Pokémon: Worlds Divided

Leon was initially shocked by the aptitude and levels of these newly arrived Pokémon. He knew some unknown trainer had saved them. Leon steeled his will and shamelessly tossed a Pokéball at the defeated Gyarados. 

With the help of Beldum, the Pokéball could travel a long distance. Gyarados was encapsulated before Leon summoned Carvanha. Once it was in the water, Leon ordered it to retrieve the Pokéball. 

"Those Pokémon saved us." Leona looked toward those Pokémon with a voice of gratitude. 

"Yes, it's a good thing they were here. That was an extremely dangerous situation." Lars sighed in relief. 

"Are you guys alright?" Leon had just released Carvanha into the water before turning to ask.

"Fortunately." Leona smiled and said.

"Did you just toss a Pokéball at a Gyarados from this far?!" Lars seemed to recall this and was shocked.

"I had the help of Beldum. It used its abilities to guide the Pokéball further." Leon wasn't at that level of strength, but he could still pitch a Pokéball quite far.

"Nice! I'm glad they made it in time. Are the three of you alright?" Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice was heard. 

The trio turned back before looking up. Leon and his siblings saw a shocking sight: a man riding a Pokémon, with its legs tucked inward.

This man was a tall, thin young man with ice-blue hair and eyes. The Pokémon he was riding was a...Shiny Metagross!

This couldn't be anyone else but the Champion Steven himself! 

Steven wore a charcoal jacket with two black zig-zag stripes, a white undershirt, and a red tie. He also wore skinny black pants and black shoes with low heels. He wore metallic jewelry on both of his sleeves and his index and ring fingers.

Leon's eyes dilated at the sight of Steven. This was someone he expected to meet at the Pokémon League.

The final trainer of Hoenn.

Metagross landed with a thud. The ground shook upon its landing, its weight was extremely high. 

"Are those your Pokémon?" Lars asked with surprise. 

"Yes, they flew ahead. It's a good thing they made it in time. We could now catch this troublesome Gyarados, it has attacked so many people."

Steven explained that Gyarados had been evasive these days. Some people had been killed by it while most were injured. Steven was a bit speechless when he saw Leon catch Gyarados after its defeat.

"Oh, my gosh. No one warned us about this crazy Gyarados. There weren't even any signs before taking the zig-zag bridge." 

Lars's eyebrows knitted. Were they trying to get more people killed by not warning them? 

"Well, I hate to say this but we just started using people as bait. We had to use an unsuspecting trainer, preferably; a weak one. I was going to keep watch during the day, while some Gold trainers kept watch at night. You guys will be rewarded for your troubles, and sorry about that situation."

They did this to draw out Gyarados. This Pokémon seemed to have the ability to smell noobies crossing the bridge and would target them.

"It's okay, we're just happy to be of service. We don't need a reward or anything like that." Leona smiled and said hurriedly. 

"No reward? I need my reward, we were almost blown to next week!" Lars's expression darkened slightly when he recalled that experience.

This Pokémon was actively hunting and attacking people, and they were the bait. Their lives were cabbage that could just be harvested at any given moment. Lars naturally demanded some form of compensation. 

While Steven was explaining these things, Leon analyzed his Metagross. 

_______

_______

Leon sighed when he saw this Pokémon exalted status page. Steven was rich, so he could buy TMs and nurture his Pokémon to the extreme.

'It's a good thing I'm rich now, but I have to find a way to get richer.' Money was still power in this world, but it also depended on where it was invested. 

"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself earlier. My name is Steven Stone, it's nice to meet you guys." Steven smiled and said.

"Nice to meet you, Steven. My name is Leona. These are my brothers, Lars and Leon." Leona seemed mesmerized by Steven's handsome appearance.

This caused Lars to frown.

"Yeah, yeah, we were used as bait. I wonder what benefits you can give us, Mister Stone? I hope your heart isn't like your last name when handing out these rewards." Lars smiled a smile that wasn't exactly a smile.

Hearing and seeing Lars's expression, Steven's mouth couldn't help but twitch. One was shameless enough to capture the Gyarados after he defeated it. While the other one kept demanding benefits because of his 'mental trauma'.

However, Steven understood their feeling at this age. Being used as bait, who wouldn't be angry? The Alliance told him to reward anyone who happened to pass by and was used as bait when Gyarados appeared. 

Steven's line of sight moved before landing on Beldum, much to his surprise. It was a Shiny Beldum just like the first Pokémon he had ever received.

"Uh, yes, I can offer you guys a VIP card to the auction house. There will be a large auction in two months."

Steven offered this because he didn't think their background was simple. He believed that they had money because of the Beldum he was currently seeing. These kids appeared to be young, so there was no way they would have time to be Shiny Pokémon hunters.

Clearly, their background was deep.

"Oh, an auction?" Leon was interested right away. This could be his chance at nabbing some rare items, Pokémon, and other miscellaneous items. 

"That's right. Two months from now, there will be a large auction in Mauville City. There will be some rare evolution stones, TMs, Pokémon, Held Items, Elixir that can boost a Pokémon's aptitude, etc."

"We're interested. We'd like to be given such VIP cards if you have them." Leon immediately nodded and agreed to write this off with these V.I.P. cards. 

"Haha, it must be fate. I just so happen to have exactly three on me right now." Steven patted his pocket before retrieving three Gold cards.

"These cards can only be given out to the person you recommend. I will write a recommendation for you guys as soon as I'm back in Mauville."

Their names were taken and noted.

Steven didn't brag about his status as the Champion. Lars and Leona had no idea that Steven was the champion of this region. After all, he wasn't the type to walk around gloating about his status. 

"An auction? This might be our chance to buy some rare things." Lars was also satisfied with this card.

"Judging from the color, it seemed to be high in rank." Leona saw the color gold and made some assumptions. 

"Indeed, they're high ranks. It should give you good discounts and a special VIP room when the time comes. There are more perks, but that's something you guys can figure out for yourselves." 

Steven smiled and handed the trio their cards before explaining the ranks. There were Black Iron, White Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond members.

It also wasn't easy to upgrade your standing with this auction house. They were widespread since they were an independent branch of the Pokémon Alliance. 

"Kid, you have good taste. Beldum into Metagross is definitely one of the best options. I wonder, are you guys challenging the League?" 

Steven stared at Beldum with nostalgia. Memories of the past, when he first received his Beldum resurface. This kid also had a Shiny Beldum like him, which was extraordinarily rare. 

His father had to pay an absorbent price for a Shiny Beldum, and its aptitude at the time was laughable. 

"Thanks. It's one of my favorite Pokemon, so I had to get one. And yes, we're challenging the League. We just received our IDs back in Slateport City, so this is our first day as trainers."

"What? You guys are super rookies?" Steven was stunned.

At that moment, Skarmory landed next to Steven. It had a Pokéball in its mouth, which obviously belonged to Leon.

"Oh..." Skarmory walked toward Leon and dropped the Pokéball in his hand. Claydol also flew over and levitated beside Steven.

Leon rushed to the edge of the Zigzag road to see Carvanha waiting for him. Smiling, Leon aimed his Pokéball toward Carvanha and recalled it. 

"Well, I won't keep you guys. I really hope to see you guys challenge the Elite 4 one day." Steven turned his gaze away from Beldum before talking to the trio.

"We hope for that day as well. It won't be easy, but that day will surely come. We'll destroy the champion and snatch his throne, haha!" Lars laughed as he imagined himself defeating Hoenn's mysterious champion.

"Yeah, I wish you much fortune. If you continue taking the road, you will reach Mauville City soon." Steven's lips twitched when heard Lars renounce him, but he didn't reveal his identity. 

"Let's go, Metagross. We need to report Gyarados's defeat." He needed to let the Alliance know that Zigzag path was safe. 

"See ya, guys," Steven recalled Claydol and Skarmory before Metagross rose and flew off.

Leona and Leon waved Steven goodbye. Leon couldn't understand why Steven was the one to handle this threat.

Shouldn't someone like Wattson be dealing with threats like this? Or should the Alliance be sending Silver or Gold trainers to handle this problem?

Leon turned to Beldum and noticed its silence. Beldum's eye never left Metagross, there was no telling what it was thinking.

'That's how you will look in the future if you continue to get stronger.' Leon spoke to Beldum through his mind. They were linked through their minds at this point.

'I want to be like that in the future. I want to become stronger!' Even though its voice was childish, its words were full of seriousness and longing.

'It will happen, no worries.' Leon smiled. Hearing Beldum's words made him feel something, it was a good feeling he couldn't quite describe.

"Let's hurry to Mauville City, we don't want to be attacked by another sea snake." Lars wanted to go shopping quickly. 

"I think there was just one though." Leona scratched her head and said.

"Let's not take any chances, please." Lars frowned and turned before speed-walking down zigzag path.