To Bloom Again

Prologue

The sky teemed with a blanket of bright, tiny stars hovering Mauville city from above, accompanied by the city lights glimmering off in the distance, and with the soft murmur of nearby Pokemon lurking in the bushes.

Sitting on a wooden park bench, illuminated by the streetlight above, Steven pulls out a small, crinkly photo of a young girl from his pocket to show to Wallace, who was cradling a large pokemon egg in a worn-out baby carrier, rubbing it gently in a circular motion.

"So, this is the girl that went missing?" Wallace inquired, solemnly. His teal eyes fixated by the dark blue, frilly prom dress she was wearing.

Steven answered, softly, "Yes, Wallace. Her name is Marina MacAuley and according to her parents, she disappeared five years ago."

Wallace paused briefly, no longer caressing the egg on his lap, "Are they still looking for her?"

"Well," Steven got silent as thoughts about the situation swirled endlessly in his mind and how it caused so much stress to not only the girl's parents, but to himself as well. The endless hours of locating this Marina girl alongside her parents, as well as making poster signs, persuading the local milk company to plaster her face on the cartons, everything. He did anything and everything in his power to help.

And yet, nothing. No trace of her at all. No word on the girl's appearance. It was like she disappeared into thin air, without a trace and it only frustrated him.

The unnerving silence made Wallace a bit worrisome, wondering what's bothering Steven at this very moment, noticing the frown forming on his face, "Is everything alright, Steven? You're a little quieter than usual," He remarked.

Looking down at his feet, Steven replied, "I don't think they're looking for her anymore."

"What makes you say that?"

Steven's voice grew lower, gloomier, as he looked down at his feet, "It has been five years and we can't find her anywhere in the region. I-I don't think she's even alive at this point. It's hopeless."

Wallace drew closer to Steven, wrapping his arm around his shoulders, in an attempt to lift his spirit, "Don't say that, Steven. I'm sure this Marina girl is still alive somewhere in the hoenn region. Think about it, someone that young couldn't possibly leave the region on their own, would they?"

"You may be right, Wallace, but I still have my doubts."

Wallace hummed, softly and sweetly, "It's going to be okay, Stevie." Then, after a brief moment, he had an idea, a brilliant one.

"How about we go search for that Marina girl ourselves?"

Steven tilted his head, feeling a bit puzzled, "Huh?"

Wallace continued happily, parting from his friend, "We'll travel all across Hoenn to search for her."

"What if we can't find her?"

"We'll call off the search and go on with our lives."

Steven was a bit hesitant about the idea of doing this all over again. Did he really want to go back to every city, town, forest or cave in a desperate attempt to find this girl? To relive the stress or frustration it caused.

He felt like giving up but was reminded of the voices of the girl's distraught parents and siblings, encouraging him to keep going and not give no matter what.

Plus, the idea of Wallace tagging along with him and staying by his side gave him some reassurance. At the very least, it would be fun and exciting to travel with his longtime buddy again, something neither of them have done in a while. A very long while.

Steven's eyes lit up, smiling broadly at Wallace, "I'd like that idea. Let's do it."

Wallace stood up, happily clapping his hands before being told to stop by Steven, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear from you, and I can't wait to start tomorrow."

Steven looked puzzled, like he was cut off guard, "Wait, tomorrow?"

Wallace giggled, failed to keep his excitement in check, "Yep. Now let's go back to the hotel to get some rest. We're going to need it to start our brand-new adventure."

"Hmm, you know what, Wall, sounds like a plan." Steven now brought his attention to the egg, "Now, what are you going to do with that thing?"

"I'm keeping it. I want to know what it will hatch into."

"Hopefully, not another Luvdisc." Steven playfully jokes.

Wallace scoffed back, "Oh, ha ha."

"Kidding, now let's go back already."

Hopefully, this plan works. It has to work.