Chapter Text
Hoenn was a beautiful region. From the white sandy shores of Slateport City to the sprawling fields of Verdanturf Town, there was always something to find, someone to meet, and Pokemon to discover. They say the Hoenn Pokemon league is one of the tougher journeys to get through even without all the interruptions that may or may not get in the way, though that title usually lands to Sinnoh up in the north.
Thankfully, your journey through the region was before the whole Team Magma vs Team Aqua debacle that transpired through the current champion’s journey. The plucky girl who finally dethroned your husband had her work cut out for her. Thinking back, your journey was still full of adventure and happenings that you weren’t exactly happy about at the time but looked on with fondness as time went by. And, if you were honest with yourself, you and the plucky girl had a lot in common when it came to beginnings.
Though you didn’t move from a different region like Johto, you did move from your beachside home in Lilycove to Littleroot so your father could work alongside Professor Birch. Birch was newly minted at the time, fresh out of his Ph.D., and had a fairly young daughter of his own, only just starting school. The man was still as bumbling of an idiot as ever, but it made for entertainment when you went along with your dad on some fieldwork missions he didn’t think would be too dangerous for you to handle.
You did start your journey a little later than most, but that was because you knew the perils that came with it– and your father was a little protective of you, but you couldn’t really blame him. There had been a lot of reports in Kanto about criminal activity involving a ‘Team Rocket’ that had been popping up recently, and he didn’t know if something similar would happen in Hoenn.
The one similar constant you and the current champion had in your journeys, however, was one man: Steven Stone.
The silvery-headed man obsessed with rocks and minerals was more of a peer than a mentor in yours, though. Being dragged through rain or shine by someone who probably drove him up a wall a few times must have been quite the experience for the boy. The thought makes you smile.
You leaned against the threshold of his study, the man oblivious to the world aside from the rocks he was currently studying. You had to admire his passion. That’s the one thing that hadn’t changed, and it actually made you fall in love with him in the first place. The two of you complimented each other and helped each other grow as people, which was something you’d never take back in a million years.
Stumbling into Granite Cave with nothing but a broken flashlight and your starter was the best dumb decision you ever made because it led you to the man who was more precious to you than any stone he could ever present to you, and you knew he felt the same of you.