Pokémon Heroes of Hoenn

The Parting of Heroes

We made our way through Mauville City and Verdanturf Town, just now reaching the outskirts of Rustboro City. The journey back home wasn't nearly as long now thanks to Rusturf Tunnel, but the walk still gets pretty tiring.
"We should probably rest up here. We haven't stopped for a break since we left Mauville City." Emerald suggested, taking a seat in the grass to emphasize her point. Everyone agreed, dropping our bags and letting out our Pokémon for a rest. A feeling of restlessness came over me as I tried to relax, listening to the chitchat from the Heroes of Johto. I eventually couldn't handle it, getting to my feet and making my way to a certain powerful trainer.
"Fire?" I called, earning her attention easily. "Will you train with me? I want to be sure that I can defeat my father." I stated with a serious tone, keeping a calm demeanor as I asked for her assistance.
"Sure, what do you have in mind?" Fire questioned, moving Nidorina off her lap as she rose to her feet.
"A battle would suffice." I stated simply, signaling Mightyena to take a battle stance. Fire nodded, calling over her Umbreon that was curled up beside Gold. We battled three hard matches between Umbreon and Mightyena, Persian and Manectric, and Typhlosion and Combusken. Of course, Fire had to go easy on a trainer with only five Badges. Not only was she the Champion of Johto, Fire earned sixteen Badges before challenging the Champion League.
Unlike Kanto and Johto, though the usual requirement of eight Badges still applies, instead of a tournament, Hoenn has a long, difficult path called Victory Road. After battling strong trainers and Pokémon, if you make it through Victory Road, you can head right up to the Hoenn Champion League. I'm not really sure if that's either a lucky break or an equally difficult experience. Who knows, it may be even more difficult than a tournament. Either way, training with the Champion of Johto isn't something that happens to everyone, so that's good enough training for me.
Sapphire and Silver eventually got up and started training too, as well as Gold and Emerald, and Leaf and Crys.
Compared to how much the Heroes of Johto trained on their journey, we were really slacking off. I'm sure Sapphire, Emerald, and Leaf can agree that every amount of training with them is valuable and much appreciated.
We started heading for Petalburgh City after resting at the Pokémon Center, a feeling of determination rising in my chest as we made our way through Petalburgh Woods.
We got out of the forest faster than I expected, already reaching the outskirts of Petalburgh when a sudden ring emitted from around us. Everyone paused as Fire pulled out her Pokégear, her eyes lighting up a bit as she picked up the call.
"Hi, Red!" Fire exclaimed cheerfully. Silver and Crys smiled softly while Gold and the rest of us stared at her curiously. "Oh? Really? Lillycove City? Alright then, see you soon. Love you!" Fire coed before hanging up, pocketing her Pokégear as she turned on her heel to face us with a shy grin. "Well Ruby, looks like I owe you one. See, Red wanted to visit Hoenn too, but we couldn't book the same ship, so he just arrived in Lillycove City on a different boat. We kinda wanted to travel together, so I hope you don't mind if we go to meet up with him and some of his friends." Fire explained shyly. I smiled softly and gave a light nod of understanding.
"Yeah, of course. He's your brother, after all." I stated calmly.  Fire smiled gratefully, nodding in agreement as she did so. We all exchanged numbers so we could keep in touch, lucky for us, you can call a Pokégear number from a Pokénav and vise versa.
"So, I guess this is goodbye then?" I asked sadly, feeling a little down since I had gotten used to the Heroes of Johto being with us wherever we went.
"Yeah, for now. But don't worry, we're bound together by friendship. We'll meet again, it's a promise." Fire stated with a grin. I smiled when she grinned at me, even though we both knew we were saddened by the sudden part in ways.
"See you guys around." Crys called as they turned to leave. Fire stopped after taking a few steps, turning on her heel and walking back up to me with purpose in each step.
"Wait, Ruby. I want you to have this." Fire stated softly, placing a Pokéball in my hand. I gave her a quizzical look, earning a soft smile in return. "It's a Pokémon. I caught it on our way here, when the ship made a stop on a little island. I've already got my full team of six, so I wanted to give it to a trainer with potential to do great things. That just so happens to be you, Ruby." Fire stated with a cheerful grin.
My eyes widened a bit, shocked that anyone would look at me and say something so kind. I don't exactly have the support of my parents, so hearing such a complement is fairly new to me. I clutched the Pokéball in my hand, smiling softly at Fire.
"Th-thanks. I'll be sure to take great care of it." I assured, earning a grin from Fire.
"That's not all, we've got a little something for each of you." Silver stated calmly.
"That's right, we each caught a Pokémon to give to great trainers when we got here." Crys said cheerfully. Silver handed a Pokéball to Sapphire, Gold handed one to Emerald, and Crys handed one to Leaf. My friends bowed politely and thanked the senior Heroes, holding their Pokéballs close to their hearts. I smiled softly as I stared off at them, losing myself in my thoughts as I did so.
"Hey, Ruby." Gold called, snapping me out of my trance. "Here, I made this for you." Gold stated softly, handing me a red headband with a single diagonal stripe, much like my hat, but the stripe was black instead of white. I examined it for a moment before looking up at him quizzically. "I know you wear that hat to hide the white of your hair but... I think it's better if you let it show. It's what sets you apart from everyone else, and that's something to be proud of." Gold explained with a grin. I dropped my gaze back to the headband, my other hand slowly raising to the back of my head. I clutched the white cloth of my hat in my hands, slowly pulling it back to reveal my fluffy white hair from underneath. I slowly slipped the headband onto my head, smiling softly at Gold as I fixed it into place.
"How do I look?" I asked softly, earning a light chuckle from Gold.
"Like the real Ruby." he stated with a cheerful grin. I smiled back, turning my attention to Sapphire, Emerald, and Leaf when they suddenly gasped in amazement.
"Wow, Ruby! That looks great!" Sapphire exclaimed.
"Sure does! If I would've known you'd look like that with your hat off, I would've took it from you right away!" Emerald exclaimed half teasingly.
"There really is a whole new Ruby in our midst now." Leaf chuckled.
"Right, and he's gonna be the very best in all of Hoenn. Til then..." Fire paused, reaching out a hand for me to shake, "Typhlo and I'll be waiting for you!" she exclaimed with a grin.
I nodded with a determined gaze, taking her hand with a firm grip and shaking it once, confirming our deal to battle when I become Champion of Hoenn.
"Don't expect Combusken and I to hold back. We're planning on beating you, Johto Champion." I warned, smirking playfully as I released her hand. Fire smiled one last time before turning to leave, Silver placing a comforting hand on her back as they began to leave us behind.
"Good luck with your battle against your dad, Ruby! We know you'll win it!" Gold called back, waving a hand high in the air as he walked backwards for a minute.
"Thanks! Make sure to tell Red that after I beat his sister, I'm coming for 'im!" I yelled back, mimicking Gold's wave.
"Will do!" Crys called. They release their flying Pokémon, taking off in the direction of Mauville City as they yelled their goodbyes to us. We watched them disappear into the horizon, a heavy silence coming over us for a while. I dropped my gaze to eye level, turning to face Sapphire, Emerald, and Leaf with a soft smile.
"We sure do owe a lot to them, don't we?" I asked softly.
"Yeah, they've done so much to help us grow stronger." Emerald breathed, closing her eyes as a gentle smile made its way to her lips.
"To think... we met famous trainers from Johto. And they're so nice too." Sapphire stated cheerfully.
"Well, I know a pretty good way we can repay 'em. We'll grow stronger together! Just like they did on their journey! So whaddya say, Ruby? Ready to take on that old man of yours?" Leaf asked, determination burning in his eyes as he spoke. I turned to face the Gym, though I could barely see it in the distance. A smirk full of determination made its way to my face as I raised the Pokéball Fire gave to me and held it out towards the Gym.
"Yeah... I'm ready." I stated with a serious tone.

Look out, dad. Here comes your son to show you who how strong I really am.