Pokémon Heroes of Hoenn

Discovering Passion

"Don't take those parts!!" the man from before called as he chased the same crook from Petalburgh Woods down the street. I rolled my eyes, picking up the pace.
"Oh for Pete's sake!" I exclaimed, plucking Poochyena's Pokéball from my belt. "Poochyena, catch that thief!" I called, releasing said Pokémon to give chase. Poochyena shot forward, gaining in on the burglar.
"Treecko, you help too, pal!" Emerald ordered, reaching her arm forward for Treecko to jump from.
"Great, company. Poochyena, take care of 'em!" the thief called back. His Poochyena tackled my own, causing it to stumble back as they wrestled to pin each other down.
"Alright Treecko, use Pound!" Emerald called out to her partner. Treecko slammed its tail down on the back of the thief's Poochyena, knocking it off of my own. Unfortunately, the thief was getting away now.
"Looks like that's our cue, Eevee, use Dig!!" Leaf commanded, focusing his gaze on the crook. Leaf's Eevee exploded out of the ground, tackling the thief to the floor. An older man watched in shock, surprised by the sudden attack. Sapphire, Emerald, Leaf, and I all surrounded the crook, daring him to make a move. He stared back at us nervously, glancing back at the old man before smirking mischievously at us. He grabbed the Wingull on the man's shoulder, clutching it tightly to his side.
"Not so fast!! If you attack me, you'll hurt this poor little Wingull too!" The crook exclaimed mockingly. I shot him a look to show how idiotic I knew he was being. “Plusle, Minun, time to make an entrance!! Thunderwave!!” Leaf commanded, throwing two Pokéballs up in the air as he called out. Two similar looking Pokémon popped out, taking one another's hand and releasing sparks of electricity from their other paws. They zapped the man just enough to stun him, landing behind him and snatching the briefcase out of his hands. My Poochyena sprinted over, helping Wingull up with a little nudge and whimpering as if to ask if it was okay.
"Nice one, Leaf!” Emerald exclaimed with a small smirk. Combusken placed the Wingull in my arms to inspect for an injury. Discovering none, I returned the Wingull to the arms of the old man.
"Oh, thank you! All of you! You saved my little Peeko!" The man exclaimed.
He nicknamed it Peeko? Really?
"Yes, and you kept that thief from stealing these important parts!" the man I met in Petalburgh Woods exclaimed cheerfully as he arrived on the scene.
"Yeah, whatever." I muttered carelessly, preparing to head back to town before the younger man grabbed me by the arm and started pulling me along.
"Oh, but you must come get a proper thanks from my boss! Come now, all of you!" the man exclaimed, dragging me down the street.
"What?!" I cried out as I tripped along, trying to resist his grip. I gave up soon enough, Sapphire, Emerald, Leaf, and the old man following along carelessly.
Why do I always get stuck in these dumb messes...?
The man introduced himself as Matt before dragging me into his boss's office. Mr. Stone, as he called himself, thanked us endlessly, giving each of us our own Pokénavs to show his appreciation. I really just wanted to leave, but it didn't seem like I would be able to until I heard all this out. Mr. Stone gave me a letter and asked me to deliver it to some guy named Steven in Dewford Town. Mr. Briney, the old man who's Wingull we saved, offered to take us all there, and that's how I ended up on this dumb boat with these crazy people and this stupid seasickness.
I let out a low groaned, leaning over the side of the boat as Emerald pat my back.
"Hang tough, Ruby. We're almost there." Emerald stated in an attempt to be comforting. I glared back up at her, my head spinning as I did so.
"Shut up.... you try.... being seasick in.... a region made up of mostly..... water!" I retorted, though my words slurred as I spoke.
"Oh boy. How are you gonna make it through this region alive!" Leaf exclaimed half teasingly. I attempted to glare at him when the sickness overtook me again, and I threw my head over the side of the boat.
"Not.... helping.... Leaf." I panted out, whipping my lip with my wrist.
"I always heard that focusing on something strongly can help with seasickness." Sapphire stated cheerfully. I turned to shoot a glare at her, but ended up just focusing my gaze on her instead. She was right, that does actually help. I almost forgot I was even moving. I got so lost in her eyes, I didn't hear Emerald and Leaf calling to me.
"OI, RUBY!!" Leaf yelled, standing right in front of me. I yelped a little, glancing around frantically to figure out what was happening.
"You started staring off into space when Sapphire said to focus on something! We've been trying to tell you we're here for the past ten minutes!" Emerald exclaimed impatiently, glaring at me lightly as she tapped her foot, crossing her arms as she spoke.
"Wha-? Oh... right. Uh.... where are we again?" I asked, completely lost.
"Dewford Town!!" Emerald cried out angrily.
"Boy, are you alright in there? You losin' your noggin?" Leaf asked, staring at me worriedly.
"I'm fine! I was just.... thinking. Come on, we've got the.... thing at the place.... What're we here for again?" I asked, scratching the back of my neck.
"Ruby!!" Emerald yelled, her patience completely gone.
Funny, I thought that was my thing.
"Oi vey, this boy's living in another world right now..." Leaf sighed out, slapping a hand to his forehead.
"No he's not, he's right here, silly!" Sapphire exclaimed cheerfully. Leaf looked out of the corner of his eye at her, not lifting his hand from his face.
"You don't study much, do you?" Leaf muttered. I finally regained my composure as they spoke, heading to the Pokémon Center for a nice rest. After getting our rooms, I decided to go do some training outside of town. As I exited the Pokémon Center and made my way to the edge of town, I heard Leaf call after me as I reached the outskirts, so I turned to see what he wanted.
"Oi, Ruby! Let's have a match!!" Leaf exclaimed competitively, his Eevee giving me a battle ready smirk. I smirked back, releasing my Poochyena as I did so.
"Bring it!" I called, getting into a battle stance.
"Alright! Eevee, Quick Attack!!" Leaf ordered.
"Poochyena, use Tackle!" I commanded. Both Pokémon slammed straight into each other, Poochyena taking a little more damage from the stronger attack.
"Eevee, Swift!"
"Poochyena, dodge, then use Bite!" Poochyena sprinted through the falling stars, jumping between them to avoid the attack as he closed in on Eevee.
"Eevee use Protect!" Leaf called just before Poochyena could attack. The shield-like aura knocked Poochyena to the ground, leaving an opening for Eevee to attack. "Alright, now Dig!" Leaf commanded. Eevee dug into the ground, stealthily closing in on Poochyena.
"Hold it.... hold it.... now jump!!" I called out, watching as Poochyena leaped up, avoiding Eevee just barely as it popped up beneath him. "Bite!!" I ordered as Eevee turned its back to us. Poochyena grabbed it by the tail roughly with his jaw, flinging Eevee into a nearby rock.
"Eevee!!" Leaf cried, dashing to his partner's side. He embraced it warmly, praising Eevee for a good match before turning to me with a grin. "Yup, I knew it!" Leaf exclaimed cheerfully.
"Knew what?" I questioned as Leaf pulled himself off the ground.
"I knew that you were something special, that's what! You're no ordinary trainer, that's for sure." Leaf said with a grin.
"What're you talking about?" I muttered out just loud enough for him to hear.
Something about what he said didn't make any sense to me.
Leaf turned his back halfway to me, closing his eyes softly as a soft smile made its way to his face.
"Ya know, you kinda remind me of somebody I knew back home... she was real strong. I heard she's one of the strongest trainers back home now, but I haven't seen her in awhile. It's been a good few years since I've seen her. I still gotta thing for her too... ha! Looks like my secrets out!" Leaf exclaimed jokingly, scratching the back of his neck as a light blush appeared on his cheeks.
"Okay..... how do I remind of some girl you like?" I asked, crossing my arms impatiently. Leaf suddenly turned back to me, pointing a finger right at me as a grin full of determination made its way to his face.
"You have that same look in your eyes when you battle! That look of unwavering passion! I adore that look, ya know? I don't know what you're drive is, or why you press on towards it so much, but that passion.... don't ever lose sight of it, 'kay?" Leaf said with a cheerfully grin. I stared at him for a moment, taking in what he had said.
My.... passion? The look in my eyes when I battle.... shows my passion, but.... what exactly is my passion.... my drive.... what could it be?
I snapped out of my thoughts as Leaf called to me, ready to head back to the Pokémon Center. I began to follow him back until I spotted Sapphire at the beach at the edge of town. She was training with Mudkip, trying to get its aim straight towards the boulders by the nearby cave. I could see how hard they were working, but I could also see what they were doing wrong. I glanced back at Leaf, making sure he wasn't looking before I approached Sapphire.
"One more time, Water Gun, Mudkip!!" Sapphire commanded.
Mudkip shot its sparkling water gun at the boulder, though it was way off and ended up moving far off to the right. Sapphire sighed helplessly, falling to the ground in defeat.
"Why can't we just get it right?" Sapphire whined out, lowering her head in a completely defeated pose.
"You're trying too hard." I called out, earning a momentarily startled look from Sapphire.
"Oh, hi Ruby. What do you mean?" Sapphire questioned softly.
"You're trying too hard to make the move look appealing, but it's throwing your aim off. Let me show you. Mudkip plant your feet and target that rock!" I ordered, pointing out at a far off boulder. Mudkip followed my command, planting its feet and focusing its gaze on the rock. "Now don't worry about the looks and use Water Gun!" I called. Mudkip's attack shot straight ahead, causing the rock to break into smaller chunks as the attack made direct contact. Sapphire leaped up, staring at the chunks of rock in awe.
"Wow!! It actually hit!" Sapphire exclaimed joyously.
"Yeah. Now just keep practicing that and pick up the speed as you go along." I said calmly as Mudkip jumped into Sapphire's
arms.
"Alright! Thanks, Ruby!" Sapphire called cheerfully as I turned to head back to the Pokémon Center.
"Yeah, yeah." I sighed out carelessly, the slightest hint of a smile making its way to my face as I brushed a wave back at Sapphire. When I turned to focus on where I was headed, I was met with a pair of emerald green eyes directly in front of me. I yelped, jumping back a few feet as Emerald stood right before me, a smirk on her face. "Emerald!! What the heck are you doing?!" I snapped, angered that she'd just pop out of nowhere like that.
"Heheheh, don't think I didn't see that little scene." Emerald said teasingly, the smirk unwavering from her face as she flicked her long raven hair.
"What're you talking about?" I muttered, glaring lightly at her as she walked passed me. Emerald paused, turning to look over her shoulder at me after awhile.
"You know what..... I think I was right about you. You're not as bad as you seem to be." Emerald stated softly, grinning at me before turning to meet up with Sapphire. I watched her go for a moment before huffing and turning to enter the Pokémon Center.

What was that supposed to mean? These guys are really starting to confuse me lately...