"We have to go in there?" Wally asked, looking into Granite Cave.

"Why?" Larance asked, smirking at him. "Are you scared?"

"I've never been in a cave before!" Wally replied, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Larance chuckled, folding his arms.

"Hey, while you two were bickering like an old married couple, Arriete already ran in," Bina interrupted, pointing over her shoulder at the cave.

"First one in get's Steven's autograph!" Arriete's voice came from the cave.

"Hey! I want to meet him first!" Wally yelled, before running into the cave.

"Wally! Take it easy! Your asthma!" Bina yelled, running after him.

"H-Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Larance yelled, running after them.

***

After they all caught up to Arriete, the friends continued to walk through the cave in silence. Water dripped from above, cutting through the silence with drip, drip. Wally nervously looked around, coughing time to time. Suddenly, he let out a little yelp as he tripped over something and fell.

"You okay Wally?" Bina asked, holding out her hand for him to grab.

"Y-Yeah," Wally coughed, taking her hand and standing up. "I just tripped over something."

"Uh...Wally..." Larance began, smiling a bit. "You tripped over an Aron."

"A what?"

Startled, Wally turned around to see an angry Aron glaring at him. Said Pokémon jumped at him, ready to attack.

"Ralts! Psybeam!"

Ralts jumped in front of his trainer and attacked the Aron with Psybeam. The attack hit, and the Aron fell to the ground. It shook off the attack, but before it could attack again, Wally threw a pokeball at it. The Aron disappeared in a flash as it was captured. The four friends stood silently as the pokeball stopped shaking, letting everyone know that Aron had been captured. 

"Wh-" Arriete began before Bina shushed her. 

Wally's eyes grew wide as Ralts evolved into Kirlia right before his eyes. He let out a laugh as he scooped up the Pokémon in his arms.

"My first Pokémon ever evolved!" Wally cried with joy.

"Wally, keep it down in here," Bina chuckled. "Or else there'll be more angry Aron coming for you."

"Oh, right," Wally grinned sheepishly, placing Kirlia down. "I need to see my new Pokémon as well."

He released Aron, who looked up, blinking at him.

"Seems like she's calmed down," Bina stated, leaning down to pet Aron. 

"Well that's good," Larance commented. "Come on, guys. Let's go find Steven."

***

"Guys, wait a minute," Arriete whispered, holding out her arm to stop them.

Larance suddenly came to a halt, resulting in Bina and Wally walking into him.

"What is it?" Larance whispered.

Arriete held a finger to her lips as she began to lead them down a tunnel. Soon, they entered a cavern that held many ruins carved into its walls. Facing one of the walls was a tall man with a dark grey suit and silver hair. Arriete looked to Larance, who looked to Bina, who looked to Wally, who was trembling slightly from excitement. He walked forward until he was a few feet away from the man before speaking.

"Uh...um...e-excuse me," Wally stammered, trying to contain his excitement. 

"Ah, hello there," the man greeted, as he turned around and smiled at him. "Have you come to see the ruins as well?"

"'Ruins'?" Larance repeated, walking to Wally's side.

"Yes," the man nodded before turning back around to the wall and pointing. "See? These ruins show a battle between the three ancient Pokémon-"

"Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza," Bina interrupted with a whisper. 

"Why, yes!" the man exclaimed, surprised that Bina knew. "Anyways, these ruins depict that these three ancient Pokémon had unspeakable power, but no one understands what that power was." The man chuckled to himself before facing them again. "No matter. You four are here for a reason, yes?"

Bina walked up to Wally, and nudged him. Wally hastily took out the letter and walked up to the man, showing it to him.

"You're Steven, right?" Wally asked. "Mr. Stone said to give this to you."

"Ah, yes, that is me," the man replied with a smile as he took the letter. "That would be a letter from my dad."

"'Dad?'" Wally, Arriete, and Bina asked in surprise.

"'Dad'," Larance repeated, before perking up. "That reminds me of something! Steven, have you ever heard about a man who disappeared from Littleroot Town ten years ago?"

Steven frowned as he thought, before smiling a little and nodding his head.

"I have heard about that man," Steven replied before folding his arms and frowning again. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about him."

Larance's heart dropped, before he narrowed his eyes and frowned.

"But I need to know!" Larance yelled, taking a step forward. "That man is my dad! I need to know where he is!"

"Larance," Arriete whispered, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Take it easy."

"I'm sorry," Steven said, before sighing and rubbing the back of his head. "Listen, I can't tell you four everything, but I can tell you some things."

Larance's frown disappeared, while the other three perked up with interest. Steven sat down on the ground, cross-legged, and motioned for the others to join him. Larance sat cross-legged next to Steven; Eevee sitting in his lap, Dustox sitting on his shoulders, and Combusken sitting next to him. Arriete sat on the ledge next to Larance; Pipei sitting on her shoulder, Paragon sitting next to her, and Krypta sitting on her other shoulder. Wally sat cross-legged on the other side of Steven; Kirlia sitting next to him, and Aron sitting in his lap. Bina sat on the ledge next to Wally; Mudkip sitting on her head, Tailow sitting on her shoulder, and Silcoon sitting in her lap. Steven sighed again before beginning to talk.

"So, let's begin with something I bet you all will be surprised that I know," Steven began. "I know who you four are. Wally, you are from Petalburg City and are related to one of the workers at Devon Corp. Bina, you are from Littleroot Town and are the daughter of Prof. Birch. Arriete, you are also from Littleroot Town and are the daughter of Norman. And Larance, you are also from Littleroot Town, and some people have been keeping a close eye on you."

"H-How do you know who we are?" Wally asked, shock evident in his voice.

"The Nurse Joy from Oldale Town and Prof. Birch both asked me to keep an eye of you four," Steven replied, frowning. "Team Aqua and Team Magma have their eyes out for you, for some reason. Larance especially."

"But why?" Larance asked, hugging Eevee. "What did I ever do to them?"

"It's nothing that you did," Steven replied, shaking his head. "I wish I could tell you everything, but then you would be in more danger."

Arriete was about to speak up, but a loud sound was soon heard from the cave before. The five of them hastily stood up as two Team Magma grunts and two Team Aqua grunts entered the cavern.

"There they are!" the first Aqua grunt yelled, as her and her partner released two Zubat. "Grab the one with the golden eyes!"

"No!" the first Magma grunt yelled, as him and his partner released two Poochyena. "Our boss wants that one!"

"WHY CAN'T YOU ALL JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Larance angrily yelled. "Eevee! Tackle!"

"Krypta! Poison Sting!" Arriete commanded.

"Silcoon! Tackle!" Bina commanded.

"Aron! Iron Head!" Wally commanded.

"Wing Attack!" the Aqua grunts commanded.

"Tackle!" the Magma grunts commanded.

All Pokémon attacked each other, resulting in the two teams' Pokémon to fall to the ground. They began to slowly stand up, but a new voice rang through the air.

"Meteor Mash!"

The four friends covered their Pokémon protectively as part of the cavern crumbled to the ground in front of the grunts. They turned their heads to see Steven returning his shiny Metagross. 

"Quickly!" Steven yelled, waving them over. "Return your Pokémon to their pokeballs and follow me!"

The friends did what they were told and began to run after Steven. Dirt clouds began to fill their lungs, making them all cough. Wally slowed to a stop, violently coughing. Bina grabbed his hand, dragging him along so they wouldn't get left behind. Arriete tripped over a rock, but Larance steadied her as they tried to keep up Steven. Said person was leading them down a hidden tunnel, and hopefully to safety. After a few more minutes of running, they found themselves back in familiar setting of Dewford. Steven pushed them towards Briney's boat, and told him to sail them to Slateport City under the order of his dad.

"Hurry, you must leave before those four get out of the cave," Steven warned. "They will not stop until you are in their hands, Larance."

"But why-" Larance began, before the start up of the boat's motor cut him off.

"Steven, why don't you come with us?" Wally asked, worried about the Champion's safety.

"I'll be fine," Steven laughed. "They don't call me the 'Champion' for nothing."

He winked at them before stepping off the boat. Soon, the boat was sailing far away from Dewford, Steven waving goodbye to them.

"Well...my first meeting with Steven didn't go exactly as planned," Wally lamented with a sigh.

Larance clenched the railing of the boat so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

I need to know the truth.

***

"YOU LET THEM ESCAPE?!?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but the Champion helped them."

"*sigh* Fine. They are heading to Slateport City, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Maybe I'll make a little appearance..."

***

"I can't believe that you let them escape."

"Sir-"

"I know, I know. The Champion was there. *sigh* I had a feeling that he would eventually get mixed up in all of this."

"Sir?"

"...I'm sending you and one of the Admins to Fallarbor Town. There's something I need you two to do..."