Pokémon Heroes of Hoenn

A New Adventure; Another Day

My training with Steven these past few months has been long and rough. We trained almost daily, battling hard just outside of Mossdeep City on a quiet beach. It was no easy task to train with such a masterful trainer. Steven proved to be so strong, I considered him strong enough to last a good while in a battle with Red. He let me stay with him at his place at the edge of town while we trained, which was kind of him for sure. I definitely wouldn't be able to make it home safe after a couple battles with Steven.
Life's been busy for all of us, I'd say. Leaf heard of this new facility that's opening up here in the Hoenn region, and when he went to check it out, he ended up helping them work on it. I think he said it was called the Battle Frontier. As for Sapphire, she entered the Contest Spectacular and won it, but she's decided to pursue something new, whenever she finds that something. She's still flocked with fans whenever they recognize her as Contest Star Sapphire Birch. I guess until she finds that 'something' that's who she'll be. Emerald was invited to try out a Pokémon Ranger Training Camp. There she got to learn more about their field of work and the tools they used for them. She rambled on about them unintentionally whenever we got in touch, but I never complained. I was probably rambling about my training too.
My Pokémon grew stronger in levels and learned some strong new moves the more we trained, so I am definitely grateful to Steven for training me. Occasionally I would return home to let mom and dad know I'm okay, returning to my training with Steven a day or two later. Today was one of the days I was with my parents at home. I woke up earlier today, allowing me to take a short walk around town before mom woke up. Littleroot Town is slow and almost unmoving, as if the flow of time is stopped somehow. I smiled to myself​ as I realized how much I used to hate that, being a city boy and all. Now the country side was like a blessed break from all the hustling and bustling of the city life.
It's crazy how much one can change in such a short period of time.
I decided to visit the good old Professor before heading home, so I dropped by his lab to find him. Of course, he just happened to not be there, so I decided to take a look just outside of town, and if he wasn't there, I'd head home. I wasn't surprised to see a wild Zigzagoon attacking him while he ran around in fear. With a sigh, I calmly went up to it and gave it a trustworthy smile, allowing Zigzagoon to let down its guard. With that, I pet it and gave it a berry, watching as Zigzagoon happy ran off with it. Professor Birch was impressed, but quickly thanked me, offering me congratulations on becoming the Champion. I thanked him and saw him off to his lab, heading home when I knew Professor Birch would keep out of trouble.
Honestly, sometimes he can be such a handful.
After having breakfast with my parents, I gathered my things and prepared to hit the road, or sky in my case. I currently stood at the front door with all of my necessities, making sure I had my Eon Flute in hand. Turning back around with a genuine smile, I raised my hand and flashed a wink and a peace sign at my mom and dad.
"Well, I'm off." I announced casually, earning a small grin from my mom.
"Go get 'em, Ruby!" mom called cheerfully, lowering the dishes she had in har hand to wave goodbye.
"Remember to give it your all, but don't be ashamed of taking it easy too." dad advised.
"Yeah, I'll be sure to remember that. See ya later!" I called back as I jogged out the door and pulled it closed behind me, walking quickly down the three wooden steps to the porch before blowing a quick tune into the Eon Flute. Latios rushed to my side in seconds, sweeping me off my feet and flashing me a friendly smile.
"Mossdeep City, I presume?" Latios asked casually as he flew in the direction of said city.
"That's the one." I stated teasingly, earning a quick nod as Latios sped up a bit. I waved Latios off after he dropped me off by the Pokémon Center and flew away into the horizon to the place he called home. I sighed in contentment, glad to be back in the familiar city. I waved hello to little kids who recognized me as I made my way to Steven's place. Upon arriving to the nice home at the edge of town, I walked up to the door and knocked casually. "Hey, Steven, it's Ruby." I called. There was no response. Curious to know if Steven was alright, I decided to try opening the door. Steven didn't often lock his door, but I always knocked to not appear rude to him. After establishing the fact that the door was open, I decided to call in one last warning. "Steven? I'm coming in now." I called as I opened the door and stepped inside. It was silent.
I looked around the living room, which held a dining table closest to the door.
On the other side was a decorative red couch and a dark brown coffee table, along with your usual living room TV. Towards the right were the two halls that faced each other, one to the master bedroom and one to the guest bedroom, bathroom, and a closet for towels and blankets. Steven had the guest room reserved for me at the moment, which was truly appreciated. But the fact that I couldn't seem to find him was odd enough. "Steven? Are you home?" I called once more, only to get no response. "Where in the world is he...? Steven would usually warn me ahead of time if he was going out..." I muttered to myself as I closed the door and strolled further into the room, glancing at some of Steven's glass cases for his rock collection as I did so.
One thing in particular caught my eye when I reached the dining table; there was an envelope and a Pokéball rested on it. The envelope was addressed to me, so I didn't hesitate to pick it up. Pealing it open, I pulled out a letter from within it, curiously unfolding it and reading it to myself.