After Steven obtained Professor Oak's contact number, he prepared to bid farewell and return to the Hoenn Region.
Blue had heard that Professor Oak had important business to discuss that day, so he had gone out to train his Pokémon and hadn't returned to Pallet Town yet.
However, Red—remembering Steven was there—had specifically come over for a battle.
As expected of you, Red! A true man of battle!
Steven boarded a plane bound for Mossdeep City in the Hoenn Region, then transferred to a ferry heading to Sootopolis City.
He had made Wallace wait for nearly half a month now, and he wondered what their reunion would be like.
Wallace had called Steven earlier—probably already growing impatient with the wait.
But Steven deliberately hadn't called him back.
Who told Wallace to be so intimidating when he was angry?
On the ferry, Steven stood on the highest observation deck, looking down at the Pokémon battles taking place on the main deck below.
His own Pokémon couldn't battle here, unfortunately.
Standard passenger ships did not allow Champion-level or higher-strength Pokémon to battle on board due to safety regulations.
In Steven's current team, only Piplup had a low enough power level to battle on the ship.
But even that wouldn't be advisable if Piplup accidentally activated its hidden ability during a match.
"Piplup... <( ￣^￣)"
I could handle these weaklings with just a flick of my flipper.
Piplup stood at Steven's feet, also gazing down at the battles below with a somewhat dismissive expression.
Seeing Piplup's disdainful look, Steven couldn't resist teasing him:
"Then how about I let you battle Wallace when we arrive?"
"Piplup?! o(⊙﹏⊙)o"
Let's... let's forget about that idea...
Piplup gripped the railing tightly, poking his round little face between the metal bars to get a better view.
Wow! The battle below is actually pretty exciting! It's quite... spectacular!
Steven chuckled softly, gazing at the city gradually appearing in the distance across the shimmering water.
That was Sootopolis City—a city built inside a massive volcanic crater.
After disembarking from the ferry, Steven went straight to the Pokémon Appraisal Center.
He hadn't had his Pokémon's training results from Sinnoh properly appraised yet.
The results came back as follows:
Metagross: 82.8%; Scizor: 76%; Skarmory: 70%; Aggron: 70%; Riolu: 65.1%; Piplup: 59.5%.
Both Skarmory and Aggron had reached that critical threshold, and Steven wondered when they would truly break through to Champion level.
Riolu was determined to become stronger, and combined with his natural talent and Steven's abundant resources, this result was perfectly normal.
The only truly abnormal case was little Piplup.
His growth rate was absolutely monstrous, yet he still hadn't reached the appropriate time for evolution.
Ash's Pikachu needed a Thunder Stone to evolve, so no matter how powerful it became, it wouldn't evolve naturally. Pokémon like Meowth and Togepi weren't particularly strong, so it was understandable that they hadn't evolved.
But Steven's Piplup, whose strength had increased so rapidly, still showed no signs of evolution?
However, the detailed inspection report indicated everything was completely normal with Piplup's health and development.
Never mind. Let Piplup be what he wants to be.
As long as his Pokémon were healthy and happy, that was all that truly mattered to Steven.
After grabbing lunch, Steven took Piplup to the Sootopolis Gym.
"Excuse me, the Gym Leader is not at the Gym right now," the receptionist informed him politely.
Hearing this, Steven was slightly startled.
Alright, I felt a little guilty for making Wallace wait so long... but it seems I don't need to feel guilty anymore.
"Where did Wallace go?" Steven asked curiously.
He couldn't have gone on a date with Winona, could he?
"The Gym Leader said he was going to 'personally deal with someone' before he left around noon," the receptionist explained, then added thoughtfully, "but I think he was probably just going out to get lunch."
Steven's mouth twitched slightly.
He wouldn't be planning to 'personally deal with' me, would he?
If he's just eating, that's fine. I'll wait here for a bit.
"It's fine. I'll just make a quick call and he'll rush back immediately," Steven said calmly, pulling out his PokéNav to call Wallace.
The receptionist gave him a skeptical look. ಠಿ_ಠ Really?
Ring ring—
Before the phone rang even twice, the call was answered.
At the same time, an accusatory voice came through the speaker.
"You didn't answer any of my calls, and now you dare to call me?"
Fortunately, Wallace was a more elegant and refined person, so he didn't roar into the phone.
"I'm at the Sootopolis Gym right now," Steven stated simply.
"..."
The other end went silent for a moment, then abruptly hung up.
"Alright, I estimate Wallace will be back very soon," Steven said confidently.
The receptionist looked at the remarkably self-assured young man before him, feeling genuinely puzzled.
Who is this person to our Gym Leader? He can make him rush back with just one phone call?
In less than three minutes, Wallace had already returned to the Sootopolis Gym in record time.
It was the first time the Gym's receptionist had ever seen Wallace look so furious.
"Yo! Wallace, that was quite fast!" Steven greeted him cheerfully, completely ignoring the metaphorical flames burning in Wallace's aura.
Wallace sneered, walking directly toward Steven until their faces were almost touching, their noses nearly pressed together.
"You seem very happy right now," Wallace said with dangerous sweetness.
"Yes, because I got to see you," Steven replied with a light, innocent chuckle.
"But I get very angry when I see you," Wallace said through a forced smile, staring intently at Steven.
"Isn't this distance a bit too intimate, Wallace?" Steven gently pointed out.
"I really want to pin you down right here for half a month, and then make you—"
Click!
Wallace froze, glancing sideways at the PokéNav Steven held up high.
What was that sound just now? A photo?
"Wallace, you wouldn't want Winona to know you're getting this close to me, would you?" Steven asked with a mischievous smile.
"Where did you learn such dirty tricks?" Wallace demanded, his eye twitching.
"That's none of your business," Steven replied smugly.
Steven watched with amusement as Wallace pulled away from him, tidying his slightly disheveled clothes. Wallace had rushed over in such a hurry that the wind had messed up his normally pristine appearance.
Click—
"I wonder what Winona would think if she saw you looking like this?" Steven said, taking another photo.
Wallace was genuinely stunned. The Steven in his memory definitely hadn't been like this before.
Looking at Wallace, who was clearly gritting his teeth but still maintaining his composure and not actually attacking him, Steven finally relented with a smirk:
"Just kidding. Mainly, as soon as I heard you wanted to battle me with your full strength, I panicked and ran out for emergency extra training."
"And after not seeing you for so long, I just wanted to tease you a little bit."
"Then why didn't you answer any of my calls? And why didn't you tell me where you were going?" Wallace retorted, still annoyed.
"I wanted to give you a surprise, so I didn't tell you," Steven explained with an apologetic smile. "Besides, when you were calling me, I was usually in the middle of battling someone else."
After Steven's careful explanations and sincere persuasion, Wallace finally forgave him—mostly.
"Don't blame me for not holding back during our battle, then," Wallace said. His mood had calmed somewhat, but he was clearly still holding a grudge.
"That's fine. Just remember to give me the Rain Badge afterward," Steven replied confidently.
"Win against me and I'll give it to you," Wallace shot back.
Wallace and Steven walked side by side toward the battle arena inside the Gym, still bickering playfully along the way.
The receptionist watched them go, utterly dumbfounded.
It was the first time he had ever seen Wallace act like this with anyone.
Unusual. This relationship is definitely unusual.
There must be some hidden story I don't know about!
The receptionist immediately darted to his computer and started searching online.
Among several 'rumors' and news articles about Wallace, he found mentions of Steven's presence at various events.
"So that's it!" the receptionist exclaimed. "I understand now!"
There is only one truth!