Chapter 22: Granite Cave

Guess what? I'm back with another chapter. Before that, though, has anyone seen the direct, or the news that came out at E3? In all honesty Pokken Tournament DX and having Gold and Silver on the eshop really don't excite me that much, but I am looking forward to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. And the whole core series Pokemon game that is in development for the Switch! That has got me pumped!

And if anyone at Game Freak or The Pokemon Company is reading this, Gen 4 remakes will be given a loving home! (Sorry, it's just that Pearl was my first Pokemon game, and I want my nostalgia moment!)

the hidden bird: Sure thing, I'd be happy to leave a list. Sadly, Sapphire isn't going to be getting a Swablu. See, I'm going to end up novelizing all of the Hoenn games eventually, and I want to spread all the really cool Pokemon out. So when I was assigning Pokemon, I actually assigned Swablu and Altaria to the protagonist of my Omega Ruby fanfic, kind of like how I assigned the event Beldum to Sapphire. Sorry about that.

Verra2: Yeah, beasting through all of the gyms just isn't at all realistic in the slightest. I hope you like this chapter, too!

Disclaimer: I own nothing official!

Sapphire smiled as she strolled along the beach, her Pokemon eagerly running about. Shade was perched on her shoulder, while Shadow and Swampy frolicked in the water right at the edge of the shore. Dancer and Sword were walking along the sand extremely carefully, while overhead Wind cawed as he sailed on the breeze. Beldum had been stored in the PC system to be retrieved at a later date.

Her Pokemon were doing quite well, in terms of training. All of them, save for Shade, were around level fifteen. Sapphire's first partner was pushing level twenty at the very least. The Dark and Ice type would be a big help in Granite Cave. The Johto native may not have been familiar with the local Pokemon, but in her experience caves almost always had Rock and Ground type Pokemon, as well as the ever present and perpetually annoying Zubat population. They would be no match for Sneasel.

Speaking of caves, it would appear that Sapphire had finally arrived. On the outside Granite Cave was unassuming, just a large rocky hill with a ragged entrance cut into it. A little bit of natural light illuminated the cave, but thick darkness was visible even from the entrance.

Sapphire shrugged before pulling out her flashlight and walking into the darkness, clicking the device on. A pale beam of watery yellow light flashed onto a wall barely illuminating the surrounding area.

"Wind, Dancer, Sword, return." With that order half of her team vanished. Swampy, Shadow, and Shade remained out in the open. The latter two of the trio had impeccable vision in the dark, and would be a big help in navigating the caverns, while the former's strength would be needed in battle.

"The three of you stay close to me." Sapphire said before walking towards the wall.

"Hey, you."

Sapphire jumped a good foot and a half in the air at the sudden words, while her partners tensed. A hiker emerged from the darkness, hands in the air to show that he was unarmed and not about to attack.

"Don't do that!" Sapphire snapped, still a bit terrified from his sudden appearance.

"Alright, alright, just chill." The hiker replied. "I was only just going to warn you that it gets awfully dark ahead, and that you might want to bring a Pokemon that knows Flash. It'll be tough trying to explore without it."

"Great." Sapphire muttered to herself. She didn't have a partner that knew that attack, and she also didn't have any way to teach it to one of her Pokemon. What was she supposed to do, run around in the dark trying to find Steven?

"Well, for us Hikers, helping out those that we meet on our travels is our motto." The hiker continued to speak, a bit oblivious to the impatient, frustrated look that adorned Sapphire's face. "Here you go, I'll pass this on to you. Teach that TM Flash to a Pokemon and use it. It'll light up even the inky darkness of caves. Enjoy your spelunking."

With that the man handed Sapphire a Technical Machine and walked back off into the depths of the cave. Sapphire watched him go before letting out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in.

"Well that was certainly unexpected." She muttered before putting the gift away in her bag. Right now she didn't need any extra light, but later on in the cave it would probably be useful.

She would have continued on into the depths of this natural tomb, but a soft glow attracted her attention. It wasn't coming from the entrance, this was from deeper in the cave. Curious she walked towards it, casting the beam of her flashlight around to take a look at her surroundings. There appeared to be rudimentary pictures on the wall, though whether they were painted on or carved into the rocks was unknown to the girl. The closer she got to the illuminated room, the more there were.

As the runaway walked through the door, she could not help but gasp. The room was spacious, almost cavernous when it came to the sheer size of the place, and there was a set of stairs leading towards what looked to be some kind of stage or alter. The entire place was lit up with work lights powered by a generator, revealing some sort of massive mural on the back wall.

It depicted what appeared to be some sort of monster calling forth a giant rainstorm. Sapphire stared at it, a bit enthralled, before letting out a slight screech in shock as the sapphire pendant her father had given her lit up with a brilliant blue glow. The glow quickly faded, but it left Sapphire a bit unsettled, and her Pokemon anxiously crowded around her.

"What was that?" Sapphire murmured aloud to herself.

"Hm? Oh, it seems I have some company."

Sapphire glanced up to see a tall young man in an elegant pinstripe suit watching her. He had apparently been looking at the mural, but in her shock the girl had missed seeing him. His piercing steely grey eyes matched his hair, and a reassuring smile was on his face.

"Ah, another person here to see the murals?" He mused. "I must say they are quite the sight. It is hard to believe that in the ancient world, their primal forms once held this much power. What terrible strength the super-ancient Pokemon must have had. But this appearance here, it seems somehow different from Mega Evolution. Hmm...It seems my questions will not be answered here today."

"Okay." Sapphire was pretty confident the guy had lost his marbles, and chose not to ask what these super-ancient Pokemon was, or how he knew about Mega Evolution. Sure, Sapphire had heard of the phenomenon, but it was extremely rare in Johto, and she didn't really know anything about it.

"Oh, my apologies." The man said smoothly with a slight laugh. "I got lost in my thoughts. Who are you?"

"I have no name other than that of Alpha." The girl replied, the look on her face showing that she was not pleased with his rudeness.

"Ah, I see." The man said in return. "It's a pleasure, Alpha. My name is Steven. I'm interested in rare stones, so I travel here and there. Today my journey brought me here, but what about you?"

"Well, if you're the guy I'm looking for, then my job just got a whole lot easier." Sapphire muttered before pulling out the letter that Mr. Stone had entrusted her with. "I came here looking for a man named Steven Stone. I ran into his father when I was in Rustboro and he asked me to give him this letter."

"Oh? A letter for me?" Steven took it and began to open the letter before realizing that perhaps it would be better to do that later. "Why thank you. It must have been some trouble to track me down. I must repay you in some way. Let me see…"

"Um, that's really not necessary." Sapphire really just wanted to get out of the cave. She had delivered the letter, which meant she wanted to move on to Slateport.

"I will give you this Technical Machine. It contains my favorite move, Steel Wing. Please accept it."

Now this intrigued Sapphire. She knew that Wind could learn Steel Wing, and that would be rather helpful when it came to countering Ice type Pokemon. So, despite her earlier protests, she tucked the device away into her bag, before making a move to leave.

"Ah, if you don't mind me asking, do you feel anything in particular when you look up at this wall?" Steven's words caused her to come to a halt, and with a barely audible groan she trudged back over to his side, craning her head to take in the entire mural.

"I don't know." She answered with a shrug. "But then again, art's never really been my thing. I suppose it does make me worry as to what would happen if something like that creature got unleashed on the world, but I doubt that's going to happen. What does this old cave painting depict, anyway?"

"A primal world, lost thousands of years in the past." Steven replied. "A Legendary Pokemon of tremendous power became humanity's greatest threat. The terror aroused by that power is clearly depicted here in this painting."

"Not all power is terrible, though." Sapphire pointed out. "If it were, then we would fear Pokemon rather than befriend them."

"Yes, that is true." Steven agreed, glancing down at the Pokemon that were by the girl's side. "I can tell that your partners are clearly quite capable fighters. Looking at you all together, I think that you have in you what it takes to become a Pokemon League Champion."

"Sorry, but that's not my goal." Sapphire shook her head.

"Then if you don't mind me asking, what is it?" That was Steven's next question.

"Quite honestly? I'm traveling to Slateport so I can get on a boat to Johto." That was all Sapphire was willing to divulge, but even what she said may have been enough to reveal her true identity. Thankfully, Steven did not seem to connect her to the news about Norman's runaway daughter.

"A pity. Hoenn could use good trainers like you." Steven sounded disappointed.

"Good trainer? Hah, she had so much trouble tying with me it wasn't even funny."

Shadow let out a growl, and Shade hissed in annoyance while Sapphire stiffened at the insult. Turning around, she could see none other than Taryn standing behind her and Steven, a scowl on her face.

"Just my luck." Taryn continued as she walked forward. "I get assigned to come out here and investigate these murals, only to run into Mrs. Wimpy Goody-two-shoes. Oh well, I still need to get some old fashioned revenge in for what you did to me back in Petalburg Woods."

"You didn't do too well yourself." Sapphire retorted hotly, before a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Steven did not look too pleased to see a member of Team Aqua, if the distaste on his face was anything to go by.

"If you are here for a battle, then why not battle Alpha and I?" He suggested, a cold undertone to his voice.

"If you're willing to only use a maximum of four altogether, then fine by me." Taryn replied angrily, reaching for two Pokeballs. "I just think that you're going to regret messing with me."

And we are done. As requested, here is the list of Sapphire's Pokemon.

Shade (Sneasel)- Scratch, Quick Attack, Feint Attack, Icy Wind

Swampy (Marshtomp) - Mud Shot, Water Gun, Mud-Slap, Tackle

Shadow (Poochyena) - Tackle, Howl, Bite, Fire Fang

Dancer (Ralts, female) - Growl, Disarming Voice, Confusion, Double Team

Sword (Ralts, shiny male) - Growl, Disarming Voice, Confusion, Double Team

Wind (Tailow) - Peck, Growl, Wing Attack, Quick Attack

Beldum (shiny, in storage) - Iron Defense, Iron Head, Zen Headbutt, Hold Back

So, what do all of you think? Be sure to leave reviews! Dancer and Sword shall put out any and all flames using their psychic powers.