Pokémon Heroes of Hoenn

A Growing Team

After Leaf just barely earned his Balance Badge with the help of the Swellow that Crystal gave him, we decided to head towards Oldale Town for a little rest, planning to move on from there. Dad wished us all luck by the door to the Gym as we left, and I couldn't help feeling curious about his change of heart. Was he... thinking about me when I first left on my journey? Well, they do say that absence makes the heart grow fonder... I wonder, is that's really true?
"There it is, Oldale Town is just up ahead. We can stop by my place to get something nice and fresh to eat, if you'd like." Emerald offered warmly.
"Fresh?" Leaf asked curiously.
"Oh yeah, my dad owns a berry farm. Everything he makes is one hundred percent fresh." Emerald stated proudly.
"Sweet! That's just what my mom does!" Leaf exclaimed cheerfully. I stood quiet as they chatted away, realizing that the food we bought back in Goldenrod City probably wasn't the freshest thing in stock.
Probably.
My attention turned to Sapphire when a faint blue flash appeared from her bag.
"Uh, Sapphire.... why is your bag.... flashing like that?" I asked hesitantly, gesturing to the light it was emitting. Sapphire pulled out the Egg Incubator that, in all honesty, I had no idea could fit in that small bag around her waste, revealing that the flashing was in fact coming from the egg.
"Why is it doing that?" Leaf asked curiously.
"I think it's gonna hatch soon!" Sapphire exclaimed, taking the egg out of the incubator and setting it in her lap as she sat in the grass. I stood beside her casually, glancing around to make sure no wild Pokémon were waiting to strike the egg.
"Look, it's hatching!!" Emerald gasped as the faint blue light turned almost blindingly bright. When we could finally peek back up at the egg, a newly hatched Pokémon sat in Sapphire's lap, said trainer smiling down at it lovingly.
I pulled out my Pokédex to check its name, seeing as how it was a completely new Pokémon to me. My Pokédex revealed the Pokémon to be a Wynaut.
"Now ain't that just the cutest thing?" Leaf asked warmly, grinning widely at the baby Pokémon.
"So that's a Wynaut... I've never heard of it before, but it appears to be native to Johto, so the Pokédex says." I stated casually as I slipped my Pokédex back into my pocket.
"There are so many Pokémon we don't know about yet... Doesn't that make you want to see 'em all?" Emerald asked dreamily, staring at Wynaut with a sparkle in her eyes. Sapphire carried Wynaut the rest of the way to Emerald's house, where she returned it to its Pokéball for the time being. Emerald's dad, who was quite welcoming, got straight to making us lunch when we walked through the door. While we waited, Emerald took us to her backyard to relax a bit.
I sat on the wooden steps of the back patio with Mightyena curled up beside me, gently stroking its head as I watched the rest of my Pokémon do their own thing. Blaziken rested up against the tree to the far right corner of Emerald's backyard,  Manectric play fought with Emerald's Linoone, and Flygon was doing flight tricks with Leaf's Swellow. Emerald's Grovyle and Sapphire's Breloom were sunbathing out in the open, meanwhile Marshtomp played a game of catch with Leaf's Eevee, Plusle, Minun, Mawile, and Azumarill.
"Hey, we haven't gotten to meet the Pokémon Gold and Silver gave us yet, Sapphire." Emerald mentioned randomly as she leaned up against the wooden railing around her patio.
"Oh, that's right... Let's do that right now!" Sapphire exclaimed cheerfully. Sapphire and Emerald rushed over to an open part of the yard, plucking out their Pokéballs as they prepared to meet their new additions to their teams. Leaf and I stood silent, but we both were curious about what kind of Pokémon they would get.
"Okay, new partner..." Emerald started off, raising her Pokéball above her head.
"Come on out!!" Sapphire finished as they both tossed their Pokéballs in unison. Sandshrew was the Pokémon Gold caught for Emerald, while from Sapphire's Pokéball emerged a large bird Pokémon with cloud-like wings.
"Awesome a Sandshrew! Oh, no way, Sapphire, that's an Altaria!" Emerald exclaimed in amazement.
"Altaria?" I murmured, pulling out my Pokédex once again to learn about Altaria. After reading up on its information, I pocketed my Pokédex and took a better look at it. When I looked back up, Altaria was nuzzling Sapphire sweetly, crying out cheerfully as it hugged its new trainer with its cotton candy-like wings.
"Nice to meet you, Altaria! Your wings are so soft!" Sapphire exclaimed with a light chuckle as she hugged the Pokémon back warmly.
"Wait a minute... That's a Dragon type?!" I blurted out as the information I had read sunk into my brain.
"It sure is. Altaria is a Dragon and Flying type Pokémon." Emerald stated cheerfully.
"Wow..." Sapphire breathed as she marveled at Altaria. I turned my attention to the little Sandshrew that Emerald received from Gold. Squatting down to get closer, I reached out my hand and gently stroked its head.
"I've never seen a Sandshrew in person before. I always did think they were cool. Nice to meet you, Sandshrew." I greeted calmly.
"I don't recall ever seeing a Sandshrew in person before either. They do love desert areas, so I guess since there's only one small desert in Hoenn that Sandshrew aren't that common." Emerald stated casually, bending over and lifting Sandshrew into her arms. "Hey there, Sandshrew. I'm your trainer now, my name's Emerald. Nice to meet you." Emerald introduced herself with a grin, letting Sandshrew open up to her right away. All of the Pokémon the Heroes of Johto gave us seemed to be pretty openly friendly towards us. I wonder if they were told about us, or maybe the Heroes of Johto are just such great trainers that Pokémon drop their guard after being with them for a while. The latter seems like a bit of a stretch, but I travel with a fire breathing martial artist bird wherever I go, so my whole life is basically one big stretch in itself.
Emerald's dad eventually called us in for lunch, which was one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten, and afterwards sent us on our way to Littleroot Town. It took everything in me to hide the glee I felt when Emerald's father gave her a packed lunch for all of us to have on our journey.
What can I say? His cooking is really amazing.
I stood silent as we reached Littleroot Town, glancing at my current home with a look of disgust. I know I probably should visit mom before we leave since we're in town, but I can sense how much she couldn't care less if I did or didn't.
"Look, there's dad's lab!" Sapphire exclaimed cheerfully, running ahead as she spoke.
"How do you know he's there?" Leaf asked.
"Well, seeing as how he's never home and we didn't run into him on the way here, there's nowhere else he would be." Emerald stated casually. Leaf obviously didn't fully understand what she meant, but he stood quiet about it.
"Hi dad!! We came to visit you!" Sapphire called out in a singsong tone.
"Ah, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald!! Great to see you! Oh? Hey, I remember you, you're Leaf right?" Professor Birch questioned as he spotted Leaf standing beside me.
"You... know him, Professor?" I asked, staring questioningly at Leaf.
"Of course! He saved me from a wild Pokémon just like you did. In return, I let him keep the Plusle and Minun he borrowed to battle with." Professor Birch stated with a grin.
"You give your Pokémon away way to easily..." I muttered.
"Hey, wait a second, when we first met the Heroes of Johto, Leaf pulled out a Pokédex just like the rest of us. Did you give him that too?" Emerald asked.
"Indeed I did, but now I must question you. When did you meet the Heroes of Johto?" Professor Birch asked curiously.
"We met them back in Slateport City. They told us that the Pokédex is a symbol of who we are." Sapphire explained.
"They also told us something you didn't. Those who hold a Pokédex are recognized as Heroes. And the group of them that comes together to defend a region are known as the Heroes of that region." Emerald added on.
"That's right. So if all of that is true, does that mean that you selected us to be the Heroes of Hoenn?" I questioned.
"You just about hit the nail on the head, except for one thing. I did not select you. It was destiny that chose you. You four are the trainers that are strong enough, brave enough, kind enough, and smart enough to defend our entire region from those who wish to destroy it." Professor Birch explained. Sapphire, Emerald, Leaf, and I all exchanged glances before turning back to Professor Birch.
"We'll be sure to give it our all." I stated firmly, a smirk making its way to my face as I spoke.
"Right, but what I want to know is... what exactly are we supposed to be protecting Hoenn from?" Emerald asked softly, pondering over anything that could possibly endanger the entire region. We heard someone cry out in fear outside, making us all jump in shock as we looked to the front door of the lab.
"I have a feeling we're about to find out..." Leaf stated shakily.

I too have a feeling that Leaf isn't entirely wrong. That feeling sure isn't a good one...