red irises never targeted him and instead were hellbent on defeating Kyogre.
“Wow! You heard it here first folks, from the champion and hero himself! What an intense battle, only if we could have got it on film!”
No, nobody needed to be there. No one should have witnessed that catastrophe.
“It seems we're all out of time now, thank you for our special guest today, heir to Devon Corporation and the champion, Steven Stone!”
With a slight polite bow and as the cameramen signal their off the air Steven doesn’t waste a beat; immediately standing up and walking on hurried legs in case of another interview wanting to be booked. He’s done one too many to know how
not
to get cornered. Fortunately for him (in this case) he had a meeting to attend to soon and could use the excuse as to not seem rude if asked.
As he was making his way down the elevator his PokéNav went off; a friendly reminder of his set schedule for the rest of the day, making his mind feel heavy at the lack of free time. Its been that way for years now, ever since he became champion his father had insisted he use his status to help improve Devon Corporation’s reputation. His father was a caring soul, but there were aspects to him that he still couldn’t quite understand. For one thing he didn’t necessarily care for all the teasing he did in front of others, Arceus knows he’s had his fill of embarrassing father-son moments..
Only noon? Seven more hours to go until I can go home..
His whole week was pretty much packed with events now that he thought about it. Business meetings for Devon Corporation, helping out with any repairs needed for Pacifidlog Town after the beating it took during Groudon and Kyogre’s awakening, taking on another challenger that managed to get all eight badges, etc. All of it tended to be like clockwork for him anymore, though time spent off was usually spent alone with his Pokemon, searching Hoenn’s caves for any new or rare stones and finding peace in his favorite hobby.
Before he was out the door his Skarmory was already released, not wanting to spend a minute at the station anymore but unfortunately life didn’t work that way for him. Arceus knows how many people tuned in, though he wasn’t surprised when he was met with a crowd of adoring fans, all screaming a little too loud for his liking the moment they all laid eyes on him. Instead of relaxing under the pleasant breeze he felt smothered; unable to make a quick exit with so many looking at him in awe.
“Steven, can I get a picture with you? How about a battle, champion? Can I get an autograph?”
Questions he’s heard one too many times, all of them simple requests that shouldn’t take no time to fulfil, but with as many fans as there were surrounding him it’d burn a lot of time to get through. Battles could be rescheduled, but fans tended to linger, wanting to either make small talk or try to persuade him into giving them his PokéNav number.
It was only noon but he just wanted the day to be over with already.